LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:12 December 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Integrating Short Stories in the ESL Classroom for
Developing Learners’ Communicative Competence

Dr. K. Thiyagarajan, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.

Abstract

This paper aims at emphasizing the use of short stories in English language teaching classrooms, for developing students’ communicative competence. It also attempts to find out the problems of learning language skills by the tertiary level learners of engineering colleges and offers solutions to overcome those problems. The identified common problems are: learners’ lack of interest in their subject, lack of opportunity to speak in the class room and no room for creative writing. In addition to that most students do not have confidence to speak to their peer groups or friends as they come from vernacular medium with less vocabulary stock. Again the existing syllabus given to engineering students for technical English has also widened the gap between students’ interest in the subject and their communication skills. Hence this paper attempts to prove that the proper integration of short stories into the syllabus is expected to bridge the abovementioned gap by way of creating interest in their subjects and motivating the learners further and further to acquire all the four skills, i.e., LSRW (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing), which are necessary for effective communication.

Key words: Short stories, communicative competence, ESL classroom

Introduction

It is well known that the English language has become a Global language. In some countries it has been used as mother tongue and in other countries it is learnt as a second language. In that way, English language is the only medium of communication/ instruction for the speakers of other languages. Louis H. Gray (1939: 12) defines that “language may be said to be any means of expressing emotional or mental concepts by any living being or beings whatsoever and of communicating them to, or receiving them from, other living beings”. English Literature is a rich medium not only to reflect the experiences of people from various countries, but also to contribute a deep sense of cultural identity.

Influence of Literature

Generally, literature kindles and motivates learners’ desire to enjoy various genres of literature i.e. poetry, prose, drama, novel and short stories. Majority of language teachers consider the use of literary texts in language teaching as an interesting tool, because literary genres help the learners understand how language functions through the writers’ thoughts, feelings and experience. Edward Sapir (1919: 15) states: “it is obvious that language has the power to analyze experience into theoretically dissociable elements and to create the potential intergrading with the actual which enables human beings to transcend their individual experience and to join in a larger common understanding”.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. K. Thiyagarajan, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Head
Department of English
Sir Theagaraya College
Chennai- 600 021
Tamilnadu
India
thiyaguk7@yahoo.com
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