A study on second language learners’ perception of using short story in learning English

Abstract

This study generally attempts to investigate second language learners’ perception on the use of short stories in learning the English language. The study also attempts to determine students’ level of interest in reading short stories, the problems faced by the students and also the possible solution to problems faced by students when short stories are used in the English language classroom. Questionnaires were distributed to second language learners taking Reading for Specific Purposes elective course in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor. All the ninety two respondents were from three different sections from three different faculties and were from the engineering field. The methodologies used for this study were questionnaire and interview. The interview results were used to support the findings. Observations were also used in this study for designing questionnaire and also to determine the respondents for interview sessions. The findings showed positive patterns which indicated that the respondents have positive perception towards the use of short stories to learn English language and the students are interested in the lessons that used short stories. In addition, the problems faced by the students, the strategies used by the students to deal with the problems and also the possible suggestions addressed to solve problems faced by the students were also identified. One of the major finding was students were interested to read short stories according to the theme that they preferred. Another major finding was that the main problem faced by the students was the problem of participation where they did not participate actively in the lessons that used short stories. This was due to low proficiency level and the theme of the short stories did not suit students’ interest. The students also suggested that short story should be assigned to be read before coming to class. In a conclusion, short stories should be used to learn English language as it enhances students’ language proficiency. The instructor should choose short stories that suits students’ interest in order to make the students participate in the lessons that used short stories.