oa Adopting Literature in English Language Teaching Curriculum of EFL Students

This study aimed at investigating the use of poetry in Iranian EFL/ESL classrooms and its contribution to improving the proficiency of the students. Conducting a semi- experimental pre-test/post-test design, 44 Iranian undergraduate students of English language and literature of Ilam University were selected and assigned into experimental and control groups. Two samples of the Nelson English Language Test were used for the pre-tests and post-tests. The experimental group was taught how to make use of poetry in language learning, while the control group went on to study the prescribed syllabus planned at the beginning of the academic year. The findings revealed that the experimental group's proficiency improved significantly better than that of the control group. The results of the study also contribute to an understanding of the role of literature in language teaching and have implications for syllabus designers, material developers, and language teachers