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Research Article | Open Access
Volume 15 2023 | None
EFL Undergraduates’ Attitudes toward the Study of Literature at Jazan University, KSA
Dr. Reji George
Pages: 919-934
Abstract
The study of literature occupies a predominant place in the curriculum of nearly all foreign language departments. While a great deal of investigationshas been conducted on second language acquisition through literature, not many studies have concentrated on learners’ attitudinal inhibitors towards the study of literature. The current study fills an existing gap in the literature as it attempts to uncover undergraduates’ attitudes toward the study of literature in foreign language classroom. It also aims to investigate the factors leading to the loss of interest in English literature among undergraduate students of most Arab universities, particularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Although literature comprises the fundamental partof the undergraduate programs in majority of the English departments; there is a high degree of uncertainty about the function of literary texts in second language acquisition. As soon as a choice is available, the students tend to choose almost anything except literature. The opinion survey carried out among 74 undergraduates of English major at Jazan University, suggests that the greater number of the learners possess favorable attitudes toward the study of literature, although they encounter certain challenges pertaining to pedagogy and the inability to cope with culturally charged texts due to lack of proficiency in English. To address these issues, the educators are recommended to abandon the traditional teaching approaches which exclusively focus on memorization, and adopt student-centered approaches that lead to intense engagement and enjoyment. Also, accommodating students’ voices in selectingthe text book would be a healthier practice.
Keywords
Attitudes, Literature, Pedagogy, Cultural unfamiliarity, Memorization,
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