UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES-VNU, HANOI
POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT
PHAM THU HA

USING SHORT STORIES IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE
CONTEXT OF VIETNAM AUSTRALIA SCHOOL – HANOI

(VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRUYỆN NGẮN TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH TẠI NGỮ CẢNH
TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC VIỆT ÚC – HÀ NỘI)

M.A. Minor thesis
Field: Methodology
Code: 601410

HANOI-2009

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Rationale of the study 1
1.2. Aims of the study 3
1.3. Scope of the study 4
1.4. Research methods 4
1.5. Significance of the study 5
1.6. Structure of the study 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1. Literature and language teaching 6
2.1.1. Concept of literature 6
2.1.2. Features of literature 6
2.1.3. Using literature in language classroom 7
2.2. Short stories in language classroom 9
2.2.1. Definition of a short story 9
2.2.2. Benefits of using short stories in language classroom 10
2.2.2.1. Reinforcing the skills 10

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4.7. Research quesetion 7: What are the recomendations and expectations for using
short stories in teaching English given by students and teachers? 31
4.7.1. Teachers’ recommendations 31
4.7.2. Students’ expectations 31
4.7.2.1. Students’ expectations in terms of length, level of difficulty and theme of a
short story 31
4.7.2.2. Students’ expectations for the activities in class 32
4.8. Summary of the findings from the interview 34
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 37
5.1. Major findings of the study. 37
5.2. Recommendations 38
5.2.1. Selecting and evaluating short stories. 39
5.2.2. Suggested techniques for integrating short stories in English teaching 40
5.2.2.1. Problems solving 40
5.2.2.2. Activities for using a short story in class 41
5.3. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 41
REFERENCES 44
APPENDICES I
APPENDIX 1: SOME SHORT STORIES USED IN THE STUDY I
APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS III
APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS VII
APPENDIX 4: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (Vietnamese version) X
APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE XIII
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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS


1.1. Rationale of the study
Today, English is the global means of communication. It is now an official language in
more than 75 countries, with a total population of over 2 billion speakers. Three quarters of the
world‟s mail are in English and 80% of the world‟s electrically stored information is also
currently in English (Crystal, 1997). English is the working language of the Asian trade group
ASEAN and the official language of the European Central Bank (Wallraff, 2000). Briefly,
with the spread of globalization and the rapid expansion of information technologies has come
an explosion in the demand for English worldwide.
Unexceptionally, in Vietnam, English is considered the key to success in modern life.
The number of English learners has been increasing rapidly in the last few decades. To meet
the demand, a great deal of schools and centers with special English teaching and learning
programs have been set up everywhere, especially in big cities. Vietnam Australia School-
Hanoi (VAS), a private high school which is located in My Dinh, Hanoi, is one example.
Established in 2007, VAS is to offer an ideal environment for learning English. It cooperates
with PLC, a famous school in Australia in curriculum and education programs. Students in
VAS have to follow the English syllabus of Vietnam carried out by Vietnamese teachers.
Besides they have global English and global commerce classes with Australian teachers,
hence, there are many chances for them to practice and improve English in real life
conversations with native speaking people. All of the parents hope that their children can have
the best learning conditions, especially the best English learning environment so that their
children will be able to go on studying overseas or to have the best preparation for their future.
However, one of the challenges facing English teachers of VAS, including the author
of this study, is composing extra materials. In VAS, students have five to six periods a week

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with Vietnamese teachers, which is twice as much as other ordinary schools. Therefore,
besides the textbooks, extra materials are needed. Normally, many teachers select or compose
more written practice tests to drill what students have learned in the textbook. However, this
type of materials does seem to have attracted much interest. Sometimes, extra written practice
tests are blamed for a boring atmosphere in many classes. Thus, there should be variations so

material for teaching by Australian teachers and sometimes applied by Vietnamese teachers.
However, there has been no official research on using them in teaching English. This study
has been conducted with the purpose to investigate how other teachers and students think
about the use of short stories in teaching English and to what extents they have employed them
in their teaching.
All these above explain why the author tries to do the research. It is hoped to result in
useful ideas of using short stories in language classroom, especially in the context of Vietnam
Australia School, Hanoi.
1.2. Aims of the study
Parallel with the reasons leading to the research are some following aims:
- To investigate the perception of students towards the use of short stories.
- To study on the current use of short stories by teachers in Vietnam Australia School,
Hanoi
- To discuss some suggestions of using short stories in classroom such as selecting
materials and using these materials in a way that is relevant to the students.
This study seeks the answers to the following questions.
1. How do teachers percieve the use of short stories in teaching English in terms of necessity?
2. How do students percieve short stories as a source of language input in terms of interest and
importance?
3. How do teachers exploit short stories in teaching English in terms of purpose, strategy and
frequency?
4. To what extent do teachers feel satisfied with their use of short stories in teaching English?

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5. What are the obstacles that have limited teachers‟ use of short stories in teaching English?
6. What are the obstacles that challenge students in learning English with short stories?
7. What are the recomendations for using short stories in teaching English given by students
and teachers?
1.3. Scope of the study
In this study, the author intends to deal with the question of using short stories

Chapter 2, Literature review, presents an overview of literature and short stories in language
teaching.
Chapter 3, Methodology, states the reason for choosing research methodology and the
descriptions of the setting, subjects, instruments and the procedure of data collection and
analysis
Chapter 4, Data analysis and Results, provides an analysis of collected data and the findings.
Chapter 5, Conclusion and recommendations, suggests teaching techniques and conclusion

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Literature and language teaching
2.1.1. Concept of literature
The term "literature" has different meanings depending on who is using it and in what
context. Different people approach literature in their own ways.
Lazar (1993, p.1) introduced some definitions of literature:

be sensibly used in a language classroom for a number of reasons.
Literature- motivating and valuable authentic material
“Literature is “feelings” and “thoughts” in black and white. Literature is the world of
fantasy, horror, feelings, visions put into words. Literature means to meet a lot of people, to
know other different points of view, ideas, thoughts, minds to know ourselves better ”
(Lazar (1993, p.1). Therefore, literature is human life. In other words, literature reflects real
life all around the world. More than that, it transcends the time and culture to speak directly to
a reader of a different country at a different period of time (Collie & Slater, 1987). This is the
reason why many works of famous writers such as William Shakespears, Nguyen Du, Mark
Twain, ect are still alive despite the challenge of time. What‟s more, literature is not written
for the specific purpose of teaching but the native readers. There are many different linguistic
forms and uses used in daily life. Thus, through the language of literature, learners can be
exposed to such a kind of authentic language, which is the aim of any language teachers.
Furthermore, once students are familiar with literature in their own language, then
studying some literature in English can provide an interesting and thought-provoking point for
comparison. For example, teachers can ask students to retell short stories from their own
culture before getting them to read an authentic story in English on a similar theme. It could be
highly motivating. Additionally, a good novel or short story can involve students in the
suspense of unravelling the plot. When reading literary texts, readers are said to live with the
characters they like. They respond to what the characters say and do and keep sharing their
emotion from the beginning to the end. Readers are absorbed in the events of the story and
eager to find out what happens next. Really, the students are well-motivated and willing to

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take part in the journey of exploring the unknown language territory, which wil create the very
positive effects on the process of language learning.
Literature- a good access to cultural background
Literature can provide students with access to the culture of the people whose language
they are studying. Sage (1987, p9) said “literary texts can serve as open windows to the target
language.” When reading literature students can find out much information about the social,

English. They will feel empowered by their abilities to deal with the text and its language and
to relate it to the values and traditions of their own society.
2.2. Short stories in language classroom
2.2.1. Definition of a short story
The following definition about short stories is extracted from the encyclopedia: “The
short story refers to a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, usually in narrative
format. The short story is characterized by the number of words contained therein.”
Determining the actual length of a short story is problematic. Short story definitions
based upon length differ somewhat even among professional writers. Many short story writers
define their work through a combination of creative, personal expression and artistic integrity.
As a result, definitions of the short story based upon length splinter even more when the
writing process is taken into consideration. A classic definition of a short story‟s length is that
it must be able to be read in one sitting but in contemporary usage the term most often refers
to a piece of fiction up to 20,000 words. In practice, however, a short story‟s length is
determined by the publisher. In the United States, for example, short stories, which are called
“long short stories”, can be anything up to 10,000 words. In the United Kingdom, short stories
average around 5,000 words but in Australia, they are rarely more than 3,500 words. Although
some short stories called micro narratives can be just a few hundred words long, there is an
expectation among contemporary readers that short stories are at least 1,000 words in length.
Short stories are considered shorter than novels. Therefore, they are also less complex.
Usually a short story focuses on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a small

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number of characters who are somehow connected with each other, and covers a short period
of time and a sequence of events.
2.2.2. Benefits of using short stories in language classroom
2.2.2.1. Reinforcing the skills
Murdoch (2002) indicates that “short stories can, if selected and exploited
appropriately, provide quality text content which greatly enhances ELT courses for
learners ”(p.9). In other words, short stories allow teachers to teach the four skills to learners

importance of developing student-response (individual and group levels) and competence in
literature. In addition, literature motivates students “to explore their feelings through
experiencing those of others” (p.1). Besides, according to the Internet article (author not
named) “Using Literature in Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language” (2004),
“Literature is motivating Literature holds high status in many cultures and countries. For this
reason, students can feel a real sense of achievement at understanding a piece of highly
respected literature. Also, literature is often more interesting than the texts found in
coursebooks”. As a result, teachers should agree that literary texts encourage students to read,
and most literary texts chosen according to students‟ language proficiency levels and
preferences will certainly be motivating.
2.2.2.3. Introducing literary elements
Teachers can introduce literary elements with short stories. With beginning and low
intermediate levels, teachers can teach simple elements such as characters, setting and plot.
The same and more complex elements, such as conflicts, climax, resolution, etc can be
introduced to more advanced levels. Gajdusek (1988) explains how literature can be
introduced by describing the order of activities: pre-reading activities, factual in-class work,
analysis and extending activities. In the pre-reading activities, students have the oppoturnity to
learn about the background of the story and vocabulary. In factual-in class activities, students
should be introduced to who, what, when, where of the story, or the point of view, chatracter,
setting and action. The question should be placed next to the paragraph in which the answer is
found so students can begin to understand each literary element means with the help of the

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teacher. The questions can be: Who is the main character of the story? Where does the story
take place? When does the story happen? Who is narating the story?
Extending activities, on the other hand, deals with “why”, that is, “involvement and
experience” (Gajdusek, p. 245). Students must be able to use their knowledge of the language
to express their ideas. Thus, only students who have reached a high intermediate/advanced
level of language profiency should be introduced to these activities. For him, these activities
ask for “creative and relevant response from the readers” (p. 251). Role-play is one of the

heart in order to rule wisely over his people. According to the account, God then praised Solomon for
asking for wisdom rather than riches and honor. The Old Testament writer says that Solomon
subsequently became the wisest leader in the world. Many came to seek his advice, even leaders of other
countries. The most famous story of the wisdom of Solomon, however, is the one in which he settles a
dispute between two women about questions of motherhood. (Janssen, 1981, p. 123)
2.2.2.5. Teaching higher-order thinking
Of all the benefits of short stories, developing higher-order thinking skills is
significant. High intermediate/advanced students can analyse what they read; therefore, they
start thinking critically when they read stories. Young (1996) discusses that “stories have two
crucial advantages over traditional content: First, because they are entertaining,
students‟pervasive apprehension is reduced, and they learn from the beginning that critical
thinking is natural, familiar, and sometimes even fun. Second, the stories put issues of critical
thinking in an easiy remembered context” (p.90). Howie (1993) agrees on the use of short
stories to teach critical thining. He points out that teachers have the responsibility to help
students to develop cognitive skills because everyone needs to “make judgement, be decisive,
come to conclusions, synthesize information, organize, evaluate, predict, and apply
knowledge” (p. 24). By reading and writing, students develop their critical thinking skills.
According to Bloom‟s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain, thinking skills include
both lower-order and higher-order thinking. Depending on students‟ level of profiency,
teachers can activate students‟ lower- order or higher-order thinking. Beginners are able to
recall information and respond to questions about dates, events, and places. Thus, when asked
about names of characters, setting and plot of the story, they will have no difficulties
responding to the questions. This is level 1 of the taxonomy-knowledge. As students become
more proficient in the language, they can move to level 2-comprehension. In this level, they

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must demostrate their comprehension by comparing, interpreting, giving descriptions and
stating main ideas. When students become even more proficient, they move to level 3-
appplication in which they try to solve problem by using the knowledge they have about the
story. In level 4-analysis, students must have reached the high intermediate level to succeed.
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
In the previous chapter, a brief overview of the literature on the research topic was
given, which laid the theoretical basis for the whole study. In this chapter, the methods
employed to answer the research questions would be described in details. The participants, the
instruments and the procedure of data collection and analysis would be justified.
3.1. Sampling
The study was conducted in Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi (VAS) where the author
is doing the teaching job. The school has totally 350 students including 120 senior high school
students. According to their English level and their grade in other subjects in Vietnamese,
these students are catergorized and assigned into classes from A1 to A3 or V1 to V3.
This study was carried out with the participation of 10 teachers and 100 senior high
school students in VAS. The students were chosen randomly from the alphabetical list of
names.They accounted for five-sixths of the whole students in year 10 and year 11 of VAS
(the school has not had any students in year 12 yet). Moreover, the students participating in the
study came from different classes taught by different teachers with various teaching methods
and techniques. Therefore the data collected can be believed to be representative.
There are totally twenty teachers of English in VAS but only ten teachers (five
Vietnamese ans five Australian ones), who were in charge of English classes in senior high

which correspond to the five research questions. Part 2 with 3 questions focusses on the
exploitation of short stories in teaching English including the purpose and the frequency of
the use of short stories and the techniques applied to exploit a short story. Part 3 studies the
satisfaction with the use of short stories in teaching English. Part 4 investigates the obstacles
in using short stories in teaching English. In part 5, respondents can make any
recommendations to ensure the better use of short stories in teaching English.The teachers
who have already applied short stories in teaching English have to answer all the questions in
the five parts whereas those who have not used short stories in teaching English skip part 2
and 3 and answer the questions in part 1, part 4 and part 5. Part 1 aims to elicit the teachers‟
perceptions of using short stories in teaching English in VAS.

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The student survey questionnaire is designed similarly but shorter (2 pages in length)
and simple. It is translated into Vietnamese so that the students can understand the questions
clearly to give correct answers. The questionnaire for students is organized into three parts
with five questions. It concerns the perceptions of the use of short stories in learning English,
the obstacles in using short stories in English class as supplementary materials and their
expectations.
3.2.2 Interviews
Together with the survey questionnaire, the interview was exploited as a valuable
research instrument to examine the research problem.
In light of research methodology, “interviews are particularly useful for getting the
story behind a participant‟s experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information
around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to
questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses” (Hoang and Nguyen, 2006, p.47). In
this study, the interviews were conducted after the collection of the survey questionnaires, and
its content mostly focuses on interesting or controversial aspects noted from the
questionnaires.
Semi-structured interviews were adopted with the participation of four teachers. The
researcher entered the interview with a general idea of the areas to focus on rather than a fixed

answer any questions that arose in order to guarantee the quality of the information. All the
questionnaires delivered were returned.
Phase 3: Conducting interview
In the third stage, some teachers were invited to join an interview. This was to
triangulate the data collected through questionnaires and, at the same time, gather further
information about their thoughts and expectations. The interview was conducted in the
teacher‟s room during after class. Permission was asked for in advance to record the interview.
Besides, the researcher was ready to take note of any special non-verbal behaviors of the
interviewees.
Phase 4: Transcribing the interviews
In this final stage of the data collection procedure, all the interviews were transcribed.
Since data from the interviews came in large amount, the transcripts were then summarized