Abstract

The use of English children’s literature for teaching English as a foreign language in a country, such as Indonesia, which uses English as a foreign language at secondary schools, has many benefits for students. The aim of this paper is to discuss: (1) the importance of utilizing English children’s literature; (2) the types of English children’s literature which can be used in teaching; and (3) the implementation of integrating English children’s literature into EFL classroom. The main reason to use English children’s literature in EFL classroom (Hismanoglu, 2005) is because it has valuable authentic material, cultural enrichment, language enrichment and personal involvement. The implementation of integrating English children’s literature has to consider two main factors: selection of the literary texts and teaching implementation. The model of teaching by using children’s literature can use a certain format suggested by Richard-Amato and Snow (2005); it is framed as a sequence of Into, Thought, and Beyond (ITB). Into is the step that occurs before reading. During Into, the teacher draws upon many resources to be prepared and make students interested in the text. Thought is the step when students are ready to read the work. The way to engage a class in a story is to read to aloud with expression. Beyond is the step where students can do activities to extend the appreciation of the work.