MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MAI THI PHUONG AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING SHORT STORIES AS SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR READING CLASSES AT HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: ………………… HUE, 2015 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ MAI THỊ PHƯƠNG MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNGTHÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRUYỆN NGẮN NHƯ NHỮNG TÀI LIỆU BỔ SUNG CHO CÁC LỚP HỌC ĐỌC TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: HUE, 2015 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author Mai Thị Phương ABSTRACT This research paper examined students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading at Hue University College of Foreign Languages (HUCFL) It also addressed the advantages and disadvantages of using short stories as supplementary materials Besides, the study investigated teachers’ suggestions to teach to make students use short stories for reading classes better The data collection tools consisted of questionnaire and interview Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to the data analysis The results from quantitative and qualitative data indicated that most students acknowledged the importance of using short stories to improve reading sub skills, create a relaxing learning atmosphere, and enriching students’ knowledge More importantly, the study showed the suggestions teachers make to improve reading skill through short stories The interviews with some English teachers also reveal the advantages and disadvantages of using short stories to develop reading skill Based on their ideas, the research also comes up with solutions to problems that teachers may encounter when using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to people who supported me during the process of doing this research Without their guidance and helps, I would have not completed this study First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my great supervisor who has supported me throughout my thesis with his patience and acknowledge Actually, her guidance and feedback helped me during the time of the study and writing of this thesis She gives me useful advices and guidance so that I can get good result in my thesis Besides my great supervisor, my sincere thanks also to the teachers, especially Ms Nguyen Thi Lai who is very helpful and the third year English students at HUCFL who took part in this research They are enthusiastic to help me collect the data My thesis would not have come to a completion without the help from my close friends for their generosity in time, advice, support and encouragement Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband as well as my sons who always stand by me, help me overcome difficulties in the process of doing the research They bring me strength, self- confidence, and braveness to pursue my study TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF CHARTS CONTENTS OF THESIS Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Nowadays, English has become an international language and many countries use it as a lingua franca to communicate English has a special or an official status in many countries and is spoken as a first language by millions of people It is also the most commonly used language among foreign language speakers It is obviously that in our country the spread of English is very rapid and significant, from cities to remote areas English has been used in many fields of life: science, technology, education, etc Apparently, the important role of English in the world has been not denied Learning English helps people acquire useful knowledge in order to discover new horizons It also gives them more opportunities to get a good job and high position in societies Learning English really can change life Therefore, more and more people have learnt English to get a better life Reading, listening, writing and speaking are four basic skills in the process of learning English.To master English means mastering four above skills Reading is an important skill in the development of language learning because it is an useful way of gaining information in language learning According to Ofodu (2009), reading is one of the most fundamental media for acquiring and promoting knowledge at all levels of education Reading is a language skill that aims at facilitating the acquisition and development of literacy skills needed for effective communication in different contexts.Thanks to reading, learners can develop other language skills (writing, speaking and listening skill) It can promote other language areas such as vocabulary and grammar because in the process of reading, learners are exposed to a huge amount of vocabulary, so they can enrich their resource of vocabulary They also realize how to use structures or grammar points through reading texts Many linguistics and researchers believed that reading is an essential skill that needs to be developed among learners and it is often considered as ‘the foundational capability in the acquisition of literacy’ (Andrews, 2001) It is obvious that reading accompanies a myriad of educational benefits It is not at all surprising to realize that good readers have an increased stock of vocabulary and several researchers highlight that reading books can advance a person’s comprehension by learning new lexis (Stansberry, 2009; Isaac, 2007; Sofsian, 2006).They further note that along with vocabulary enrichment, reading also helps to improve the accuracy of spellings This is because readers often look up new words which they encounter while reading Similarly, researchers contend that reading boosts concentration since it requires remembering details of what is being read: it refines the reader’s memory (Stansberry, 2009; Isaac, 2007; Sofsian, 2006) When learners are able to retain and recall what they read, they will be able to use the information more creatively in the future In addition, there is another very important reason why learners need to develop their reading skills: there is a strong correlation between reading and academic success According to Pretorius (2000), Research findings in applied linguistics and reading research consistently show a strong correlation between reading proficiency and academic success at all ages, from the primary school right through to university level: students who read a lot and who understand what they read usually attain good grades.(Pretorius, 2000, p.1) She also further emphasized that students who read extensively and comprehend what they read usually attain better grades In other words, a student who is a good reader is more likely to well in school and pass exams than a student who is a weak reader One of the main goals of reading for language learners is to acquire knowledge of different fields through translating its literature into their mother tongue As Richard and Rodgers stated, “[t]he goal of foreign language study was to learn a language to read its literature or to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from foreign language study.” Students would translate literary texts from the second/foreign language to their native language and they face lots of problem in this process Therefore, improving reading is very essential for learners In order to improve reading as an important skill, many researchers and educators have also made efforts to find more efficient ways of enabling the learners to become more proficient readers and one of the ways is to use literature Povey (1979) is among those who believe in the effectiveness of the implementation of literature in the language class Literature has been discovered as a valuable and interesting material for improving students’ language ability (Premawardhena, 2005) It has been found that if appropriate literary texts are chosen it would be an effective tool for stimulating and achieving language learning and equipping learners with relevant linguistic and socio-cultural competences (Sell, 2005) Acording to McKay (2001), in reading comprehension tasks literary texts can stimulate interest and closer reading of the texts, as well as integrating the four skills during reading practice Short stories, like other literary texts, can stimulate language and linguistic competence Short stories also arouse motivation Short stories are believed to help learners improve all four skills According to Erkaya (2005), reading literary text can lead students to be critical thinkers He pointed out that when students read, they interact with the text and interpret what they read and this analysis makes them more creative and critical Nowadays, teachers have made efforts to find out different ways to enhance students' reading ability Using short stories as supplementary materials is one of their choices Teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards this method are one of the main factors that determine their success in their language learning as well as language teaching as Candlin and Mercer (2001) stated that attitudes towards the target language, its speakers and the learning context may all play some part in explaining their success or failure 1.2 Rationale I choose this topic for my research: “An investigation into teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for 10 Brumfit, C.J & Carter, R.A (Eds.) Literature and Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Newman, W.L (2000) Quantitative and Qualitative approaches USA: Allyn & Bacon Maley, A 1989 “Down from the Pedestal: Literature as Resource” in Literature and the Learner: Methodological Approaches Cambridge: Modern English Publications McFadden, George 1978 ‘Literature’: a many-sided process In Hernadi 1978, 49-61 McKay, S.L (1986) Literature in the ESL classroom, London: Oxford University Press Moats, L (1999) Teaching reading is rocket science Washington, DC: American Federation of Teachers Mohammad, K.(2012) Enhancing Reading Comprehension through Short Stories in Iranian EFL Learners Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol 2, No 2, pp 240-246 Murdoch, G (2002) Exploiting well-known short stories for language skills development IATEFL LCS SIG Newsletter 23, 9-17 Ofodu, G.O (2009) Comparative effects of two cooperative instructional of secondary school students in Ekiti State, Nigeria Retrieved on 30th December 2014from https://www.unilorin.edu.ng/ /Education_ENGLISH_200 Omid, P & Nasibeh, K(2013).Teaching Reading Comprehension Through short stories in advance classes Asian Journal Of Social Science & Humanities Pardede,P(2011), Using short stories to teach language skills Perone, J & Tucker, L.(2003) An exploration of triangulation of methodologies: Quantitative and qualitative methodology fusion in an investigation of perceptions of transit safety Summary of Final Report, BC Premawardhena, N G (2005) Integrating literature into foreign language 46 teaching: A Sri Lankan perspective Novitas-ROYAL, 1(2), 92-97 Pretorius, E.J (2000) What they can’t read will hurt them: reading and academic achievement Innovation, 21, 33-41 Reyes Gomez, A (2010) Mejorar el proceso lector en los estudiantes/¿por qué debemos leer retrieved at: http://anasofiareyesgomez.blogspot.es/ Richards, J.C & Renandy, W.A (2002).Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rivers, W M (1981) Teaching Foreign-Language Skills, 2nd ed Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press Riyadi, W(2010) Teaching English using story book to improve reading skill Sage, H 1987 Incorporating Literature in ESL Instruction New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc Schumacher, S & McMillan, J.H (1993) Research in education A conceptual introduction (3rd edition) New York: HarperCollins College Publishers Sell, J P.A (2005) Why teach literature in the foreign language classroom ? Encuentro, 15(1), 86-93 Singer, Marilyn (2000) "What is a Short Story?" The ALAN Review, Volume 28, Number 1, p 38-40 Sofsian, D (2006) The Importance of Reading Retrieved on 18th August 2012 from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Damian_Sofsian Spack, R (1985) “Literature, Reading, Writing, and ESL: Bridging the Gaps.” TESOL Quarterly, 19, 703-725 Sprat, M., Alan P., and Mellanie W (2005) The Teaching Knowledge Test (The TKT) Course Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Stansberry, G (2009) Benefits of Reading or Ways Reading Makes You Better at Life Retrieved on 15 http://lifedev.net/2009/06/readingmakes-you-better/ 47 August 2012 from Ton, N.N.H (2004) Gesture: improving spoken language for Vietnamese tertiary learners of English in Vietnam PhD Thesis Melbourne University Vo, T.T.T(2013) Integrating short stories into teaching reading comprehension to the third year English majors at Hue University College Of Foreign Languages Wellek, R(1978) What Is literature? In Hernadi 1978, 16-23 Wright, A (2003) Introduction in Paran, APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire is to collect data for my research “An investigation into teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes at Hue University College of Foreign Languages” Thank you for your cooperation I Personal information - Your gender: Male □ Female □ - Your age: - How long have you been teaching English? years II Teachers’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials Please put a tick in the column with the heading that best summaries your reaction to each statement Teacher’s attitudes Reading is an important skill in 48 Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree teaching English Using short stories as supplementary materials is a useful method in teaching reading 3.It is necessary for me to use short stories as supplementary for reading classes Using short stories as supplementary materials helps me create various activities for reading classes Using short stories as supplementary materials meets my students’ need(the need of reading various topics and taking interesting activities) Short stories create a comfortable environment for students to develop reading skill Using short stories decreases the pressure of doing reading tasks My students take part in storybased activities actively Short stories help develop my students’ scanning skill 10 Reading short stories also improve my students’ skimming skill 11 I can teach students how to take note effectively by using short stories 12 Using short stories enhances my students’ abilities to make reliable 49 prediction about what is likely to be found in the text 13 Short stories support my students’ abilities to guess the meaning of new vocabulary from contexts 14 Thanks to short stories, my students’ abilities to “read between the lines” are promoted 15 Teaching short stories also helps my students understand more about the relationships between parts of text( Introduction, development, transition, and conclusion of ideas 16 Short stories are authentic materials which are very useful for students 17 Teacher and students can enhance cultural and social knowledge thanks to short stories 18 I enjoy teaching reading by using short stories as supplementary materials 19 I am satisfied with the result of teaching reading by using short stories 20 I tend to use short stories in reading classes regularly 21.Teaching reading is very difficult for me 22 My students are often lack background knowledge when I teach short stories 50 23 Designing activities for storybased lessons is time consuming 24 It is difficult for teachers to choose short stories which are suitable for students’ ability APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This questionnaire is to collect data for my research “An investigation into teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes at Hue University College of Foreign Languages” Thank you for your cooperation I Personal information: - Your gender: Male □ Female □ - Your age: - How long have you been learning English? years II Students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes Please put a tick in the appropriate box or give short answers in the space provided What kind of literature you like best? □ Short story □ Poetry □ Drama □ Novel How often you read English short stories? □ Always □ Usually □ Sometimes □ Never Which aspects of short stories create problems when you read them? □ New words □ Dissimilarities among cultures and societies 51 □ Differences of writing styles and structures □ Topics of short stories are not interesting, unfamiliar Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Which topics you like most? □ Daily life □ Relationships □ People □ Animals □ Adventures III Please put a tick in the column with the heading that best summaries your reaction to each statement Students’ attitudes I like reading I am fond of learning reading through short stories Short stories help me increase my vocabulary Short stories develop my ability of using grammar points or structures Short stories help me get familiar with writing styles of native authors Short stories give me a better view of other people and other 52 Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree cultures Short stories make my reading tasks easier because they are simple and short Short stories reduce my anxiety and comfortable make in me learning reading I can develop my scanning skill thanks to short stories 10 My skimming skill is also improved by reading short stories 11 My note- taking ability is getting better thanks to learning reading through short stories 12 Using short stories helps me make reliable prediction about what is likely to be found in the text 13 Short stories develop my ability to guess the meaning from the context 14 Thanks to short stories, my ability to “read between the lines” is promoted 15 Learning reading through short stories also helps me understand more about the relationship between different parts of text 53 APPENDIX Questions for interview Do you think it is necessary for teachers to use short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes? Why? Why not? What are some advantages and disadvantages can you think of when using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes? How you solve the problems you have when using short stories for reading classes? Answer: ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 54 ………………………………………………………………………………… 55 ... towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes? What are students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes? What are teachers’. .. teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading classes at Hue University College of Foreign Languages? ?? Thank you for your cooperation I Personal... examined students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using short stories as supplementary materials for reading at Hue University College of Foreign Languages (HUCFL) It also addressed the advantages and