ABSTRACT
Contrary to a common assumption evident in Bangladesh, reading a train schedule and asking for coffee in English are not the only things that learners learning English as a foreign language will encounter in real life. They must also learn how to use language creatively and responsibly. Incorporating literature in the language class is likely to help teachers mobilise learners to self-attain these two goals, that is, motivation and competence required to perform English creatively and critically. Enduring and engaging, literature is instrumental in enriching learners' language skills, communication skills, critical thinking skills, performance skills, and management skills. The present chapter, being a non-survey analytical research, addresses the creative/visceral and the critical/cerebral potential of literature and explores in three phases the impact of the use of Anglophone literatures in Bangladeshi English language classrooms. The first phase sets the background: It reviews two latest editions of English language textbooks and sketches out metacognitive approach to teaching–learning English. The second phase offers a guide to customised and effective use of literature in teaching–learning seven skills in a language classroom. The third phase outlines critical–affective pedagogy, which, I contend, is instrumental in generating language learners who, instead of demonising or deifying English, are eager and able to use English critically, expeditiously, and feelingly.
