LITERARY MODELS IN FUNCTIONAL USE AND TEACHING OF LANGUAGE

Literature is considered a main subject of study that is given much emphasis in teaching languages. Literary subjects have attracted much interest by languages teachers for its valuable lessons and messages that are conveyed by literature and for its flexible and interesting effect in guiding and explaining. As an authentic genre, literature of all its branches (poetry, fiction, drama), exposes learners to the tradition of the languages. On the other hand, literary texts help them to update their knowledge through dealing with difficulties and unknown language and expressions that are used and dealt with outside classes. Focusing on teaching languages through literature has encouraged many scholars and teachers to modify the use of literature of a mere interesting into an approach that provides learners with multiple meanings. Through fiction, for instance, learners will increasingly be active in sharing feelings and opinions, examining their ability to use nonstandard language, and modeling the ideal figures and morals in the literary pieces they study. Hence, literary texts are given a high level in educating a persona wholly through examining and developing attitudes towards self-assertion and self-recovery. The purpose of this paper is to look at some issues and angles in which literature can be exploited successfully in classroom in teaching languages. Stories, poems, and play scenes are considered in this paper as examples and samples of valuable art that bring the use of any literary text in teaching into consideration.