Alternative worlds have captivated readers since the beginning of humanity. Today there is a
large body of speculative fiction across a variety of media including literary texts and
films. The aim of the edited work at hand is twofold: provide an overview of selected
speculative texts and illustrate the potential of well-known genres such as fantasy science
fiction and dystopias for the English as a foreign language classroom. The international case
studies showcase the attraction of these genres and comprise literary classics as well as more
recent examples. Part I is organised into two major sections: primary and secondary level. Part
II is devoted to university teaching. All contributions come with concrete suggestions for
implementing the texts in foreign language learning settings paying particular attention to
the wide range of students in today's classrooms.
