TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement Chapter I: Introduction I.1.Rationale I.2.Aims I.3.Scope I.4.Object I.5.Method I.6.Design of the study Chapter II: Literature Review II.1. Literature II.1.1. Definition II.1.2. Genres II.1.3. What makes literature distinctive from other texts II.1.4. Literature and language teaching II.1.4.1. Why use literature in language classroom II.1.4.2 Literature in the ESL classroom II.1. 4.2.1.Poetry in the ESL classroom II.1. 4.2.2.Short story and its advantages in language classroom II.2. Reading comprehension II.2.1. Reading comprehension and its roles in language learning II.2.2. Reader and the text II.2.3. Students’ difficulties with reading II.3. Literature and Reading II.3.1. Some links between reading skills and literary skills II.3.2. Efferent reading and aesthetic reading Chapter III: Methodology III.1.The setting III.2.The subjects III.3.Data collection instruments Chapter IV: Results and Discussion IV.1. Students’ attitude towards literary texts IV.2.The effects of short story and poem in teaching reading comprehension Chapter V. Conclusion and Recommendation V.1.Introduction V.2.Recommendation V.2.1.Selecting and evaluating the texts V.2.2. Suggested techniques for integrating short stories and poems in the teaching of reading comprehension skills V.2.2.1. Reading poems V.2.2.2. Reading short stories V.2.2.3. Overcoming cultural problems V.2.3. Keys for using literary texts in reading classes V.3. Conclusion V.4. Limitations of the study V.5. Suggestions for further research