The Effectiveness Of Using Short Stories On Developing Secondary Students’ Reading Skills

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using short stories on developing secondary school students’ reading skills. To achieve this goal, the researcher adopted the quasi-experimental approach. The sample of the study consisted of 32 first year secondary school students at Shamasiyah Secondary School, 45 kilometers away from Buraidah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia. The subjects were divided into two equal groups of 16 students each: an experimental group and a control group. A suggested program was used to teach short stories to the experimental group whereas the prescribed textbook was used to teach the control group. This study lasted 7 weeks during the first term of the academic year 2015-2016. A pre-posttest (5 questions) was designed to measure the students’ vocabulary, comprehension, sense of logical order of sentences, analytical ability, and practical use of their understanding. The data were collected and statistically analyzed. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups, favouring the experimental group. Students who studied the suggested program were more successful than those who used the prescribed textbook in developing their reading skills. In light of these findings, the study recommended the implementation of short stories in teaching reading comprehension to secondary school students to get more tangible results. The researcher also suggested that further research focus on the effectiveness of short stories on other English language skills.