VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES


TRỊNH THỊ THANH NHÀN

A STUDY ON USING SHORT STORIES TO IMPROVE THE
EFFICIENCY OF TEACHING SPEAKING AND LISTENING SKILLS
TO STUDENTS AT HAIPHONG FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTRE

(Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng truyện ngắn để nâng cao hiệu quả dạy kỹ năng
Nghe Nói cho học viên tại Trung tâm Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Hải Phòng)
M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field:

Methodology

Code:

60 14 10

Hanoi, 2010


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES


i

Table of contents .........................................................................................

ii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................

1

1. Background to the study ......................................................................................

1

2. Aims of the study .................................................................................................

2

3. Scope of the study ................................................................................................

3

4. Research questions ...............................................................................................

3

5. Methods of the study............................................................................................

3


7

1.2.1.1. Definitions ..................................................................................................

7

1.2.1.2. Genres .........................................................................................................

8

Concept of short stories ..............................................................................

8

1.2.2. Short stories in language teaching .................................................................

9

1.2.2.1. Advantages of short stories in teaching language skills .............................

9

1.2.2.2. How to choose short stories in teaching language skills ............................

13


iii


20

3.1. Results and Discussion .....................................................................................

20

3.1.1. Results from the first questionnaire ...............................................................

20

3.1.2. Description of the application of short stories in the eight weeks .................

25

3.1.3. Results from the second questionnaire ..........................................................

25

3.2. Findings ............................................................................................................

30

3.3. Summary ...........................................................................................................

31

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................

32


LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
List of figures

Page

Figure 1. Students’ enjoyment in reading short stories ..................................................

20

Figure 2. Students’ preference in terms of the length of a short story ...........................

21

Figure 3. Students’ favourite topics ...............................................................................

22

Figure 4. Reasons why students do not like reading short stories .................................

24

Figure 5. Activities in the pre-stage ...............................................................................

26

Figure 6. Students’ activities when reading a short story ..............................................

27

Figure 7. Activities in the post-stage .............................................................................

and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Hanoi University,
Haiphong University and Haiphong Private University, etc. A half of the teachers have
less-than-5-year teaching experience. They are very eager to access new teaching methods
and apply those methods in teaching practice.
Every month a professional meeting is held at the centre, so that teachers can
discuss problems and exchange ideas. They are all eager to apply initiatives in teaching,
and ready to welcome new ideas.
At Haiphong Foreign Language Centre there are classes for students of three levels:
Elementary, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate. Each level consists of two courses, each
lasting from three to five months. The main course books in use are Streamlines English –
Departures, Connections and Destinations (by Bernard Hartley and Peter Viney, 1982).
Recently, „Headway‟, „Lifelines‟ textbooks were made use of to improve students‟
listening and speaking skills. Besides, supplementary materials like „Facts and Figures‟,
„Cause and Effect‟, „Let‟s talk‟, „Listen carefully‟, are also used by the teachers.
Students at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre are of all ages and walks of life,
including university or college students, school-children. The others are in-service learners.
Their purposes of learning and language levels are quite different. The major purposes of
learning English of learners are for their studies and their jobs. Some of them learn English
for fun, but this is not common. In general, they are hardworking and very involved in the
learning process. As most of them are young learners, they learn very quickly and make a


2
lot of progress. Some learners, who are at the age of 40 to 50 and over, have difficulties in
learning because of many reasons (busy with work or family, limited ability, etc.)
The majority of learners come to the centre with the hope of achieving a good
command of English. They consider the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing very important, but speaking and listening are given the top priority as these two
skills can help them achieve their goals of learning and working. Good listening and
speaking skills can help university and/ or college students pass oral examinations at

used in the research are two or three pages long only, with simple contents, of a variety of
topics according to the students‟ preference such as love, friendship, schools, etc.

4. Research questions
This paper is carried out in order to answer the following questions.
Question 1: What are the attitudes of students at Haiphong Foreign Language
Centre towards the use of short stories in language teaching?
Question 2: Can applying short stories help improve the efficiency of teaching
speaking and listening skills at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre?

5. Methods of the study
The quantitative method is used in this paper. The data collected are from the
intermediate students at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre. Survey questionnaires are
used to collect data and evidences for the paper, and then data are analyzed quantitatively.
There are two questionnaires for students. The first questionnaire consists of 5
questions, the aims of which are to find out the students‟ preference of types of short
stories and their attitude toward the use of short stories in foreign language learning.
The second questionnaire includes 5 questions, which aim at investigating the
effects of short stories in teaching listening and speaking skills.

6. Design of the study
This paper is organized into three parts. Each part deals with an important aspect of
the study.
Part 1 presents overview introduction of the study that includes the background of
the study, the aims, the scope, the research questions and the method as well as the design
of the study.
Part 2 consists of four chapters.
Chapter 1 reviews some theoretical issues relevant to the study in two main parts:
Speaking and listening in foreign language learning and Literature in language teaching.


In academic setting, while students are listening, they may also be writing notes or
reading a handout. As a teacher, you will be reading your lesson plans and then speaking to
your students. We can see that, in order to show that you understand anything, you have to
speak it out. Therefore, Lawtie (2004) affirmed, “Speaking is fundamental to human
communication.” (cited in Nguyen Thi Le Thuy, 2008).
In Florez (1999), speaking is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that
involves producing and receiving and processing information”. It is often spontaneous,
open-ended, and evolving.” (cited in Le Van Canh‟s lecture, 2009).
Martin (1987) believes that speaking is the skill by which they are most frequently
judged and thought. Learners often need to be able to speak with confidence. Speaking
skill is regarded as the vehicle of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional
advancement and business. It is also a medium through which much language is learnt”
(cited in Nguyen Thi Le Thuy, 2008).


6
According to Bailey and Savage (1993), speaking in a second or foreign language
has often been viewed as the most demanding of the four skills. When attempting to speak,
learners must muster their thought and encode those ideas in the vocabulary and syntactic
structures of the target language. For many people, speaking is seen as the central skill.
People who know a language are referred to as speakers of that language, as if speaking
included all other kinds of knowledge, and many, not most, foreign language learners are
primarily concerned with learning to speak. The desire to communicate with others, often
face-to-face and in real time, drives them to attempt to speak fluently and correctly.
Many people equate being able to speak a language as knowing the language and
therefore, view learning the language as learning how to speak, or as Nunan (1991) wrote,
“success is measure in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the language.”
That is why “speaking skill should be taught and practiced in the language classroom
because of students‟ interest and motivation.” (Nunan, 1991)
1.1.2. Listening skill in foreign language teaching

must interact to achieve understanding, access to speakers of the language is essential.


7
Moreover, learners‟ failure to understand the language they hear is an impetus, not an
obstacle, to interaction and learning.
- Listening exercises helps learners draw their attention to new forms (vocabulary,
grammar, interaction patterns
- Listening comprehension provides the right conditions for language acquisition
and development of other language skills (Krashen, 1995, cited in Le Van Canh, 2009).
In short, listening is essential not only as a receptive skill but also to the
development of spoken language proficiency.

1.2. Literature in language teaching
1.2.1. Concept of Literature
1.2.1.1. Definitions
Theoretically, there are different ways to define literature.
According to Moody (1983), literature is defined as “constructions or artifacts, in
language, which may be designed for any of the whole range of human communication
needs, private or public, oral or written, for which language is used.” Moody and Walson
(1983) gave their explanation to make this definition clearer. In their opinion, literary
works can be seen as being cultural artifacts in the forms of poetry, drama, prose,
tragedy, comedy, farce, folktales, religious myths, short fiction and novels (cited in Tran,
2003).
Literature can be seen as imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized
artistic value. "Literature must be an analysis of experience and a synthesis of the findings
into a unity" (Rebecca West). ( />Besides, literature can be said to be a sort of disciplined technique for arousing
certain emotions (Mudorch, 1978 – cited in Gillian Lazar, 1993). Literature provides
wonderful source of material for eliciting strong emotional responses from our students.
Using literature in the classroom is a fruitful way of involving the learner as a whole

definition-of-short-story-.id-305403,articleId-7941.html)
Or short story can be defined as a “short piece of fiction aiming at unity of
characterization, theme and effect.
( />1.2.2. Short stories in language teaching


9
1.2.2.1. Advantages of short stories in teaching language skills
When discussing the advantages of short stories in teaching language skills, Harper
(1993) states that “short stories are particularly well-suited to current instructional trends in
ESL classrooms.” ( />In Neuhauser‟s point of view (1993), stories are effective as educational tools
because they are believable, rememberable and entertaining (cited in Rossister, 20032004).
According to Collie and Slater (1991), short stories are often an ideal way of
introducing students to literature in the foreign-language classroom. For the teacher, they
offer many intermediate and striking advantages as listed below.
- Their practical length means they can usually be read entirely within one or two
classes. Slightly longer works can be sectioned in the same way as novels or plays, but still
be completed in a few lessons.
- They are less daunting for a foreign reader to tackle or to reread on his or her own,
and are more suitable when set as home tasks. Students get that feeling of achievement at
having come to the end of a whole work much sooner.
- They offer greater variety than longer texts. A teacher can choose very different
short stories, so that there is a greater chance of finding something to appeal to each
individual‟s taste and interests.
- Short stories are especially valuable for sessional courses or the like; or for
teachers with shifting classes or continuous-intake adult classes.
Rocha (2005) also gives out some typical advantages of short stories as follow.
- Reinforcing the skills: short stories allow instructors to teach the four skills to all
levels of language proficiency. Murdoch (2002 – cited in Rocha, 2005) indicates that
“short stories can, if selected and exploited appropriately, provide quality text content

aesthetic qualities.” He stresses the importance of developing student-response (individual
and group levels) and competence in literature. In addition, one of the reasons Vandrick
(1997 – cited in Rocha) lists for using literature with students is that literature motivates
students “to explore their feelings through experiencing those of others.” Moreover,
“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,
instructors 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.


11
By selecting stories appropriate to students‟ level of language proficiency,
instructors avoid “frustrational reading” (Schulz, 1981 – cited in Rocha, 2005). To choose
stories according to students‟ preferences, stories should have various themes because as
Akyel and Yalcin (1990 – cited in Rocha 2005) point out, variety of themes will offer
different things to many individuals‟ interests and tastes. But the themes should be
“consistent with the traditions that the learners are familiar with” (Widdowson, 1983 –
cited in Rocha, 2005) to avoid conflict.
- Introducing literary elements: instructors can introduce elements with short
stories. With beginning and low intermediate levels, instructors can teach simple elements,
such as character, setting and plot. The same and more complex elements, such as conflict,
climax, resolution, etc. can be introduced with 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 opportunity to learn about the background of the story and
vocabulary. Extending activities, on the other hand, deals with why, that is, “involvement
and experience”. 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

help students to develop cognitive skills because everyone needs to “make judgments, be
decisive, come to conclusion, synthesize information, organize, evaluate, predict, and
apply knowledge.” By reading and writing, students develop their critical thinking skills.
In conclusion, since the goal of EFL teaching must be to help students to
communicate fluently in the target language, instructors should focus not only on linguistic
benefits, but also on other benefits. In addition to the four skills, short stories help
instructors to teach literary, cultural and higher-order thinking aspect. As far as culture and
other benefits are concerned, Henning (1993 – cited in Rocha, 2005) believes that culture
should be integrated into the curriculum and “literature is one feature … in the cultural
domain that provides … added value beyond the level of language acquisition.” Literature
helps students to expand their “linguistic and cognitive skills, cultural knowledge and
sensitivity” (Henning, 1993 – cited in Rocha, 2005). Consequently, one can say that
integrating short stories into curriculum will help EFL students to become well-rounded
professionals and human beings since short stories teach more than the skills necessary for
survival in the target language. Short stories bring about literary, cultural and higher-order
thinking benefits
As far as the benefits of stories for learning speaking are concerned, it seems that
the complexity of fiction is a feature that will help pupils think and talk through a variety
of interesting activities offered and generated by teachers and students. Mc Rae (1984 –
cited in Tran, 2003) goes even further to state that acting out and observing give substance


13
in speaking, since they develop students‟ awareness of “speech features, paralinguistic and
extra linguistic features – attitudes, gestures, intonation, movement, etc.” Discussing,
debating, suggesting interpretation, offering opinions, agreeing and disagreeing begin to
come naturally and students become more confident in their use of English. Indeed, all
activities inspired by stories contribute greatly to improving learners‟ speaking skill. (Mc
Rae, 1984 – cited in Tran, 2003)
1.2.2.2. How to choose short stories in teaching language skills

archaisms, rhetorical devices and metaphors; or it makes use of the dialect or register of a
highly specialized field (such as law). The teacher might need to ask him/herself questions
like these when deciding whether or not to use the text:
 Are students sufficiently familiar with the usual norms of language use to
recognize when these are subverted?
 How much of the language in the text will students be able to infer?
 Will students find it useful and enjoyable to study the text, or will they feel
demotivated by the difficulties of the language?
 Even if the language of the story is extremely difficult, will students be
motivated by other factors to study it (e.g. students often enjoy studying a difficult short
story if there is a film based on the story which they also enjoyed.)
 Is the story too specialized in its language to be relevant to the type of language
the students require to learn on the course?
- The students‟ literary background: There is an interesting relationship between the
literary background of the students and their linguistic competence, since the two do not
necessarily go together. Students may, for example, have studied literature in their own
language. If it is a language (such as Romance language) in which similar conventions to
those in English operate for reading and interpreting literature, then they may already have
a level of literary competence which will help them to make sense of a literary text even
when their linguistic knowledge is rather limited. On the other hand, students who have
little literary knowledge but are linguistically proficient may find themselves
understanding each individual word on the page without being able to make sense of the
literary meanings behind the texts. When choosing texts to use with students, therefore, we
should look not only at the grading of the language in the text, but at its specific literary
qualities and whether our students can navigate their own way through these.


15
- Other factors to consider when selecting literary texts are: availability, the length
of the story, exploitability and fit with the syllabus. When considering these factors, the

teaching situations. It can help teachers avoid serious unexpected problems and help
students actively take part in the learning process. What has been reviewed in this chapter
shall be used as the strong theoretical basis for the integration of short stories in teaching
speaking and listening skills carried out at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre as
described in the next chapters.


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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the subjects of the study and the data collection instruments
as well as the procedures of collecting data for the study.

2.1. Subjects of the study
The subjects taking part in the study include 45 intermediate learners in two classes
at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre. Most of these learners had finished level A and
level B at the centre and other centres. 40 of them are students from universities and
colleges in the city, and the others are working for companies in Haiphong. All of them are
really interested in learning English, especially speaking and listening skills, which are
very necessary for their job now or in the future.

2.2. Data collection instruments
The data collection instruments used in this study is questionnaires. Questionnaire
is considered the most common method of data collection in a survey research. “The major
reason that questionnaires are widely used in survey research is they require less time, and
therefore less expense, than do interview or observation.” (Johnson, 1987)
Also, according to Johnson (1987) items in questionnaires can be open-ended in
format, allowing respondent to reply in their own words, or closed, requires the respondent
to select one from among a limited number of responses. While closed question format,
such as multiple choice, are useful for obtaining quantitative information and are easier to

based on short stories and how actively they take part in those activities.
- Question 5 seeks information about the benefits the students gain from the lessons
where short stories are used.

2.3. Procedures
Before applying short stories in teaching listening and speaking skills in the class,
the writer delivered the first survey questionnaire on April 4th, 2010. When giving the
questionnaire, the writer met the students of two classes and spent 10 minutes explaining
with the requirements of the 5 questions and some difficult terms. This helped the students
understand all the questions clearly, then they could give the answers which best described
their ideas and opinions. The writer also explained to them that these 5 questions aimed at
gathering information about their attitudes toward the use of short stories in learning
listening and speaking skills.


19
Data collected from the students‟ answers to the first questionnaire was used as the
basis for the selection of short stories and for developing lessons plans to meet students‟
needs and interests.
In eight weeks (from April 8th, 2010 to June 3rd, 2010) the writer integrated short
stories in the speaking and listening lessons. Then on the ninth week (June 8th, 2010), the
second questionnaire was distributed to students to get their feedback on the effects of
short stories in teaching listening and speaking skills.
The data collected after the eight week of integrating short stories were analyzed to
verify the achievements and identify shortcomings of using stories in speaking and
listening lessons. Results of the questionnaires and data analysis will be presented in the
next chapter.


20

Yes

No

Figure 1. Students’ enjoyment in reading short stories
Figure 1 reveals that 36 of the students expressed their interest in reading short
stories. Only 9 of the participants said they did not like reading short stories. The data
shows that short stories can be used as a supplementary material to improve students‟
interest in the lessons.