An assessment of the Algerian EFL students' literary proficiency at the Ibn Khaldoun University of Tiaret

Countless research has spotlighted literature on foreign language’s linguistic, cultural, aesthetic, and critical thinking benefits as well as the models and strategies in connection with its effective teaching. Howbeit, based on our experience/observation, the provision of the ways/processes the literary competence should be assessed seems to be scarce. The need to assess the foreign language learners' literary competence as a learning outcome is vital. Therefore, as a contribution to this area of study, the present study aims at assessing EFL students’ literary competence. To do so, twenty-five randomly selected third-year English students at the University of Tiaret participated in the study, and O’Brien’s On the Rainy River was used as a data tool to measure their literary competence. Given the skills that literary competence embraces, the findings of this research revealed that the participants of the EFL students at the University of Tiaret lacked some basic skills that are essential for literary competence. In response to this, the paper suggests some recommendations for both teachers and students. Keywords: Assessment; Competence; EFL Students; Literature