English literature teaching in Yemen : problems and prospects

Abstract EN

In Yemen English literature teaching is a challenging job.

It is demanding for both teachers and students.

Despite the high level of motivation the productive ability of the Yemeni graduates is not commensurate with the literary courses they are taught during their stay in the college.

Quite recently, the students in schools have been exposed to some literary pieces in English.

When they come to college they are too weak to adjust to the demands of the syllabus of the department of English.

English literature teaching formally begins here in the colleges of Arts and Education from the second year.

In the first year of their studies they are taught grammar and usage and the skills and they are expected to have a sound foundation of the English language, and to be able to cope with the literature courses, which they are not able to.

By raising some vital questions the present paper looks at the problems of English literature teaching in the universities of Yemen and suggests solutions from pedagogical point of view: a) Are the Yemeni graduates able to cope with the demands of the real-life situations, when it comes to use their skills of the English language in the real world? b) Should literature be taught as language or be taught as literature? The present paper also looks at the possibilities of comparative and contrastive studies between Arabic and English literatures as a potential source of student‟s enhanced linguistic abilities and literary competence.