BEYOND COMMUNICATION: THE ROLE OF HUMANISTIC TEACHING AND LITERATURE IN EFL CLASSROOMS

Abstract

Humanistic teaching emphasizes the development of the whole learner—emotionally, intellectually, socially, and morally—placing the student at the center of the educational process. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings, literature offers rich opportunities to engage learners in meaningful, reflective, and empathetic exploration of language and culture. While Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) focuses primarily on fluency and communicative competence, this article argues that humanistic approaches through literature provide deeper personal engagement, cultural literacy, and transformational learning. By integrating literature into EFL classrooms through humanistic pedagogy, teachers foster emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and intercultural understanding, which are essential for holistic language acquisition in the 21st century.