CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the results and discussion of the data collected based on the
four research questions raised in chapter one. First, the researcher described how she
conducted her children’s poetry lessons and how the students responded to her
instruction. Second, the students’ perceptions of the application of the read-aloud
approach in instruction of English children’s poems are revealed by means of the
questionnaires.
Classroom Observations
In this section, the researcher described how she conducted her English
children’s poetry lessons and how the students reacted to her teaching in class.
Description of the Classroom
One of the benefits of reading aloud is that whenever there is time in class, even
though it is ten minutes, students can still read aloud with the proper materials with
the guidance of an enthusiastic teacher.
In that case, the researcher always prepared handouts of Shel Silverstein’s poems
and worksheets before the class in case there would be time for reading aloud together.
In the researcher’s school, each classroom is equipped with a projector, and that
makes teaching even more convenient. In order to give students some background
knowledge of Shel Silverstein, the teacher introduced Shel Silverstein and his two
most popular books in English version with PowerPoint slides, which can save a lot of
paper. Accompanied with Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, there is a CD
including ten poems read by the author. A CD player was used when the poem that
was taught is available on CD track.
During the class, the researcher always stood in front of the classroom so that
when the poems were read by the researcher, everyone could see her performance.
The students’ desks were arranged into seven straight rows, so everyone could see
clearly what was written on the blackboard.
The reading aloud usually began after the materials related to the textbooks
were taught and reviewed. Though they were the senior students in the school, their
English ability was limited. Warm-up questions, brief explanations and
experience-sharing talks in Chinese of the poems to guide students to the right
comprehension of the poems were necessary. For example, the illustration of “The
Crocodile’s Toothache” was a big crocodile sat in a chair with a dentist standing in its
mouth, seemingly enjoyed pulling the crocodile’s teeth. The crocodile in the picture
was crying, and the dentist seemed to smile excitedly. The researcher asked the
students to watch the illustration and asked the students by the question,” Who is the
happy one in the picture, the crocodile or the dentist?” Most students replied “Of
course, the dentist.” And the researcher continued asking them, “What about you? Do
you feel happy when your teeth are pulled out by your dentist?” Some students started
to talk about their experiences with his neighbors. Some said that by just hearing the
sound of the dentist drill could make his hair stand. By hearing them talking about
their experiences, the researcher kept saying, “I know how you guys hate to see your
dentists. Say, if you were the crocodile, and if you could not stand the pain, what
would you do?” Some boy students spoke without hesitation, “Eat the dentist up”, and
some said, “Put the dentist in the chair and pull the dentist’s teeth.” And the whole
classroom was full of laughter. “Now, let’s see if you were guessing right.” The
researcher would calm the class down and read aloud the poem in a normal speed, so
that the students could hear every word clearly and have time to understand the poem.
After that, the researcher would read the poem line by line, and explained the
vocabulary and the meaning of each line, and the grammar, too. And then, the
researcher would invite the students to read aloud with her. Now with better
comprehension and the pronunciations of most words, the researcher asked them to
read faster, so they could enjoy the rhythm of the poem, which is some other genres of
literature cannot provide. After their reading aloud, the researcher played the reading
of Shel Silverstein, which was done in a dramatic tone with background music. He
recited, sang, and shouted the whole poem through. All Students were paying
attention to the author’s unique reading and laughed along the way.
In reading aloud the poem, “The Meehoo with an Exactlywatt”, which is a poem
in a knock-knock joke form, in case students had no prior knowledge about what a
knock-knock joke is, the researcher gave them a handout of examples of knock-knock
jokes first. (See Appendix B) Students laughed all the way through reading the
knock-knock jokes and asked for more. Once the researcher heard the laughter, she
knew there wouldn’t be a big problem for the students to understand the poem. And it
turned out that students enjoyed reading the poem very much and loved knock-knock
jokes.
Whenever there was time for the researcher and the students to read aloud Shel
Silverstein’s poems, the researcher always tried her best to talk with the students,
instead of talking to them in class. She tried her best to make the classroom’s
atmosphere casual, pressure-free and test-free, because enjoying reading is supposed
to be that way. If time permitted, the researcher would prepared some activities along
with the poems to enhance students’ speaking, writing abilities and grammar power,
and these activities are already mentioned in Chapter Three.
Students’ Responses toward the Instruction
Since there were no tests and exams for what they read, and Silverstein’s poems
are always humorous, students could enjoy what they read and shared their thoughts
with their classmates at ease. Most students were happy when it came to reading aloud
Shel Silvertein’s poems in class.
The students in this class were from the top 200 of the senior ones, so most
students cared about their grades and what teachers thought of them. They were
well-disciplined ones. They never made noise during class except when they could not
help but share the thoughts on Silverstein’s interesting poems with their classmates, or
when they had problems understanding the poems, they asked their neighbors. There
was no classroom management problem in this class.
Though in junior high school, writing is not emphasized as much as speaking and
listening, the researcher encouraged her students to write the worksheet in English as
possible as they could. The researcher told them not to worry about the wrong word
usages and grammatical errors, and the researcher would correct for them. It turned
out that about one third of the students were trying hard to write in English and the
others either wrote in Chinese or gave a brief answer. When their worksheets were
returned to them, most students were eager to see the correction and comments on
their writing. The researcher suggested them to exchange their worksheets with one
another, so that they could learn from their classmates. The researcher was always
ready to give positive comments on students’ assignments, and the students’ creativity
could always be seen. In the assignment of recording of the three poems on the tape,
some read with background music, and some even imitated the way Silverstein recited
his poems, using funny tone to read the poems. After turning in their tapes, some
students asked the researcher if he/she could tape his /her reading again because
he/she thought he/she could do a better job. Most of them showed a positive attitude
toward the researcher’s assignments.
Before every reading aloud, the researcher always rehearsed reading the poems
several times, doing her best to read in an enthusiastic and energetic voice, keeping
herself in a happy mood, and hoping what she did could create an easy and
pressure-free classroom. In the final questionnaires, students’ responses to reading
aloud children’s poetry will be discussed in the following sections.
Results of the Students’ Questionnaires
The attitudes of the students toward the project were reflected on the
questionnaires. The results showed that most of the students had positive attitudes
toward reading aloud the children’s poetry. A total of 36 questionnaires were collected
from the students. The relative items were categorized in the same section and they
were discussed quantitatively and qualitatively.
Students’ Perceptions of Their Language Development
Items 1 to 14 in the questionnaires were to check the students’ perceptions of
their development of the four language skills－listening, speaking, reading, and
writing and their cultural awareness in the study. Most students agreed that reading
aloud enhanced their English abilities and knew more about American culture. The
statistical results were presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Students’ Perceptions of Their Language Development
Items & Choices Frequency Percentage 1. Listening to the author’s recitation
helps improve my English listening ability.
Strongly agree Agree
Neutral Disagree
Strongly disagree
12 22 0 2 0
33.3%
61.1%
0.0%
5.6%
0.0%
2. Listening to the author’s recitation helps improve my pronunciation in English.
Strongly agree Agree
Neutral Disagree
Strongly disagree
13 18 0 5 0
36.1%
50.0%
0.0%
13.9%
0.0%
3. Writing worksheets helps understand the poems better.
Strongly agree Agree
Neutral Disagree
Strongly disagree
11 24 0 1 0
30.6%
66.7%
0.0%
2.7%
0.0%
4. Writing worksheets helps improve my English writing ability.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
16 19 0 1 0
44.4%
52.8%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
5. The corrected worksheets by the teacher help me to write correct English.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
18 17 0 1 0
50.0%
47.2%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
6. Reciting the poems on the tape helps improve my English pronunciation.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
12 20 0 3 0
33.3%
55.6%
0.0%
8.3%
0.0%
7. Reciting the poems on the tape helps me understand the poems better.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
10 18 0 7 0
27.8%
50.0%
0.0%
19.4%
0.0%
8. When I did the jigsaw in class, I would read the poem more clearly to make every sentence in the correct order.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
11 22 0 1 1
30.6%
61.1%
0.0%
2.8%
2.8%
9. I can review the grammar that I’ve learned by reading the poems Strongly agree
Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
17 11 0 6 0
47.2%
30.6%
0.0%
16.7%
0.0%
10. I can use if-clause correctly by reading the poems.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
15 17 0 4 0
41.7%
47.2%
0.0%
11.1%
0.0%
11. I can use present perfect tense and present perfect progressive correctly by reading the poems.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
10 21 0 4 1
27.8%
58.3%
0.0%
11.1%
2.8%
12. Vocabulary that is about food in the poems helps know American food better.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
14 22 0 0 0
38.9%
61.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
13. I know what a “knock-knock joke” is by reading the poems.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
28 8 0 0 0
77.8%
22.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
14. I can expand my vocabulary by reading the poems.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
15 21 0 0 0
41.7%
58.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
The responses to Item 1 showed that 33.3% of the students strongly agreed and
61.1% of them agreed that the author’s recitation of his own poems helped improve
their listening ability. More than 80% of the students agreed listening to the author’s
reading aloud the poems helped their English listening.
The data from the students’ responses to Item 2 revealed that 36.1% of the
students strongly agreed and 50% of them agreed that listening to the author’s
recitation helped pronounce English better. However, there were 13.9% of the
students didn’t think the author’s recitation helped them in their pronunciation. These
students either expressed that the author read too fast or they had problem to
comprehend the poem. In their answers to the open questions, they all wrote that there
were many new words in the poems that would make their reading of the poems
difficult. But generally speaking, the results from Item 1 and 2 revealed that reading
and listening benefited each other.
Item 3 to 5 tried to find out if using worksheets helps understand the poems and
improve writing ability better. Item 3 revealed that 30.6% of the students strongly
agreed and 66.7% agreed that writing worksheets helped understand the poems better.
From Item 4, 44.4% of the students strongly agreed and 52.8% agreed that trying
to write the worksheets in English helped improve English writing ability. And in the
responses to item 5, 50% of the students strongly agreed and 47.2% of them agreed
that the corrected worksheets by the teacher helped to write in correct English.
Item 6 and 7 were trying to find out if the recitation of the poems on the tape
helped them understand the poems better and have better pronunciation in English.
From the responses to the item 6, 33.3% of the students strongly agreed and 55.6% of
them agreed that the recitation of the poems on the tapes helped them pronounce
better in English. Item 7 revealed that 27.8% of the students strongly agreed and 50%
of them agreed that they understood the poems better by practicing reciting the poems
on the tapes.
Item 8 was trying to find out if jigsaw could motivate students to read the poems
more carefully in order to put the sentences in order. 30.6% of the students strongly
agreed and 61.1% of them agreed that they read each sentences over and over to put
the sentences in the correct order.
Item 9, 10, 11 aimed to find out if the poems could help students in grammar.
The responses to Item 9 showed that 47.2% of the students strongly agreed and 30.6%
of them agreed that reading children’s poetry could help review the grammar they
learned. However, 6 students didn’t think the poems can help them review the
grammar they learned before. According to their responses to the open questions, 4
out of them expressed that they had difficulties in understanding the poems, and one
of the reasons is that there are too many new words. Besides too many new words, 2
of them expressed that they already had big problem in grammar, and they needed to
do more grammatical exercises, instead of reading materials with many new words.
The responses to Item 10 revealed that 41.7% of the students strongly agreed
and 47.2 agreed that they could use if-clause correctly by reading the poems. There
were 4 students expressing that they thought they still couldn’t use if-clause correctly.
One of them even came to the researcher for further explanations. From her questions,
the researcher found out she needed to make extra efforts in the basic grammar.
Item 11 showed that 27.8% of the students strongly agreed and 58.3% of them
agreed that they could use present perfect tense and present perfect progressive tense
correctly by reading the poems. But still the same 4 students who had problem
understanding the if-clause had difficulties in present perfect tense and present perfect
progressive tense. Both of these grammatical rules were included in their sixth
textbook, which is the most difficult of the six books in their three-year school life. If
they have problem in basic grammar, obviously, they will have difficulty in advanced
grammar.
Item 12 and 13 were trying to find out if the poems helped students to know
American culture better. Item 12 revealed 38.9% of the students strongly agreed and
61.1% of them agreed that reading the poems helped to know more about American
food. The responses of Item 13 showed that 77.8% of the students and 22.2% of them
know what a “knock-knock joke” is and how it worked.
The responses of Item 14 showed that 41.7% of the students strongly agreed and
58.3% of them agreed that by reading the poems, their vocabulary expanded.
In Item 6, 7, 8, the total of the students were missing one and in Item 9, there
were two. When their questionnaires were returned, they just left the boxes blank.
That is why there were only 35 students in Item 6, 7, and 8, and 34 students in Item 9.
Students’ Attitudes toward Reading Aloud Children’s Poetry in Class
Item 15 to 22 in the questionnaire were to check how students felt about reading
aloud in class. Generally, students felt relaxed and enjoyed reading aloud the poems in
class. The atmosphere of the class was pleasant and comfortable for them to enjoy
reading aloud the poems. The statistical results were presented in Table 2.
Table 2 Students’ Attitudes toward Reading Aloud English Children’s Poetry in Class
Items & Choices Frequency Percentage 15. When we read the poems, the
atmosphere in the classroom is relaxing and pleasant.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
26 10 0 0 0
72.2%
27.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
16. I like listening to the teacher’s reading and explaining the poems.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
24 12 0 0 0
66.7%
33.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
17. I like to read aloud the poems with my classmates together.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
13 20 0 2 1
36.1%
55.6%
0.0%
5.6%
2.8%
18. By listening to the author’s recitation of the poems, I know emotions can be expressed in different tones of voices.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
22 13 0 1 0
61.1%
36.1%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
19. In the activity of jigsaw, I like to work with my classmates to put the poems in the correct orders.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
16 17 0 3 0
44.4%
47.2%
0.0%
8.3%
0.0%
20. When my classmate’s recitation of the poems on the tape was played, I would listen to it more carefully.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
14 18 1 3 0
38.9%
50.0%
2.8%
8.3%
0.0%
21. I am less afraid of reading aloud the poems on the tape than in front of the class.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
10 8 1 12
4
27.8%
22.2%
2.8%
33.3%
11.1%
22. Reading aloud the poems fluently helps me to have more confidence in speaking English.
Strongly agree Agree
15 17
41.7%
47.2%
Disagree
Strongly disagree
4 0
11.1%
0.0%
The data from students responses to Item 15 revealed that 72.2% of the students
strongly agreed and 27.8% of them agreed that the atmosphere in class was relaxing
and pleasant. And that figures showed that to motivate students to learn, first of all, is
to create a pleasant environment and then students will be less afraid, and more
willing to learn.
From the responses to Item 16, it was found that 66.7% of the students strongly
agreed and 33.3% agreed that they liked the teacher’s reciting and explaining the
poems. The figures showed that all the students had positive attitude toward their
teacher. And in fact, the teacher really tried hard to be an enthusiastic read-aloud
model because she believes that only when the teacher loves reading first can the
teacher affect their students to love reading themselves.
The responses to Item 17 showed that 36.1% of the students strongly agreed and
55.6% of them agreed that they liked to read the poems together in class. The
researcher asked the two students their reasons why they didn’t like to read with their
classmates. They said sometimes they felt bored just reading the poems because they
had difficulties with the new words and the meanings of the poems. They just sat there
listening to other classmates reading something they didn’t know. But they also said
that though they had problem understanding the poems, they liked the easy and happy
atmosphere when their classmates and teacher read in class.
From the data of the responses of Item 18, 61.1% of the students strongly agreed
and 36.1% agreed that by listening to the author’s dramatic recitation of the poems,
they knew better that by using different tones of the voices, different emotions could
be expressed. One boy student even imitated Silverstein’s style in his recitation of the
poems on his tape, and he did a quite good job.
In the responses of Item 19, 44.4% of the students strongly agreed and 47.2 of
them agreed that they like to work with their classmates to put the sentences in the
correct order. But there were three students expressed that the reason why they could
get the poems in the correct order is because they were lucky, and only the smartest
one was using his/her brain, the others just sat and watched.
From the responses to Item 20, 38.9% of the students strongly agreed and 50% of
them agreed that when students’ tapes were played in class, they would pay more
attention to listen to them. But three students expressed that they didn’t listen
carefully to their classmates’ reading on the tape. What made them declined to listen
to their classmates’ reading is that they thought they could read the poems themselves,
and they didn’t want to spend time on this, they would rather prepare for tomorrow’s
tests.
The responses of Item 21 are quite different from other items. Only 27.8 of the
students strongly agreed and 22.2% of them agreed that they felt less afraid reading
aloud the poems on the tapes than in front of the class. There were 33.3% of the
students disagreed and 11.1% of them strongly disagreed on this item. The results
indicated that though from Item 21, students liked to listen to their classmates’
recitation on the tapes; they themselves didn’t want to be the ones whose tapes to be
played in class. From the observation in class, the researcher noticed that some
introvert girl students felt nervous about this activity, they were afraid that their tapes
would be played in class and that would make them very embarrassed, even though
they read without being looked at. Almost half of them felt safer reading aloud
together with classmates and there was one student forgot to tick the box.
In the responses of Item 22, it was found that 41.7% of the students strongly
agreed and 47.2% of them agreed that reading aloud fluently helped them to be more
confident in speaking English. Still, there were four students expressed that reading
aloud the 17 poems didn’t help him/her feel confident in speaking in English. They
said, to them, repeating after the teacher is different from speaking English by
themselves. If they had nothing to repeat after, they thought that they would make
mistakes when speaking in English.
Students’ Attitudes toward the 17 Selected Poems
The students’ attitudes toward the selected poems are presented in Table 3, from
Item 23 to 27 in the questionnaire. The detailed statistical results showed that most
students had positive attitudes toward what they read.
Table 3 Students Attitudes toward the 17 Selected Poems
Items & Choices Frequency Percentage 23. The poems I read in class are
humorous and interesting, and I want to read more of them.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
21 15 0 0 0
58.3%
41.7%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
24. The poems I read are rhymed, and that makes them more fun to be read aloud.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
21 14 0 0 0
58.3%
38.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
25. Reading Shel Silverstein’s children’s poetry can enrich my imagination and creativity.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
27 8 0 1 0
75%
22.2%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
26. The illustrations of Shel Silverstein
fun.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
27 8 0 1 0
75%
22.2%
0.0%
2.8%
0.0%
27. Reading humorous children’s poetry can motivate students to read more in English.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
27 7 0 2 0
75%
19.4%
0.0%
5.6%
0.0%
The data of the responses of Item 23 showed 58.3% of the students strongly
agreed and 41.7% of them agreed that the poems they read in class were humorous
and interesting that they wanted to read more.
Almost the same percentage as Item 24, the responses of Item 24 revealed that
58.3% of the students and 38.9% of them thought it was fun reading the poems with
rich rhymes and rhythms. There was one students forgot to tick the blank.
When it came to Item 25, which was trying to find out if Silvertein’s poems
could enrich readers’ creativity and imagination, the percentage roared as high as 75%
of the students strongly agreed and 22.2% of them agreed on the power of the poems.
But one student who disagreed on this item expressed that sometimes there were too
many new words for him to comprehend the poems.
As for the illustrations of Silverstein, in the responses of Item 26, his stylish
illustrations drew the same high percentage as Item 26. 75% of the students strongly
agreed and 22.2% of them agreed that the illustrations made the poems even more
interesting to read. Two students who disagreed on this item said that if Silvertein’s
illustrations are too bland for them. If they could be more colorful, the two students
would like his poems more.
The percentage of Item 27 was almost as high as Item 26 and 27. 75% of the
students strongly agreed and 19.4% of them agreed that reading humorous children’s
poetry helped motivate them to read more in English. Two students expressed that if
they had more time, they would spend their time on reading more in English, but with
the coming of BCE, all they want is to get good grades in tests and exams.
Students’ Attitudes toward Outside Reading
Item 28 to 32 in the questionnaire were trying to check students’ attitudes toward
reading what was not included in the curriculum. Most students agreed that if they
wanted to make their English better, reading textbooks and writing exercise books
were not enough, you had to read more and then you could learn more. The statistical
results were presented in Table 4.
Table 4 Students’ Attitudes toward Outside Reading
Items & Choices Frequency Percentage 28. Reviewing what is related to the tests
and exams is the most important things to do. Reading what is not related to the tests and exams is not necessary.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
0 5 1 20 10
0.0%
13.9%
2.8%
55.6%
27.8%
29. Reading extensively in English can improve my English more than just writing the exercise books.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
15 19 0 2 0
41.7%
52.8%
0.0%
5.6%
0.0%
30. I like the teacher’s reading aloud outside articles.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
20 16 0 0 0
55.6%
44.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
31. I like reading for fun, not for tests.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
25 8 0 3 0
69.4%
22.2%
0.0%
8.3%
0.0%
32. I’ll read English literature in my free time to enjoy the fun of reading.
Strongly agree Agree Neutral
8 21
0
22.2%
58.3%
0.0%
Disagree
Strongly disagree
7 0
19.4%
0.0%
In Item 28, the researcher was trying to find out if reading is all about tests and
exams to students. 27.8% of the students strongly disagreed and 55.6% of them
disagreed that reading is all for tests and exams. Outside reading is also very
important, too. However, there were 13.9% of the students agreed that reading what
was related to the curriculum was the most important. With the coming of BCE,
reviewing the materials that are related to the textbooks and keeping doing a lot of
exercises, in most students’ thinking, are ways that make them get good grades, and
the reasons why their studying in school until nine o’clock in the evening are to get
good grades. Grades decide what they read. This worries the researcher a lot. Once
they are no longer in school and no grade pressures, they might not see reading as part
of their lives. This means, a big part of learning stops. One crucial element that causes
the snowball effect of “read more and learn more” is missing, and that makes learning
difficult to happen. This really indicates that it really takes time to change students’
exam-oriented thinking.
From the data of the responses to Item 29, 41.7% of the students strongly agreed
and 52.8 agreed that reading extensively helps to learn English better than just writing
exercise books that related to the textbooks. There were two students thought that
extensive is not important, at least, not at the time before the big exam, BCE.
The responses of Item 30 showed that 55.6% of the students strongly agreed and
44.4% of them agreed that they liked to listen to the teacher’s reciting outside articles
in class.
In the responses of Item 31, the data revealed that 69.4% of the students strongly
agreed and 22.2% of them agreed that they liked to read for reading’s sake, not for
tests and exams’ sake. With the coming of BCE, three students thought reading for
tests and exams is more important than reading for fun.
The last Item, Item 32 was trying to check if students would read English
literature on their own in their free time after reading aloud the 17 selected children’s
poems in class. 22.2% of the students strongly agreed and 58.3% of them agreed that
they will read some other English literature in their free time. But there were 19.4% of
them disagreed that they will read in their free time. In Item 28, there were 13.9% of
the students agreed that studying the required materials in school is much more
important than extra curriculum materials. The percentages of these two items are
very close, which is worth further discussion. In both items, there were two students
expressed school materials are more important than outside reading and they won’t
read English literature in their free time. There were three students expressed school
materials are more important than outside reading but they agreed that they will try
English literature in their free time in the future. However, there were five students
expressed that they disagreed that outside reading is less important than school
materials but they will not try reading English literature in their free time in the future.
In the first type of combination, the two students didn’t express very much in the
first open-ended question of the questionnaire. One of them, a shy boy, expressed in
the second question that he read the poems many times but still he failed to
comprehend most of the poems. The other was a girl, and she was also shy. She
expressed that too many new words made the poems difficult to her. This reveals that
if the materials are beyond students’ abilities, they will probably kill students’
interests and the fun in reading. If they can’t have a sense of achievement by
comprehending something challenging and have fun from it, they might feel less
confident in reading, and in learning as well.
In the second type, there were three students expressed that school studies are
more important than outside reading but they will read in English in their free time in
the future. They were three hard-working students. They all expressed that there were
a lot of new words in the poems. But their feedbacks in the open-ended questions
were positive. They thought it is fun reading those poems and learning new things. It
showed that maybe they do not have much time for English outside reading now, it is
very possible that they will when the big exam is over. Again, it shows that whenever
there is an exam, students will only read for exams instead of reading for fun. In the
third type of the combination, the five students disagreed that outside reading is less
important than school studies, but they felt reluctant to read in English in their free
time. In the open-ended questions, they all showed positive attitudes toward reading
aloud the poems, but all had the problem of having too many new words. One of them
expressed that when she had many new words and grammatical problems in the
poems, she would feel like giving up reading the poems, but she would take notes
when the teacher explained the poems. This shows that if reading aloud happened in
class, they will be happy to read the poems and listen to the teacher’s explanations.
But if reading aloud has to take students’ free time to make it happen, they would
rather do something else, like watching TV, movies, playing on-line or video games,
going out with friends, or doing nothing, instead of reading English literature. The
results show that over one-fourth of the students are quite passive in their English
learning. They want to have good grades, but what they do is relying on their teachers,
mastering only their textbooks, and distancing themselves away from English. The
exam-oriented mindsets really stymie their learning.
Generally speaking, over 86% of the students agreed that outside reading is no
less important than school materials and they will try English literature reading in
their free time. Though they all have the problem of having too many new words, they
still show positive attitudes toward reading aloud Shel Silverstein’s poems. This
proves that choosing the right materials, though they might be challenging, can create
pleasant reading experiences and motivate students to read more.
To check on what were students’ favorite poems and the reasons why they liked
the poems, the researcher collected the students’ responses from Item 1 in the
qualitative part of the questionnaire and ranked the poems from the most favorite to
the least favorite in Table 5.
Students’ Responses to the 17 Selected Poems
In second part of the questionnaire, there were four open-ended questions. The
first question was trying to check students’ favorite poems and why they liked these
poems. The reasons showed that fun and creativity were the two main reasons why
Shel Silverstein’s poems delighted them so much. Table 5 presented the ranking of the
students’ favorite poems and the reasons why they liked the poems.
Table 5 Ranking of the Students’ Favorite Poems and the Reasons Why They Liked the Poems
Ranking Title of the Poem Frequency (Percentage)
Reasons ( the top three reasons)
1st Sick 29(80.6%) 1. The excuses for not going to school are very cool and creative
2. Very rhythmic, I like to
read it again and again.
3. Funny 2nd The Meehoo with an
Exactlywatt
24(66.7%) 1. A fun and cute one.
2. It helps to know what a
‘knock knock joke’ is 3rd The Crocodile’s
Toothache
19(52.8) 1. The illustration is so cool.
2. Fun
3. Very rhythmic 4th Sarah Cynthia Sylvia
Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out
18(50.0%) 1. I know many disgusting stuffs that I’ve never known before.
2. I know lots of vocabulary about food.
3. Funny and tongue-twisted.
5th Kidnapped 16(44.4%) 1. The excuse for being late is cool and creative.
2. It’s fun to read it again and again.
3. I can relate to the kid.
6th Bagpipe and the Turtle
15(41.7%) 1. The turtle is pathetically lovesick. I pity him.
2. Very creative. I’ve never read a poem like this.
3. The turtle is not afraid of showing his love. Go, Turtle!
7th Deaf Donald 14(38.9) 1. It’s a touching poem.
2. I can learn sign language from the poem.
3. Easy to understand 8th If the World Was
Crazy
11(30.6%) 1. If the world was like that, it would be so much fun.
2. A poem full of imagination 9th They’ve Put a
Brassiere on the Camel
9(25%) 1. Very creative and funny 2. The illustration is cool
and funny.
10th Lazy Susan 8(22.2%) 1. It’s fun reading this
simple, short, and special poem.
2. I’m surprised by the way the girl drinks.
11th Rock ‘N’ Roll Band 7(19.4%) 1. To be in a rock and roll band is like every child’s dream. I can relate to the poem.
2. Very Rhythmic 12th One Inch Tall 5(13.9%) 1. A poem full of
imagination.
2. A cute poem. I can relate to the one-inch tall kid, because I’m not tall.
13th Tired 4(11.1%) 1. I can relate to the kid.
Lazy and pressure-free but pretending to be busy.
2. Very rhythmic 3. It’s fun reading it.
Anchored (No reason provided)
OH Have You Heard Rhythmic
14th
Whatif
3(8.3)
A poem full of imagination
15th Hat 2(5.56%) A cute and creative poem
From Table 5, the reasons why the students like the poems can be concluded as
that (a) the poems are fun to read (b) the poems are full of creativity and imagination
(c) the students themselves can relate to the poems. (d) the students can learn
something they’ve never known before.
Though new words in these 17 poems would cause difficulty in students’ literal
comprehension and inferential comprehension of the poems, the vocabulary problem
Silvertein’s combining humorous sketches, whimsical poetry and fanciful word play.
Humor, the most important element in his poems, humor, really is the core
essence of childhood. After reading this poem, “Sick”, children will give their
understanding smiles on the girl’s having the energy to play but none for school in this
poem. Kids will find this poem funny and refreshing because it treats them like people
instead of little kids. Humor in his poems helps to speak to children at their level and
reveal morals without talking down to them.
Shel Silverstein’s poems are witty, memorable and usually contain a moral
message without preaching.Children might giggle when reading the poems, but at the
same time, they can think if they are like the kids in Shel Silverstein’s poems without
being lectured by adults. No wonder the students could relate their own experiences to
his poems even though there were many new words in his poems. They could still
have the fun reading the poems.
And what can make reading Shel Silverstein’s poems even more fun is watching
his drawings for the poems. In “The Crocodile’s Toothache”, the combination of
drawing and words makes this poem even more readable. This poem is an experience
that would be diminished without the visual aspect. Students may not remember every
sentence of the poem, but they sure would not forget the drawing of a dentist with a
weird smile trying hard to pull all the teeth of the crocodile
Furthermore, with Silverstein’s whimsical poem like “Bagpipe and the Turtle”,
which is about the unrequited love of a turtle for a bagpipe, students would actually
have pity for the turtle which were trying hard to woo the bagpipe in vain.
Though the whole poem is framed as a nonsense story, in which realistic details
are added to make it read like a logic one: “It was nine o’clock at midnight at a
quarter after three.” After the turtle has departed, dejected, with no affirmation of
mutual affection from the bagpipe, the narrator asserts the story’s reality by
suggesting that the reader confirm the facts with the bagpipe: “Just walk up and say,
‘Hello, there,’/ And politely ask the bagpipe if the story’s really so. / I assure you,
darling children, that the bagpipe won’t say ‘No’” because the bagpipe cannot say
anything at all. Though this love is impossible to happen, through Silvertein’s crafty
pen, we are convinced that the turtle’s heart is broken and that we admire the turtle’s
courage to express his love.
At last, but definitely not the least, the play of word in Shel Silverstein’s poems
contributes to make his poems beloved all over the world, too. The poem “Sarah
Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out” is a proof. The force of the
poem is its plethora of imaginative, disgusting detail that the narrator reels off.
Silverstein’ power of imagination makes all his readers wow. Not only can he think up
so many disgusting stuffs, but also he can make most of them rhythmic at the end of
each sentence.
Sentences like, “With bacon rinds and chicken bones,/ Drippy ends of ice cream
cones,/ Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,/ Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,/” keep
going for two pages, and just by asking students to picture what the food are like, it is
quick enough to draw their full attention to this poem, of course, along with their
talking about how disgusting the poem is. They have never had an experience of
reading aloud so much rhythmic decayed and rotten food in English before, and it was
an exciting one.
Though there were many new words for them, with their teacher’s explanation,
students could have the audio fun of listening to their teacher’s and Silverstein’s
recitation and then they could read aloud with their teacher and had the oral fun of
reading a bunch of revolting and nauseating food. By reading this disgustingly
impressive poem, it is relatively easy to remember some new words from it.
Even though they gave their feedback as there were many new words in the
poems, their attitudes toward reading the poems were positive, and they learned what
their textbooks could not provide. This convinced the researcher that reading aloud
different genres in English from time to time in class can spice up teachers’ teaching
and students’ learning in English.
The Difficulties in Reading the Poems
To investigate what difficulties the students had in reading the poems, the
students’ responses from the questionnaires were ranked in priority in Table 6.
Table 6 Ranking of the Difficulties in Reading Poems
Ranking Difficulties Frequency(Percentage)
1st There were too many new words.
36(100%)
2nd I couldn’t read the poems fluently (pronunciation and intonation).
6(16.7%)
3rd I couldn’t fully
comprehend the poems.
5(13.9%)
From Table 6, all 36 had the vocabulary problem. Though from the data
mentioned above, most students liked to read the poem and enjoyed the fun reading
them, they still thought they couldn’t take that many new words at the same time. 6
students thought they couldn’t read the poems fluently, because they were afraid that
their pronunciation and intonation were not good enough. There were 5 students
couldn’t fully understand the meanings of the poems.
As to how students dealt with their difficulties in reading the poems, the
researcher collected the students’ responses from the questionnaires, and ranked them
in priority in Table 7.
Table 7 Ranking of Students’ Ways to Deal with Their Reading Difficulties
Ranking Ways Frequency(Percentage)
1st Listen to the teacher’s explanation and take notes
26(72.2%)
2nd Look up the new words in the dictionary
13(36.1%)
3rd Discuss the poems with
the classmates
8(22.2%)
4th Read the poems over and over again
7(19.4%)
5th Try to guess the meanings of the words from the context
1(2.78%)
According to Table 7, 72.2% of the students would listen to the teacher’s
interpretation of the poems and take notes on their handouts. 36.1% of the students
would consult a dictionary and 22.2% of them asked their classmates for help. 19.4%
of the students read the poems over and over and gradually they understood the poems
better. Only one student tried to guess the meanings of the words from the context.
From table 7, it is shown that there were 26 students, which is a large majority of
the students, depending on teacher’s explanations of the poems, only one student tried
to guess the meanings of new words of the contexts. This indicates the difficulties of
reading aloud. In reading aloud, the teacher is the reading model, and he/she is
responsible for arousing students’ interests in reading. In order to achieve that goal,
tests and exams of vocabulary and grammar are avoided to create a pressure-free
reading atmosphere.
In the study, every time when reading aloud took place in the classroom, it
always took place at the time when the school required materials were finished. The
teacher took it as a time to share the love of reading with her students, and she wanted
her students to like reading, not just for grades, so there were no tests for the poems,
and that is one of the reasons why students liked to read aloud the poems. But that
also worries the researcher because if once there are no reading models sharing books
with them and for them to depend on, they may stop their reading when they have
difficulties in reading.
Thus, if time permits, besides reading aloud to motivate students to read more in
English, teachers can also help students in how to use dictionaries to learn the usage
of the words and letting students work in groups to promote their responsibility and
autonomy. The most important is, if students have strategic competence in language
learning, they will be more possible to solve the problem in language learning
independently, and keep the habit of reading longer.
H. Douglas Brown (cited from Canale and Swain) described strategic
competence as “the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that may be called
into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to the performance
variables or due to insufficient competence.” That is to say, if the students are not
afraid of taking the risk of losing faces and try out what they learn in English, they
can make more progress in learning English. But as in the analysis of the students, it
is shown that the students care about their studies and grades and most of them are
shy to express themselves in front of the class. They felt embarrassed if they made
mistakes in front of the class, so it was not very surprising to know that only one
student used the context to guess the meanings of the new words. But in language
learning, the process of the trials and errors is very important as Brown cited from
Rubin that successful language learners make willing and accurate guesses. If learners
do not try out what they learn, they will never know how well they learn, and the
progress will be limited. Once their progress is limited, they will feel incompetent in
language learning. The vicious circle is happening. However, teachers can help to stop
such vicious circle. Teachers should create an affectively comfortable classroom that
encourages participants to experiment and to discover the target language, allowing
themselves to take risks without feeling embarrassed. Gradually, the students will
open their hearts to learn, but it takes time.
Students’ Best Gains in Reading Aloud the Poems
In the responses of the last open-ended question in the Part Two of the
questionnaire, many students expressed their positive attitudes toward reading aloud
Shel Silverstein’s poems in class. The responses can be summarized as the
following :(a) they had more interest in reading English literature (b) students thought
they learned new things (c) their language skills improved. Most students thought
