"Nurturing Language Proficiency Through Literary Exploration in EFL Settings: A Comprehensive Document Analysis"

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 193 - 211, 02.02.2024

Hanife Salbaş

Abstract

The utilization of literary materials within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructional contexts has exerted a profound influence within academic domains over the course of time. However, this practice has concurrently evoked contentious debates within the educational field, thereby necessitating scholarly efforts to discern strategies for its effective integration and to discern the underlying dynamics contributing to the apparent disjunction between theoretical propositions and instructional implementation. The current study, which centers its inquiry upon the foundational tenets and pragmatic implications inherent in the incorporation of literature within EFL pedagogy, endeavors to illuminate the ambivalent status of this practice. To this end, an examination of 24 distinct scholarly research is undertaken. Employing a document analysis methodology, this research critically assesses theses and dissertations originating from Turkey over a span of three decades. The outcomes of this investigation not only affirm the favorable outcomes associated with the integration of literature within EFL classrooms but also unveil several underexplored domains warranting heightened scholarly exploration. In effect, the study underscores the pedagogical value of literature while simultaneously pinpointing unexamined dimensions that merit sustained research attention.

Keywords

English Language Teaching, Document Analysis, Literature

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