A Critical Look at Using Children’s Literature in English Language Education

The current study aimed to investigate whether an involvement in the use of children’s literature in foreign language education course resulted in an increase in graduate students’ attitudes, awareness, and knowledge of children’s literature when teaching English. The study included six graduate students attending a Master’s Program in English Language Teaching in Türkiye. This exploratory case study followed a qualitative case study method including focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews held through online sessions. The results indicated an increase in students’ appreciation, acceptance, and awareness of using children’s literature in English language classrooms. Participants, overwhelmingly, held a positive attitude towards using children’s literature in teaching English supporting the view that the use of children’s literature was beneficial in teaching grammar and language skills. Besides, it provided improvement in language learners’ imagination and critical thinking, interpreting, and guessing skills. It was found that children’s literature could also be used as an instrument for improving students’ cultural enrichment.