Evaluating the Benefits of Literary Texts in EFL Coursebooks Based on Littlewood’s Perspectives

Abstract

In an attempt to conceptualize the role of literature in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses, this study analyzed the ways literary texts are approached in popular EFL coursebooks. It set out to find if these texts were used to their full potential according to Littlewood’s five perspectives. The scrutinized literary texts were drawn from 44 mainstream EFL coursebooks. The findings showed that when literary texts were used, they were not necessarily used as literary works. Furthermore, the findings substantiated that inauthentic and poorly adapted literary texts did not lend themselves to higher levels of inquiry.