The use of literature in English language teaching

The aim of this study was to find reasons of teachers who favor or avoid usage of literature as a language material in their English language teaching classes. The researcher selected 15 English teachers from primary and high schools in Gaziantep in order to investigate place of literature and literary genres (drama, short story, novel and poetry) in their language classes. The interview was used as a data collection tool in this study and content analysis was used to interpret the results of interviews and find out the effects of literature and literary genres in language teaching. This study shows that the common beliefs about literature such as unnecessary material have been changed in a positive way altough there are some teachers who ignore literature in their classes. Instead of totally rejecting literature as a language material, teachers use activities which include literature through considering its facilities for language training according to students' level, need and interest. Key words: Usage of Literature, Literary Genres, Language Learning