Abstract
Literature in English, which can be used to enhance the learning of the language, is not taught well.
Despite the relatedness of language and literature, teachers teach the subjects separately. There is no
integration in the teaching of English language and literature rather literature in English is seen as a
subject to be studied by students who are not good in sciences. This study aimed at identifying the
influence of literature in English on senior secondary school students’ achievement in English language.
Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 550 students. The data used for the study were
the grades of the students in English language WAEC Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (2010)
collected from the 4 sampled schools. Findings revealed that greater number of students who studied
literature in English in senior secondary classes passed English language at credit level. This shows that
the study of the language through the study of different literary texts in literature, gave the students an
edge over their counterparts. Also, findings showed that more students from urban schools had credit
pass in English, though the mean achievement. Scores of 2.682 and 2.493 for urban and rural schools
respectively, showed that the difference is not significant. The findings further revealed that there is no
significant difference in the achievement of male and female students in English language. It could be
concluded that there is significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students who studied
literature in English than those who did not. There is also no significant difference in the mean
achievement scores of male and female students who studied literature in English. Therefore, the
curriculum planners should make the study of literature in English compulsory for all the students in
Senior Secondary classes, science or art classes notwithstanding.