An Experimental Study on Teaching English Language Through an Innovative Method: Narrative Technique - Short Stories and Digital Short Stories

This book presents an empirical investigation into the effectiveness of the Narrative Method (NM) in enhancing English language proficiency among first-year engineering students in English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms. The study adopts an experimental Two-Group Pre-test–Post-test research design conducted among B.Tech. students of Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute during the academic year 2017–2018. The research integrates both qualitative and quantitative approaches to evaluate the impact of narrative pedagogy through short stories, digital short stories, and personal narration in developing communication skills. The experimental group was exposed to innovative narrative-based teaching strategies, while the control group continued with conventional syllabus-oriented instruction in Technical English II. The study specifically employed short stories written in the simple past tense to facilitate ease of narration and grammatical accuracy. By engaging students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities through narration, the research sought to replicate the natural process of language acquisition through observation, imitation, and repetition. Data collection and analysis were carried out using mixed research methods. Quantitative analysis was performed through SPSS 20.0 software using Continuous Assessment Test (CAT I and CAT II) scores and Model Examination results to measure academic improvement. Qualitative data gathered through questionnaires and classroom observations provided insights into students’ attitudes, confidence, and engagement levels. The findings revealed that the narrative approach significantly enhanced all four communication skills—Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing (LSRW). Students in the experimental group demonstrated greater fluency, improved oral proficiency, and enhanced confidence in expressing ideas when compared to the control group. The study further highlights the relevance of narration in engineering education, where effective communication and contextual presentation of technical data are essential. Narrative pedagogy enables learners to organize ideas coherently.