چکیده
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The present study was an attempt to increase Iranian male and female EFL learners’ reading skill in short story narrating. To do so, A sample of 30 male and female elementary EFL learners participated in this study. These learners were studying English as a foreign language in language institutes located in Sanandaj. The participants' age ranged from 11 to 15. To carry out the sampling for participants, convenience samplings were used to select participant learners. In convenience sampling, the researcher selected participants who were willing to and available to participate in the study. A preliminary English test, short story narrating questionnaire, and semi-structured interview were used as the instruments in the present study. Mixed method design was conducted as an approach to inquiry that combines or associates both interview and questionnaire as qualitative and quantitative phases respectively. The findings indicated that the level of “Usefulness of Short Stories” factor is higher than “Interest on Reading Short Stories” and “Acceptance of Using Short Stories” factors. Additionally, the results of short story narrating questionnaire revealed that factors such as usefulness, interest and acceptance of using short stories among female EFL learners are almost the same but the level of “Acceptance of Using Short Stories” factor is higher than “Usefulness of Short Stories” and “Interest on Reading Short Stories” factors. Finally, the results indicated that the majority of male and female EFL learners who participated in this study have positive attitudes and perceptions towards reading skill using short story narrating. Hence, hopefully the findings of this study will assist educational teachers, administrators, academicians to better understand the usefulness of short stories narrating in male and female EFL learners’ reading skill.
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