Improving college students vocabulary knowledge through short story reading action reasearch at university of economic and technical industries

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY VU DIEU THUY IMPROVING COLLEGE STUDENTS VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE THROUGH SHORT STORY READING: ACTION RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRIES SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN TESOL SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN DUC HOAT, Ph.D Hanoi August, 2009 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled “Improving college students’ vocabulary knowledge through short story reading: action research at University of Economic and Technical Industries” and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL is the result of my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis of any part of the same has not been submitted for higher degree to any other university or institution The research reported in this thesis was approved by the Hanoi University Signed: Dated: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Duc Hoat, for the wholehearted guidance he gave me while I was doing this research I am truly grateful to him for his precious ideas and knowledge, valuable comments and instructions, his considerate assistance and encouragement and constant support Without these, the thesis could not have been completed I would also acknowledge my great gratitude to all the lecturers and to the organizers for this Master course at Hanoi University Furthermore, I am very thankful to the learners of class KT51 at UNETI for their willingness to participate in this study Without their help, this project could not have been so successful Last, I am deeply grateful to my beloved people, my parents, my husband and son for their support and encouragement which were extremely important for the completion of this thesis ii ABSTRACT In an attempt to improve vocabulary knowledge of the second year non-English college students, the researcher decided to carry out an action plan with 35 students of class KT51, Accounting section, UNETI Before the experiment, the data collected through questionnaire and pre-test helped to confirm the assumptions that the lack of vocabulary really existed Based on the findings from the initial data and procedures of action research on extensive reading, the teacher created an action plan using short story reading activity outside class within weeks Data were collected from reading journals, post-test and attitude questionnaire Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) tests using a 5-point scale asked students to demonstrate their knowledge of specific words in written form Then data were computed and analyzed by means of descriptive analysis and Paired Samples T-tests with SPSS 17.0 The results of the study revealed that learners gained some progress in vocabulary learning and their positive attitude towards reading in English was significantly improved The findings also indicated that extensive reading can be used widely in English language learning in universities and colleges in Vietnam Through the experience of implementing recommendations were given for the teachers and learners iii this research, some TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II ABSTRACT III TABLE OF CONTENTS ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.2 THE AIMS OF THE STUDY 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.4 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 VOCABULARY LEARNING AND TEACHING 2.1.1 The importance of vocabulary learning 2.1.2 Implicit and explicit learning of vocabulary 2.2 GRADED READERS AS A SOURCE OF EXTENSIVE READING 2.2.1 Definition of extensive reading 2.2.2 Characteristics of extensive reading 2.2.3 The benefits of extensive reading in foreign language learning 12 2.2.4 Graded readers as a source of extensive reading 15 2.2.4.1 Definition of Graded Readers 15 2.2.4.2 Typical levels of graded readers 16 2.2.4.3 Extensive reading and Graded Reading 17 2.2.5 Application of Extensive Reading at UNETI 18 2.3 PREVIOUS STUDIES ON EXTENSIVE READING IN EFL 19 2.4 SUMMARY 21 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 22 3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS 22 3.3 SETTING 23 3.4 RESEARCH DESIGN 23 3.4.1 Definition of action research 23 3.4.2 Process of action research 24 3.4.3 Data collection instruments 26 3.4.3.1 Questionnaire 27 3.4.3.2 Reading journal .29 iv 3.4.4.3 Vocabulary Tests 29 3.5 SUMMARY 32 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 INITIAL DATA 33 4.1.1 Results from learners’ pre- questionnaire 33 4.1.2 Analysis of results of the pre-test 40 4.1.3 Findings from the initial data 41 4.2 ACTION PLAN 41 4.2.1 The aim of the action plan 41 4.2.2 The action plan procedures 41 4.2.3 Data collected in action stage 44 4.2.3.1 The students’ self-assessment to the level of difficulty of the stories 45 4.2.3.2 Students’ opinion on the length of the story 46 4.2.3.3 Students’ attitude towards the stories 47 4.3 POST DATA 49 4.3.1 The comparisons in the pre-test and post-test results 49 4.3.2 Data collected from attitude questionnaires 52 4.4 EVALUATION OF THE ACTION PLAN 55 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 57 5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS 57 5.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 59 5.3 CONCLUSION 59 REFERENCES 61 APPENDIX 1: READING JOURNAL 66 APPENDIX 2.1: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 67 APPENDIX 2.2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA 69 APPENDIX 3: THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE 71 APPENDIX 4: LIST OF STORIES 72 APPENDIX 5: PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST RESULTS 73 APPENDIX 6: PRE AND POST -TEST 74 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1: The vocabulary levels in the Oxford Bookworms series………………….16 Table 4.1: Results of the pre- test of 35 subjects…………………………….……… 40 Table 4.2: Action plan procedures…………………………………………….………43 Table 4.3: Pre-test and post test results……………………………………………….49 Table 4.4: Comparison of the mean scores for the pre and post tests……………… 50 Table 4.5: The students’ attitude questionnaire……………………………………….53 Figure 3.1: Action Research Cycle……………………………………………………24 Figure 3.2: The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale from Wesche and Paribakht ……… 30 Figure 3.3: The VKS scoring categories – meaning of scores……………………… 31 Figure 4.1: Learners’ length of learning before entering UNETI…………………….33 Figure 4.2: The learners’ self-assessment of their vocabulary knowledge ………… 34 Figure 4.3: Students’ opinions on time for learning vocabulary in class…………… 34 Figure 4.4: Students’ methods when meeting a new word……………………………35 Figure 4.5: Students’ answer on reading materials in English……………………… 36 Figure 4.6: Kinds of materials students often read…………….………………… …37 Figure 4.7: Difficulties of students while reading…………………………………….37 Figure 4.8: The causes of the learners’ lack of reading habits in English…………….38 Figure 4.9: Learners’ attitude towards reading short stories in English………………39 Figure 4.10: Kinds of short stories chosen by students……………………………….39 Figure 4.11: Students’ self-assessment to the level of difficulty of the stories……….45 Figure 4.12: Students’ opinions on the length of the story………………………… 46 Figure 4.13: Students’ attitude towards story reading activity……………………… 47 Figure 4.14: Learners’ positive attitude towards story reading ………………………48 Figure 4.15: The difference between pre-test and post- test result……………………51 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AR: Action Research ER: Extensive reading EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language ELT: English Language Teaching L1: First language L2: Second language UNETI: University of Economic and Technical Industries SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SD: Standard Deviation VKS: Vocabulary Knowledge Scale vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION This first chapter presents the background to the study, the aims of the study, the scope and significance as well as the organization of the thesis 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Vocabulary plays an indispensable role in the process of learning a foreign language Traditionally, vocabulary has not been a particular subject for students to learn, but has been taught within lessons of speaking, listening, reading and writing Krashen (1989:439) stated that ‘a large vocabulary is, of course, essential for mastery of a language’ as ‘without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed’ (Wilkins, 1972:111) Students at University of Economic and Technical Industries (UNETI) clearly realize the importance of vocabulary in learning English and improving vocabulary knowledge has been one of the objectives of many learners at the university The University of Economic and Technical Industries (UNETI) was originally a vocational high school, founded 50 years ago Currently, it became a university training three different levels: university, college and lower college with various departments At UNETI, English is a compulsory subject to all students For college system, students learn English for semesters New Headway series (Liz and John, 2000) have been used as the course books for the students In the first semester the students learn New Headway Elementary consisting 14 units in 60 periods And in the second semester, they will learn the first units of New Headway PreIntermediate The last units of the books are learned in the third semester In each semester they learn 60 periods in 15 weeks, periods a week With the limited time in class, the periods for learning English are not much The students are required to learn all four language skills, the time for vocabulary learning is very little However, they have to cope with many difficulties in learning vocabulary Many students complain that they not know how to remember words and their meanings for a long time and use them properly in different contexts They still maintain their old learning habits such as writing down words on note-books, learning words by heart, heavily depending on wordlist in textbook or passively waiting for teacher’s explanations for new words Most of the learners at UNETI often acquire new vocabulary from short passages in textbooks and they only think of vocabulary learning as knowing the primary meaning of new words and they ignore all other functions of the words They not have a habit of learning vocabulary in contexts which help them to know how to use vocabulary appropriately The real situation leads to the assumption that the students lack of vocabulary knowledge This hinders their language skills, reading comprehension as well as communication ability The teacher’s task here is how to help students learn vocabulary more effectively Many studies on “extensive reading” have showed considerable benefits for learners both in terms of learning gains and motivation and seems to be becoming ever more popular in the ELT world Extensive reading has been proclaimed as, ‘the single most effective way to improve language proficiency’ (Maley, 2005: 354, cited in Brown, 2008) Extensive reading can lead to students’ improvement in the areas of reading, writing, vocabulary learning, and overall proficiency while also increasing motivation (Day & Bamford, 1998) Extensive reading offers the potential for reinforcing and recombining language learned in the classroom A large amount of comprehensible input provided by extensive reading materials may increase opportunities to be exposed to words previously learned It reinforced the learners’ existing knowledge of vocabulary and building new stock of vocabulary for students Inspired by the studies on extensive reading in the second language classroom, the author decided to try out the method ‘extensive reading’ by way of action research Through this small scale research, the teacher hopes that using short stories will improve college students’ vocabulary learning at UNETI 1.2 THE AIMS OF THE STUDY The study was carried out with the aim to increase learners’ vocabulary knowledge The specific aims of the research are as follows: Johnson, B & Christensen, L (2000) Nonexperimental quantitative research, in Educational Research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches Boston: Allyn & Bacon Kemmis, S & Taggart, R., (1988) The Action Research Planner (3rd ed) Geelong, Victoria: Derakin University Press Krashen, S.(1989) We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the Input hypothesis The Modern Language Journal, 73/4, pp 440-464 Lewis, M.,& Hill, J (1985) Practical Techniques for Language Teaching London: Language Teaching Publication Mason, B and Krashen, S (1997) Extensive Reading in English as a foreign language System, 25 (1), pp 91-102 Mc Bride, R & Schotak, J (1989) Action research Retrieved on 12 September, 2008, from Web:http://www.enquirylearning.net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res1Ch4.html McGinnis, D & Smith, D (1982) Analyzing and Teaching Reading Problems In: Koumy, A (2002) Teaching and learning English as a foreign language: A comprehensive approach, Cairo, Egypt Nagy, O., R Anderson & P Herman (1985) Learning word meaning from context during normal reading American Education Research Journal, 24 Nation, I S P (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publisher Nation, I S P (2001) Learning Vocabulary in Another Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nation, I.S.P & Coady, J (1988) Vocabulary and reading In R.Carter &Mc Carthy (Eds), Vocabulary and Language Teaching London: Longman Nation, P & Ming-tzu, K W.(1999) Graded reader and vocabulary Reading in a foreign language, 12 (2) Nation, P (1997) The language learning benefits of extensive reading Retrieved on August, 2008, from the World Wide Web: http://www.jaltpublications.org/tlt/files/97/may/benefits.html Nguyen, T L A (2008) The effects of guided extensive reading on EFL learner’s vocabulary learning: An action research at Military Political Academy MA Thesis, Hanoi University 63 Nishino, T (2007) Beginning to read extensively: A case study with Mako and Fumi Reading in a foreign language, Volume 19, number Nunan, D (1990) Second Language Teaching and Learning Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Publisher Nunan, D (1992) Research Method Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nuttall, C (1982) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language London: Heinemann Educational Ono, L., Day, R & Harsch, K (2004) Tips for reading extensively Retrieved on March, 2009, from the World Wide Web: http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol42/no4/p12.htm Oxford University Press Getting started Retrieved 15 March, 2009 on the world wide web: http://www.oup-readers.jp/teachers/gettingstarted/index_jp.shtml Paribakht, T., & Wesche, M (1997) Vocabulary enhancement activities and reading for meaning in second language vocabulary acquisition In Coady, J & Huckin, T (Eds), Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Parrot, M (1993) Tasks for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Pham, T N T (2003) An extensive reading program experiment at the Post and Telecommunications Institute of Technology MA Thesis, Hanoi University of Foreign Studies Pham, T V P (2008) A case study on exploring the vocabulary development through extensive reading practice without formal instructions MA Thesis, Hanoi University Pigada, M, & Schmitt, N (2006) Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading Reading in a Foreign Language, 18/1 Richard, D.C & Lorkhart, C (1994) Reflective Teaching In The Second Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Richard, JC & Renandya, WA (2002) Methodology in Language Teaching: an Anthology of Current Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Richards, J.C et al (1992) Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics UK: Longman Group UK Limited Robb, T (2002) Extensive reading in an Asian Context- An Alternative View Reading in a Foreign Language, 14/2, pp.116-117 64 Robb, T.N.& Susser, B (1989) Extensive reading vs Skills building in an EFL Context Reading in a Foreign Language, 5/2 Rosszell, R (2006) The role of Extensive Reading in second language vocabulary acquisition Retrieved February, 2009 on the world wide web: http://www.extensivereading.net/er/bibdocs/rosszell-RoleofER.pdf Rubin, J & Thompson, I (1994) How to be a Successful Language Learner Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle Schmitt, N (1997) Vocabulary learning strategies In N Schmitt & M McCarthy (eds.), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy, pp.199-227 New York: Cambridge University Press Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Susser, B & Robb, T (1990) EFL extensive reading instruction: Research and procedure The Language Teacher Online Retrieved on 16 January, 2009, from the World Wide Web: http://www.kyoto- su.ac.jp/~trobb/sussrobb.html Thornbury, S (2002) How to Teach Vocabulary Harlow: Longman Tran, T.T.H (2007) An investigation into the effects of semantic mapping on vocabulary memorizing for the first-year English non-major students at Nam Dinh teacher’s training college MA Thesis, Hanoi University Wallace, M.J (1998) Action Research for Language Teacher Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Waring, R (1997) Graded and extensive reading- questions and answers Retrieved on 14 February, 2009, from the World Wide Web: http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/97/may/waring.html Wilkins, D A (1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching London: Edward Arnold Williams, R (1986) ‘Top ten’ principles for teaching reading ELT Journal, 40, pp 42-45 Wodinsky, M & Nation, P (1988) Learning from Graded Readers Reading in a foreign language, (1) 65 APPENDIX 1: READING JOURNAL Date: Name: ……………………………………….Class:…………………… Title:………………………………………… In my opinion, the story is… easy normal difficult very difficult Was the story too long for you to read? Short OK long too long Did you enjoy reading the story? little OK much very much Briefly summarise the story: What is it about? What happened? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… I learned the following new words from the story I just read (write as many as you want) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………… Write your other opinions or feelings related to what you have read: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 66 APPENDIX 2.1: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect data to our investigation into your English vocabulary learning Your responses to the questions will be studied If they are frank and accurate, they will be an invaluable help in our research Your assistance in completing this survey questionnaire is highly appreciated The survey data is only used for this research Please circle the answer that is the most appropriate for you (you can circle more than one answer) How long had you learnt English before you entered UNETI? A Under year B 1-3 years C Over years How you think about the level of your English vocabulary? Very good Good OK poor very poor How you think about time for learning vocabulary in class? Too much much adequate little too little What you often when you meet a new word? - Use bilingual dictionaries - Ask teachers or friends - Guess meaning from textual contexts - Ignore and continue to read (Note: = always; = often; = sometimes; = rarely; Have you ever read any materials in English? A Yes B No If Yes: answer and 7; If No: answer If Yes: 67 = never) What you often read? A newspapers C stories B magazines D others:…………………… What difficulties you often have in reading English materials? A limited vocabulary C limited English grammar B strange topic D others:…………………… If No: Why? A lack of time C lack of reading materials B lack of reading methods D other reasons:……………………… How you feel if the teacher asks you to read short stories in English this term? A afraid C Ok B enthusiastic D other………………………… 10 What kinds of short stories you like reading? A Fantasy & Horror C True stories B Thriller & Adventure D Classics Thank you very much for your assistance and cooperation! 68 APPENDIX 2.2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Phiếu điều tra nhằm tìm hiểu việc học từ vựng tiếng Anh bạn Nó khơng phải để đánh giá hay xếp loại bạn mà giúp cho giáo viên tìm giải pháp giúp bạn học hiệu Tính xác thực câu trả lời quan trọng kết nghiên cứu Vì mong bạn trả lời trung thực với thân Bạn khoanh trịn vào câu trả lời (có câu khoanh trịn nhiều phương án) Bạn học tiếng Anh trước vào học trường ĐH Kinh tế Kĩ thuật Công nghiệp? A Dưới 1năm B 1-3 năm C năm Bạn thấy học từ vựng Tiếng Anh nào? A tốt B tốt C trung bình D.kém E Bạn thấy thời gian dành cho việc học từ vựng lớp nào? A nhiều B nhiều C đủ D E Bạn thường làm gặp từ ? (bạn đánh dấu vào nhiều phương án) - Tra từ điển Anh - Việt Việt – Anh - Hỏi giáo viên bạn bè - Đoán nghĩa từ dựa vào ngữ cảnh - Bỏ qua tiếp tục đọc (Chú ý: = luôn; = thường xuyên; = thỉnh thoảng; = khi; = Không bao giờ) Bạn đọc thêm tài liệu tiếng Anh chưa? A Có B Khơng Nếu Có: trả lời câu 7; Nếu Không: trả lời câu Bạn thường đọc gì? 69 A báo C truyện B tạp chí D Nguồn khác……………………………… Bạn thường gặp khó khăn đọc? A từ vựng hạn chế C chưa nắm vững ngữ pháp B chủ đề lạ D.khó khăn khác …………………………… Nếu Khơng: Vì sao? A khơng có đủ thời gian C khơng biết cách đọc B khơng có tài liệu D ngun nhân khác…………………………… Kì giáo viên cho bạn đọc thêm truyện ngắn tiếng Anh bạn thấy nào? A sợ C thích B bình thường D khác…………………………… 10 Bạn thích đọc loại truyện số loại sau: A Truyện viễn tưởng C Truyện có thực B Truyện trinh thám D Truyện cổ điển Cảm ơn cộng tác bạn! 70 APPENDIX 3: THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of extensive reading on students’ vocabulary acquisition This attitude questionnaire is designed to collect your opinion about the extensive reading activities you have taken Please complete the following questionnaire by ticking (√) the number that best describes the level of your agreement (Note: = strongly agree;4 = agree; = neutral; = disagree;1 = strongly disagree) No 10 Items The stories were suitable for me The story reading activity gave me more pleasure in learning English The story reading activity helped me to gain more selfconfident of my language study My background knowledge has been improved due to story reading The story reading activity helped to expand my vocabulary The story reading activity also helped me to improve other skills I like the post-extensive reading activity I started to feel like reading in English in my free time I wish I had been encouraged to read extensively before I would like to be assigned reading activities in the same way next year 71 APPENDIX 4: LIST OF STORIES (Oxford Bookworms Library) Week Name of stories The author Kinds of stories The Elephant Man Tim Vicary True Stories Jennifer Bassett Fantasy & Horror Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Crime & Mystery the Sport of Kings Doyle (Stage 1) The Omega Files short stories (Stage 1) (Stage 1) Aladdin and the Retold by Judith Enchanted Lamp Dean Fantasy & Horror (Stage 1) Mary Queen of Scots Tim Vicary True Stories (Stage 1) The Love of a King Peter Dainty (Stage 2) 72 True Stories APPENDIX 5: PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST RESULTS Case Pre-test Post-test 85 102 102 108 93 95 105 120 83 89 106 105 94 100 111 114 88 90 10 102 110 11 109 112 12 114 115 13 137 145 14 94 96 15 103 105 16 102 102 17 117 115 18 95 98 19 104 109 20 91 95 21 127 128 22 96 99 23 88 90 24 97 100 25 111 115 26 95 96 27 134 135 28 84 85 29 66 69 30 105 108 31 98 102 32 108 109 33 90 97 34 110 116 35 89 90 73 APPENDIX 6: PRE AND POST -TEST 74 APPENDIX 6: PRE AND POST-TEST VOCABULARY TEST Time: 45 minutes Name:………… ……………………………… Class:…………………………………………… I : I don’t remember having seen this word before II : I have seen this word before but I don't know what it means III: I have seen this word before and I think it means………………….(synonym or translation) IV: I know this word It means ……………… (synonym or translation) V : I can use this word in a sentence E.g: ………………………………………… (If you this section, please also section IV) Words I II III IV V cab incident chairman cloth blood creature stranger editor elephant 10 enormous 75 11 winner 12 servant 13 promise 14 food 15 gentleman 16 crown 17 heavy 18 wedding 19 slave 20 horrible 21 surprised 22 knee 23 divorce 24 fall in love 25 lighthouse 26 sleeping-powder 27 loudly 28 marry 29 mirror 30 neck 31 cancer 75 32 war 33 drug company 34 kiss 35 police 36 present 37 prison 38 magician 39 scream 40 shake hands 41 shopkeeper 42 executioner 43 skin 44 pregnant 45 step 46 monster 47 fight 48 dangerous 49 tears 50 touch 75 ...STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled ? ?Improving college students? ?? vocabulary knowledge through short story reading: action research at University of Economic and Technical. .. importance of vocabulary in learning English and improving vocabulary knowledge has been one of the objectives of many learners at the university The University of Economic and Technical Industries. .. hypothesis is that short story reading will help learners to enhance their vocabulary knowledge It is also assumed that short story reading can improve attitudes towards reading in general and language