Critical Analysis of the Place and Importance of Literature in the Teaching / Learning of English and in School Leaving Certificate Examination in Burkina Faso from 1985 to 2018.

Abstract

The potentials of literary texts are numerous. Literary texts can be used as basis for the teaching of the four traditional skills. They can also be used to develop learners‘ cultural competence. In Literature classes preparing for ―Baccalaureate A‖ written examination, literary texts are expected to be used frequently with regard to the profile of students in this section. The purpose of this study is to analyse the types of texts given at the ―Baccalaureate A‖ written examination in the last thirty years. In this study, quantitative and qualitative data are collected. Baccalaureate written English papers are the main focus of our collection. Teachers and supervisors are interviewed. The study is grounded on ―Reader-Response Theory‖ which stresses the interactions between the reader and the text. The results of the study show that the great majority of texts proposed for ―Baccalaureate A‖ examination, in the last thirty years, are non-literary texts. The consequence of this reduction in the use of literary texts may explain teachers‘ gradual lack of motivation to use them in class, or vice-versa, everything that is likely to have a negative impact on the performance of students from this class.