The main objective of this study is to assess the role of literature in teaching thernEnglish language and to check whether or not it could be applicable inrnEthiopian high schools in general and in grade nine in particular. Hence, it hasrncombined both theoretical and practical methods of data collection. Therntheoretical approach focuses on the review of related literature whereas thernpractical approach gives emphasis to the activities performed in the classroomrnto see the significance of literature in teaching the English language and itsrnresults.rnThe paper all in all consists of five chapters. The first chapter discuses thernbackground of English language teaching, statement of the problem, objective ofrnthe study, the importance of the study and its scope.rnThe second chapter reviews related works on literature and language teaching.rnIt gives detail regards to issues such as the nature of language teaching, itsrnimportance, the interrelation between literature and language teaching,rnmethods of teaching language through literature. It has also given anrnappropriate space to related local works.rnThe third chapter, in its turn, had given much space to the why and the how ofrnthe study. It also earnestly regards the methodology of data collection and allrnthe processes and procedures passed through in the data collection process.rnThis mainly involves methods of sampling, processes of data collection,rnmechanisms of the analysis and interpretation, the process of teachingrnlanguage making use of some selected literary materials and what the outcomernlooks like. The fourth chapter is dedicated to the analysis and interpretation ofrnthe data. This has mainly focused on students' age distribution and sexdifferences,rnthe pre-and the post-lesson exam's result, etc. In this chapter allrnthe collected data are presented, analyzed and interpreted into two main ways.rnThese are quantitative and tabular presentations. The quantitative approachrnhas been set apart for the statistical analysis of the pre-and post-lesson exam'srnresults. In the tabular presentation the sample student's demographicrnbackgrounds and the responses they gave to the questionnaires are detailed.rnThe final chapter presents the summary and conclusion of the study and thernresearcher's recommendation.