The Pedagogical Benefits and Challenges of Incorporating Literary Texts into Language Teaching

This paper analyzes the role of literature in English Language Teaching (ELT) in order to assess its educational advantages as well as its problematic aspects. Teaching literature, which encompasses poetry, prose, and drama, has the potential to improve language proficiency, foster cultural appreciation, and enhance cognitive skills, which is why integrating it into a curriculum provides unique teaching opportunities. On the other hand, teachers encounter serious challenges such as the comprehension level of the various texts, the heterogeneity of learners, and the integration of literature’s language objectives with communicative language teaching objectives. The scope of this manuscript rests on both benefits and difficulties of including literary works in the English class, which are supported with relevant research and classroom practice.