Short stories have become an effective tool
for teaching English language. They are rich in vocabulary as well as
information about the culture of the particular society which the story
represents. Moreover, the stories are entertaining. So, the reader can learn language
along with the pleasure of cultural knowledge.
This study tries to analyse the current practice
of teaching English to the Nepalese students of tertiary level through short
stories. It is based upon the research on the compulsory English course of
class 11, Higher Secondary Education Board , Nepal , conducted among the teachers of English
in Itahari, Dharan and Kathmandu . The study is
focused upon the short stories included in The Magic of Words, compiled and
edited by Shreedhar Prasad Lohani and Rameshwor Prasad Adhikary.
This paper has the following sections:
Introduction (1), An Overview of the Short Stories in The Magic of Words (2),
Common Classroom Practices of Teaching Short Stories (3), A Possible Practical
Approach to the Short Stories in Compulsory English Class (4), and Conclusion
(5).
Despite the
readers’ wide interest in a story, every person cannot learn English with equal
pace and fervour. The learning is also affected by the methods and techniques
used by a teacher. The way to approach a story can influence his/her effort to
teach the language to the students. Therefore, having an overlook upon the
practices of teaching short stories in English language class can help.
1.2. Short Story: At a Glance
The short story
came into existence in English literature in the early nineteenth century. Many
magazines of that time published short stories. It is “a story, usually about
imaginary characters and events, that is short enough to be read from beginning
to end without stopping” (Wehmeier 2005:1408). Abrams also writes, “A short
story is a brief work of prose fiction” (Abrams 2004:286). Like the novel, it
has also a plot which is the artful organization of action, thought and
dialogue of its characters. Some stories have comic plot and others have tragic
while many others have romantic or satiric. A short story can also be written
in the mode of fantasy, realism, or naturalism with different points of view.
Since the short
story is also a form of literature, the writer of this paper believes that, as
a text for language teaching, it shares most of the following points Ur
(1996:201) has enlisted as the advantages of literature teaching:
She has also
pointed out the following problems with literature teaching:
But the writer dissents from the
disadvantages mentioned in (v) and (vi) above. He does not believe that using
texts as a basis for language teaching the teacher may spoil learner’s
enjoyment. It rather helps them to understand the text in a better way. Also,
literature is not irrelevant for science students while they are learning
language. A strong language rather helps them to make both their understanding
and expression better.
The Magic of Words is one of the three textbooks
prescribed by Higher Secondary Education Board for compulsory English in class
11. It is a collection of interesting texts that provide the students with
recreation as well as information. So, the stories included in it help them to
develop an understanding of the most important issues involved in living.
The book contains
eight short stories: “The Recurring Dream”, “The Lost Doll”, “The House Call”, “Fear”,
“The Loving Mother”, “A Worn Path”, “The Three Day Blow” and “The Gardener”.
The first five stories are placed in Unit One as the stories of the Supernatural.
As the editors write in the Preface of the book, this unit “recapitulates
general reading, writing, and grammar activities for revision and prepares the
students for the study of the major themes presented in the selection” (Lohani
and Adhikary 1997).
“A Worn Path”
and “The Three Day Blow” are found in Unit Two that “deals with discovering
family relationships in their different aspects, and presents children,
adolescents and adults engaged in various interpersonal activities”. “The
Gardener” is in Unit Six that “explores the pain, vanity, dignity and beauty of
life and death” (ibid).
Like other
texts in the book, the story texts are also followed by exercises which are
“designed to help or direct the reader” (ibid). There is also Glossary and
Notes section after each text so that the students can look up in it for
information about difficult words.
3. Common Classroom Practices of Teaching Short Stories
The paper
writer had conducted a brief study in April, 2011, to assess the classroom experience
of various teachers from Itahari, Dharan and Kathmandu
in teaching short stories in class 11. For the study, 51 teachers of different
higher secondary schools were interviewed through questionnaire. Each teacher
was allowed to choose/write as many answers as they wanted. So, the number of choices
varies in different questions. On the basis of their answers, the present
situation of teaching and learning short stories can be analysed as follows:
3.1. Level of Texts
Q. 1. As a teacher of English, what do you think about
the short stories in The Magic of Words?
Table
no. 1
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
|
21
12
9
6
3
|
Most of the teachers think that the
short stories included in the textbook are very interesting. But the stories
are difficult, too.
Q. 2. How is the language of the
short stories in the book?
Table
no. 2
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
21
15
3
6
3
3
|
The
language of the short stories is quite difficult in contrast to the poor language
skills of the students. But some teachers believe that the language is easy.
3.2. Levels of Students
Q. 3. In general, how do you
assess the situation of students of class 11 in English?
Table no. 3
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
21
24
3
24
15
6
12
3
3
3
3
|
Most
of the students do not get proper guidance in English up to SLC, and they are
taught in mixed languages. So, they are very weak in English. Also, they do not
get a good environment in their society or family to practice English.
Q. 4. Can the students themselves
of class 11 read and understand the stories of their textbook?
Table no. 4
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
9
3
21
15
3
|
Most
of the students can not read and understand the stories of their textbook
because they lack sufficient language skills.
Q. 5. What are the main causes,
in your opinion, for the students not being able to understand the stories?
Table no. 5
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
9
3
3
27
3
3
3
3
|
Most
of the teachers think the students’ unfamiliarity to the vocabulary and
grammatical patterns used in the stories is the main cause for their inability
to understand the stories.
3.3. Present Problems or Conditions of Teaching
Q. 6. What may
be the possible reasons, in your opinion, for your students to be passive in
the class?
Table no. 6
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
3
21
6
12
3
|
The
students remain passive in the English class mostly because they do not
understand the text properly. The words and the sentence patterns used in the
stories are difficult for them. Also, they underestimate English as a subject.
Q. 7. What are the problems that
you face in the class while teaching short stories?
Table no. 7
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
24
9
24
3
3
3
3
|
Mostly,
the teachers’ problem in their classes is: the students’ poor background of
English.
Q. 8. What teaching materials are
usually available in your school/classroom?
Table no. 8
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
3
3
3
12
12
3
3
3
3
3
6
3
|
Most
of the teachers do not use other teaching materials except textbooks,
whiteboard and markers because they are costly.
3.4. Efforts to Solve the Problems
Q. 9. How do you think the
students can understand the stories easily?
Table no. 9
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
15
9
3
18
18
3
3
3
|
Mostly,
the teachers apply two ways to make their students understand the stories: 1)
They read the lines and paragraphs with paraphrases, and 2) They use different
voices and body movements. Providing summary to the students is another option.
Q. 10. How do you try to motivate
them?
Table no. 10
No. of Respondents
|
|
39
9
21
3
|
Most
of the teachers take help of comprehension questions to motivate their
students. They also encourage their students to ask questions to them.
Q. 11. Do you think the use of
proper teaching materials can make your class more interesting? If so, what are
the things that you want to use?
Table no. 11
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
6
33
12
21
3
3
|
The
teachers know the importance of teaching materials in the classroom. They mostly
prefer audio-visual presentation through overhead projector. Diagrams or
pictures and films are also their choices. If possible, films and listening
cassettes or CDs are also useful.
Q. 12. Suppose you are teaching “A
Worn Path” in class 11, please fill in the blanks (please write point-wise):
i. What do you do before starting
to teach the story to your students?
Table no. 12
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
36
9
30
9
24
3
3
3
6
24
3
|
Mostly,
the teachers like to begin their class with title speculation. Setting the
scene is also good. Social, cultural and historical explanation may be next
alternative. Guiding questions are also mostly used.
ii. How do you actually conduct
the reading?
Table no. 13
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
21
12
15
3
3
3
3
3
|
Despite
the diversity in the teachers’ ideas to conduct the actual reading, most of
them prefer to make their students read the stories silently. Also, they like
to make their students read loudly the stories turn by turn. Some teachers themselves
read aloud to the whole class.
iii. Which of the following do
you think will help your students understand the text after the reading is
completed?
Table no. 14
Statements
|
No. of Respondents
|
39
30
24
3
27
30
21
15
21
6
3
3
18
|
Comprehension
questions, character maps, event maps, developing the main theme, summaries
given by the students, retelling the stories by the students and class
discussion are the most preferred activities after reading the stories to help
the students.
4. A Possible Practical Approach to the Short Stories in Compulsory English
Class
Most of the
higher secondary teachers of English who answered the writer’s questionnaire have
faced a great challenge while teaching English to their non-native students
(see table no. 5, 6 &7). They are often found worried about the methods and
approaches which they should apply to teach their students. Though their aim is
the same, their dealings with the texts may vary widely. Moreover, teaching
language using literary texts is extremely challenging because the practice
needs a lot of creativity on the part of the teacher.
The present
situation of the Nepalese students is same as Paudel writes
…the majority
of Nepalese students are weak in English. They lack the ability to read the
materials of average difficulty and length. They can not even understand
lecture and conversation of average tempo. They find it difficult to write a
simple free composition with clarity and correctness in vocabulary and syntax.
They are not familiar with sufficient range of vocabulary and grammatical
patterns so as to express their thought- be it while speaking or writing.
Moreover, they do not have enough understanding of the English people and their
culture. As a result, they can not find out how English culture resembles or
differs from their own culture. (2009:113)
Also, literature
in compulsory English course is prescribed for extensive reading only. So, the
teacher is expected to make the students “understand only the subject matters
or themes” (Poudel 2011:20). Otherwise, the teacher may go out of track.
Mostly, it depends upon the individual
teacher how s/he approaches a story in the class. Various other factors like
the classroom situation, the level and the attitude of the students, the
physical infrastructures of the school, etc. may also play decisive roles for
it. Still, the need for possibly the most appropriate way of approaching the
story can not be ignored. So, the following approach for teaching short stories
in class 11 compulsory English is suggested on the basis of the study.
4.1. Before Reading
This is the warm-up activity which the
teacher can use to prepare the students for the text. It is very difficult for
a teacher to get the students’ full attention as their “interest is
increasingly difficult to stimulate” and they lose their concentration towards
the topic easily because they are “used to fast information input without
necessarily having to become active themselves”
Title speculation can be the best
starting. The teacher should let the students make predictions based on the
title of a text. For example, what do you understand by the title “A Worn Path”?
Then, it is better to ask them some stimulating questions about their personal
real life experience which can be helpful to understand the particular story.
The questions will arouse the students’ interest in the text. For example, do
you have grandmother? How does she look like? How old is she? How is her
physical condition? Is she still active? Does she love you? What does she do
for you? Then, the teacher should provide the students with a brief
introduction to the writer and social, cultural or historical background of the
story. For example,
Eudora Welty,
the writer of “A Worn Path”, was born in the USA Mississippi
“A Worn Path”,
taken from A Curtain of Green and Other
Stories (1941), is an exquisitely controlled story of unconscious heroism.
Old Phoenix
4.2. While Reading
When the students are ready, they should
be provided the text. According to Lazar, the students might have three
problems while reading or studying a short story: Understanding the plot;
understanding the language in which the story is written; and understanding how
the type of narrator who tells the story can shape or influence the way the
story is told (2009: 75). So, a lot of activities and creativity are expected
on the side of the teacher.
The teacher, first, makes the students
clear about the narrator and the point of view through which the story is
presented. It will help the students to understand the story in a better way.
For example, “A Worn Path” is told by an omniscient (all knowing) narrator.
Everything done by Old Phoenix is known to the narrator. Then, the teacher may
present the following setting of the story:
This story
takes place in the United
States
The teacher can further ask the students
the following questions so that they do not lose concentration: Do you know old
and poorly educated people? How do they speak? Do they always speak correctly?
Do they ever talk or mumble to themselves? (ibid)
Now, the teacher starts the plot. The
teacher can apply any of the two methods: Direct or Bilingual. The Direct
Method is “a method of teaching English directly without use of pupil’s mother
tongue, without translation and without the study of formal grammar” (Yeshpal
and Sunil 2005:129-30). Bilingual Method on the other hand is
a method where
two languages i. e. the language to be learned or the target language and the
mother tongue are used. In Bilingual Method, the emphasis is on the pattern
practice. The help of the mother tongue
is taken to make the meanings of English sentences and words clear to the learner.
(ibid 132)
Since words from the students’ mother
language are also used in Bilingual Method, it is less challenging to the
teacher than Direct Method. Moreover, only a number of words can be directly
associated with their meanings. Therefore, making clear the meaning of words
that bear abstract sense without the use of mother tongue is really difficult.
So, the teacher takes help of “synonyms, definitions and explanations” but they
are “more difficult and lengthy than the original word” (ibid).
Moreover, most of the Nepalese students do
not have sufficient language skills (Table no. 4) or the students are not
familiar with the vocabulary and grammatical patterns used in the stories
(Table no. 5). So, they do not understand the text properly (Table no. 6 and 7).
To tackle the problems, most of the Nepalese teachers long for different teaching
materials like overhead projector, diagrams or pictures (Table no. 11) tape
recorder, etc. But they are regarded as sophisticated materials in most of the
Nepalese schools which lack sufficient infrastructures. In such a condition, a teacher
is often in great pressure.
Therefore, the teacher, as Doff says, must
suppose himself/herself as a material. The teacher can “use gestures, facial
expressions, and actions to help show the meaning of words and to illustrate
situations” (2008:82). S/he can also apply other ways: converting long and
complex sentences into short, simple ones and using simple words or citing
interesting examples from the students’ subject of interest and, as far as
possible, showing the objects being taught or their pictures. (Paudel
2009:113-15)
Again, while dealing with the plot, the
teacher may use any of two approaches:
Approach no. 1: S/he can tell the
students to come to the class after reading a story at home. Then, in the
classroom, the teacher can present the plot in his/her own words.
Approach no. 2: S/he can make the
students read the text silently or a series of students can be asked to read
the text aloud to the whole class (Table no. 13).
4.3. After Reading
On this stage, the teacher helps the
students to make interpretations of the text. Most of the teachers in Nepal
Character maps are very effective for
helping the students to understand their text. They should be drawn on the
prominent characters of the story. A character map is “a visual diagram showing
the features of a character in a story” (Pandey 2009:9). It is not so difficult
to draw.
The teacher starts by writing the name of
the character in the middle of the blackboard or whiteboard. Then, s/he draws a
circle around this. Around the outside of the circle, the features of the
character are written and joined to the circle with lines or arrows. For
example,
Despite various challenges and shortcomings, a
teacher has to teach English to his/her non-native students effectively. So,
s/he is often in great pressure to be highly creative. Short stories provide
him/her that opportunity. The teacher should be sincere and innovative to
fulfill the shortcomings and to get the full attention of the students. Since
the short stories in compulsory English course are a useful tool for teaching the
language, the teacher must utilize them carefully. For this, arousing curiosity
in the students, providing them with brief information about the writer and the
background of the story, presenting the story to the students using theatrical
performances along with other effective visual teaching materials like overhead
projector, diagrams or pictures, etc., asking and answering various
comprehension questions to solidify their understanding of the story and
discussion about the story are particularly important and effective activities.
References
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This article was published in the CET Journal as:
“Teaching Short Story in Class 11 Compulsory
English”. 2012. CET Journal. Vol. IV,
no. 5. Itahari: Itahari Research Centre, Circle of English Teachers.
