Enhancing reading comprehension through short stories in Iranian EFL learners

Abstract

Incorporating literature in language classes had many ups and down. In hay days of Grammar Translation Method, literature was the core source of foreign language learning. However by the emergence of Direct Method literature has been generally out of favor. In recent years literature came back to language classes. Literature has been discovered as a valuable and interesting material for improving students' language ability (Premawardhena, 2005). It has been found that if appropriate literary texts are chosen it would -be an effective tool for stimulating and achieving language learning and equipping learners with relevant linguistic and socio-cultural competences{norm of matrix} (Sell, 2005, p. 92). This study tries to test using literary text in improving reading comprehension ability of Iranian foreign language learners. A group of 26 students majoring in English at the Islamic Azad University Babol Branch and Amol Branch has been sampled for the purpose of this study. The students were then divided into two groups- the control group and the experimental group. Both the groups were administered identical Pre-Test and Post-Test which consists of selected reading passage from different TOEFL books. Contrary to the previous researches the result of the present study shows that the experimental group did not show a significant improvement over the control group. So the using of literary texts seems unsatisfactory for Iranian EFL learners'. © 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.