Literature in the EFL classroom. Criteria of choosing and challenges of teaching literature

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,7, University of Duisburg-Essen, language: English, abstract: The question that arises is how and why literature survives and has still its unique weight in the 21st century. This work is structured in several parts discussing what influence literature has on pupils in the EFL classroom. This seminar paper begins by giving a basic overview of the use of literature and why literature remains so successful. This is followed by the criteria of why certain literature is chosen and the challenges that may occur when teaching literature. After that, it will be discussed which influence literature has on the reading and writing skills of pupils in the EFL classroom. The young adult novel 'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas will serve as an example, which will firstly be presented briefly in its outline and its fundamental themes. Later on, this novel will be analysed regarding the impact it has on pupils in the EFL classroom and to what extent this example might or might not help them to understand America's society concerning recent themes as racism, police violence or identity. The aim of this term paper is to develop an appropriate answer to the question why literature is still so prominent and popular nowadays. The other important aspect and the aim this paper lays its focus on is how literature is used to reconstruct social values and norms or to understand a foreign society.