Teachers’ Perceptions of the Use and Effectiveness of Children’s Literature in the EFL Classrooms of the Primary Schools of Kuwait

The research examines the teachers’ perceptions of the use and effectiveness of children’s literature in their EFL classrooms in the primary public schools of the State of Kuwait. The research was conducted towards the beginning of the second semester of the academic year 2017/2018. It poses three main and interchangeable questions- 1) To what extent do teachers use children’s literature in their EFL classrooms? 2) Does the school administration help towards the integration of children’s literature in the EFL curriculum for the primary graders? 3) How effective is the teachers’ use of children’s literature in enhancing the students’ proficiency in the skills of the English language? The population of the study is the English teachers in the primary public schools in the six educational districts in Kuwait. The sample consisted of 66 English teachers selected from the 18 schools representing the six educational districts. The participants were asked to respond to a 15-statement survey and six open-ended questions. For the first question, results showed that most of the teachers frequently use children’s books in their EFL classrooms and are very much acquainted with the techniques of employing children’s books in their classes and with the various genres of children’s literature. For the second question, most of the participants agreed that the school administration is responsible for providing children’s books. However, the results also indicated that most school administrations do not consult teachers on the books to be purchased, and, as such, these books are sometimes not suitable for use in an EFL classroom. For the third question, results showed that teachers successfully use children’s books in enhancing the English skills of their EFL students, and, hence, they enrich the students’ learning experience.