Short stories via computers in EFL classrooms: An empirical study for reading and writing skills

Citation

Yilmaz A (2015) Short stories via computers in EFL classrooms: An empirical study for reading and writing skills. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 15 (1), pp. 41-53.

Abstract
The present empirical study scrutinizes the use of short stories via computer technologies in teaching and learning English language. The objective of the study is twofold: to examine how short stories could be used through computer programs in teaching and learning English and to collect data about students' perceptions of this technique via semi-structured face-to-face interview. In the scope of the present study, three different computer programs (Jing, Screencast, and Instant Messaging) and three short stories (A Dead Woman's Secret by Guy de Maupassant, Eveline by James Joyce, Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway) were used in order to shed light on the aforementioned objectives. During this approximately three-month long study, 35 ELT students studying at a state university in Turkey carried out a number of pre-reading/writing, while-reading/writing, and post-reading/writing activities and tasks suggested by different scholars in the field. The content analysis of the 12 semi-structured interviews revealed that the implementation of short stories through computers in language classrooms have some very positive effects on learners' language learning process: drawing attention, raising curiosity, cooperation and giving/receiving feedback, improving reading and writing skills, and increasing L2 motivation.

Notes
41

Journal
The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal: Volume 15, Issue 1