USING LITERATURE IN EFL CLASSES: ASSESSING THE SUITABILITY OF LITERARY TEXTS TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the suitability of the literature textbooks assigned to the Sudanese secondary school students. The data were collected through content analysis of the literature books: Things Fall A Part, Treasure Island, Jane Eyre, The Prisoner of Zenda, Oliver Twist, Anna and the Fighter. The researcher has adopted the descriptive, analytical research method adopting mainly the content analysis technique in analyzing the six literary textbooks. The linguistic input and the cultural aspects of these literary texts are compared with the students’ linguistic level and their cultural background. The findings show that the selection of the textbooks do not meet the students' needs, L2 language competence, age, culture, and literary background. This means that these literature books have been haphazardly selected, without consideration to the students’ actual needs. Thus, it is recommended that all these factors, students’ needs and requirements must be considered when selecting reading texts to be taught to secondary school students in Sudan