One of my professors used to read through a chapter of the text, say, Gatsby,

pausing at key points to trigger discussion, share his own insights and knowledge
on cultural views of symbolism, foreshadowing etc. He'd also throw in biographical
information on the author, where pertinent. I found this approach, personally, very
useful.

Of course, literature can be used in different way in the classroom. When the
course is a literature course, I think it is important that it leads the students
to understand how literature works, and if possible, what it is, in contradiction
to other things. Thus my literature courses often either presuppose or directly
pose the question, what is literature?� Commonly, the students have never thought
about this, but are ready with examples, namely books they have been taught at
other levels and for different purposes. In Nigeria, the books are often �engaged�
with social issues � or at least, that is how they have been taught to see
literature. One of the immediate consequences is that poetry (lyric genre) is
unpopular. So I try to offer an account of literature which emphasizes that it is
first and foremost art, and that whether one is faced with narrative or lyric or
drama, they are art on the same grounds. In discussing a literary work then, I try
to keep the attention of the students focused on the elements and properties which
result from answering the question, what is literature?
Cite

When I was in high school, my teacher asked us to draw pictures when we did
Shakespeare. Sentence for sentence, the words we understood. It really helped a
lot!

Following Belinda's point, I think it's worth considering the relation between the
visual and the literal. Most literature has a symbolic geography that helps define
the major themes of the text. Also, how we define georaphical regions depends very
much on our geopolitical perspective. My own experience of trying to make sense of
literary texts - and trying to discuss them with friends, colleagues and students -
suggest that the question of perspective is all important.

Technique
One technique used successfully in our William and Mary language arts units of
study for advanced learners is the Literature Web whereby students explore the
vocabulary, the ideas, the images, the symbols, the feelings, and the structure of
a given short piece (short stories and poetry preferred). As students complete the
web, they move from simple to complex understandings of important aspects of
literature and learn to appreciate their connections. After exploring the
literature web individually, students then discuss the elements as a group and
compose a written response to the literary piece, synthesizing its meaning. The
web acts as a tool for reading difficult text.

I prefer an ECLECTIC approach/method for teaching literature which can be a

combination of many useful methods/models/techniques. For example, a technology-
based method (e.g. online learning, blended learning, etc.) can be useful in this
regard. Perhaps, a socio-cultural language learning pedagogy can be fine as well.
Also, a multi-modal literacy approach might work very well, especially as far as
digital resources and online stuff are concerned. Moreover, a circle approach - as
mentioned above - is fine because learners are given a choice in what they will
read and discuss. JigSaw and shared reading approaches might work as a solution.
Best regards
The best way to the teaching of literature in an EFL/ESL classroom is to combine it
with structuralism and new criticism since they both deal with the function of lge
in literature interpretation and analysis as they enhance students' critical
thinking
you can even ask them to write short essays about a certain (appropriate) quote
applying the rules you theach them in grammar and written expression ...or to
summarisz a text using connectors, different types of phrases and sentences....