The Effects of Reading and Performing Graded Detective Stories on Students' English Oral Skill Development

Abstract

This paper reports the method of reading and performing graded novels, most of which are detective stories, in three conversation classes for two-year university students at Ming Hsin University of Science and Technology. Literature reading has always been regarded as an indispensable part of language learning, but it has been absent from EFL classes most of the time, particularly in technical colleges, mainly because the overwhelming vocabulary, complicated rhetorical devices, and the length of the works are way beyond students' language competence. Fortunately, graded fictions provide those characteristics of literature that benefit language learning and in the meantime tactfully circumventing language difficulty. In the three conversation classes, each student chose a novel that fitted his/her level of proficiency as outside-classroom-reading materials. With some help from the teacher's explanation of the literary elements and characterization found in novels, students set out to read the fictions by themselves. They were required to turn in a reading report at midterm giving an outline of the story, describing the most exciting plot, the most interesting characters, stating any difficulties, excitement or inspiration felt in their reading process, and listing the language they had acquired from the book. Then, those who read the same book got into a group of five to seven and transformed the book into a twenty-minute mini-play to be performed in front of the class at the end of the semester. Data for this study were collected from students' reports, classroom observation, mini-play video tapes, and final questionnaires to find the effects of this teaching method on students' language acquisition. Results revealed that reading and performing fictions, as perceived by students, is beneficial in boosting learning interest and improving linguistic skills. The quality of the mini-play performance remained a lot to be desired, but the process students went through did involve them in learning.