IATEFL Literature Special Interest Group

Connecting ELT, Literature, Extensive Reading, Films & the Arts

LitSIG offers an international network for teachers and trainers who work in different areas and they are all passionate about teaching English through literature, media and the Arts.

Join us to learn, share and collaborate.

About Us

IATEFL is a membership organisation which provides support and networking opportunities for students and professionals of EFL around the world.

The LitSIG is one of the IATEFL Special Interest Groups. Our aims are to advance and support approaches to English language education which promote teachers’ and students’ engagement with the creative arts and various cultural manifestations.

Delegates at the 2016 PCE in Birmingham.

Become a member of LitSIG to:

be part of an active network of educators and researchers around the world, promoting the arts, film, literature and extensive reading in ELT.
work with colleagues in a wide range of educational and cultural contexts,
receive our newsletter filled with practical ideas and issues regarding the arts, film, literature and extensive reading in ELT.
have the opportunity to publish in our newsletter
receive reduced rates at events and conferences organised by and in cooperation with IATEFL,
get insights into a diversity of fields of language education,
have access to our member resources, where we provide free articles, eBooks and other resources.

Who We Are

We are English language teachers, teacher trainers, lectures, researchers, TESOL students, writers, publishers and education managers who are interested in promoting the use of literature and the creative arts in the field of English language teaching and learning.

We are a multinational and multicultural community. We live and work in a number of different countries all over the world. We all speak English but also a variety of other languages and dialects. We belong to different genders, races and creeds. We teach in a variety of contexts, from primary education to postgraduate degrees. Our students are young learners, children, adolescents, adults and mature students. What unites us is the belief that literature and the arts have an important role to play in ELT education.

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.