Misuses of literacy? An insight into the knowledge of British and American literature among students of English in Poland

Abstract

The main aim of the article is to examine to what extent and how studying English philology in Poland at the beginning of the twenty first century affects one’s literacy. It focuses on the results of an action research study of the reception of British and American literature among students of English in Poland. The study consisted of a quantitative part, which comprised two surveys conducted in 2003-2004 and 2018 and a qualitative part. The main aim of the surveys was to obtain an insight into the knowledge of British and American literature and culture of 514 students of English at the tertiary level in a number of educational institutions in Poland. The final aim of the research project was to gather evidence on the basis of which some evaluation of the content and ways of teaching of literature courses could be done. The results of the survey are used to propose a number of practical solutions whose implementation into the curriculum could improve students’ literacy skills.