Using short storiesto enhance students’ reading motivation a case of 11th graders at a high school in lao cai city

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
-----O0O-----

TRẦN THỊ THƠM

USING SHORT STORIES TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ READING
MOTIVATION: A CASE OF 11TH GRADERS
AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN LAO CAI CITY
Sử dụng truyện ngắn để tăng cường động lực đọc:
Nghiên cứu trường hợp học sinh lớp 11 tại một trường
Trung học Phổ thông Lào Cai

M.A. MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi, 2021


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
-----O0O-----

TRẦN THỊ THƠM

USING SHORT STORIES TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ READING
MOTIVATION: A CASE OF 11TH GRADERS

AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN LAO CAI CITY
Sử dụng truyện ngắn để tăng cường động lực đọc:
Nghiên cứu trường hợp học sinh lớp 11 tại một trường
Trung học Phổ thông Lào Cai

M.A. MINOR PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Canh

Hanoi, 2021


DECLARATION
I hereby declare that I am the author of the report entitled “Using short
stories to enhance students’ reading motivation: A case of 11th graders at a
high school in Lao Cai city”, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of master at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, Hanoi University of
Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University. I declare that
the material is original, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no
material previously published or written by another person, except where due
acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any
material that infringes copyright, and has not previously been submitted to this
university or any other institution in application for admission to a degree, diploma
or other qualifications.

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ABSTRACT
This study investigated the factors that demotivated high-school students’
learning of reading English and examined how short stories made their attitudes
towards reading changed under the impacts of reading practice. Participants of the
study were 61 students at a high-school in Lao Cai province. In the study, the
researcher applied the action research model with pre- and post-intervention
questionnaires as the main source of information for analysis. The data were then
illustrated with a series of tables, charts and descriptions which were also compared
with students’ opinions shared in the opened-ended questions of the survey to draw
suitable conclusions. From the findings, the researcher made some suggestions for
making use of short stories to promote reading. The findings from the data analysis
indicated that most students found reading English short stories beneficial for
language learning and agreed that it could be a motivational factor that promoted
reading. Also, based on her own practice, the researcher suggested certain
considerations that should be taken into for improving the effectiveness of short
story reading activities.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to people who supported me during the
process of doing this research. Without their guidance and helps, I would have not
completed this study.
First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my great supervisor
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Canh, who has supported me throughout my thesis with his
patience and acknowledge. Actually, his guidance and feedback significantly helped
me during the time of the study and writing of this thesis.
Besides my great supervisor, my sincere thanks go to my school administrators

who always encouraged me to apply innovative techniques in teaching. I also would
like to say thanks to my students who were willing to take part in this research.
Without their enthusiasm to help me collect the data, this thesis would not have been
completed.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my family members who always stand by
me, help me overcome difficulties in the process of doing the research. They bring me
strength, self- confidence, and braveness to pursue my study.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ......................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ......................................................................... vi
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1
1.1. Background and rationale .................................................................................1
1.2. Aims of the study and the research questions ..................................................2
1.3 Scope of the study ..............................................................................................2
1.4. Significance of the study ...................................................................................2
1.5. Design of the study ...........................................................................................3
Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................4
2.1. Reading and reading comprehension ................................................................4
2.1.1 Definition of reading and reading comprehension ......................................4
2.1.2 The role of reading in second language learning ........................................4
2.2. Reading motivation ...........................................................................................5
2.2.1. Definitions of reading motivation ...............................................................5
2.2.2. Types of motivation .....................................................................................6

2.2.3. The importance of reading motivation in foreign language learning. .......7
2.3. Short stories as a motivator to students to read.................................................7
2.3.1 What are short stories? ................................................................................7
2.3.2. Reasons for using short stories in foreign language teaching ...................7
2.3.3 Criteria for choosing short stories .............................................................10
2.3.4. Some common-used activities to teach reading with short stories ...........10
2.4 Studies on using short stories in reading comprehension ................................12
Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................14
3.1 Action research framework ..............................................................................14
3.1.1 What is an action research? ......................................................................14
3.1.2 Steps in action research .............................................................................15
3.2. Subjects of the study .......................................................................................18

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3.3. Procedures .......................................................................................................19
3.4. Data collection instruments and analysis ...........................................................23
3.4.1 Data collection instruments .......................................................................23
3.4.2 Data analysis .............................................................................................25
Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................26
4.1 Findings from the questionnaires .....................................................................26
4.1.1. Factors affecting students’ motivation for reading English ........................26
4.1.2. Changes of student’s reading motivation after the use of short stories.......34
4.2. Findings from the interviews and observation ................................................37
4.3. Summary .........................................................................................................39
Chapter 5: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION ................................................40
5.1 Recapitulation ..................................................................................................40
5.2 Implications ......................................................................................................41
5.3 Limitations .......................................................................................................43

5.4 Suggestions for further research ......................................................................43
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................45
APPENDICES............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 1 .............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 2 ........................................................................................................... IV
APPENDIX 3 ............................................................................................................. V

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 3. 1. Plans of integrating short stories in teaching ..........................................21
Table 4. 1. Reasons for reading English outside the classroom................................29
Table 4. 2. Text types students often read outside the classroom .............................32
Figure 3. 1. The six cyclical steps of action research (Efron & Ravid, 2013,p.8) ....15
Figure 3. 2. The action research cycle (Kemmis &McTaggart, 1988,p.14) .............16
Figure 4. 1. Students’ attitudes towards the importance of reading skill ..................26
Figure 4. 2.Students’ interest in reading ...................................................................27
Figure 4. 3. Students’ self-evaluation of reading skills.............................................28
Figure 4. 4. Students’ frequency of practice reading English outside the classroom ....... 29
Figure 4.5. Students’ difficulties in reading English outside classroom...................30
Figure 4. 6. Frequency of reading short stories.........................................................33
Figure 4. 7.Topics of reading interest .......................................................................34
Figure 4. 8.Students’ interest in reading after the use of short stories ......................35
Figure 4. 9.Change of students’ opinions on reading short stories ...........................36
Figure 4. 10.Students’ decision on continuing to read English short stories ............37

vi

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the rationale to the study and states the aims, scope,
and organization of the thesis.
1.1. Background and rationale
English is commonly considered the foreign language and is popularly used
by individuals from various countries to communicate with each other when they
meet. The ability to use this language has become a prerequisite for interviewing
job candidates in a variety of businesses and organisations around the world due to
the prevalence of English in both social and work-related circumstances.
Language learners should have adequate exposure and practice numerous
skills to be able to use English, of which reading is one of the most important.
Reading is not just a way to sustain social contact or acquire knowledge of words,
but it is also necessary for the learning process (Watkins, 2017). In studying and
mastering foreign languages, such as English, reading plays a very important role
(Pathan & Al-Delsi, 2013). Reading is an important means to gain knowledge and
to share information (Dlugosz, 2000). Watkins (2017) claimed that reading is an
essential source of understandable input, and adequate exposure to a large amount
of such input is crucial for success in language learning (Watkins, 2017). The
excellence of reading skills obviously improves the reading process for students,
thereby allowing them to gain more knowledge from a variety of English reading
materials. Being good at reading also has the potential to help develop the overall
language skills of students thanks to the fact their exposure to the target language
are improved, thus facilitates the retention of vocabulary and increases the
opportunity for the words learned to be used in the speech and writing.
While necessary, reading is supposed to be challenging to acquire. Reading
is a complex and multifaceted task (Demiröz, 2010) because it involves the
combination of attention, memory, perceptual and understanding processes (Kern,
1989). Due to this fact, reading is widely perceived as a boring activity by a number

of students, which they feel demotivated and reluctant to practice.

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In my school, the similar situation occurred. Students often complain that
reading is difficult, boring, thus demotivating. Therefore, as a teacher, I decided to
try different methods to stimulate students with the hope that they could make
students more interested in reading. Short stories are among those I decided to try
using as it is proved in the literature that literary texts have the potential to stimulate
language and linguistic skill, arouse inspiration and lead students to become critical
thinkers (Erkaya, 2005). Therefore, I decided to conduct this research, titled “Using
short stories to enhance students’ reading motivation: A case of 11th graders at a
high school in Lao Cai city” in order to investigate the impacts of short stories in
motivating students to read.
1.2. Aims of the study and the research questions
The research aimed at identifying the factors that demotivate students to read
and examining how short stories reading activity can be used to motivating students
to learn reading skills.
To be able to achieve the above-mentioned goals, the researcher proposed
two research questions:
1. What factors affect students’ reading motivation?
2. How does the use of short stories enhance student’s reading motivation?
1.3 Scope of the study
The research focuses on investigating factors that demotivate students to read
as well as the impacts of reading English short stories in motivating students to
learn reading with high school students in Lao Cai to be able to decide whether the
inclusion of stories reading in teaching reading raised students’ interest in reading
and whether it can be used to encourage students to practice reading English more.
1.4. Significance of the study

It is expected that the research findings can provide the researcher with
deeper understanding about the benefits of using stories to assist teaching and
learning reading and its potentials to motivate students to read. Based on this fact,
the researcher can also predict the problems she may encounter when using short

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stories in her future classes and therefore propose a better plan for making use of
short stories reading activity to create the motivation for students to read.
1.5. Design of the study
This study consists of five chapters, which are:
- Chapter 1: Introduction presents the background, the scope, significance
and design of the study.
- Chapter 2: Literature Review presents a theoretical framework for the
study, on which the researcher relied to conduct the study and draw her conclusion.
- Chapter 3: Methodology provides information regarding the methodology
that the research followed, including detailed information about the subjects, data
collection instrument, the procedures for data collection and method of data
analysis.
- Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion presents the major findings of the
research are reported and analyzed.
- Chapter 5: Implications and Conclusion summaries the main points of the
research, tells how the research questions were answered, presents the implications
for the application of short stories reading activity in teaching and learning,
acknowledges the limitations and proposes some suggestions for further study.

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents an overview of literature about reading comprehension
and motivation, the use of short stories in teaching reading and some common
activities associated with them. These provided the basis on which the researcher
relied to conduct the study and draw her conclusion.
2.1. Reading and reading comprehension
2.1.1 Definition of reading and reading comprehension
Reading is about understanding written texts. As defined by Pang et al
(2003,p.6), reading is “a complex activity that involves both perception and
thought”. This definition implies that reading is an active process which is
significantly influenced by readers’ personal cognitive process and interpretation.
According to Pang et al (2003), reading consists of two processes which are
closely related, including word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition,
as explained by the authors, means “the process of perceiving how written symbols
correspond

to

one’s

spoken

language”

(Pang

et

al,

2003,p.6)

while

“comprehension” refers to the process of making sense of the text. Reading skill can
be learned through conscious effort (Watkins, 2017). To be able to comprehend a
text, readers typically need to rely on their background knowledge, vocabulary,
grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other strategies.
2.1.2 The role of reading in second language learning
Reading (together with writing) was claimed to be one of “incredible human
achievements”, which allows us to “communicate across both space and time”
(Watkins, 2017,p.14). In second language (L2) learning contexts, reading is not just
a means of maintaining social interaction or gaining world knowledge but also
important to the process of learning. According to Pang et al (2003) reading can be
seen as one of the main factors in the learning process that helps students achieve
successful grades.

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Readers read for different purposes. Grellet (1981) claimed that generally
there are two main reasons for reading which are reading for pleasure and reading
for information. In the context of language learning, the primary purpose for
reading is to develop language knowledge and skills due to the fact that texts are
rich sources of language input for language learners. By reading, readers increase
their exposure to the target language, thus enrich their vocabulary and grammar
knowledge (Chastain, 1988). The cultural and social heritage of the mankind is also
transmitted from generation to generation and is readily conveyed by permanent
printed documents. Therefore, reading also help readers accumulate social cultural

knowledge which can improve their comprehension ability and assure
communication success.
It is also widely agreed that reading significantly affects language learning.
Krashen (2004) claimed that reading helps establish a good style of writing,
accumulate an acceptable vocabulary, and advance grammar. Holding the same view,
Reyes Gomez (2010) stated that reading facilitates language competence and
development, improves written and oral speech, and improves language fluency.
Obviously, reading plays a vital role in language acquisition.
2.2. Reading motivation
2.2.1. Definitions of reading motivation
Motivation is another important affecting factor in language learning.
Motivation is defined differently by different authors depending on the theoretical
methodology of the researcher.
As for Eccles and Wigfield (2002), motivation is the perceived value of a
task and the expectation of success in task engagement which influences and guides
behaviour. Regarding reading motivation, Conradi, Jang, and McKenna
(2014,p.156) describe reading motivation as "the urge to read arising from a
comprehensive collection of the beliefs of a person regarding, attitudes towards, and
goals for reading" on the basis of the principle analysis of a vast number of articles.
Another definition is from Unrau and Quirk (2014,p.272) who stated that

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motivation is “an internal factor that activates or directs various modes of behavior
and interaction as the observable and unobservable behaviors associated with
reading activities."
2.2.2. Types of motivation
There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation refers to a desire to get a reward and avoid punishment.

It emphasizes external need to persuade the learner to take part in learning activity
(Arnold, 2000), such as homework, grade, or doing something to please teachers.
Both integrative and instrumental motivations are mentioned as part of extrinsic
motivation (Harmer, 1991)
As extrinsic motivation is based on external results such as rewards and
disciplines. This motivation could negatively affect students because with extrinsic
motivation, students learn because they are encouraged by the interesting rewards
or the punishment policies rather than with their own need. The risk is if these
rewards are taken away, or if the disciplines are eliminated, students will no longer
learn as hard as before.
Intrinsic motivation
On the contrary to extrinsic motivation, the intrinsic motivation refers to the
fact that learning itself has its own reward (Arnold, 2000). Learners with intrinsic
motivation always readily and voluntarily attempt to learn what they think
necessary. When students have intrinsic motivation, they have the internal desire to
learn without any demand for external stimulating factors. Intrinsic motivation,
therefore, has the potential to push students to study without rewards, because their
need is innate or comes from inside or depends on their own will. For students with
intrinsic motivation, it is suggested that teachers should create classrooms with
supportive environment to facilitate their learning (Lightbown & Spada, 1999).
In conclusion, motivation can be intrinsic, that is, we do something because
the act of doing it is enjoyable in itself. Alternatively, it can be extrinsic, that is, we
engage in an activity to achieve other ends. As both types of motivation have

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impacts on students’ learning, it is advisable that in the process of teaching,
teachers find effective ways to help improve their both intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation.

2.2.3. The importance of reading motivation in foreign language learning.
Motivation plays an essential role in most fields of learning, which can lead
to success or failure of what students do. Spolsky (1990) stated that motivated
students are likely to learn better and more rapidly than students who are less
encouraged. On the contrary, students with less motivation are likely to lose their
attention more easily, misbehave and cause some problems. Many studies have also
proved that motivation has strong relationship with achievement in language
learning. Van Lier (1996,p.98) indicated that motivation is “a very important, if not
the most important factor in language learning”. This view is similar to
Lightbown’s (1999) who affirmed that the most important factor in second
language acquisition success is motivation.
2.3. Short stories as a motivator to students to read
2.3.1 What are short stories?
According to Singer (2000), a short story is usually written in the form of a
narrative composition which is a part of brief literature - one that could be read
within a brief span of time, and the one that is self-contained.
Short stories mostly center on one particular or specific occurrence and
comprise a few casts of character. Short stories are shorter in its breath and
heartbeat - more like a story and take a lesser and shorter degree of length to its
narration than a novel does.
2.3.2. Reasons for using short stories in foreign language teaching
The use of literature in language teaching is regarded as an interesting and
worthy concern by many educators (Sage, 1987). In fact, many teachers are now
using literature extensively in their language classes (McFadden, 1978) with the
advantages that have been researched and proven by a number of researchers.
Parkinson and Thomas (2000, cited in Sale, 2005) summarize ten main reasons why
language classroom literature is used, which are presented below.

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1. Cultural enrichment
2. Linguistic model
3. Mental training
4. Extension of linguistic competence
5. Authenticity
6. Memorability
7. Rhythmic resource
8. Motivating material
9. Open to interpretation
10. Convenience
According to Littlewood (2000), all language classrooms are isolated from
the background of events and situations which produce natural language, especially
those outside the community of native speakers. Literature can solve this problem,
since language provides its own meaning in literary works.
Short stories, being a type of literature, therefore, can bring language learners
a number of benefits. Cultural understanding, linguistic comprehension, and
inspiration can be raised through short stories. Short stories if properly chosen and
utilized, can provide quality text material that will greatly enhance ELT courses
because they will provide students with adequate linguistic knowledge, promote
intellectual, and emotional participation and enrich their learning experience
(Murdoch, 2002). Stories also empower students to share their views and feelings by
bringing enthusiasm to a classroom that can act as a change of routine and a new
recipe and make language learning enjoyable.
Erkaya (2005) summarize the benefits of using short stories in the EFL
classes, such as followed:
Motivating students
Short stories usually have the beginning, middle and the end; therefore, they
stimulate students at all levels of language proficiency to continue reading them
until the end to discover how the conflict is resolved.

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Reinforcing the four English skills
The use of short stories can improve the English four skills (listening,
speaking, reading and writing) in teaching foreign language when teachers use
them in different ways. For example, teachers can let students read the story aloud
to increase students' listening skill. This is also a good way for teachers to correct
their pronunciation mistakes. To promote speaking skills, teachers may ask students
to act a dialogue in front of the class or play a role. Short stories are sources of
vocabulary so reading more short stories can help students improve vocabulary as
well as social cultural knowledge. To encourage students to write, teachers can ask
students to write summarize the main contents of the story they have read, or
describe their feelings about the characters in the story in written from.
Teaching culture
Short stories are considered an effective way to teach cultures. Every story is
set in a particular context which shows the custom, history and culture. Therefore,
reading stories helps readers learn about traditions and customs.
Teaching high order thinking
Reading stories are said to be an excellent tool for promoting high order
thinking. While reading, teachers can design activities to get students to practice
thinking critically.
Entertaining
Reading stories can also be a form of entertainment as it makes students feel
more relaxed (Pourkalhor & Kohan, 2013). Being short, short stories also help
reduce the burden of heavy workload for students (Pardede, 2011).
In short, using short stories is an effective way to promote students’
motivation in the process of reading and studying. Stories can also create a joyful
and relaxing atmosphere. It is very useful for learning. So short stories will help

students in developing not only their language skills, but also their cultures and their
language.

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2.3.3 Criteria for choosing short stories
The selection of suitable short stories ensures the success of lessons and
motivates students’ reading. McKay (2001) and Rivers (1968) advised that the
topics chosen should suit students’ interests. They claimed that students would
follow teacher’s requirement and enjoy a story if the content of the text is
appropriate to their life experience and interests. Unsuitable contents are often
demotivating. Similarly, Collie and Slater (1987) also found that if the assigned
literary text is meaningful and enjoyable, learners will try to overcome the linguistic
obstacles enthusiastically.
Another advice is that the chosen short stories ought to be balance with
learners’ language competence and culture competence. Carter and Long (1991,
p.5) suggest, “as a general rule, it is better to choose for teaching literary texts
which are not too far beyond the students’ normal reading comprehension”. By
selecting stories suitable to students’ level of language proficiency, teachers avoid
“frustrational reading” (Schulz, 1981, p.44). If culture and language is within
students’ knowledge, the reading activity is more assessable and enjoyable to them.
In summary, it is crucial to choose a suitable story in teaching. Short stories
are supposed to be of appropriate length, having attractive topics and suitable in
terms of complexity.
2.3.4. Some common-used activities to teach reading with short stories
Pardede (2011) suggested that when making a story-based lesson plan,
teachers need to know what aim they want to attain and think about the activities
that will be utilized not only during the students work with the story but also about
activities at the beginning and the end of the story. These activities can be done

through a number of stages including pre-reading activities, while- reading and
post-reading activities. According to the author, activities should be varied so that
the learning environment is stimulating, exciting and unpredictable; and to remain
motivated, goals and rewards should be clarified. It is also important to give clear
instructions and to communicate to the children what is expected of them. Some
useful activities for each stage of reading and the procedure to conduct each of them
as suggested by Pardede (2011) is listed below:

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Pre - reading activities
There are a number of activities that can be conducted in the pre-reading
stage. Some suggested activities are hereby presented.
With “hangman”, students guess the topic by saying the alphabet; every
wrong letter is making a part of a hangman. The activities that could be done include
warming up - discussion - brief discussion about students’ own personal experiences.
The second activity suggested is “answering and passing on” in which each
student has a piece of paper and must answer a question and pass it on, another
student will answer second question and pass it on, etc. Example of questions are who, where, when, what is he/she doing.
Brainstorming can also be used. In this activity, teachers can ask students to
think about a topic and write down all their ideas.
Another activity that can be done is “asking questions”. This is a good
activity; however, what questions to be asked should be carefully planned.
According to Ellis and Brewster (2002) a good question should motivate thought in
order to encourage children to justify their responses. Good questions should also
attract their attention and encourage observation, invite enquiry and stimulate.
While - reading activities
The while reading activities with short stories can be some, but not limited to
answering different types of questions such as Multiple-choice, True/ False, Close

and open-ended questions, Gap-filling, Matching headings, Retelling the story,
Writing a brief summary, Making notes, Editing the stories, Predicting what comes
next. Skills to be trained in this stage can be skimming, scanning, guessing in order
to help students understand the text as well as the writer’s purposes conveyed
through the reading text. According to Ellis and Brewster (2002), stories may bridge
the gap between language study and language use and also to link classroom
learning with the world outside. Some of the activities do not always have a very
large language element but are nevertheless important in creating a feeling among
the pupils that learning English means fun, activity, creativity and enjoyment”.

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Therefore, when using stories, teachers should think of the suitable activities for
their classes in order to make the most of them.
Post - reading Activities
Follow-up activities can be another good choice for teachers because
students will be much more involved and motivated to the teaching process when
they have further tasks involved the reading to do. These activities include rounding
up, reviewing and summarizing the lesson. Students can make a poster, a book, a
collage, a greetings card or other things based on story, they can organize an event
or play a part of the story. Follow-up activities develop students’ skills especially
their productive ones such as writing (writing letters and postcards, note-taking) and
speaking (interviewing, role-play, questionnaires).
Suggested post-reading activities include “summarization”. In this activity,
teachers ask students to summarize the stories in their own words. Another activity
that can be used is “Written questionnaires” when teachers ask students questions
belonging to or coming out from stories. Students’ answers may lead to discussions.
Re - writing the story can be a good activity. In this activity, teachers
encourage students to re-write the story from a different position.

Another activity is role-play or simulation. This activity can be used to
encourage general oral fluency, or train students for specific situations based on the
story. Asking students to make a video acting the story and getting students to
creating students’ own stories are also advisable.
2.4 Studies on using short stories in reading comprehension
There have been quite a few studies on the integration of short stories into
teaching reading comprehension. Pourkalhori and Kohan (2012) conducted a
research to examine the effects of short story instruction on 20 advanced tenthgrade students’ reading comprehension. After the research period, they found that
experimental groups of students had much better results on the posttest that those of
the control group. Based on the data analysis, the researchers concluded that the use
of short story had the potential to help students improve their reading ability. Also,

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they noted that the readers linguistic and general knowledge of the world affected
the ability to understand a text. Frimasary (2015) did similar research and found that
after the treatment, the score gained by the experimental group were significantly
higher than that of the control group. The researcher claimed that using short stories
was a good way to improve student reading comprehension as well as raised
students’ interest in reading.
In Viet Nam, Vo Thi Thanh Tam (2013) did a research on the integration of
short stories into teaching reading comprehension with the third-year English
majors of her university and concluded that story reading appeared to be useful for
teaching and learning reading comprehension. When it is applied appropriately, the
learning and teaching reading comprehension will be effective, fun and meaningful.
Mai Thi Phuong (2012) also investigated tertiary teachers’ and students’ attitudes
towards the effectiveness of using short stories as supplementary materials. The
findings showed that short stories were beneficial even when they are used as
supplementary materials. The researcher then suggested a number of ideas on how

to make effective use of short stories as supplementary materials for reading.
Though story reading has shown to be beneficial to the teaching of reading,
there have been very few researches into the impacts of using short stories to
motivate students’ reading motivation. Therefore, this research was conducted to
examine the possible effects of short stories reading on motivating students to read.

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Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology of the study including the description
of the methods and subjects of the study, the research design, the procedures and the
data collection instruments. As this research was designed and conducted by the
teacher-researcher herself for the purpose of gaining understanding of how story
reading can change the students’ motivation to read in English so that they may
improve their English proficiency, an action research approach was adopted.
3.1 Action research framework
Although there exist various types of research, the researcher of the current
study chose action research as it was conducted in her own classes with a view to
making a positive change to her particular teaching context with the use of a
particular strategy. Action research had the potential to help her achieve the aims,
also provided her an opportunity for professional development.
3.1.1 What is an action research?
Action research has been popularly in use among teachers for some recent
decades. This type of research is considered a form of “ongoing assessment of
teaching practice” (Nugent, Malik & Hollingsworth, 2012,p.1) which help teachers
know whether their practices are having the desired results by “examining
classroom instruction for effectiveness, validating what is effective, and eliminating
what is not effective” (Nugent, Malik & Hollingsworth, 2012,p.1).

Action research is known by many names such as participatory research,
collaborative inquiry, emancipatory research, action learning, and contextual
action research (Nugent, Malik & Hollingsworth, 2012,p.4). Regarding its
meaning, Kemmis and McTaggart (1982) defined action research as a means to
increase knowledge done by trying out and reflecting on ideas in teaching. This
means that this research type allows educators to undertake actions in a particular
situation with a view to having an insight into their practices and being able to
improve it. What makes action research different from other types of research is that

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it is a systematically evolving process of changing both the researcher and the
situations in which he or she works (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1982).
Holding similar view, Borg’s (1965) claimed that action research encourages
teachers to investigate and find the right solution to their own problems in their
classrooms and based on that teachers develop themselves. Van Lier (1996) also
stated that action research involves a “small scale intervention in the functioning of
the real world and a close examination of the effects of such intervention” (Van
Lier, 1996,p.32). As can be seen, though expressed in different ways, the definitions
of action research from various scholars unanimously agree that action research is
conducted by classroom teachers themselves with making changes in their own
classrooms are the goals for their research practice (McNiff & Whitehead, 2006).
3.1.2 Steps in action research
Action research is popularly known to start with a research question and end
with the application of the knowledge gained. The application then can lead to new
questions which demand a new cycle of research (Efron & Ravid, 2013). To
conduct an action research, Efron & Ravid, (2013) summarize and illustrate the six
steps of a full cycle of action research that a researcher should follow as in the
following figure.

Figure 3. 1. The six cyclical steps of action research (Efron & Ravid, 2013,p.8)
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According to the authors, each step is to do the following tasks:
Step 1: Identifying an issue or problem the practitioner wants to explore
Step 2: Gathering background information through a review of appropriate
literature and existing research on the topic
Step 3: Designing the study and planning the methods of collecting data
Step 4: Collecting data
Step 5: Analyzing and interpreting data
Step 6: Writing, sharing, and implementing the findings
(Efron & Ravid, 2013,p.8)
Kemmis and McTaggart (1988), who are regarded as the experts in this field
also suggested a cycle of action research with four steps including planning, action,
observation and reflection which respectively involve planning a change, putting
plan into action, observing what happened, and editing the plan for the next cycle
which will then follow similar process. The cycles will recur until the researcher has
achieved a satisfactory outcome and feels that it is time to stop. The spiral model of
action research was illustrated by these authors as in the following figure.

Figure 3. 2. The action research cycle (Kemmis &McTaggart, 1988,p.14)

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The steps to conduct an action research are explained by the authors as
follow.
(1) Planning

This is the first step of an action research when the research identifies a
problem or issue, probe a question and develop a plan of action in order to improve
it in their own research context. The researcher, who is also the teacher, should
consider possible investigation within the realities and constraints of their teaching
situation and potential improvements it may bring about. For this step, it is
important that the question for the research be doable and within the researcher’s
control and ability to make a change.
(2) Action
The second step of the action research is when the researcher puts the
intended interventions into action, or, in other words, enacting the plan.
(3) Observation
The next step is to systematically observe the impacts of the interventions
and documenting the related information such as the context, the actions and the
opinions of those involved. The data collection from the observation stage will help
the researcher have better and more precise reflection of what has been done.
(4) Reflection
The final step before a new cycle of action research is when the researcher as
well as teacher reflects on, evaluates and describes the effects of the action he or she
has implemented. From the findings, the researcher can have an insight into what is
happening; thus, it is easier for them to decide on what needs to be modified in the
next cycle.
This model of the two authors was criticized by some researchers who
claimed that it lacks flexibility (McNiff, 1988). This view was similar to Ebbutt’s
(1985), who supposed that action research cycles should be successive and open,
and allow as much feedback and interaction between the cycles as possible rather
than just like “one-way street”. In fact, some authors acknowledged that in real life,

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