“Literary reading”, along with the more recent “literature didactics” and “reading didactics”, marks the most important area of artistic-aesthetic education, which, since the 80s of the XX^th century, is designated by the term “literary-artistic education”. In order to study scientifically the development of students’ literary axiology in the context of foreign language learning based on literary texts, the author examines the key terms of LAE highlighting the connection points between the traditional and modern concepts of literature in school.