How Does Reading Literature for Pleasure Affect EFL Learners?
How Does Reading Literature for Pleasure Affect EFL Learners?
Keywords: Reading literature, reading literature for pleasure, Oman literature reading culture, literature reading preferences
Authors
Ali Al Yaaqubi and Rahma Al-Mahrooqi
Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman
Bio Data
Ali Al-Yaaqubi is a prospective English language teacher who feels passionate about his chosen profession. As an undergraduate, he led Sultan Qaboos University’s English and Translation Society, widely accepted as the university’s most active student body. Keen to pursue research in reading and literature, he aspires to be an innovative teacher who brings positive changes to the Omani EFL classroom.
Dr. Rahma Al-Mahrooqi received her doctorate in English and Communications Education from America’s University of Pittsburgh in 2003. Currently an associate professor in Sultan Qaboos University’s Department of English, her research interests include intercultural and cross-cultural communication, English Language teaching, reading, and literature.
Abstract
No one denies that, in general, reading literature is beneficial. But if we read literature particularly for pleasure, we find all kinds of surprising benefits. Conducting this study uncovered some of these benefits for English majors at Sultan Qaboos University. This study aimed to investigate how this activity affected English majors’ personal, emotional, social, and language learning lives. A questionnaire, with quantitative and qualitative sections, was distributed among 66 English Arts, English Education, and Translation students. The results indicated that language learning was the most prominent benefit, though participants were aware that reading literature for pleasure was uncommon in Oman.
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Category: Monthly Editions, Volume 72
