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Major Article 01
An Action Research Report on Teaching stories without telling them
Dhruba Babu Joshi
Dhruba Babu Joshi lectures at Campus o !nternational "anguages# Tribhu$an
%ni$ersit&# 'epal( )*mail+ Joshbabu11, &ahoo(com

Ask Am I using my mental ability to make history or
Am I using it merely to record history made by others?
Anonymous
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Abstract
!ntro-uction
Bac.groun-
Classroom acti$it&
The result
Reerences
Astract
This paper reports the results o an action research /RA0 on the eecti$eness o
teaching stories in a new wa& Teaching 1tories without Telling Them carrie- out in the
Campus o !nternational "anguages# Tribhu$an %ni$ersit& an- at )nglish 1pea.ing an-
Research Club simultaneousl&( The purpose o this research was to justi& that how
interacti$e wa&s o teaching stories enables stu-ents to perorm better in the classroom#
how the interacti$e teaching e2pan-s the .nowle-ge o both teachers an- learners# an-
how the teacher# at the same time# is teaching an- -rawing on an- learning rom the
.nowle-ge an- e2perience o the stu-ents( That creates an i-eal teaching c&cle# a sel*
reinorcing teaching an- ne$er en-ing learning process(
!ntroduction
A glance through the past centur& o language teaching gi$es us an interesting picture o
$arie- interpretations o 3the best wa&3 o teaching a oreign language( Brown /40000 has
argue- that language teaching to-a& is not categori5e- into metho-s or tren-s6 instea-#
each teacher is calle- on to -e$elop a soun- o$erall approach to $arious language
classrooms( The teacher can choose particular -esigns an- techni7ues or teaching a
oreign language in a particular conte2t( 'o 7uic. i2 is guarantee- to pro$i-e success
or all classroom situations( )$er& learner is uni7ue6 e$er& teacher is uni7ue6 so is e$er&
learner*teacher relationship( The teacher8s .e& tas. is# thereore# to un-erstan- the
properties o these relationships an- set the classroom en$ironment accor-ingl&(
!n 'epal# stu-ents are taught to $iew their teachers as an incarnation o .nowle-ge# an
authorit& an- a .nows*e$er&thing person in the classroom# an- this $alue*base-
relationship hin-ers the learners rom reel& e2pressing themsel$es in the classroom( !n
this irml& establishe- teacher*centere- s&stem# as 'gu&en sa&s /4009+ 40 it is oten
oensi$e or the stu-ents to contra-ict the teacher8s point o $iew( This une7ual
classroom relationship is oten seen as a cultural -isposition(3 ! belie$e that this is not a
new issue( Man& publishe- writings ha$e criticall& loo.e- at it /:aemer 400;0( :owe$er#
a teacher can alwa&s a-opt $arious strategies to increase stu-ents8 participation in the
classroom acti$ities( !n or-er to justi& this possibilit&# ! use- a techni7ue that ! ha$e
terme- as teaching stories without telling them( ! the stories are careull& chosen#
stu-ents eel what the& -o in the classroom is rele$ant an- meaningul to their li$es
/"a5ar 1<<;0( Moreo$er# when as.e- to respon- personall& to the te2ts# stu-ents
become increasingl& coni-ent about e2pressing their own i-eas an- emotions(
Accor-ing to %r /1<<;0# the stories in$ol$e emotions as well as intellect# which a--s to
moti$ation an- contribute to personal -e$elopment( This is in particular $er& useul
where the classroom is oten onl& source o )nglish(
! also ha$e another rationale or con-ucting this action research( ! 7uote =allace
/400;+90 Most o us ten- to use wi-e $ariet& o strategies or our proessional
-e$elopment some ormal an- some inormal( >or the same reason# ! ha$e been
e2ploring new wa&s o teaching techni7ues to use in m& classrooms what Cohen an-
Manian /as cite- in =allace 400;+100 calls in7uir&( !n7uir& in its most basic sense
simpl& means the act to process o see.ing the answer to the most as.e- 7uestion what
are the wa&s to ma.e our language class more interacti$e an- learner centere- or
impro$ise learners8 tal.ing time so that the& get ma2imum e2posure in classroom( M&
irst attempts ha$e been to change m& role rom -ominant teacher to acilitator( !
certainl& agree with Brown /40010 when he -eines teachers# to be acilitators# must irst
be real an- genuine -iscar-ing mas.s o superiorit& an- omniscience( 1econ- teachers
nee- to ha$e genuine trust# acceptance an- a pri5ing o the other person ? the stu-ent *
as a worth& $aluable in-i$i-ual( Thir-# the& nee- to communicate openl& an-
empatheticall& with their stu-ents an- $ice $ersa( =ith this i-ea in min-# ! carrie- out an
action research in m& classrooms at the Campus o !nternational "anguages /C!"0#
Tribhu$an %ni$ersit& an- at )nglish 1pea.ing an- Research Club* the outcomes o
which ! report in this paper(
"ac#ground
! ha$e been teaching )nglish at the Campus o !nternational "anguages# Tribhu$an
%ni$ersit& or the last our &ears tutoring Basic )nglish Course( The pre*re7uisite to join
this programme is 1chool "ea$ing Certiicate /1"C0( @racticall&# the stu-ents who join
this course range rom 1"C gra-uates to %ni$ersit& gra-uates( ! also wor. at )nglish
1pea.ing an- Research Club that runs classes or those who want to impro$e their
spea.ing s.ills( !nterestingl&# the members coming to this Club inclu-e school stu-ents
to proessionals an- businesspersons( Certainl&# the classes in both settings are
multile$el in nature( ! woul- li.e to reer to :ess8s /40040 -einition * multile$el class is
the class in which stu-ents $ar& consi-erabl& in their language an- literar& s.ills( !n m&
case# stu-ents not onl& -iere- in language le$el# but also in age# moti$ation#
e2pectations# attitu-e an- interest(
The Procedure
!n both places# ! began with a pre*test in or-er to -iagnose the learnersA le$el o )nglish(
The can-i-ates were teste- all their s.ills ? irst -a& rea-ing an- writing an- the secon-
-a& spea.ing an- listening( "ater the& were -i$i-e- into three groups name- as triple
five /those scoring less than 90B0# triple seven /those scoring between 90*C0 B0 an-
triple six /those scoring C0B abo$e0 accor-ing to their test results6 but the& were not
inorme- about it(
Action plan teaching process
$electing a story% /! selecte- stories rom boo.s a$ailable in the mar.et( !
purposel& chose boo.s that ha- an appropriate le$el o -iicult& an- length(0
"rie&ing the students aout the di&&erent nature o& class% /! tol- m& stu-ents
that the& woul- ha$e to rea- the te2t an- be able to answer the 7uestions ! woul-
as. them in the class( ! -i- not rea- the stor&( M& role as a teacher an- acilitator
was to as. 7uestions $er& careull& so that ! woul- be able un-erstan- the stor&
an- stu-ents8 role was to ma.e me un-erstan- the stor&(0
'iving students the story to read at home as reading assignment+ /! ga$e
each stu-ent a cop& o the same stor& to rea- at home(0
'rouping the students according to their language pro&iciency level and
carrying out the class% /! as.e- simple actual 7uestions to below a$erage
group i(e( 9996 relecti$e 7uestions to a$erage group i(e( DDD6 an- interpreti$e
an- ju-gmental 7uestions to abo$e a$erage group i(e( CCC( This actuall&
engage- e$er& stu-ent in the classroom acti$it&( Moreo$er# the& were $er&
attenti$e when someone was spea.ing( This $arious t&pes o 7uestions actuall&
moti$ate- all le$el stu-ents to participate in the classroom acti$it&(0
Carry out discussion% /! was $er& careul while carr&ing out the -iscussion(
1ometimes the stu-ents ga$e contra-ictor& answers to the same 7uestion !
as.e-( !n such situation ! pla&e- a $er& careul role ? ! ga$e the stu-ents e7ual
opportunit& to justi& their answers( M& job was to acilitate them to come to an
agreeing point(0
Ei$ing home assignment+ /! ga$e -ierent tas.s to -ierent group ? ! as.e- the
below a$erage group to write a summar& o the stor&# ! as.e- the a$erage group
to imagine one o the characters in the stor& an- write the stor& rom their own
perspecti$e( For example, imagine that you are the Brahmin in the story, write a
paragraph how these three thieves cheated you. ! as.e- the abo$e a$erage
group to interpret the stor& using their own eelings an- emotions( For example,
do you think you would punish these thieves if you were a judge? Write a very
logical paragraph of your argumentations.
The stu-ents at the beginning were little pu55le- but -i- not e2press openl&( :owe$er#
the& participate- $er& acti$el& in the classroom acti$ities( M& primar& aim was to
promote learner autonom&# b& encouraging them to ta.e charge o their own learning
/'gu&en# 40090( This became e$en more interesting as ! purposel& -i- not rea- the stor&
to create a real inormation gap( ! ! ha- rea- the stor&# ! woul- alrea-& ha$e .nown
e$er&thing an- then the 7uestions ! as.e- in the classroom woul- ha$e been merel&
mechanical ones( >or this reason# ! claim that the classroom language was authentic(
Classroom activity
!n the classroom# ! as.e- our -ierent t&pes o 7uestions+ &actual( re&lective(
interpretive( and )udgmental( !t is $ital that we un-erstan- the nature o the -ierent
t&pes o 7uestion( ! ha$e briel& -escribe- what the& mean an- 7uote- some sample
7uestions ! use- in m& classroom an- their respecti$e answers that stu-ents ga$e( The&
are as ollows(
a) >actual 7uestions+ the 7uestions are $er& simple an- the& can pic. up the
answer rom the te2t $er& easil& such as+
T what is the title of the story?
!!! Brahmin and thieves "they can pick from the text#
T $ow many characters are there?
!!! There are four% one Brahmin and three thieves.
b) Relecti$e 7uestions+ the t&pes o 7uestions are relate- with peoples8 emotions#
eelings an- associations or which the stu-ents ha$e to use their won eelings to
characters# e$ent an- plot o the stor& such as+
T What could &e another suita&le title?
''' Brahmin and the goat "they have to associate with the text.#
T why did they try to fool the Brahmin?
''' &ecause they want the goat.
c) !nterpreti$e 7uestions+ the t&pes o 7uestions are relate- with meaning# purpose
an- $alues such as+
T Why do you think the title should &e Brahmin and goat?
((( Because the goat also has main role in the story.
d) Ju-gmental 7uestion+ these sorts o 7uestions allow the stu-ents to -eci-e their
eelings# emotions an- response to the topic an- -iscussion the& ha$e ha-
together such as+
T Write a very logical description, why do you want to punish one?
((( ) should judge very carefully. We all know that if we miss judge then
there is no one to help poor people. )n this case, any way the Brahmin
is "sis# victim ******.
!n this wa&# e$er& learner participate- in the class( Though the class was multile$el# the
tas. -esigne- or -ierent le$els was reall& challenging( The classroom rule was that
onl& the group was suppose- to answer the 7uestion# in case the& -i- not answer then
other group woul- answer(
As ar as the error correction concerne-# ! -i- not correct all the errors the& ma-e in the
-iscussion( !t -oes not mean that ! ignore- all the errors( ! correcte- onl& global error not
the local error( ! agree with Brown8s /40000 -einition that the local error is clearl& an-
humorousl& recogni5e- an- recommen-e- that the& ma& not be correcte- as long as the
message is un-erstoo- an- correction ma& interrupt a learner in the low o
communication( The global error nee-s to be correcte- in some wa& since the message
ma& otherwise remain unclear an- rather ambiguous( ! ha$e correcte- the errors
watching the situation without -isturbing in their attempt to pro-uce the language(
The result
! oun- a -ramatic change in the classroom atmosphere+ all tr&ing to sa& something#
listening to others what the& sa&( !n act# ! ha- ne$er ha- such satisaction in m& class
beore e$en though ! use- pair wor.# group wor. an- role*pla&( !n this sense# ! agree
with 'unan8s /as cite- in :iep 40090 suggestion that the teacher shoul- use such
acti$ities that in$ol$e oral communication# carr&ing out meaningul tas.s an- using
language which is meaningul to the learners an- as well as the use o materials that
promote communicati$e language use( 1uch acti$ities helpe- the learners to in- the
wa&s o helping them to connect what is in the te2t to what is in their min-s( Fne o the
major a-$antages o this approach is that te2ts can be selecte- base- on the richness
an- -i$ersit& o the language an- on the rele$ance to the )nglish learners who shoul-
in- them both meaningul an- moti$ating( ! reer 'gu&en /4009+90 )2posing stu-ents to
$arieties o stories let them e2perience not onl& the beautiul language but also
something be&on-# such as s&mpath& with characters an- engagement with emotional
situations that relate to their actual li$es(3 As a result# ! oun- the acti$ities $ital or
progress in language learning process( 1uch -iscussion certainl& enhances stu-ents8
abilit& to pa& attention# remember new grammar an- $ocabular&# process i-eas an-
response appropriatel&( Moreo$er# stu-ents get enough chances to e2press their own
i-eas an- opinions an- -iscuss the opinions an- i-eas o other stu-ents( ! agree with
B&r- an- Cabetas /1<<1+<0 Gb& -iscussing these -ierences stu-ents learn to use
)nglish more clearl& an- to un-erstan- it better( Moreo$er# the& learn to clari& their own
i-eas# $alues# perspecti$es# an- learn rom others( A major inno$ation that ! ha$e notice-
about this techni7ue is to s&stematicall& buil- stu-ents8 abilit& to present their own i-eas#
opinions an- eelings * both accuratel& an- coni-entl&( ! ha$e particularl& ocuse- on
ma2imi5ing stu-ent*tal.ing time an- minimi5ing teacher*tal.ing time in the classroom
setting( This action research pro$e- the i-ea o Breen an- Can-lin /as cite- in B&r- an-
Cabetas 1<<10 that the teacher has two roles+ the irst role is to acilitate the
communicati$e process an- to act as an in-epen-ent participant within the teaching*
learning process6 secon- role is that o researcher an- learner(
*e&erences
Brown# :( D( 4000( +rinciples of language learning and teaching( 'ew Hor.+ @earson
)-ucation(
B&r-# R( :( an- Cabetas# !( C( 1<<1( ,eact and interact situation for communication(
'ew Jerse&+ )nglewoo- Cli(
:armer# J( 400;( @opular culture# metho-s# an- conte2t( !n -.T /ournal !' "0# @p(4ID*
<J(
:ess# '( 4004( Teaching large multilevel classes( %K+ Cambri-ge %ni$ersit& @ress(
"a5ar# E( 1<<;( .iterature in language class( %K+ Cambri-ge %ni$ersit& @ress(
@ham :oa :iep ( /40090( !mporte- Communicati$e "anguage Teaching !mplications or
"ocal Teachers( !n Forum -nglish .anguage Teaching, 10"1# @p( 4*<(
'gu&en# Thi Cam "e( /40090( >rom @assi$e @articipant to Acti$e Thin.er( !n Forum
-nglish .anguage Teaching, 10"00+ @p( 4*<(
%r# @( 1<<<( 2 course in language teaching( %K+ Cambri-ge %ni$ersit& @ress(
=allace# M(J( 400;( Action research or language teachers( %K+ Cambri-ge %ni$ersit&
@ress(