Teachers’ perceptions and concerns about the use of literary texts to motivate students : a case study at Chlef secondary schools

Abstract EN

For some English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers, literary texts are an excellent tool that boosts their students’ motivation, gets them highly immersed and brings enjoyment during learning.

For others, these are no more than complex texts that lead to a motivation decline.

Accordingly, this study attempts to examine the Algerian Secondary School teachers’ perceptions and concerns about the use of the literary component as a strategy to increase their students’ motivation and foster their engagement while learning English.

In an endeavour to reach valuable results, a questionnaire was distributed to 30 teachers who work in 14 distinct secondary schools in Chlef.

The findings demonstrate that teachers hold mixed thoughts and feelings towards the impact of the literary component on the learners’ motivation.Similarly to the findings of other related studies, students’ low language proficiency, inappropriate designed literary materials, and teachers’ limited knowledge about convenient techniques that trigger the students’ motivation through a literary content were found to be in the first place in terms of demotivating factors and concerns.