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 dạy kỹ Nghe Nói cho học viên 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  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 dạy kỹ Nghe Nói cho học viên Trung tâm Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Hải Phòng) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thúy Hương, M.A Hanoi, 2010 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i Table of contents ii PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Background to the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Research questions Methods of the study Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Speaking and Listening in foreign language learning 1.1.1 Speaking skill in foreign language teaching 1.1.2 Listening skill in foreign language teaching 1.2 Literature in language teaching 2.2.1 Concept of Literature 1.2.1.1 Definitions 1.2.1.2 Genres Concept of short stories 1.2.2 Short stories in language teaching 1.2.2.1 Advantages of short stories in teaching language skills 1.2.2.2 How to choose short stories in teaching language skills 13 iii 1.3 Summary 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Subjects of the study 17 2.2 Data collection instruments 17 2.2.1 Questionnaire 17 2.2.2 Questionnaire 18 2.3 Procedures 18 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 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 4.1 Suggested activities for using short stories in teaching listening and speaking skills 32 4.1.1 Suggested activities 32 4.1.2 Sample lesson plans 33 PART 3: CONCLUSION 36 Suggestions for further study 36 Conclusion 36 REFERENCES 38 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES List of figures Page Figure Students’ enjoyment in reading short stories 20 Figure Students’ preference in terms of the length of a short story 21 Figure Students’ favourite topics 22 Figure Reasons why students not like reading short stories 24 Figure Activities in the pre-stage 26 Figure Students’ activities when reading a short story 27 Figure Activities in the post-stage 28 Figure Students’ participation in the class activities 29 Figure Benefits students gain from the lesson using short stories 30 List of tables Table Students’ difficulties in dealing with a short story 23 PART 1: INTRODUCTION This part gives an introduction to the study, including the background to the study, the aims, the scope, the research questions and the methods as well as the design of the study Background to the study Haiphong Foreign Language Centre is one of the biggest and most prestigious language centres in Haiphong, with well-qualified and enthusiastic teachers The number of English teachers at this centre is 68 (15 male teachers and 53 female teachers) including 24 full-time teachers and 44 part-time teachers Most teachers at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre graduated from universities such as Vietnam University of Languages 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 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 University or College easily, and those who work with foreign partners wish to use English effectively to negotiate and gain contracts as well as attract investment from foreign companies Being aware of the importance of teaching speaking and listening skills to students, the writer often asks herself, “How can we improve students‟ speaking and listening skills?” and “Could there be any other material to help encourage students‟ involvement in speaking and listening lessons?” The idea of using short stories as supplementary materials came to her when she read the M.A thesis of Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tu, “A study on using short stories to improve the efficiency of teaching English to the first year students at Vietnam Maritime University” (2005) Encouraged by what Nguyen had achieved, the writer decided to conduct “A study on using short stories to improve the efficiency of teaching speaking and listening skills to students at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre” Aims of the study The study aims at: - Investigating the students‟ attitude towards the use of short stories in language learning - Finding out how short stories improve the efficiency of teaching speaking and listening skills to students at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre - Giving some suggestions on using short stories in the speaking and listening lessons Scope of the study In this minor thesis the writer intends to deal with the question of how short stories help improve the efficiency of teaching speaking and listening skills, in which speaking skill is paid more attention and listening skill is considered the integrating skill The stories 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 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? 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 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 questions, which aim at investigating the effects of short stories in teaching listening and speaking skills Design of the study This paper is organized into three parts Each part deals with an important aspect of the study Part 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 consists of four chapters Chapter reviews some theoretical issues relevant to the study in two main parts: Speaking and listening in foreign language learning and Literature in language teaching Chapter gives a profile of the subjects of the study as well as description of data collection instruments and research procedures Chapter presents the data analysis and findings Chapter discusses some suggested techniques for using short stories in teaching speaking and listening skills Part points out the limitations of the study and gives conclusion to the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the theoretical background to the study, including the theories on speaking and listening in foreign language teaching and theories on literature in language teaching, with a focus on short stories, is reviewed 1.1 Speaking and Listening in foreign language teaching 1.1.1 Speaking skill in foreign language teaching For the purpose of analysis and instruction, language has been divided into different skill areas These can be discussed in the framework of how we learn our first language A child first learns to practice language by speaking, combined with listening Then, when school begins, children learn by the skills of reading and writing As learners grow in their language ability and use, the different skills are most often integrated with each other so that they are being in used in coordination with each other In conversation, when one person is the speaker, another is the listener After listening and understanding, the hearer responds by speaking Just think of all the different conversations you have in one day and compare that with how much written communication you in one way Which you more of? Of course, in our daily lives, most of us speak more than we write 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) ... the efficiency of teaching speaking and listening skills to students at Haiphong Foreign Language Centre? ?? 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