An Affective Approach to Teaching Literature: I Feel Therefore I am

The present research paper seeks to ascertain whether students respond emotionally to literature- as it is argued that the emotions experienced during reading help interpret literary texts. To that end, the study departs from an investigation of students' personal responses only to determine whether emotion-based responses exist in the EFL context, thus answering the central question that guides this work: do affective responses to literature exist? The stakeholders involved in this study are master-one, EFL students who specialize in literature and civilization at the University of Oran 2, in Algeria. These students were asked to answer a mixed-methods questionnaire. Of the 61 students concerned with the study, thirty-one have answered. The analysis of the ensuing data showed that affective responses to literature are quasi-nonexistent, thus the urgent need to reassess the current literature teaching approaches.