Critical awareness : romance novels in English for the Asian market

Abstract

This paper proposes to illustrate what is possible in the classroom to help learners to see texts as problematical; to be critically aware of literacy as a phenomenon and as a consequence for the learner to be assertive in their interaction with text. At the same time it is hoped to show how Information Technology can be used as a tool in the analysis of texts. The study will focus on samples taken from a novel published locally for the English speaking market in Southeast Asia. The choices made by the writer in both lexis and grammar will be critically examined in an attempt to reveal the stereotypical role modelling with its implicit relations of power structures in society.