This paper aims to explore the possibility of teaching English reading comprehension through English-written literary works. It is generally believed that the education of English by means of short stories and poems provides students with a good chance of understanding literature and foreign culture while promoting their interests and motivations.
The desirable way of teaching English through literary works includes some requirements relating to the choice of the texts; Teachers are required to choose the proper works proportionate to the level of students and in keeping with the current trend, as well as to help their students participate in the class more actively and voluntarily. In this paper, a variety of methods to use literary texts for teaching English are introduced.
In particular, short stories appear to be the most useful materials for reading comprehension. However, the education of English through literary works can be inefficient when some basic elements such as the communication between teachers and students, teachers' qualifications, and the level of student proficiency, are not properly considered. Therefore, teachers have to make redoubled efforts to improve their own communicative abilities, well equipped with the knowledge of various teaching methodologies using literary texts.