INFLUENCE OF THE LITERARY TEXT ON THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

This article describes an exploratory case study that researches on the influence of the literary text on the learning by a group of EFL learners' in the Modern Languages Department of a Colombian University. Instead of learning the target language by using communicatively oriented textbooks, learners read, discussed, and expressed their opinions about authentic literary texts in the foreign language. Findings revealed that, although initially frustrated about the amount of unknown vocabulary in the literary texts, students progressively managed to strengthen their lexical and intercultural competences, as well as their critical thinking skills. They recognized the importance of the literary text as a facilitator for meaning construction in the English classroom.