In foreign language teaching, literary texts serve as valuable teaching materials that support the development of language skills, intercultural learning, and action- and production-oriented learning by presenting language in context, reflecting different cultures and perspectives, and being open to interpretation. Bringing together lyrical, epic, and dramatic features, the ballad is a multifaceted literary text type that can be used in foreign language teaching. However, in the Turkish context, studies focusing on the use of ballads in foreign language teaching remain limited. This study demonstrates the didactic potential of the ballad in teaching German as a foreign language through a sample lesson design. The study takes the form of a conceptual review and includes the development of a sample lesson plan. First, the role of literary texts in foreign language teaching was examined within the frameworks of skill-based, action- and production-oriented, and intercultural learning. The characteristics and didactic potential of the ballad were then discussed. Finally, a sample lesson plan for B1–B2 learners was developed based on Friedrich Schiller’s ballad Der Handschuh. In selecting this ballad, its clear plot, inclusion of dialogue and conflict, presentation of a moral dilemma, and suitability for various classroom activities were taken into consideration. The lesson plan integrates listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills and includes action- and production-oriented activities that allow learners to reconstruct and dramatize the text. The moral dilemma and value conflicts in the ballad were used to encourage learners to compare different cultural values and develop different perspectives. The study concludes that the ballad is a functional literary genre that can support skill-based, action- and production-oriented, and intercultural learning in the foreign language classroom. It is recommended that future empirical studies examine the use of ballads at different language levels and with different learner profiles.

Keywords: Literary texts, ballad, skills-based learning, action-/production-oriented learning, intercultural learning.