STRUCTURAL LITERARY ANALYSIS AS A WAY TO DEVELOP CRITICAL READING SKILLS OF EFL LEARNERS

The article deals with the applications of structural literary analysis at the classes of English literature for EFL (English as a foreign language) learners at Kazan Federal University, Russia. Structural literary analysis is perceived as the way of examining the constituent parts of the work of literature (plot structure, characters, setting etc.) to understand the author’s intent and message. The significance of the issue is determined by the necessity to teach critical reading skills, vital for both academic performance and everyday life. Structural literary analysis is a good way to develop critical reading skill (the definition of which is given in the article). As the current experiment shows, building up a lesson on a work of literature accordingly, helps learners to develop and acquire their critical reading skills. The article also specifies literary terms, which learners need to be acquainted with to manage this type of literary analysis. A sample lesson plan is given as a model for structural literary analysis. The results of the research could be applied by the teachers of English as a foreign language, who include literature as the source of authentic language into their courses, as well as the teachers of literature.