IATEFL Literature Special Interest Group

Our History

There have been IATEFL members interested in the promotion and use of literature, extensive reading, film, cultural studies and the arts since the very early days of the Association. Our SIG was born in 1989. Since then it has seen some changes in membership and in name that reflected the dynamic nature of IATEFL members' interest as well as trends in English language teaching and learning. Very soon after its foundation it became the Literature and British Studies SIG, and almost immediately changed its name to Literature and Cultural Studies SIG, reflecting a wider interest in culture and cultural studies. In 2000 it merged with the Media SIG, and became the Literature, Media and Cultural Studies SIG – LMCS SIG for short, and this was the name we used till September 2016.

However, change is an integral part of life and we would  like the name of the SIG to reflect the dynamic nature of our membership interests. Through the years literature has always been our main teaching resource and source of inspiration and although media and cultural studies are areas that we cover, we also care for members' interested in extensive reading and the creative arts, such as film, drama, visual arts and music, among other cultural manifestations. We felt that we needed a name that reflected the importance of literature and which could be easily understandable to our current members and the ones potentially joining us in the future.

In August 2016, we carried out a members' consultation on the SIG name and the overwhelming majority (69,5%) chose LitSIG as our new name, followed by the strapline Connecting ELT, Literature, Extensive Reading, Film & the Arts, which we believe reflects the breadth and depth of our interests and teaching practices.