Teaching language through literature: a diagnostic study on the teaching of english as a foreign language

Abstract

Most teachers consider literature as a separate subject that has nothing to do with language learning. This assumption is based on a reductive interpretation of the concept of language teaching and learning. The fact, however, remains that there are several benefits that a language learner can derive from the inclusion of literature in the educational curriculum for language learning. This paper investigates and analyzes the extent and importance of literary discourse in foreign language acquisition. A group of 40 undergraduates of first year has been sampled in the Language Unit General English Programs, College of Languages and Translation, at King Saud University. The students were then divided into two groups – the Control group and the Experimental group. Both the groups were administered an identical Pre-Test which showed a uniformity in the results with very little variation – a fact that is too obvious to be ignored in any group of learners. A syllabus based on literary texts including all the genres of English literature and covering all-skills based language exercises was designed for the Experimental group. For the Control group, core language course books on the four skills covering the same components were selected for instruction. Both the groups were imparted instructions for a full semester in the language courses designed for them. At the end of the semester they were given Post-Tests in accordance with the course material selected for their instruction. The result suggested that the literature-specific syllabus sounded good for the Experimental group and therefore it fared far better than the Control group. The findings also drew the instructors’ and curriculum developers’ and course designers’ attention towards more literature centered language activities in the process of language teaching. Finally, the study makes some pedagogical suggestions on language learning task design.