The Application of English Short Stories in EFL Teaching: A Case Study in Taiwan

Leo Wen-Hua Liang, Mackay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, ID LLCE2017-110;      Abstract: This research aims to demonstrate the application of teaching English Reading through English short stories in an EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom.  The research gives a literature review of teaching EFL through English literature, narrowing its scope to a specific literary genre: short stories and discusses the advantages of applying short stories in English teaching.  Then a case study in Taiwan is presented in this research to demonstrate how the teaching has been conducted. A post-teaching questionnaire is also given to the students and its results are analyzed and explained. This research concludes that short stories can serve as the most suitable literary genre for teaching EFL students with a proper consideration of the following aspects: the length, difficulty levels, themes, cultural and historical backgrounds, and proper extended activities. The limitations and problems will also be discussed at the end of this research.