Abstract
The study attempts to investigate the attitude and perception of Saudi undergraduate students towards English literature courses as a part of their BA English Program at a large public university in KSA. A total of 59 students (25 studying a literature course, 25 linguistics course and nine had already passed at least one literature course) participated in the study. Applying mixed method research design, questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data and retrospective essays were used for qualitative data. A modified version of AMTB developed by Gardner and associates was used to measure students' attitude towards literature courses. The results of study show that the participants have positive attitude towards literature courses. The findings also suggest that learners’ social environment (family, friends, classmates, teachers…etc.) significantly contribute in constructing positive attitudes and enhancing their perception towards literature as medium of learning L2. The study has pedagogical implication too. Policy makers (administrator, curriculum developers, and teachers) need to accommodate learners’ voices in the selection of teaching material.
Highlights
In this post-modern world, English has already obtained the status of international lingua franca (Graddol, 2010; Jenkins, 2006). Crystal (2003) argues “English is the global language”
Cultural, and religious values, Saudi Arabia is one of those countries where students are not equipped with sufficient language skills to meet national and international challenges
Results of the current study suggest that teaching language through literature is a viable option, and teachers can use learners’ positive attitudes toward literary texts to enhance their motivation and achievement in foreign language learning
Summary
In this post-modern world, English has already obtained the status of international lingua franca (Graddol, 2010; Jenkins, 2006). Crystal (2003) argues “English is the global language”. Crystal (2003) argues “English is the global language” At this moment of time, we can safely acknowledge this proclamation. Most students regard English skills as extremely beneficial as it provides better future prospects for them and contributes considerably to country’s economic growth, they only focus on learning English for examination purposes and not for real-life situations. This is a problematic situation especially where educational system has unique feature with two ideologies strongly imbedded in it
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