Investigating Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions on Incorporating Islamic Cultural Notions in EFL Literature at the University of AinTemouchent Case Study of Leila Aboulela Short Stories

Abstract

EFL Literature is essential for language and culture learning. However, considering students' identity is needed. For this reason, the researcher suggests using EFL Islamic Literature. The current Study investigates the students’ attitudes and teachers’ perspectives regarding both English Literature and EFL Islamic Literature through suggesting Leila Aboulela short stories. A questionnaire and semi structured interview were used as research tools in order to collect the necessary quantitative and qualitative data to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. The sample of this study is third year EFL students at the Department of Letters and English Language at the University of AinTemouchent, Algeria. The results obtained from analyzing the extracted data using both descriptive and thematic analysis, reflected that both English Literature and EFL Literature with Islamic cultural notions are effective for EFL Literature teaching and learning. While English Literature is preferred for improving language skills and culture learning, EFL Literature with Islamic cultural notions is favored for identity preservation as well as culture learning. These findings show the importance of incorporating EFL Literature that includes Islamic cultural notions in EFL classrooms to promote identity conservation, language and culture learning.