In Teaching Literature in a Second Language, Brian Parkinson and Helen Reid Thomas focus on the relationship of language and literature in the context of the classroom. They examine both the language of literature as it occurs in a variety of texts from different genres and the language of the classroom as teachers and learners respond in speech and writing to those texts. While giving specific examples from the main literary genres of poetry, short stories, novels and drama, the authors are also concerned with the wider issues that affect all teachers such as assessment, evaluation, planning and working with a syllabus, and teacher development. Exercises and suggestions for further work are included for each section.The book is addressed primarily to students of applied linguistics and practising teachers, and is relevant both to teachers of EFL or ESL and to those who come from a background of literature teaching.