Shaking cross cultural values through literature teaching

Abstract

Language and culture are two inseparable entities. This implies that language learning is cultural learning at the same time. The main goals of including culture in literature are to increase sense of self-worth in students, cultural pluralism, a sense of empowerment, the ability to deal in harmony with other cultures, and teaching from a cultural perspective. Literature allows us to overpass the limitations of our own subjectivity and those limitations are imposed by gender, age, socioeconomic conditions. One of the most prevalent benefits of teaching culture through literature is that it will raise the students’ awareness about the cultural differences. This will help Algerian students to cut down on the confusing ideas while reading a literary work especially when it is loaded with metaphorical cultural examples or idiomatic expressions. Students will be better equipped to work harmoniously and confidently without misinterpreting or distorting the writer’s message. This confidence process happens through students reading literature about different races and cultures. This will allow students to transact easily with EFL literary texts.