Selected verses from Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s English language translation of the Quran were used as a literary text to teach both descriptive and figurative imagery. Several steps were taken for the preparation of this case study.
1. The selected verses can be obtained through websites under the list of topics of the Quranic verses. A teacher can choose from a wide range of suitable topics for students. For this case study, the selected verses were verses 49-51 and verses 55-57 from Surah Sad. Verses 49-51 are verses about Heaven and verses 55-57 are verses about Hell.
2. The source of these verses was The Holy Quran, the English Language Translation of the Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The exemplary verses were found to be suitable in content for the teaching of both descriptive and figurative imagery. The presence of literary devices such as similes, metaphors and symbols was clearly visible in the verses.
3. The technique for teaching imagery was chosen from a wide range of techniques. The technique-The Senses was thought to be suitable for the particular group of participants with the English language proficiency level at the High Intermediate level. The classroom activity for this technique was task-based, locating and identifying the images in the verses and stating which senses are affected through these images.
4. The source of the technique was The Inward Ear by Alan Duff and Alan Maley (Duff and Maley, 1989).
5. The basis for gauging students’ understanding through assessment and evaluation can be obtained from their participation and contributions in the classroom activities and also from a written assignment. The written assignment was devised having the level of proficiency in the language and age group of the participants in mind. The written assignment was:
Make sentences with these phrases and create your own images, stating the senses affected with each image.
1. A beautiful place
2. Fruit in abundance
3. Delicious drink
4. An evil place
5. An evil bed
6. A boiling fluid
Example: A Beautiful Place
A beautiful place is like a painting where flowers always bloom and swans glide about continuously on a pond of clear, blue water.
Senses: Visual
6. A Marking Scheme was devised for the evaluation of the written assignment. An analysis of the data derived from the marks obtained by the students from the written assignments showed a high level of understanding of the lesson taught using Quranic imagery as the literary text.
7. A thorough familiarization of the selected verses before using the verses in the classroom is necessary as with any other text. A preparation of first providing a brief explanation and discussion of each verse for the basic meaning of the verse. Then, any teacher as a facilitator of any classroom activity must practice eliciting answers from students and not have students’ roles be only as recipients. Students must also be productive contributors in classroom activities. This is the communicative approach.
Through experience, a researcher who has made the above preparations would likely be able to conduct the case study smoothly. It is also necessary for the researcher to do an observatory comments write up immediately after the teaching session so as to have the information still fresh in mind. The write up should be as thorough as possible, anything that was noticed during the teaching session. The write up will be summarized later for the official report.
Preferably, assessments should reflect both social and academic performance. But for the purpose of this study, students’ demonstration on understanding the lesson through the use of Quranic imagery is my main focus. Although some of the points below were looked into for the evaluation of students’ understanding for this study, an overall evaluation of assessment should involve all of the following:
1. Completion of task
2. Ability to understanding through listening to teacher and peers
3. Ability to participate in brainstorming
4. Ability to explain or make connections or predict in material and content
5. Ability to demonstrate their new knowledge
6. Ability to express prior knowledge
7. Ability to demonstrate individuality and creativity
8. Availability and ability to make choices in tasks which consider flexibility for different strengths and needs.
A revisit of the list of objectives any teacher wishes to achieve for a lesson on imagery using any other text must be matched with the list of objectives the researcher has achieved at the end of a lesson on imagery using Quranic images as the text. It can be clearly examined, concluded and proven that the same objectives have been achieved. The researcher is triumphant.
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