Short Stories Use in Language Skills Classes:

Students’ Interest & Perception

Parlindungan PardedeUniversitas Kristen

Indonesia

OUTLINE

A. BackgroundB. ProblemsC. ObjectivesD. MethodologyE. ResultsF. Conclusion

• It presents authentic material• It promotes cultural enrichment • It facilitates language advancement• It encourages personal growth and intellectual

development,

Many studies and writings support the use of literature in LSs’ courses due to the benefits it offers, i.e.:

(Collie and Slater, 1991; Carter and Long, 1991; Kramsch, 1993; Liddicoat & Crozet, 2000; Savvidou, 2004)

Literature in FKIP-UKI’s English Department Curriculum

1995

• Poetry, Fiction and Drama classes (2 credits each) were included

• These 3 classes aimed to introduce literature for literature’s sake.

2000

• literary works were incorporated in LSs classes

• But poetry, novel, and drama were found impractical and problematical to use due to the limited time and big number of students in the classes

Since 2005

• Their shortness and simple and daily languages made SSs recommended to be the main literary genre to use in LSs classes.

Initiation of Literature in the curriculum of FKIP-UKI’s English Department (FKIP-UKI ED) is relatively new.

PROBLEM

Inclusion of short stories in the curriculum of FKIP-UKI ED was mainly based on assumptions and theories; systematic investigation on their suitability with the students’ interest, perception, and ‘perceived needs’ had never been conducted.

Research Questions1. Are the students interested to deal with

SSs?2. Do students think the inclusion of SSs

in the curriculum of English teachers training program important and beneficial?

3. Do students think the skills of using SSs for teaching LSs important to master?

4. Do the students’ interest and perceptions significantly correlate?

OBJECTIVES

To find out students’ interest in SSs—as components of LSs classes or materials for self enjoyment.

To find out students’ perceptions on the importance and benefits of using SSs in LSs classes.

To find out students’ perceived needs of including SSs in the curriculum of English teacher training program.

To ascertain the correlation of students’ interest and perception on the inclusion of SSs in LSs classrooms

METHODOLOGY

Method: Survey

Design: explanatory mixed method

Time and Place:

February 2010, in FKIP-UKI ED

Respondents:

All sixth-semester students of FKIP-UKI ED; purposively selected

Instrument: Questionnaire and focused semi structured open-ended interviews

Data Analysis Techniques:

Descriptive and Pearson correlation and regression analysis using SPSS version 17.0

Results

Interest in SSs

Respondents’ interest in dealing with SSs as components LSs classes and for self-enjoyment was high. 47.78% of the respondents agreed that short stories are interesting, and 30.67% strongly agreed.

D; 2%

N; 20%

A; 48%

SA; 31%

Chart 1: Respondents’ Interest Frequency

Qualitative Data from Interview onRespondents’ Interest in SSs

I think short stories are the most rewarding text! Only in a short period of time, I can get entertainment and inspiration by reading them. I love reading short stories. (Interviewee A)

Short stories are possibly the cheapest but most interesting entertainment. It is not difficult to find good short stories in internet. Many of them are free. Every week I download and read not less than ten short stories. I even collect short stories I find very interesting. By doing so, I can reread them any time I’d like to. (Interviewee C)

Eagerness to enjoy SSs

Respondents’ interest to enjoy SSs driven by self-initiative was bit lower than their overall interest. 38.89% agreed, and 35% strongly agreed they were fond of reading SSs for self-enjoyment.

D; 4%

N; 22%

A; 39%

SA; 35%

Chart 2: Respondents’ Eagerness to Get SSs for Self-Enjoyment

Respondents’ Perceptions on the Use of SSs in LSs Classrooms

In general, the respondents’ view on the use of SSs in LSs classes was very good. 53% of the respondents agreed with the practice; 34% strongly agreed; and only 1% disagreed.

D; 1%N;

12%

A; 52%

SA; 34%

Chart 3: Respondents’ Perception Frequency

Qualitative Data from Interview onPerceptions on the Use of SSs in LSs Classrooms

• Incorporating short stories in language skills classes? That’s great! We did it in listening, speaking, reading, and writing classes, right? I found it interesting and rewarding at the same time. I think we even have to make it compulsory components of language skills classes. (Interviewee B)

• We can see short stories as the most complete learning materials. A single short story could be used to enrich vocabulary, to develop reading skill, to study new expressions for conversation, and many others. (Interviewee D)

• Based on my experience, I can say short stories are interesting materials to develop language skills. However, they should be selected carefully to suit the students’ need and level of language mastery. (Interviewee E)

Respondents’ Perceived Needs

The majority of respondents view SSs are necessary to study in English Teaching Study Program. 41% of the respondents strongly agreed that SSs are necessary for of English teacher candidates to study; 38% agreed; and only 3% disagreed.

D; 3%

N; 18%

A; 38%

SA; 41%

Chart 4: Respondents’ Perceived Needs Frequency

Qualitative Data from Interview on Perceived Needs

• Including short stories in language skills classes is a must. They are interesting and rewarding. But we also need to deal with materials of expository type. The papers we write are mainly in expository form. So, to study expository passages is also a must. Providing balanced amount of short stories and expository passages is surely the best option. (Interviewee A)

• Well, before extensively facing short stories in language skills classes, I thought studying literature, including short stories, is just wasting time. Now I realize good short stories like Bocarro’s “A Long Walk Home”, Gale’s “Bill”, Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain” not only serve as interesting material to enhance my language skills but also provides good lesson about life. (Interviewee B)

Correlation of Interest and Perception

Pearson’s correlation analysis on the correlation of interest and perception resulted the coefficient (r) = 0.619.

Since the value of empirical significance 0.000 is less than the significance level (α= 0.05), it was concluded that respondents’ interest and perceptions were positively and very significantly correlated.

Contribution of Perception to Interest

• The regression analysis (using SPSS version 17.0) conducted to see the contribution of interest to perception resulted regression equation: y=1.330+0.940x.

• The coefficients of 0.940 indicated that perception significantly affected interest. If the score of perception increased 1 point, the score of interest would increase 0.940 point. Conversely, if the perception’s score decreased 1 point, the interest’s would decrease 0.940 point.

CONCLUSION

• The majority of the students basically found SSs interesting to use both as materials for self-enjoyment and of as components language skill classes.

• Most students viewed that the incorporation of SSs in LSs classes help learners achieve better LSs mastery.

• They even believed that English teacher candidates should master the skills of employing SSs to teach LSs.

• Since the students’ interest and perception were positively and significantly correlated, and perception significantly affected interest, it is important to consider students’ interest, perception, and perceived needs in every curriculum and learning-material revision.

RECOMENDATIONS

To get more comprehensive results, it is recommended for future studies : • to cover a larger number of students from various

institutions and regions. • to investigate students and lecturers’ perception on the

inclusion of SSs in English classes of non-English departments, e.g. medical faculty, technical faculty, law faculty, and so on.

• to gauge the view of lecturers/ teachers on the inclusion of short stories in English classes of primary or secondary schools.

BIBLIOGRAPHY (1)

Carter, R., and Long, M.N. 1991. Teaching Literature. Harlow: Longman.

Carroli, Piera. 2002. “Perceptions of Literature: a Comparison of Students and Educators views” Published in Proceedings of Innovations in Italian Teaching Workshop, Griffith University.

Collie, J., and Slater, S. 1991. Literature in the Language Classroom. (5th ed.). Glasgow: Cambridge University Press.

Cook, G. 1994, Discourse and Literature: the Interplay of Form and Mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Creswell, J., Plano, C., Guttman, M. & Hanson, W. 2003. “Advanced Mixed Methods Research Designs.” In Tashakkori, A. & Teddlie, C. (Eds.), Handbook on Mixed Methods in the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.

 Edmondson, W. 1997. “The Role of Literature in Foreign Language Learning and

Teaching: Some Valid Assumptions and Invalid Arguments.” Applied Linguistics Across Disciplines. AILA Review, special issue, 12, 42-55.

 Erkaya, Odilea Rocha. 2005. “Benefits of Using Short Stories in the EFL Context.” Asian

EFL Journal v 8 November 2005. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY (2)

 Kramsch, C. 1993, Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press. Lazar, Gillian. 1993. Literature and Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. Liddicoat, A.J. and Crozet, C. (eds). 2000, Teaching Languages, Teaching Cultures.

Melbourne: Language Australia. Maxim, H.H. 1997. “Uncovering the cultural significance of authentic discourse: a study

of cultural theory’s application in the foreign language classroom.” Paper presented at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association of America.

 Povey, J.F. 1967. “Literature in TESOL Programs: The Language and the Culture”.

TESOLQuarterly, 1,40-46. Prodromou, L. 2000. “Reason not the Need: Shakespeare in ELT.” IATEFL Issues, 156.

Retrieved August 22, 2008, from: http://www.iatefl.org/archives/ Texts/156Prodmorou.html

 Savvidou, C. 2004. “An Integrated Approach to the Teaching of Literature in the EFL

Classroom.” The Internet TESL Journal, 10 (12) Retrieved November 6, 2009, from http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Savvidou_Literature.html

 Shanahan, D. 1997. “Articulating the Relationship Between Language, Literature and

Culture: Toward a New Agenda for Foreign Language Teaching and Research”. The Modern Language Journal, 81, 2, 164-174.

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