영미 청소년문학, 영어교육, 그리고 젠더

British and American Young Adult Literature, English Education and Gender

&nbsp;&nbsp;English canon has been criticized for its difficult written style and the outdated words in teaching EFL students. This study introduces young adult literature written in English as an effective means to improve English proficiency for the middle and high school students as well as freshmen of college level. Specifically for the college level, however, young adult literary texts need to be selected with abundant critical reviews and ideological background in order to meet the students&quot; academic demands.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;For the discussion, the first chapter focuses on the history and the major features of British and American young adult literature. The second chapter explores the educative value of Louis Sachar&quot;s Holes for EFL adolescents. Young adult literature, despite its subversive potential, reflects social ideology. Thus the third analyzes Holes from a feminist perspective in order to reveal the male-centered ideology working in the young adult literature. In the process, Julia Kristeva&quot;s concept of &quot;abjection&quot; is borrowed in order to explain the meaning of the protagonist&quot;s ‘growing up’ in the novel. The last chapter, through the students&quot; written responses to the class, concludes that young adult literature can be an effective means to teach English, even though it cannot be an alternative to teaching English literary canon.