Balana Lupig Bind

Chapter I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
In everyday communication, English is one of the most widely used
languages. It has become a worldwide language. English is taught and studied in
today's society for its obvious practical application, primarily as a medium of
international communication. In the Philippines, it has long been a part of the
curriculum in a variety of academic programs. It has become one of the most
significant courses students must master in junior and senior high school.
English grammar makes up a substantial amount of the Philippines'
English curriculum, and the goal of learning grammar is primarily to prepare high
school students to level up their English skills (Biswas and Anis, 2017).
Considering spiral progression is used from K to 12, learners are required to
grasp grammar competencies early in their education as a requirement for
dealing with more sophisticated grammar topics at subsequent levels. In addition,
the Spiral Progression Principle key topics are given frequently throughout the
curriculum, but with deeper layers of complexity. Thereby, English learning skills
are taught at increasingly demanding and sophisticated levels. This enables
pupils to graduate from foundational to advanced levels of language use. Thus,
language learners' performance in English, particularly in writing, which focuses
on grammatical competence, is a critical aspect of their language learning
because it has a significant impact on their performance in subsequent grade
levels.
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Apitong National High School is one of the K-12 curriculum based schools.
One of the thrusts of the English area of the said school is to strengthen its effort
to prepare students to use English effectively both in their academic and
everyday life. Given this premise, communicating effectively especially through
writing is not only crucial to the academic success, but also in the professional
and career success of the students.
The school administrators and English teachers are continuously
adhering toward curriculum enhancement that will address the English language
deficiency of Apitong National High School students since the result of their
PHIL-IRI assessment in the year of 2020-2021 scored an overall mean of 59.4
for the macro skills in English in terms of writing, reading and speaking. This
indicates a low profile at the backdrop of international standards. School faculty
revealed that their primary concern is about the grammatical competence of the
students particularly the structure of modification, vocabulary development and
their functional grasp of punctuation. Subjectively, the Grade 10 students of this
campus often failed to apply the correct use of grammar in their entries for their
activities. Another concern is the learners’ restricted vocabulary, both in terms of
what they know and what they really mean in their essays. A learner's ability to
acquire the other four language skills, speaking, reading, writing, and listening,
will be hampered if they lack basic vocabulary knowledge.
Accordingly, Grade 10 students are expected to acquire grammar skills
on the early stage in order to be able to cope with increasingly sophisticated

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grammar classes at later levels of school that is why they are being urged by the
schools to take this subject more seriously. In that case, providing stories and
movies as settings in the classroom can help students master all four abilities
while also improving their grammar accuracy. The researchers plan to
concentrate on teaching grammar through stories and films because it is critical
to understand the fundamental grammar principles in a foreign language in order
to master it correctly.
Nowadays, teachers commonly use literature and media as strategies to
increase student’s motivation to ease the burden of teaching English grammar.
Even so, recent researches highlighted the effectiveness of using short stories
and movies in improving the grammar, vocabulary and punctuation of students.
Short stories are considered as a unique literary genre which can be used by
teachers in developing their grammar structures and vocabularies (Azziz, 2012).
On the other hand, Lestari (2015) argues that movies are more effective in
motivating and capturing the student’s learning as this will allow the students to
actually hear and see the words and phrases as well as idioms and colloquial
expressions.
However, the fact that reading short stories and watching movies are still
uncertain and debatable among researchers in terms of their effectiveness in
grammatical competence. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how
far it is to use short stories and movies as authentic materials in the EFL
Classroom at Apitong National High School. Besides, both textbooks and media
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are useful and interesting in teaching grammar. Another purpose is to discover
the significant difference between both materials’ effectiveness in terms of
grammatical competence.
Statement of the Problem

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of using Short stories and
movies in the Grammatical Competence of the Grade 10 students of Apitong
National High School.
Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:
1. What is the level of grammatical competence of Grade 10 students
exposed to reading short stories in pre-test and post test in terms of:
1.1. Structure of Modification
1.2. Vocabulary Development
1.3. Punctuation
exposed to watching movies in pre-test and post test in terms of:
2.3. Punctuation
3. What is the effect of reading stories to the grammatical competence of the
respondents in terms of:

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1.3. Punctuation
4. What is the effect of movie watching to grammatical competence of the
1.3. Punctuation
5. How do reading short stories and movie watching compare in terms of
their grammatical competence? Is there a significant difference?
Statement of the Hypothesis

From the problem stated in the previous page, the following hypothesis was
formulated:
There are no statistically significant differences at the level (α ≤ 0.05) in
the mean scores of the effect of reading short stories and the effect of watching
movies on grammatical competence of Grade 10 students of Apitong National
High School.
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Scope, Delimitation and Limitation
The general intent of this study is to know the effects of reading short
stories and watching movies in grammatical competence in terms of structure of
modification, vocabulary proficiency, and punctuation of the Grade 10 students of
Apitong National high school located at Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. This study
mainly identified the significant difference of using these two teaching materials
in the learning proficiency in grammatical competence. This study was conducted
during the third quarter of Grade 10 students of Apitong National High School in
the School Year 2021-2022.
Significance of the Study

The findings of this study were beneficial to the following:
Students. The result will help the students to cope up with their difficulty
and struggles in learning English grammar. The result of this research will be
used to make some improvements in students’ grammatical competencies and
possibly, it will ease their burden in writing in English language.
Teachers. The research will benefit the English teachers because it will
be a necessary help to produce an effective strategy like creating collaborative
learning or creating grammar-centered tasks to improve student’s grammar
particularly in terms of structure of modification, vocabulary and punctuation.
Also, it will help them select the right tool in implementing their lessons and
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instruction in their class. It will assist them to improve their teaching skills and
connect with their L2 learners.
School Heads/ Principal. They may gain insight into the factors that
influence grammatical competence and be able to plan or construct programs
such as English workshop to help students improve their grammatical skills.
Future Researchers. This will also serve as an assistant to future
researcher because it will contributes as their guide in making their first research.
Theoretical and Conceptual Framework
This study anchored on the following relevant theories in the effect of reading
short stories and watching movies to grammatical competence of students.
One specific theory that provides a solid foundation for this research is
The Multimodality Theory of Keesh and Van Leeuwen. This theory is concerned
about the resources utilized to make meaning and how diverse channels affect
what is communicated. In multimodality theory, the audience is encouraged to
think about the various meaning-making processes or materials that go beyond
language and advance the semiotic process. When students interpret the signs
used in a multimodal text, such as a movie, interpretations are generated within
the student, allowing interpersonal comprehension to occur.
This theory is adopted because of its applicability on the variables of the
study such as vocabulary development, structure of modification as well as

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punctuation. It explains how movies are being considered more intelligible source
compare to written texts because they provide multimodal guidance to the
spectator. It also emphasizes linguistic background for writing; introducing the
target culture alongside language; and dealing with text peculiarities are just a
few examples of how linguistics can help (structure of modification, vocabulary
and punctuation). It states that movies have all improved structure of
modification, vocabulary and the use of punctuation in narrative text writing. It
also means that the use of movies as a significant tool in academic writing
pedagogy and the growth of academic writing teaching and learning.
This study is also anchored on the Sociocultural Constructivism of
Lundgren and Säljö. This theory contributes to the concept of language and
learning by detailing how the authentic materials such as short stories have a
significant impact on the learning process. When acquiring a new language skill,
the cultural setting has a substantial impact on students' knowledge creation.
When acquiring a skill, students use two abilities: language and content. It also
proposes the implementation of literature because it is a rich source of "authentic
material" through which students have direct contact with native speakers.
Hence, literature is a complete material that can contribute as an approach to
developing the process of teaching and learning a foreign language. In this
theory, short stories served as a language model for pupils to better grasp how
language works and to improve grammar structure and vocabulary. When
children are involved in a tale, they see language as a natural process that allows
them to recognize the functions of words in sentences. Learners can understand

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the different usage of words, phrases, phrasal verbs, numerous meanings, and
idioms, among others.
The study used Edgar Allan Poe's Unity of Impact Functional Theory as a
test to see if participants could write to a higher quality. This approach highlights
subpar writing and calls on writers to raise their grammar standards. According to
Poe's idea, short story can certainly strengthen the learners' communicative
competencies and leave a lasting impression on their minds which held that the
objective of enhancing grammar and make the class dynamic. His judgments
ranged from pointing out the grammatical mistakes to doing a thorough technical
analysis of the work at hand.
This theory is used in this study to evaluate the grammatical proficiency of
10th grade pupils by using resources like short tales and movies. This theory will
serve as a core foundation since the goal of the research is to determine the
relative effectiveness of reading short stories versus watching movies. It
concluded that compared to movies, short stories are a complete source of
information that can aid in the development of the teaching and learning of
foreign languages. Since books and literature are a rich source of "genuine
material" to teach foreign languages due to its advantages in terms of contents
and presentation, using short stories will be more helpful when it comes to
enhancing the grammatical competence of the learners.

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This section contains the dependent and independent variables that was
tested in the study.
IV DV
GROUP 1 Reading Short
Stories Grammatical
Competence:
 Structure of
Modification
 Vocabulary
Proficiency
GROUP 2  Punctuation
Watching Movies
Figure 1.1. Hypothesized Relationship Between the Effects of

Reading Short Stories and Watching Movies in Grammatical Competence.
Figure 1 describes the conceptual framework of the study wherein the
input is consisting the dependent and independent variables of the chosen study.
Reading Short Stories and Watching Movie serves as the dependent variable
while on the other hand the grammatical competence particularly the structure of
modification, vocabulary proficiency and punctuation are the independent
variables.
This figure aimed to show that there will be separated test in dependent
variables yet at the end of the result it is hypothesized that the variables will have
a significant difference in terms of their effects on student’s grammatical
competence particularly the structure of modification, vocabulary proficiency and
punctuation. The class sections divided into two groups to perform the given
questionnaire. The first group will answer same questionnaires however the
materials use and approach is different.
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Definition of Terms
To facilitate better understanding this study, the following terms are
defined conceptually or operationally.
EFL. (English as a Foreign Language) It is defined as the learning of English in a
non-English speaking country (Nordquist, 2019).
ESL. (English as a Second Language) It is defined as the teachers specialize in
helping non-native speakers of all ages and levels learn the formal
grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation of spoken and written English,
while giving them confidence in the common usage of the language in order
to communicate clearly and comfortably with native (Norquist 2019).
Grammatical Competence. It refers as the knowledge of language stored in the
students’ mind specifically in terms of structure of modification, vocabulary
proficiency and punctuation.
Movie. It is defined as recording of moving images that is inclined with short
stories included in Grade 10 modules.
Punctuation. It refers as tool that allows to organize thoughts and make it easier
to review and share ideas. The standard English punctuation is as
follows: period, comma, apostrophe, quotation, question, exclamation,
brackets, braces, parenthesis, dash, hyphen, ellipsis, colon, semicolon
(Wilmer, 2016).
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Short Stories. It refers to a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one
sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents,
with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood (Mitchell, 2019).
Structure of Modification. This is defined in the study as changing the order
and cohesion of their ideas in a phrase or sentence. This takes into account
the subject-verb agreement rules.
Vocabulary. This refers to the collection of words known of the Grade 10
students of Apitong National High School.

Chapter II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter presents the related literature and studies which can be
associated with the present study. Having reviewed these literature and studies
manifests ad prestige for these showed the evidences that this study is
supported by concerned authorities. The researcher used the materials available
in the library and websites.
Related Literature
Related literature on the effectiveness of movie watching in
grammatical competence.
Many experts and language teachers have endorsed movies since they
are deemed real materials. "Exposure to real language" is defined as
"experiencing a language that is not developed expressly for English Language
Teaching, but rather in its original context" (Widdowson, 2020). This exposure
boosts students' motivation, provides them with true information about a foreign
culture that is thought to be relevant to their requirements, and encourages them
to be more creative in their classroom instruction. Vocabulary, listening and
speaking, reading, and essay writing are all taught through movies (Ergenekon,
2016).
According to Masiello (2015), students benefit from using movies in their
university writing classes. In this method, writing students can explore ideas
around certain topics, such as family relationships, analyse, brainstorm, and write
more effectively. In addition, he mentions that, while students watch movies, they
learn how to watch with a lot of focus, which helps students become better
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writers. Also, because movies are a sort of the mass media, they trigger the skill
of analysis, develop learners’ consciousness and assist them to come up with
new ideas for essay writing (Saeideh & Sepehran, 2014). It is noted that in essay
writing critical thinking is crucial, thus movies might be used to develop students’
critical thinking which would be automatically mirrored in a paper for an essay.
When it comes to authenticity, films, according to Dupuy (2021), are a good
source. It can be utilized in informative argumentative and persuasive writing,
and it can be employed in characters, events, plot, narration, and words in the
context. Compositions of reaction-response pairs with the help of movies, Kasper
(2020) emphasizes that relative associations can be strengthened. Learners can
easily picture and comprehend the relationship between causes and
consequences, which aids them in writing a well-organized and cohesive essay.
Assisting students in understanding and using authentic language, as well
as enriching students' vocabulary and improving their grammar skills; providing
linguistic background for writing; introducing the target culture alongside
language; and dealing with text peculiarities are just a few examples of how
linguistics can help (structure, coherence, topic and main idea). Graphical aids,
subject background for writing, effective pre-writing exercises (brainstorming),
genuine materials (connecting learning to real life), and the development of
analytical and critical skills are all examples of pedagogical methods.
Psychological: arousing interest and motivation, attracting and concentrating
attention, and attracting and concentrating attention. In terms of using modern

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technology to teach writing through the use of movies, the following are some
suggestions.
The following are some of the advantages: motivation of students,
facilitates communication and collaboration in the writing process, makes it easy
to write, substitute a teacher in part (provide spelling and structuring support), as
others' thoughts are exchanged, it aids in the improvement of ideas, helps people
learn on their own terms.
Language learners may easily access English movies, and this is one of
the most common activities they engage in during their free time (Grover et al.,
2014; Suh et al., 1999). The fact that leisure activities may be employed as
language learning aids might be linked to the stress-free, independent
atmosphere that encourages informal learning and implicit learning.
Informal learning occurs outside of the classroom. Out-of-class learning is
characterized by Benson (2021) as self-instructed, naturalistic, and self-directed
learning activities that take place outside of the classroom. Out-of-class English
activities, or outside of the classroom English activities, are defined by
Chusanachoti (2019) as non-assignment activities carried out in English outside
of a formal classroom setting, academic or non-academic linked, done with or
without the purpose of learning English.
It can be concluded from these research that studies on the use of movies
as a language learning tool, whether for in-class or out-of-class activities, exist. In
general, movies can help with language acquisition, which supports Krashen's
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theory that subconscious language acquisition can be aided by exposure to the
language. In the Philippines, watching English films is a common motivation for
studying out-of-class activities. While prior studies looked at out-of-class learning
in a broad sense, the current study focuses solely on English movies.
Related literature on the effectiveness of short stories in grammatical

competence.
Students are introduced to a new and amazing world full of new
experiences, adventures, places, people, fantasy, knowledge, and universal
issues through literature, which encourages them to read. It's also a means to
learn more about the world we live in, because authors create testimony about
people's lives. "Literature can expand horizons of potential, allowing pupils to
question, understand, connect, and explore," Custodio et al. (2018) write (p. 20).
Furthermore, literature becomes an excellent teaching tool because we are not
only teaching a language but also the habits of a culture.
The literature was chosen for this study because it contains high-quality
language models that can be used to improve language abilities. As a result,
children can interact with genuine language through short stories, which is
beneficial to their education, culture, and language learning. Students can
internalize the language at a high level through literature, according to Elliot
(2020), which is important in language learning. "The objective of incorporating
literature in a language classroom is to make the class dynamic," Koutsompou
(2015) writes, "and it can be stated that an engaging class can certainly
strengthen communicative capabilities of the learners and leave a lasting

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impression on their minds" (p. 75). Indeed, one of the benefits of teaching via
literature is the change in class dynamic, which adds to a more conducive
teaching atmosphere.
As a result, children generally have a positive attitude toward a wide range
of activities. Furthermore, Riwes (2012) defies the conventional wisdom of using
a textbook to teach a foreign language. He suggests using literature since it is a
rich supply of "genuine content" that allows pupils to interact directly with native
speakers. He also believes that literature is an artistic depiction of a culture's
spoken language. As a result, literature is a comprehensive resource that can aid
in the development of the teaching and learning of a foreign language.
As we've seen, short stories can be used to teach a foreign language; but,
teachers must select materials that are appropriate for their students' language
abilities. Otherwise, they may find reading to be a challenging chore. "When
picking literary texts to be utilized in language classes, the language teacher
should take into account the students' requirements, motivation, interests,
cultural background, and language level," Hişmanolu (2005) states (p. 57). In
fact, teachers must come to know and understand their pupils in order to guide
activities in a meaningful manner, which can help ensure the success of
academic work.
In addition, Pardede (2012) discovered in his research that short stories
are enjoyable to read for personal satisfaction while also assisting students in the
development of language abilities. As a result, teachers can use motivational

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activities to help students enhance their language acquisition. When children are
involved in a tale, they see language as a natural process that allows them to
recognize the functions of words in sentences. "(;b);By reading a piece of
literature, learners can understand the different usage of words, phrases, phrasal
verbs, numerous meanings, and idioms, among others," Sakthivel, Phil, and
Kavidha (2012) write (p. 230). These arguments demonstrate how short stories
may be used in the classroom because they foster participatory language work
that is both fun and educational.
According to Rodriguez (2016), Short stories served as a language model
for pupils to better grasp how language works and to improve grammar,
cohesion, and coherence. Working in groups also provided opportunities for
students to share their thoughts, improve written and spoken skills, and discuss
their perspectives on cultural and historical issues. Students' communication
improved as a result of their increased vocabulary and expressions, and they felt
more self-assured, especially during the oral interventions. Furthermore, as a
result of the range of activities, students showed interest and happiness during
the creation of this research project. They also had a good time because the
stories held their attention from start to finish.
Read (2013) conceived and produced an alternate word association test
to measure college students' word association knowledge in response to Meara's
(2014) recommendation. A stimulus word was provided to test takers with a
collection of other words for each item of the test, some of which were related in
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meaning to the stimulus word and others were not. Rather than producing their
own words, the learners would be required to select relevant terms (or
associates) for the test. The stimulus words and their accompanying associates,
according to Read, were chosen based on three sorts of relationships:
paradigmatic, syntagmatic, and analytic. Read's word association exam is
thought to provide insight into the type of information that learners have about a
word and the growth of that knowledge by including specific associates based on
these links (2015)
While there has been a lot of study on assessing word association
knowledge (e.g., (2012, 2013), there hasn't been much research on the
relationship between word association knowledge and reading comprehension.
Qian (2019) conducted one study in which this was attempted. Qian used the
Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge test (hereafter DVK) to investigate the
relationships between vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge, and
reading comprehension in ESL students. The DVK was a modified version of the
original word associate test (2013) and consisted of word association (including
synonymy and polysemy) and collocation. Scores on the DVK and vocabulary
size were found to be favorably related, according to him (, ). Furthermore, his
multiple regression studies revealed that DVK scores contributed a significant
and distinctive (11 percent) contribution to the prediction of reading
comprehension scores beyond that supplied by vocabulary size. As a result, he
came to the conclusion that both vocabulary size and vocabulary knowledge
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depth appear to be variables that are significantly connected to reading
comprehension performance.
However, one flaw in Qian's (2019) study was that he did not control for
affective variables like motivation and self-efficacy, which have been shown to
have worrying effects on L2 learning performance (e.g., (2016). Furthermore,
because the DVK only represents two subcomponents of depth of vocabulary
knowledge (word association knowledge and collocation knowledge), measures
that include other subcomponents, such as morphosyntactic ones, should be
developed and included in future studies for a more complete understanding of
the depth of vocabulary knowledge, as pointed out by Qian (2012).
Much emphasis has been dedicated to examining the importance of
collocation knowledge, another often explored subcomponent of depth of
vocabulary knowledge, in language teaching and learning (e.g., (2017). One
viewpoint is that collocation knowledge is essential because stored word
sequences are the foundations of language learning. For example, Ellis [28]
stated that the preservation of pieces of language in long-term memory without
having to refer to underlying rules can explain a lot of language acquisition.
Language reception and production are made more successful by recovering
portions of language from long-term memory. Similarly, Pawley and Syder [29]
proposed that language users can make native-like sentences (native-like
selection) and fluently produce language (native-like fluency) by extracting units
of language of phrase length from memory, in addition to knowing the rules of the
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language. A longitudinal study undertaken by Towell et al. (2013) examined
learners of French as a second language before and after their presence in a
French-speaking country, providing empirical backing for this position. They
came to the conclusion that the learners' increased fluency was due to them
storing learned sequences, and that having a good grasp of collocation is critical
for attaining native-like fluency and selection.
Numerous academics feel that knowing morphology is beneficial for
reading comprehension since it is a vital subcomponent of vocabulary depth. For
example, Nagy et al. [34] claimed that because a large percentage of English
words have meanings that are foreseeable from their parts, morphological
knowledge is thought to be significant in deciding how learners read and acquire
new, long words, which impacts their reading comprehension.
The following related literatures are all about the grammatical competence
of junior high school students. In an article written by Cabigon (2015), the
Philippines is recognized globally as one of the largest Englishspeaking nations,
with the majority of its population having at least some degree of fluency in the
language. English has always been one of the country’s official languages and is
spoken by more than 14 million Filipinos. It is the language of commerce and
law, as well as the primary medium of instruction in education. Cabigon further
noted that key stakeholders from the government, academe, private, and
nongovernment sectors acknowledged that even if Filipinos are generally
competent in English, concerns on how much of a competitive advantage have

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been raised. The stakeholders agreed that the country needs to scale up with its
efforts to improve the teaching and learning of English, considering that these are
vital skills of the workforce. This is an initiative that can potentially strengthen the
Philippines’ distinct economic, political or educational advantage in this part of
the world, particularly in the ASEAN economic region.
Despite the economic benefits of being an English-speaking nation,
Filipinos have not fully maximized its potentials. Studies show that the Filipinos'
grasp of the English language is slipping while other Asians are catching up fast.
In 2008, an online article by Karl Wilson in “The National” revealed that Filipinos
scored an overall mean of 6.69 for the macro skills in English in terms of
listening, writing, reading, and speaking. This indicates a rather low profile at the
backdrop of international standards. Historically, the English proficiency of
Filipinos has been consistently stable across 1993 to 2000 before a gradual
decline has been reported in the following years. Even more alarming is the
rising percentage of those who are incompetent in English which doubled from a
measly 7% in 1993 to 14% in 2006 (UK Essays, 2013). Anent the above,
grammar is regarded as one of the fundamentals of language. Regardless of any
language, competence in grammar is foundational to one’s ability to
communicate in a particular language. One’s good grasp of grammar implies the
ability to send clearer messages, and the likelihood of being intelligible and
understood by others. Moreover, one can also produce good quality writings with
a competent mastery of grammar (Bradshaw, 2013).

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English Grammar presupposes eight parts of speech namely: noun,
pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunctions, interjections and verbs.
Students are taught to be competent in the fictional use of these grammatical
elements. However, the researcher who has relatively spent years in the English
language teaching career has noted that one of the main problems of the
students is their functional grasp of subject-verb agreement. ESL students’
problematic difficulties in their use of subject-verb agreement are becoming more
obvious and rampant, and it cuts across the different grade levels where students
belong. From the primary school towards the university level, many students are
noted in their speech and writing as not being able to abide with the rules of
subject-verb agreement. Errors on subject-verb agreement were found not only
in students’ essays but even in writings of colleagues in universities. The more
worrisome dimension of this problem is that such fiasco extends even to
professionals who use English in their lectures or those among the honorable
members of state and national assemblies or those engaged in varied media
outfits. Errors in subject-verb agreement are becoming wide spread and it seems
as if many people are either no longer aware of the rules or they simply
undermine the importance of grammar rules, for as long as they are able to
convey their message (Tafida & Okunade, 2016). Although the rules on subject-
verb agreement have been introduced to students as early as their primary
education, they still face problems in acquiring the linguistic competence in their
communicative command or use of English. Nayan (2009) also concurs with this
that despite being instructed of the grammatical rules at younger age, ESL
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(English as a second language) learners are not adept in deploying their
knowledge of rules in their actual communicative use of English. In the
above context, one of the language learning competencies in the K to 12
program relates to grammar proficiency. Apparently, the observed deterioration
among students in their application or usage of correct grammar in English
language pervades not only those in the elementary level but also in the
secondary level of education. Since K to 12 uses spiral progression, the grammar
competencies are expected to be mastered by the learners in the early stages as
a prerequisite for them to cope with the more advanced grammar lessons in the
higher levels of their education.
In addition to the above, the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum uses the
Spiral Progression Principle in English language teaching. In the spiral curriculum
design, key concepts are presented repeatedly throughout the curriculum, but
with deepening layers of complexity. As such, learning competencies in English
are taught at increasing levels of difficulty and sophistication. This allows the
students to progress from the foundational level to higher levels of language use.
Thus, the performance in English of the language learners, especially in writing
which focuses on subject-verb agreement, is a crucial part in their language
learning as it greatly affects their performance in the succeeding grade levels.
Related Studies
According to Pao, R. (2019), the globe has been witnessing linguistic
globalization, and English has played a significant role in this transformation. As

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a result, many people around the world who do not speak English as their first
language have attempted to grasp the language's skills. Due to their limited
exposure to the natural language learning environment, ESL or EFL students
have a tough time learning English. English movies are more appropriate for
children because they provide a real-time experience of learning the English
language. As a result, English teachers in most ESL or EFL classrooms have
been showing English movies to students in order to provide more exposure to
the English language. It is true that when English lessons are taught utilizing
authentic content in the form of English movies, learners get a fantastic
opportunity to immerse themselves in an authentic English atmosphere.
For students learning English as a second or foreign language, watching
English movies is a popular and effective tool. It is in the power of English
teachers to capture the learners' full attention in ESL or EFL courses by using
English movies. In this regard, teachers must choose useful and instructive films
that are more appropriate for the topic being taught in the classrooms. The main
focus of this article is on the impact of English movies on English learning in
ESL/EFL courses. It also focuses on the use of audio-visual technology in
English language classrooms, such as English movies, with the goal of
suggesting that these audio-visual technologies be incorporated for ESL or EFL
English language learners.
According to Masiello (1985), presenting movies in the classroom teaches
students to pay close attention to what they're watching and observing, resulting
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in more conscientious and sharper writers. Indrasari (2013) concluded that the
films The Postman Pat and Surprise Present improved the social function and
structure of narrative material in general. In order to boost student productivity in
writing a report text, Tristy (2012) employed a movie ("All about animals") as a
useful tool. Structure, coherence, substance, vocabulary, and grammar have all
improved in narrative text writing according to Anggraini & Radjab's (2014) study
of video multimedia. The use of movies as a significant tool in academic writing
pedagogy and the growth of academic writing teaching and learning was
investigated by Baratta and Jones (2018). In their research, they discovered
three key facts about how films may be used to help students improve their
writing skills in a unique and entertaining way. To begin with, movies pique the
interest and attention of students, resulting in successful teaching and learning.
It's also vital to note that students study the subject in a visual approach, which
makes it easier for them to comprehend complex information. Finally, in the third
finding, the majority of students praised the use of movies as a learning tool for
academic essay writing. To summarize the literature review, there are various
advantages to employing movies to stimulate effective writing.
Several studies have found that watching movies can help learners
enhance their language skills and other areas of language acquisition. Inage et
al. (2013) conducted a study in Manila with undergraduate students from five
universities to examine the technique of English learning through an English
movie and Reader's Theatre assignments. The pupils' appreciation of the film
enhanced their motivation to learn the language, according to the study. The
27
study's participants also said that this practice helped them improve their
pronunciation and vocabulary. The study did not, however, give information on
whether or not the pupils' English proficiency had improved.
The function of watching movies as a learning tool is shown in a study
undertaken to assess students' English learning issues and the ways they solved
these difficulties (Nooreiny & Indira Malani, 2015). The study, which involved 30
undergraduate students majoring in English Language Studies at University of
Santo Thomas, found that one approach students utilize to overcome their
learning issues is to engage in extracurricular activities such as watching western
movies. The assisting elements were ascribed to positive attitudes and the
increased motivation that comes with participating in these activities.
Meanwhile, a case study conducted among four English Education
students in Manila to examine their participation in English activities outside of
the classroom found that watching English movies is beneficial for vocabulary
acquisition as well as the learning of colloquial expression and slang, the
conversational aspect of English that is rarely taught in a formal classroom
setting (Chusanachoti, 2019). Furthermore, movies assisted learners in
contextualizing words because characters in movies discuss a variety of issues
in a variety of contexts. This research also found that movies aid in the learning
of pronunciation and various English accents.

Chapter III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research design, participants of the study,
research locale, sampling technique, research instrument, scaling and
qualification, validation of the research instrument, reliability of the research
instrument, data gathering procedure and statistical used.
Research Design
The research design used by the researchers in their topic ‘The Impact of
Short Stories Reading and Movie Watching in Grammatical Competence of
Grade 10 Students of Apitong National High School is descriptive-comparative. A
descriptive-comparative design is used to describe variables and investigate
differences in variables that occur naturally in two or more groups in a situation.
Research Locale
This study was conducted a Apitong National High School located in
Apitong, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro headed by its principal, Mr. Michael Alcala.
This school has a total population of 90 Grade 10 students who are taking
English subject.
29
Respondents of the Study
The respondents of the study were the Grade 10 students of Apitong
National High School. The researchers grouped their participants into two
groups, the first group were the one who will read the short stories and the other
group were the one who will watch the movies. They were grouped based on
their respective set on their face to face classes, The set A is the group who
watched the movies and the set B is the group who read the short stories. Grade
10 students were the respondents since based on the curriculum guide, they
must read short stories and watched movies. Also based on their English teacher
most of the students were not doing good in terms of writing.
Sampling Technique
The respondents were selected using the Purposive Sampling. It is a type
of non-probability sampling in which researchers choose people of the public to
participate in their surveys based on their own assessment.
Table 1
Distribution of the Respondents of the Study
Section Total Population Total of Group 1 Total of Group 2

Pegasus 27 13 14
Antilla 30 15 15
Hydra 33 17 16
Total 90 45 45
30
Research Instruments
This study utilized a standardized questionnaire that composed of three
parts as the main data gathering instruments based on the curriculum guide of
the Grade 10 students. The questions used in the questionnaire came from the
modules of the Grade 10 students. However, the researchers reassured the
credibility of the questionnaires, the researchers interacted to the three English
instructors to validate the questionnaire. The first part comes with the level of
writing ability of the students in terms of structures of modification, then the
second part will test their vocabulary development, and the last part will test their
punctuation. The researcher used three short stories the A Day in the Country,
The Story of Keesh, and To Build a Fire, same as the movie that the other group
watched.
Validity of the Research Instruments
The questionnaire was validated by the experts- English Instructors at
Pola Central, Head Department of English at Pola Catholic School and Research
Instructor at Mindoro State University (Calapan Campus) before having it
administered. In-depth analysis and suggestions are made before the final
administration of the test to the respondents to check the appropriateness of the
test items.
31
Reliability of the Instrument
To test the reliability of the instrument, the test re-test was used. Ten (10)
non-respondents were asked to answer. After ten (10) days, the questionnaire
was administered again to the same set of respondents. The reliability of the
questionnaire was determined using T-test.
Data Gathering Procedure
A request for permission to conduct the study in research locale was sent
to the Principal of Apitong National High School through a letter when the
research instrument is already prepared and ready for administering after
consultation with some experts. The researchers gave two tests the pre-test and
the post test that were composed of three parts that tested the following:
structure of modification, vocabulary development and punctuation. There were
two groups that took the questionnaire. The first group were the one who read
the short stories and answered the questionnaires. Then, the other group were
watching the movie which is the adaptation of the short story that the other group
read, and they answered the same set of questions. The researchers personally
went to the Apitong National HighSchool to conduct the study. In the actual
survey, the respondents were oriented on the purpose of the study and the way
of answering it. Health protocol were observed during the actual survey, since we
are still in the middle of the pandemic. The students answered the pre-test before
reading the short stories or watching the movies. The materials were left to the
32
students so that they can read or watch the movies at home, but beside from that
on the time of their English subject, the researchers and their English Teacher let
them read the materials. After two weeks of the administration they will answer
the post-test.
Scoring and Quantification of Data
Level of effectiveness of the short stories and movie watching to
grammatical competencies of the respondents is described using the range
below
Table 2
Score and Quantification of Data
Range Descriptions
90 and above Very High
85-89 High
80-84 Moderate
75-79 Low
Below 75 Very Low
Statistical Treatment of Data
To interpret the data effectively, the researchers employed the following
statistical treatment. The mean, the percentage, standard deviation, and t-test
were the tools needed to interpret data.

33
1. Percentage
Percentage is calculated by taking the frequency in the category divided
by the total number of participants and multiplying by 100%. This was used to get
the rating of the scores of the pre-test and post-test.
2. Mean
The mean is an important measure, it incorporated the score from every
subject in the research study. It was used to compute the results of each
variable.
3. T-test
A t-test is a statistical test that was used to compare the means of two groups. It
was used to compare the means of the group who read short stories and the
group who watched movies.

Chapter IV
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presented, analyzed and interpreted data gathered in the
light of the sub-problems and hypothesis raised in the “Comparative Study
Between the Effectiveness of Reading of Short Stories and Watching Movies in
Grammatical Competence of Grade 10 Students of Apitong National High
School”
1. Level of effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Structure of Modification

of Grade 10 students in Apitong National High School for Pre-test.
Table 3 presents the frequency, percentage and the description of the
level of effectiveness of reading short stories in terms of structure of modification
of Grade 10 students in Apitong National High School for Pre-test. It shows that
out of 45 students there are 40 students who got an average grade of 90 and
above which is equivalent to 8.89% from the total respondents. Meanwhile, there
are 3 students who score an average of 85-89 and are equivalent to 6.67% out of
45 participants. On the other hand, 19 students who took the pre-test got an
average of 80-84 which is equivalent to 42.22%. Then the average ranging from
75-79 have 3 in frequency, it is equivalent to 6.67% from the total number of
participant who read short stories and took the pre-test. The rest 16 students who
took the pre-test for the part of the structure of modification got an average that is
below 75 which is 35.56%. This results in an overall mean score which is 79.38
and described as low effective.

35
This suggests that the participants' knowledge of the structure of
modification is lacking. The researchers created and experts-validated
questionnaires that measure students' understanding of grammatical structure
resulted a low percentage, which is a strong indication of the participants' poor
performance in terms of grammar structure. This proves that the English
teachers' earlier research and surveys about their students' performance in
applying grammar rules to sentences were accurate. This supports the Nayan’s
(2019) notion which cited that despite being instructed of the grammatical rules at
younger age, English as a second language (ESL) learners are not adept in
deploying their knowledge of rules in their actual communicative use of English.
In the above context, one of the language learning competencies in the K to 12
program relates to grammar proficiency. Apparently, the observed deterioration
among students in their application or usage of correct grammar in English
language pervades not only those in the elementary level but also in the
secondary level of education. Since K to 12 uses spiral progression, the grammar
competencies are expected to be mastered by the learners in the early stages as
a prerequisite for them to cope with the more advanced grammar lessons in the
higher levels of their education.

36
Table 3
Level of effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Structure of Modification
of Grade 10 students for Pre-test.
Description
Scores Frequency Percentage
90-above 4 8.89 Very High
85-89 3 6.67 High
80-84 19 42.22 Moderate
75-79 3 6.67 Low
Below 75 16 35.56 Very Low
Total 45 100
Mean Score: 79.38 Description: Low
2. Level of Effectiveness of Short Story in Vocabulary of Grade 10 Students

for Pre-test.
Table 4 presents the frequency, percentage, the mean score and its
description of the level of effectiveness of short story in Vocabulary of Grade 10
students in Apitong National High School for Pre-test. It presents that out of forty-
five students who took the pre-test in vocabulary part of the quiz, 4 students got
90 and above average which is equivalent to 8.89%. While, 5 students achieved
an 85-89 average in the pre-test, particularly the vocabulary part in the quiz, it is
equivalent to 11.11%. The average 80-84, on the other hand, has a frequency of
11 which is equivalent to 24.44% out of 45 Grade 10 students. Meanwhile, the
average 75-79 have 8 frequency that is commensurate with a percentage
17.78%. The remaining 17 students got an average below 75, which is equivalent
to 37.78%. The total mean score for the vocabulary section for pre-test scores is
77.51% that has a description of low.

37
This suggests that the participants' grammatical proficiency in terms of
vocabulary does not matched their proficiency in English vocabulary knowledge.
According to the findings, even at their level (Grade 10), students still lacked the
necessary vocabulary skills. However, this way also be attributed to the
construction of the questionnaires. It is possible that the vocabulary requirements
for the test were too high for the participants.
Table 4
Level of Effectiveness of Short Story in Vocabulary of Grade 10 Students in

Apitong National High School for Pre-test.
Scores Frequency Percentage Description

85-89 5 11.11 High
80-84 11 24.44 Moderate
75-79 8 17.78 Low
Total 45 100
3. Level of Effectiveness of Short Story in Punctuation of Grade 10

Students for Pre-test.
Table 5 shows the frequency, percentage, the mean score and description
of the level of effectiveness of short story in Punctuation of Grade 10 students in
Apitong National High School for Pre-test. It presents that the students who got
an average of 90 and above described a very high effectiveness are 9,
equivalent to 20% out of 45 students who took pre-test, specifically the
punctuation part of the quiz. The average 85-89 that is considered high effective
38
have a frequency of 5 which is equivalent to 11.11%. Meanwhile, 80-84 and 75-
79 have the same frequency of 11, equivalent to 24.44% of the whole population
of the participants who took the pre-test by reading short-stories. The remaining
9 students got an average below 75 which implies a very low performance in
terms of using punctuation, it has a percentage of 20%. Lastly, it reveals the total
mean score of 81.07 described as a moderate level of effectiveness in
grammatical competence particularly in punctuation reveals that students still
need more practice learning how to punctuate sentences.
Participants lack the punctuation knowledge necessary to select the right
response during the test. This indicates that students are still confused of how to
properly employ punctuation in a sentence even at Grade 10 levels. It supports
Martin’s (2014) notion which states that the students also should pay attention to
the ideas, unity of paragraph, sentence pattern, grammar, correct punctuation,
spelling and capitalization.
Table 5
Level of Effectiveness of Short Story in Punctuation of Grade 10 Students
for Pre-test.

85-89 5 11.11 High
80-84 11 24.44 Moderate
75-79 11 24.44 Low
Total 45 100
Mean Score: 81.07 Description: Moderate
39
4.Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Structure of Modification

of Grade 10Students for Post-test.
Table 6 presents the frequency, percentage, the mean score and
description of the level of effectiveness of short stories in Structure of
Modification of Grade 10 students in Apitong National High School for Post-test.
It shows that 26 students got 90 and above average described a very high
effectiveness of reading short stories in grammatical competence in terms of
structure of modification, it has a percentage of 57.78%. Out of 45 students who
took the post-test, only 5 students got an average of 85-89 percent which is
recognized as a high level of effectiveness of reading short stories in
grammatical competence, it is equivalent to 11.11%. The average 80-84 which
has a corresponding description as moderate level of effectiveness of short
stories consists of 11 out of 45 students has a percentage of 24.44%. Meanwhile,
only 2 students who got an average of 75-79 which is equivalent to 4.44% from
the total number of participants who read short stories and took the post-test in
grammatical competence in particular to structure of modification. There is only
one student who got an average below 75 which is described as a low level of
effectiveness of reading short stories in grammatical competence, it is equivalent
to 2.22% from the total number of participants who read short stories. A mean
score of 89. 24 proved that there is a high level of effectiveness of reading short
stories in the grammatical competence of grade 10 students in terms of structure
of modification.
40
The findings imply that short stories have a good impact on participants'
grammatical proficiency in terms of structure and modification. This is due to the
fact that the questionnaires and the short stories that were chosen make an ideal
pair for evaluating the students' understanding of the structure of modification.
The materials more than satisfied participants' need to provide accurate answers
on the post-test questionnaire. It supports Sakthivel, Phil, and Kavidha’s (2012)
notion which states that by reading a piece of literature like short stories, learners
can understand the structure of modification specifically the grammar rules,
different usage of words, phrases, phrasal verbs, numerous meanings, and
idioms, among others. Moreover, it also relates to Rodriguez (2016) findings
which found out that short stories served as a language model for pupils to better
grasp how language works and to improve the structure of grammar, cohesion,
and coherence
Table 6
Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Structure of Modification
of Grade 10Students Post-test.

85-89 5 11.11 High
80-84 11 24.44 Moderate
75-79 2 4.44 Low
Total 45 100
Mean Score: 89.24 Description: High 41
5.Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Vocabulary of Grade 10

students for Post-test.
Table 7 reflects the frequency, percentage, the mean score and
description of the level of effectiveness of reading short stories in Vocabulary of
Grade 10 students in Apitong National High School for post-test. It presents that
20 students got an average of 90 and above described as a very high level of
effectiveness and it is equivalent to 44.44% from the total number of participant
who read short stories and took the post-test in order to assess their knowledge.
On the other hand, 7 students got an average of 85-89 which is recognized as a
high level of effectiveness of reading short stories in the vocabulary of Grade 10
students, it has a percentage 15.56% from the total number of the participants.
Moreover, 80-84 is described as a moderate level of effectiveness of short
stories got a frequency of 12 which commensurate with 26.67%. While, 4
students score beyond the range of 75-79 which is known as low effectiveness of
short stories in the vocabulary of the grade 10 participants. This has a
percentage 17.78% from the total number of the participants in reading short
stories. There are 2 students who got an average 75 below this means reading
short stories has a very low level of effectiveness and from the total number of
participants, it is equivalent to 8.78%. These data result in a mean score of 87.2
which is described as high level of effectiveness of reading short stories in the
grammatical competence particularly in vocabulary of Grade 10 students of
Apitong National High School. 42
This implies that in grammatical competence in terms of vocabulary,
reading short stories is a highly effective tool to improve students’ English
acquisition. The researchers notice the short stories (The Day in the Country,
Story of Keesh and To build a Fire) that were provided for the students to read
are potent tools to increase the vocabularies of the learners. The materials met
the vocabulary needs of students to answer the questionnaires correctly. It
supports Qian (2019) findings which found out that reading any literary piece
contributed significantly in vocabulary knowledge.
Table 7
Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Vocabulary of Grade 10

85-89 7 15.56 High
80-84 12 26.67 Moderate
75-79 4 17.78 Low
Total 45 100
Mean Score: 87.2 Description: High
6. Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Punctuation of Grade 10

Students for Post-test.
Table 8 presents the frequency, percentage, description and the mean
score of the level of effectiveness of reading short stories in Punctuation of
Grade 10 students in Apitong National High School for Post-test. It shows that 24
out of 45 students got an average of 90 and above which is describe as very high
level of effectiveness of reading short stories in the use of punctuation of Grade
10 students, it is equivalent to 53.33% from the total number of participant who
read short stories. Meanwhile, 11 students got an average of 85-89 which is
equivalent to 24.44%, this average depicts a high level of effectiveness of

reading short stories in the use of punctuation. While, there are 8 students who
acquired an average ranging from 80-84, this means a moderate level of
effectiveness of short stories in punctuation and got an equivalent percentage of
17.78%. The average 75-79 and below 75 have the same frequency which is 1
which is equivalent to 2.22%. This table also reveals its mean score which is
90.13 which means a very high level of effectiveness of reading short stories in
the punctuation of Grade 10 students of Apitong National High School in their
posttest.
This implies that reading short stories really improves students’ ability to
use punctuation correctly and accurately. The post test of the participants
revealed a high score that the short stories provided increases the students’
ability to use the punctuations clearly. This implies that the study materials are an
excellent aid for performing well on the test. This demonstrates the connections
between the short stories and questionnaires that were used. This relates to
Read’s (2015) notion which stated that short stories is a comprehensive resource
that can aid in the development of the teaching grammar and understand the
generic structure and language feature of the text and this includes learning
punctuation marks.
44
Table 8
Level of Effectiveness of Reading Short Story in Punctuation of Grade 10
Students for Post test.
85-89 11 24.44 High
80-84 8 17.78 Moderate
75-79 1 2.22 Low
Total 45 100%
Mean Score: 90.13 Description: Very High
7. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Structure of Modification of

Grade 10 students for Pre-test.
Table 9 shows the result of the pretest in structure of modification. 14
students or 31.11% of the students got 90 and above score. There were only
three students or 6.67% of the students that got 85-89 score in a test. There
were 14 students or 31.11% of students that got 80-84 score at the test. Five
students or 11.11% of the students, scored 75-79 at the given test. Nine students
or 20% of the students got a score below 75. The students who got a score of 90
and above, and 80-84 has a higher frequency that the other score. The overall
mean score of the result is 83.47, and it has a moderate impact.
This means that the students who are chosen to watch movies are already
well-familiarized with grammar and the researchers see that those participants
are those potentials of students who had quite knowledge in terms of grammar
49
that is why the test resulted moderate. This also implies that the tools and
questionnaires used to gauge the student's vocabulary development were

45
reliable.
Table 9
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Structure of Modification of
Grade 10 students for Pre-test.
85-89 3 6.67 High
80-84 14 31.11 Moderate
75-79 5 11.11 Low
Total 45 100
8. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Vocabulary of Grade 10

students for Pre-test.
Table 10 shows the result of the pre-test of the students in vocabulary
development. There were 3 students or 6.67% of students who got 90 and above
scores. Just like those students who got 90 and above scores, there were also
three students or 6.67% of the students who got 85-89 scores. There were 15
students or 33.33% of the students got a score of 80-84. There were 10 students
or 22.22% of the students got a score of 75-79. There were 14 students or
31.11% of the students got a score below 75. The mean score of the result of the
pre-test in vocabulary development is 77.8, which has a low impact.
This table displayed the poor pre-test outcome. In our study, the
participants who utilized short stories and the ones who used movies; both had
comparably low vocabulary levels. This suggests that they weren't able to
understand or interpret the language used in the questionnaires. That supports
the study of Wahyuningsih (2018) that states limited exposures to English
vocabularies is one of the issues that causes students’ poor writing skill. This
shows that pupils who watch movies have had little exposure to English
vocabulary, which decreased their test score.
Table 10
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Vocabulary of Grade 10

85-89 3 6.67 High
80-84 15 33.33 Moderate
51
75-79 10 22.22 Low
Total 45 100
9. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Punctuation of Grade 10

The result of the pre-test in punctuation is shown in table 11. Eight
students or 17% of the students got 90 and above score. There were five
students or 11% of the students scored 85-89 in the test. Ten students or 22% of
the students got a score of 80-84. There were 9 students or 20% of the students
got 75-79 scores, and thirteen of the students or 28.88% of the students got a
score below 75 & 9.86 are the total mean score of the scores of the students.
The outcome shows that learners' understanding of punctuation in their prior
knowledge was not very adequate. The pre-exam demonstrated that students
lacked the prerequisite knowledge to succeed on the punctuation test. Because
they lack the background information necessary to recognize proper punctuation
in a sentence, learners scored poorly on their pre-test.

Table 11
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Punctuation of Grade 10

90-abovez 8 17.00 Very High
85-89 5 11.00 High
80-84 10 22.00 Moderate
75-79 9 20.00 Low
Total 45 100
10. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Structure of Modification

of Grade 10 students for Post-test.
Table 12 shows the result of the post-test in the structure of modification.
Sixteen students or 35.55% of the students got 90 and above score. There were
seven students or 5.55% of the students that got 85-89 score in a test. There
were twelve students or 26.66% of students that got an 80-84 score on the test.
Six students or 13.33% of the students, scored 75-79 at the given test. Four
students or 8.88% of the students got a score below 75. The students who got a
score of 90 and above had a higher frequency than the other scores. The overall
mean score of the result is 86.13, and it has a high impact.
The outcome of post-test suggests that in terms structure of modification a
significant advancement or change that occurs when individuals are exposed to
movies. As a result, movies based on the researchers' short stories are highly
successful methods for teaching grammar, particularly the structure of
modification. This suggests that using this content (movies) to improve students'
grammatical proficiency. This relates to Harmer’s (2012) notion which stated that
one of the main advantages of the movie is that students do not just hear the
language, they see it too. This greatly aids the struggles in grammar, since
general meaning and moods are often conveyed through expression, gesture,
and other visual clues. All such, paralinguistic features give valuable meaning
clues and help viewers to see beyond what they are listening to, and this
interpret the text more deeply.
Table 12
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Structure of Modification of
Grade 10 students for Post-test.

85-89 7 5.55 High
80-84 12 26.66 Moderate
75-79 6 13.33 Low
Total 45 100
11. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Vocabulary of Grade 10

The result of the posttest in vocabulary development is shown in table 13.
Eleven students (24.44%) of the students got 90 and above score. There was
only 1 student (2.22%) of the students scored 85-89 in the test. There were 13
students or 28.88% of the students got a score of 80-84. There were 9 (20%)
students of the students got 75-79 scores, and 12 (28.88%) students of the
51
students got a score below 75. The students who got 80-84 scores got the
highest frequency. 81.15 is the total mean score of the scores of the students.
This table demonstrates that watching the movie had a moderate effect on
the participants' vocabulary. This means that learners’ vocabularies exposed
after being exposed to movies and the movies featured ( The Canterbury Tales,
The Story of Keesh and To Build A Fire) are good stories that can develop the
vocabulary of the Grade 10 students. However, this suggests that the
questionnaires and the movies utilized were inadequate tools for evaluating the
participants' vocabulary abilities.
Table 13
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Vocabulary of Grade 10
students for Posttest.
85-89 1 2.22 High
80-84 13 28.88 Moderate
75-79 9 20.00 Low
Total 45 100
12. Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Punctuation of Grade 10

students for Posttest.
Table 14 shows the result of the post test of the students in punctuation.
There were 17 students (37.77%) of students who got 90 and above scores
described as very high effective. There were 3 students (6.66%) of the students
who got 85-89 scores described as high effective. There were 13 students
(28.88%) of the students got a score of 80-84 described as moderate effective.

52
There were 7 students (15.55%) of the students got a score of 75-79 described
as low effective. There were 4 students (8.88%) of the students got a score
below 75 described as very low effective. The mean score of the result of post-
test in vocabulary development is 87.46, which has a high impact.
The outcome suggests that learners experienced significant modifications
or advancements, particularly when the movies shown were ones with subtitles.
The fact that the students could read the language on the screen in addition to
hearing and seeing it is what made the materials extremely effective for the
children and led to a high score.The findings are related to Seferogiu's (2018)
study, in which he examined the effects of using movies in EFL classrooms and
highlighted their significant contribution to the teaching and learning process. He
discovered that using movies to teach academic writing can help students use
punctuation more effectively. It also relates to Khan's (2015) ideas, according to
which movies provide a variety of approaches and resources for teaching the
target language and enhancing students' writing abilities, including grammar and
punctuation standards.
53
Table 14
Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in Punctuation of Grade 10

85-89 3 6.66 High
80-84 13 28.88 Moderate
75-79 7 15.55 Low
Total 45 100
13. Difference of the Level of effectiveness of Reading Short Stories in the

grammatical competence of Grade 10 students for Pre-test and Post Test.
Table 15 presents the data on the difference of the level of effectiveness
of reading short stories in the grammatical competence for pre and post-tests.
The t-test result shows the mean difference of 9.87 for the structure of
modification part of the test, 9.69 for vocabulary and point seven for the test part
of punctuation. The table also presents the t value, administering the pre and
post-test using the experimental group ( reading short stories), the structure of
modification got 8.81 while the vocabulary got 8.603 and the punctuation have
7.763. Both control groups have the common degree of freedom which is 44. The
t-test result reveals also that all the independent variables (structure of
modification, vocabulary and punctuation) pre-test and post-test got a p value of
<.00001. This result means that there is a significant difference between the
before and after reading short stories in the grammatical competence of Grade
10 students specifically in structure of modification, vocabulary and punctuation.

54
This suggests that reading short stories had a significant impact on
all the study's assessed factors (structure of modification, vocabulary and
punctuation). This shows that the three short stories chosen—The Canterbury
Tales, The Life of Keesh, and To Build a Fire—confirmed a significant
improvement in the pre- and post-test scores of the participants. According to the
results, the students did not do well or had poor scores before being exposed to
short stories, but thereafter, most of their scores increased, which confirms a
favorable impact on the students' grammatical competence for all variables that
the researchers assessed. This also means that the literary works the
researchers chosen have a positive impact on the participants' knowledge of
sentence structure, punctuation, and vocabulary development.
This relates to Custodio et al. (2018) assumption which stated that
literature becomes an excellent teaching tool because we are not only teaching a
language but also the habits of a culture. It contains high-quality language
models that can be used to improve language abilities. Additionally, it supports
Qian (2019) study which found out the significant relationship between the
structure of modification, vocabulary development and punctuation through
reading literature. This explains why students who were exposed to short stories
improved on their test results and why there was a significant difference between
the pre-test and post-test for every variable studied.

55
Table 15
Difference of the Level of effectiveness of Reading Short Stories in the
T-test
Compared Variables p Mean
t df Interpretation
value Difference
Reading Pre-test
Short vs. Post- SO
Stories test M 8.81 44 <.001 9.87 Significant
8.60
VOC 3 44 <.001 9.69 Significant
7.76
PUN 3 44 <.001 9.07 Significant
14. Difference of the Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in the

Table 16 shows the difference of the level of effectiveness of watching
movies in grammatical competence of Grade 10 students for Pre-test and Post-
test. The table reveals the mean difference of the three different independent
variables, structure of modification got 2.67 while vocabulary has 2.73 and
punctuation has 5.82. Table also presents the t value of the variables, structure
of modification has 2.455, vocabulary has 1.86 and punctuation has 4.491. All
variables have a common degree of freedom which is 44. The p value of each
variable is revealed in the table above, structure of modification have 0.018 while
vocabulary have 0.069 and punctuation has 0.001. Both vocabulary and
punctuation are interpreted as a significant difference while structure of
modification reveals that there is no significant difference in the before and after
watching movies when it comes to the said variable. Overall this means that
watching movies can be really an effective tool in the grammatical competence of

56
Grade 10 students of Apitong National High School except for the structure of
modification for the result remains.
This suggests that watching movies has a significant impact on the Grade
10 students at Apitong National High School in terms of grammatical
competence, particularly in terms of structure of modification and punctuation.
However, it reveals that watching movies has little to no impact on their
vocabulary, so the result appears to be insignificant. Prior to exposure to movies,
learners scored poorly on the questionnaires created by the researchers,
indicating that there are problems or issues with regard to English language
acquisition. However, after exposure to movies, there was a significant impact on
all variables, with the exception of vocabulary. In all honesty, the researchers had
high expectations for the vocabulary test portion, but the findings show that
neither the study's materials—movies—nor its questionnaires—pre and post-
tests—were sufficient to determine whether watching movies helps students'
vocabulary.
The result relates to Kasper (2020) concept which stated that assisting
students in understanding and using authentic tools like movies improves their
grammar skills; providing linguistic background for writing; introducing the target
culture alongside language; and dealing with text peculiarities are just a few
examples of how linguistics can help (structure, coherence, topic and main idea).
Graphical aids, subject background for writing, effective pre-writing exercises
(brainstorming), genuine materials (connecting learning to real life), and the

57
development of analytical and critical skills are all examples of pedagogical
methods. However, the findings of the study, doesn’t support Kasper’s (2020)
notions that assisting students in understanding and using authentic language,
as well as enriching students' vocabulary and improving their grammar skills.
Table 16
T-test
Compared Variables Mean
t df p value Interpretation
Difference
Watching Pre-test
SOM 2.455 44 0.018 2.67 Significant
Movies vs. Post-
test
VOC 1.86 44 0.069 2.73 not significant
PUNC 4.491 44 0.001 5.82 Significant

Difference of the Level of effectiveness of Watching Movies in the
15. Difference in the Level of effectiveness of Reading short stories and

Watching Movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10 for Pre-Test.
Table 17 shows the difference in the Level of effectiveness of reading
short stories and watching movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10
students of Apitong National High School for pre-test. The t-test reveals the
mean difference 4.09 for structure of modification, 0.29 in vocabulary
development, and -1.2 in punctuation. This table reveals the t-value of the pre-
test of the students in the two groups, 2.26 is the t value in structure of
modification, 0.168 in Vocabulary development, and -0.69 in punctuation. The t-
test also shows that structure of modification got 0.013 as its p value, 0.433 for
vocabulary development and 0.247 for punctuation. This result shows that there
was a significant difference in the result of the pre-test in the structure of

58
modification, and no significant difference in the results of vocabulary
development and punctuation.
The findings regarding structure of modification showed a significant
difference, indicating that the participants who utilized short stories and movies
also had varying levels of English proficiency. The results imply that there was no
significant difference between the pre-test results of participants who are
exposed to short stories and movies in terms of vocabulary and punctuation.
However, the pre-test also revealed that, when compared to the group of
participants who will use short tales, the group of participants who will
use movies had a higher score on the questionnaires in terms of the structure of
modification. This also suggests that those who watch movies are better
equipped to adopt the English language since they perform better than those
who read short stories.
Table 17
Difference in the Level of effectiveness of Reading short stories and
Watching Movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10 students for
Pre-Test.
t-test
Compared Variables p Mean
t Df Interpretation
value Difference
Watching Pre-test
SOM 2.26 88 0.013 4.09 significant
vs. Reading
VOC 0.168 88 0.433 0.29 not significant
PUNC -0.69 88 0.247 -1.2 not significant
16. Difference in the Level of effectiveness of Reading short stories and

Watching Movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10 students for
Post Test.
59
Table 18 reveals the difference in the Level of effectiveness of reading
short stories and watching movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10
students of Apitong National High School for post-test. T test reveals that the
mean difference for structure of modification is -3.11, -6.67 for vocabulary
development, and -4.44 for punctuation. All the variables have a common degree
of freedom of 88. This table also shows the t value, 1.732 for structure of
modification, 3.643 for vocabulary development, and -2.67 for punctuation. Also,
t-test also reveals the p-value, 0.433 for structure of modification, 0.002 for
vocabulary development and 0.004 for punctuation. These results show that
there were significant differences in the results.
This suggests that the post-test findings of those who watched movies and
read short stories had a significant difference. This indicates that participants
received a range of scores after watching movies and reading short stories. The
results also demonstrated that short stories performed significantly better on the
post-test than movies. This suggests that the use of short stories helped
participants improve their grammatical proficiency more effectively. The
conclusions, however, may also be influenced by the participants' level of English
proficiency and the materials utilized are not particularly complementary. For
instance, the movie versions of The Canterbury Tales' short stories, The Story of
Keesh, and To Build a Fire are not up to grade materials to match the literary
versions. The outcome might also be impacted by the fact that the text version
places greater emphasis on punctuation, vocabulary development, and sentence

60
structure than the technology or movie adaptations that the researchers chose
for the experiment
Table 18
T-test
Compared Variables Mean
t df p value Interpretation
Difference
-
Watching SOM 1.732 88 0.433 -3.11 Significant
Movies vs. Post -
Reading Short test VOC 3.643 88 0.000227 -6.67 Significant
Stories
PUNC -2.67 88 0.004579 -4.44 Significant
Difference in the Level of effectiveness of Reading short stories and
Watching Movies in the grammatical competence of Grade 10 students of
Apitong National High School for Post Test.
Chapter V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION
This chapter presents the summary of findings of the study, the conclusions
drawn from the findings and the recommendations offered by the researcher.
Summary of Findings
exposed to reading short stories in pre-test and post-test in terms of:
This study found that students who had read short stories
and had an overall mean of 89.24 which has been shown to have a
high level of effectiveness on participants' structure of modification.
1.2. Vocabulary
The results of this study showed that students who had been
exposed to short stories had an overall mean of 87.2 in which has
been shown to be highly effective in improving participants'
vocabulary.
1.3. Punctuation
This study revealed that students after being exposed to
reading short stories had an overall mean of 90.13 which is
described as very high effective.

62
exposed to watching movies in pre-test and post-test in terms of:
This study found that students who had watched movies and
had an overall mean of 86.13 which has been shown to have a high
level of effectiveness on participants' structure of modification.
2.2. Vocabulary
The results of this study showed that students who had
exposure to movies had an overall mean of 81.15 which has been
shown to be moderately effective in improving participants'
vocabulary.
2.3. Punctuation
This study revealed that students after being exposed to
movies had an overall mean of 87.46 which is described as high
effective.
3. What is the effect of reading stories to the grammatical competence of the
Apitong National High School's Grade 10 pupils who
participated in the study by reading short stories received a p value
of .001, this suggests that there is a significant difference between
the results of the pretest and posttest that assess the Grade 10
63
students' grammatical competence in terms of structure and
modification.
3.2. Vocabulary
As a result of reading short stories, 45 students in Grade 10
at Apitong National High School a p value of .001, this suggests
that there is a significant difference between the results of the pre-
test and post-test that assess the Grade 10 students' grammatical
proficiency in terms of vocabulary.
3.3. Punctuation
Apitong National High School's Grade 10 pupils who were
exposed to short stories showed a p value of.001, this suggests
that there is a substantial difference between the results of the pre-
test and post-test that assess the Grade 10 students' grammatical
proficiency in terms of punctuation.
4. What is the effect of movie watching to grammatical competence of the
Apitong National High School's Grade 10 pupils who
participated in the study by watching movies a p value of.018 this
suggests that there is a significant difference between the results of
the pretest and posttest of watching movies that assess the Grade
10 students' grammatical competence in terms of structure and
modification.
65
64
4.2. Vocabulary
As a result of watching movies, 45 students in Grade 10 at
Apitong National High School showed a p value of.069, this
suggests that there is no significant difference between the results
of the pre-test and post-test in watching movies that assess the
Grade 10 students' grammatical proficiency in terms of vocabulary.
4.3. Punctuation
Apitong National High School's Grade 10 pupils who were
exposed to movies showed a p value of 0.01this suggests that
there is a significant difference between the results of the pre-test
and post-test in watching movies that assess the Grade 10
students' grammatical proficiency in terms of punctuation.
5. How do reading short stories and movie watching compare in terms of
their grammatical competence? Is there a significant difference?
The participants in the study received a mean difference of -3.11
with a t value of 1.732 and a p value of 0.433 in terms of structure of
modification in both the posttest or after exposure to short stories and
movies. The outcome is considered significant. In terms of vocabulary, the
study's participants had a mean difference of -6.67, a t value of 3.643, a p
value of 0. 0227. It shows that there is also a big difference between
watching movies and reading short stories. Last but not least, the study's
participants' in terms of punctuation had a mean difference of -4.44, a t

65
value of -2.67 and a p value of 0.004579. It demonstrates that there is also
a significant difference between watching movies and reading short
stories.
Conclusions
On the basis of the foregoing findings, the following conclusions were

drawn.
1. Short stories effectively improved the grammatical proficiency of
Grade 10 students at Apitong National High School. Using short stories
and the questionnaire that was employed are compatible to measure
the participants' grammatical ability, that is why reading short stories
had high effect on teaching vocabulary, punctuation, and structure of
modification.
2. The idea of watching movies enhances and develops the English
language proficiency of Apitong National High School students in
Grade 10. Additionally, the researchers attest to the accuracy of the
chosen movie versions of the short stories and the efficiency with
which the questionnaire developed and approved by specialists
really measures the participants' grammatical proficiency.
3. The participants' grammatical proficiency increased after their
exposure to short stories, which is why the outcome is high effect. It
has been demonstrated that the short stories chosen from the Grade
66
10 students' modules are a successful teaching tool for English
grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation.
4. The pre-test and post-test are significant because after watching the
movies, participants were able to respond to the questionnaire
questions accurately, indicating that watching the movies helped them
become more grammatically competent. However, there were no
changes in the pre-test or post-test regarding vocabulary, which led the
study's materials and assessment tools used to gauge students'
grammatical proficiency inadequate. This implies that the results are
constrained because they cannot account for the overall efficacy of the
materials and questionnaires on the studied variables.
5. In general, the effectiveness of reading short stories versus watching
movies differs significantly. Using short stories are more effective to
improve students’ grammatical proficiency. This is because the
learners are more exposed to grammar when they longer see the
language, therefore there is a strong likelihood that test takers will
successfully master the grammatical skills required. The results
indicate that the questionnaires and the materials—short tales or
movies—chosen to test participants' grammatical proficiency are both
quite effective.
67
Recommendation
In line with what has been discussed so far and based on the results of the
present study, the following suggestions are offered:
1. Using short stories does not necessarily increase students' interest in
English unless such stories are engaging and the language utilized is
appropriate for their level. It would be preferable if the short narrative was
carefully picked, taking into account the pupils' English proficiency and
motivation levels.
2. The study's main limitation is that the movie adaptations of the short
stories did not really complement to achieve the best results, thus, the
researchers advise future researchers to seek for a better movie
adaptation that will match both texts and visual language.
3. Short stories should be taken account while designing lesson plan,
materials and evaluation instrument, it could improve the ideas and
strategy of foreign language teachers and other experts in developing the
learner’s grammar.
4. The researchers recommend employing technology-based media (movies)
in grammar instruction and seek for films that are more similar to the
resources they will compare. Finding a cinematic adaptation that truly
matches the content of short stories is important in order to come up with
better result.
68
5. The study advised teachers to focus more on literary works than movies
when teaching English grammar since students are in direct con tact with
the text and are more likely to pay attention to grammar. This is true
especially for vocabulary, punctuation, and structure of modification.
Although watching movies could be an interesting teaching technique, this
study recommends that reading short stories makes students pay more
attention to language learning.

69
REFERENCES
Bearison, D., & Dorval, B. (2002). Constructive features of collaborative

cognition.In, Collaborative Cognition: Children Ne-gotiating Ways of
Knowing. 117-121.
Budiana Putra, I. P. (2014). LEARNING VOCABULARY USING ENGLISH

MOVIE WITH SUBTITLES IN SMAK SANTO YOSEPH. HUMANIS,
22(1).
Draper.D (2010-2012) Comprehension Strategies.Visualising &Visual Literacy.

DECS Curriculum Consultant, Northern Adelaide
Furmanovsky, M. (2017). Content Video in the EFL Classroom. The Internet
TESL Journal, Vol. III, No. 1, January 1997
Gambrell, L. B., & Jawitz, P. B. (2013). Mental imagery, text illustrations, and
children's story comprehension and recall. Reading Research
Quarterly, 265-276.
Genc Ilter, B. (2019). Effect of Technology on Motivation in EFL Classrooms.
Online Submission
Gimson, A. C. (2020). An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. London:

Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd.
Almuhtaseb, D. W. (2012). The Impact of English Movies and Songs on

Enhancing the English Pronunciation and Speaking Skills of the
Senior English Majors at Hebron University
Alipour, M., Gorjian, B., & Koravand, L. G. (2012). “The effects of pedagogical
and authentic films on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning: The role
of subtitles. Advances in Asian Social Science”, 3(4), 734-738
Chan, D., & Herrero, C. (2011). Using film to teach languages: a teachers’ toolkit
For educators wanting to teach languages using film in the classroom,
with a particular focus on Arabic, Mandarin, Italian and Urdu.
78
70
APPENDICES
PRE-TEST
Choose the best answer.

A. STRUCTURE OF MODIFICATION
1. The water is highly ______. We cannot swim in this part of river.
a. Pollute b. to pollute c. polluting d. polluted
2. ________the pollution in that river is awfully bad, we can’t swim in it.
a. Because of b. since c. when d.
although
3. We are really looking forward ______ you again.
a. To see b. seeing c. to seeing d. for seeing
4. Energy can be collected by solar ______ on cloudy days.
a. Boards b. panels c. bars d. sheets
5. How about ______ the fan?
a. To turn off b. turn off c. turned off d. turning off
6. Passover, a Jewish festival, ______ freedom from slavery.
a. Is celebrated b. celebrate c. celebrates d. celebrating
7. What ______ you say?
a. Are b. have c. were d. did
8. Where _____ when you met him?
a. Does he live b. was he live c. was he lived
d. he is living
9. What _____ since you arrived?
a. Are you doing b. will you do c. did you do d. have you
been doing
10. I was very _____ in the story.
a. Interest b. interesting c. interested d. interests
71
B. VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
1. The Greek root “poly” means ______.
a. More b. many c. few d. several
2. Her pulse raced and she _____ the urge to run away.
a. Acclimated b. concurred c. renounced d.
repressed
3. Which sentence makes the most sense?
a. The man was hedonist. He worked very hard.
b. The man was submissive. He worked very hard.
c. The man was diligent. He worked very hard.
d. The man was mundane. He worked very hard.
4. What is metropolis?
a. A small town in the middle of nowhere.
b. A police station in the middle of town
c. A major city and center of culture
d. A bus system.
5. If you are wearing a POLYCHROMATIC shirt, which word best describes
the shirt?
a. Red
b. Colourful
c. Heavy
d. One color
6. You have been waiting to hear the outcome of a high-profile court case.
When the verdict is laid down, you are very upset because you think it is
ridiculous. What should you cry out to convey the strongest emotion?
a. That is a spoof!
b. That is a misrepresentation!
c. That is a travesty!
d. That is absurd!
C. PUNCTUATION
72
1. All of the people at the school, including the teachers and

_______________ were glad when summer break came.
a. students:
b. students,
c. students;
d. students
2. Sit up straight _____
a. ;
b. ?
c. .
d. :
3. They asked what time the department store would open _____
a. ?
b. .
c. ,
d. ;
4. Who do you think will win the contest _____
a. .
b. !
c. ?
d. ,
5. Choose the sentence below with the correct punctuation.
a. Ted and Janice, who had been friends for years, went on vacation together
every summer.
b. Ted and Janice, who had been friends for years, went on vacation together,
every summer.
c. Ted, and Janice who had been friends for years, went on vacation together
every summer.
d. Ted and Janice who had been friends for years went on vacation together
every summer.
73
6. To _______________, Anne was on time for her math class.

a. everybody’s surprise
b. every body’s surprise
c. everybodys surprise
d. everybodys’ surprise
7. In Edgar Allen Poe’s _______________________ Edgar Allen Poe describes
a man with a guilty conscience.
a. short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,”
b. short story The Tell-Tale Heart,
c. short story, The Tell-Tale Heart
d. short story. “the Tell-Tale Heart,”
8. Billboards are considered an important part of advertising for big
business, ________________ by their critics.
a. but, an eyesore;
b. but, “ an eyesore,”
c. but an eyesore
d. but-an eyesore
9. I can never remember how to use those two common words, “sell,” meaning to
trade a product for money, or _____________________ meaning an
event where products are traded for less money than usual.
a. sale.
b. “sale,”
c. “sale
d. “to sale,”
10. The class just finished reading ________________________ a short story by
Carl Stephenson about a plantation owner’s battle with army ants.
a. -”Leinengen versus the Ants”,
b. Leinengen versus the Ants,
c. “Leinengen versus the Ants,”
d. Leinengen versus the Ants
74
A Day in the Country

by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904)
Between eight and nine o'clock in the morning.
A dark leaden-colored mass is creeping over the sky towards the
sun. Red zigzags of lightning gleam here and there across it. There is a
sound of far-away rumbling. A warm wind frolics over the grass, bends the
trees, and stirs up the dust. In a minute there will be a spurt of May rain
and a real storm will begin.
Fyokla, a little beggar-girl of six, is running through the village,
looking for Terenty the cobbler. The white-haired, barefoot child is pale.
Her eyes are wide open, her lips are trembling.
"Uncle, where is Terenty?" she asks everyone she meets. No one
answers. They are all preoccupied with the approaching storm and
take refuge in their huts. At last, she meets Silanty Silitch, the sacristan,
Terenty's bosom friend. He is coming along, staggering from the wind.
"Uncle, where is Terenty?"
"At the kitchen-gardens," answers Silanty.
The beggar-girl runs behind the huts to the kitchen-gardens and there
finds Terenty; the tall old man with a thin, pock-marked face, very long legs,
and bare feet, dressed in a woman's tattered jacket, is standing near the
vegetable plots, looking with drowsy, drunken eyes at the dark storm-cloud.
On his long crane-like legs, he sways in the wind like a starling-cote.
"Uncle Terenty!" the white-headed beggar-girl addresses him. "Uncle,
darling!"
Terenty bends down to Fyokla, and his grim, drunken face is
overspread with a smile, such as come into people's faces when they look
at something little, foolish, and absurd, but warmly loved.
"Ah! servant of God, Fyokla," he says, lisping tenderly, "where have
you come from?"
"Uncle Terenty," says Fyokla, with a sob, tugging at the lapel of the
cobbler's coat. "Brother Danilka has had an accident! Come along!"
"What sort of accident? Ough, what thunder! Holy, holy,
holy….
What sort of accident?"
"In the count's copse, Danilka stuck his hand into a hole in a tree,
and he can't get it out. Come along, uncle, do be kind and pull his hand
out!"
"How was it he put his hand in? What for?"
"He wanted to get a cuckoo's egg out of the hole for me."
"The day has hardly begun and already you are in trouble…."Terenty
shook his head and spat deliberately. "Well, what am I to do with you now?
I must come… I must, may the wolf gobble you up, you naughty children!
Come, little orphan!"
Terenty comes out of the kitchen-garden and, lifting high his long
legs, begins striding down the village street. He walks quickly without
75
stopping or looking from side to side, as though he were shoved from

behind or afraid of pursuit. Fyokla can hardly keep up with him.
They come out of the village and turn along the dusty road towards
the count's copse that lies dark blue in the distance. It is about a mile and
a half away. The clouds have by now covered the sun, and soon
afterwards there is not a speck of blue left in the sky. It grows dark.
"Holy, holy, holy…" whispers Fyokla, hurrying after Terenty. The first
raindrops, big and heavy, lie, dark dots on the dusty road. A big drop falls
on Fyokla's cheek and glides like a tear down her chin.
"The rain has begun," mutters the cobbler, kicking up the dust with
his bare, bony feet. "That's fine, Fyokla, old girl. The grass and the trees
are fed by the rain, as we are by bread. And as for the thunder, don't you
be frightened, little orphan. Why should it kill a little thing like you?"
As soon as the rain begins, the wind drops. The only sound is the
patter of rain dropping like fine shots on the young rye and the parched
road. "We shall get soaked, Fyokla," mutters Terenty. "There won't be a
dry spot left on us…. Ho-ho, my girl! It's run down my neck! But don't be
frightened, silly…. The grass will be dry again, the earth will be dry again,
and we shall be dry again. There is the same sun for us all."
A flash of lightning, some fourteen feet long, gleams above their
head. There is a loud peal of thunder, and it seems to Fyokla that
something big, heavy, and round is rolling over the sky and tearing it open,
exactly over her head.
"Holy, holy, holy…" says Terenty, crossing himself. "Don't be afraid,
little orphan! It is not from spite that it thunders."
Terenty's and Fyokla's feet are covered with lumps of heavy, wet
clay. It is slippery and difficult to walk, but Terenty strides on more and
more rapidly. The weak little beggar-girl is breathless and ready to drop.
But at last, they go into the count's copse. The washed trees, stirred
by a gust of wind, drop a perfect waterfall upon them. Terenty stumbles
over stumps and begins to slacken his pace.
"Whereabouts is Danilka?" he asks. "Lead me to him."
Fyokla leads him into a thicket and, after going a quarter of a mile,
points to Danilka. Her brother, a little fellow of eight, with hair as red as
ochre and a pale, sickly face, stands leaning against a tree and, with his
head on one side, looking sideways at the sky. In one hand, he holds his
shabby old cap, the other is hidden in an old lime tree. The boy is gazing at
the stormy sky and apparently not thinking of his trouble. Hearing footsteps
and seeing the cobbler, he gives a sickly smile and says:
"A terrible lot of thunder, Terenty…. I’ve never heard so
much thunder in all my life."
"And where is your hand?"
76
"In the hole…. Pull it out, please, Terenty!"

The wood had broken at the edge of the hole and jammed Danilka's
hand: he could push it farther in but could not pull it out. Terenty snaps off
the broken piece, and the boy's hand, red and crushed, is released. "It's
terrible how it's thundering," the boy says again, rubbing his
hand. "What makes it thunder, Terenty?"
"One cloud runs against the other," answers the cobbler. The party
comes out of the copse and walk along the edge of it towards the darkened
road. The thunder gradually abates, and its rumbling is heard far away
beyond the village.
"The ducks flew by here the other day, Terenty," says Danilka, still
rubbing his hand. "They must be nesting in the Gniliya Zaimishtcha
marshes….Fyokla, would you like me to show you a nightingale's nest?"
"Don't touch it; you might disturb them," says Terenty, wringing the
water out of his cap. "The nightingale is a singing-bird, without sin. He has
had a voice given him in his throat to praise God and gladden the heart of
man. It's a sin to disturb him."
"What about the sparrow?"
"The sparrow doesn't matter, he's a bad, spiteful bird. He is like a
pickpocket in his ways. He doesn't like the man to be happy. When Christ
was crucified, it was the sparrow who brought nails to the Jews and called
'alive! alive!' "
A bright patch of blue appears in the sky.
"Look!" says Terenty. "An ant-heap burst open by the rain!
They've been flooded, the rogues!"
They bend over the ant-heap. The downpour has damaged it; the
insects are scurrying to and fro in the mud, agitated, and busily trying to
carry away their drowned companions.
"You needn't be in such a taking, you won't die of it!" says Terenty,
grinning. "As soon as the sun warms you, you'll come to your senses
again...It's a lesson to you, you stupid’s. You won't settle on low
ground another time."
They go on.
"And here are some bees," cries Danilka, pointing to the branch of a
young oak tree.
The drenched and chilled bees are huddled together on the branch.
There are so many of them that neither bark nor leaf can be seen. Many of
them are settled on one another.
"That's a swarm of bees," Terenty informs them. "They were flying
looking for a home, and when the rain came down upon them, they settled.
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If a swarm is flying, you need only sprinkle water on them to make them
settle. Now if, say, you wanted to take the swarm, you would bend the
branch with them into a sack and shake it, and they all fall in."
Little Fyokla suddenly frowns and rubs her neck vigorously. Her
brother looks at her neck and sees a big swelling on it.
"Hey-hey!" laughs the cobbler. "Do you know where you got that
from, Fyokla, old girl? There are Spanish flies on some trees in the wood.
The rain has trickled off them, and a drop has fallen on your neck—that's
what has made the swelling."
The sun appears from behind the clouds and floods the wood, the
fields, and the three friends with its warm light. The dark menacing cloud
has gone far away and taken the storm with it. The air is warm and
fragrant. There is a scent of bird-cherry, meadowsweet, and lilies-of-the-
valley.
"That herb is given when your nose bleeds," says Terenty, pointing to
a woolly-looking flower. "It does good."
They hear a whistle and a rumble, but not such a rumble as the
storm-clouds carried away. A goods train races by before the eyes of
Terenty, Danilka, and Fyokla. The engine, panting and puffing out black
smoke, drags more than twenty vans after it. Its power is tremendous. The
children are interested to know how an engine, not alive and without the
help of horses, can move and drag such weights, and Terenty undertakes
to explain it to them:
"It's all the steam's doing, children…. The steam does the
work….You see, it shoves under that thing near the wheels, and
it…you see…it works…"
They cross the railway line and, going down from the embankment,
walk towards the river. They walk not with any object, but just at random,
and talk all the way…. Danilka asks questions, Terenty answers them…
Terenty answers all his questions, and there is no secret in Nature
which baffles him. He knows everything. Thus, for example, he knows the
names of all the wildflowers, animals, and stones. He knows what herbs
cure diseases; he has no difficulty in telling the age of a horse or a cow.
Looking at the sunset, at the moon, or the birds, he can tell what sort of
weather it will be next day. And indeed, it is not only Terenty who is so
wise. Silanty Silitch, the innkeeper, the market-gardener, the shepherd, and
all the villagers, generally speaking, know as much as he does. These
people have learned not from books, but in the fields, in the wood, on the
riverbank. Their teachers have been the birds themselves, when they
sang to them, the sun when it left a glow of crimson behind it at setting,
the very trees, and wild herbs.
Danilka looks at Terenty and greedily drinks in every word. In spring,
before one is weary of the warmth and the monotonous green of the fields,
when everything is fresh and full of fragrance, who would not want to hear
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about the golden may-beetles, about the cranes, about the gurgling
streams, and the corn mounting into ear?
The two of them, the cobbler and the orphan, walk about the fields,
talk unceasingly, and are not weary. They could wander about the world
endlessly. They walk, and in their talk of the beauty of the earth, do not
notice the frail little beggar-girl tripping after them. She is breathless and
moves with a lagging step. There are tears in her eyes; she would be glad
to stop these inexhaustible wanderers, but to whom and where can she
go? She has no home or people of her own; whether she likes it or not, she
must walk and listen to their talk.
Towards midday, all three sit down on the riverbank. Danilka takes
out of his bag a piece of bread, soaked and reduced to a mash, and they
begin to eat. Terenty says a prayer when he has eaten the bread, then
stretches himself on the sandy bank and falls asleep. While he is asleep,
the boy gazes at the water, pondering. He has many different things to
think of. He has just seen the storm, the bees, the ants, the train. Now,
before his eyes, fishes are whisking about. Some are two inches long and
more; others are no bigger than one's nail. A viper, with its head held high,
is swimming from one bank to the other.
Only towards the evening our wanderers return to the village. The
children go for the night to a deserted barn, where the corn of
the commune used to be kept, while Terenty, leaving them, goes to the
tavern. The children lie huddled together on the straw, dozing.
The boy does not sleep. He gazes into the darkness, and it seems to
him that he is seeing all that he has seen in the day: the storm-clouds, the
bright sunshine, the birds, the fish, lanky Terenty. The number of his
impressions, together with exhaustion and hunger, are too much for him;
he is as hot as though he were on fire and tosses from side to side. He
longs to tell someone all that is haunting him now in the darkness and
agitating his soul, but there is no one to tell. Fyokla is too little and could
not understand.
"I'll tell Terenty to-morrow," thinks the boy.
The children fall asleep thinking of the homeless cobbler, and, in the
night, Terenty comes to them, makes the sign of the cross over them, and
puts bread under their heads. And no one sees his love. It is seen only by
the moon which floats in the sky and peeps caressingly through the holes
in the wall of the deserted barn.
The Story of Keesh

By Jack London
Keesh lived long ago on the rim of the polar sea, was headman of his
village through many and prosperous years and died full of honors with his
name on the lips of men. So long ago did he live that only the old men
remember his name and the tale, which they got from the old men before
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them, and which the old men to come will tell their children’s children down to
the end of time. And the winter darkness, when the north gales make their
long sweep across the ice-pack, and the air filled with flying white, and no
man may venture forth, is the chosen time for telling of how Keesh, from the
poorest igloo in the village, rose to power and place over them all.
He was a bright boy, so the tale runs, healthy and strong, and he had
seen thirteen suns, in their way of reckoning time. For each winter, the sun
leaves the land in darkness, and the next year a new sun returns so that they
may be warm again and look upon one another’s faces. The father of Keesh
had been a very brave man, but he had met his death in a time of famine
when he sought to save the lives of his people by taking the life of a great
polar bear. In his eagerness, he came to close grapples with the bear, and
his bones were crushed; but the bear had much meat on him, and the people
were saved. Keesh was his only son, and after that, Keesh lived alone with
his mother. But the people are prone to forget, and they forgot the deed of his
father; and he, being but a boy. And his mother only a woman, they too, were
swiftly forgotten, and ere long came to live in the meanest of all the IGLOOS.
It was at a council, one night, in the big IGLOO of Klosh-Kwan, the chief, that
Keesh showed the blood that ran in his veins and the manhood that stiffened
his back. With the dignity of an elder, he rose to his feet, and waited for
silence amid the babble of voices.
“It is true that meat be apportioned me and mine,” he said. “But it is of old
times and tough, this meat, and, moreover, it has an unusual quantity of
bones.”
The hunters, grizzled and gray, and lusty and young, were aghast. They
like had never been known before. A child that talked like a grown man and
said harsh things to their very faces!
But steadily and with seriousness, Keesh went on. “For that, I know my
father, Bok, was a great hunter, I speak these words. It is said that Bok
brought home more meat than any of the two best hunters, that with his own
hands he attended to the division of it, that with his own eyes he saw to it that
the least old woman and the last old man received a fair share.”
“Na! Na!” the men cried. “Out the child out!” “Send him off to bed!” “He is
no man that he should talk to men and graybeards!”
He waited calmly till the uproar died down.
“Thou hast a wife, Ugh-Gluk,” he said, “and for her dost thou speak. And
thou, too, Massuk, a mother also, and for dost thou speak. My mother has no
one, save me; wherefore I speak. As I say, though Bok be dead because he
hunted over keenly, it is just that I, who am his son, and that Ikeega, who is
my mother and was his wife, should have meat in plenty so long as there be
meat in plenty in the tribe.“I, Keesh, the son of Bok, have
spoken.”
He sat down, his ears keenly alert to the flood of protest and
indignation his words had created.
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“That a boy should speak in a council!” old Ugh-Gluk was mumbling.

Shall the babes in arms tell us, men, the things we shall do?” Massuk
demanded in a loud voice.
“Am I a man that I should be made a mock by every child that cries for
meat?”
The anger boiled white heat. They ordered him to bed, threatened that
he should have no meat at all, and promised him sore beatings for his
presumption. Keesh’s eyes began to flash. And the blood to pound darkly
under his skin. In the midst of the abuse, he sprang to his feet.
“Hear me, ye men!” he cried. “Never shall I speak in the council again,
never again till the men come to me and say, ‘It is well,
Keesh, that thou shouldst speak, it is well, and it is our
wish.’ Take this now, ye men, for my last word. Bok, my
father, was a great hunter. I, too, his son, shall go and
hunt the meat that I eat. And be it known, now, that the
division of that which I kill shall be fair. And no widow nor
weak one shall cry in the night because there is no meat,
when the strong men are groaning in great pain for that
they have eaten overmuch. And in the days to come,
there shall be a shame upon the strong men who have
eaten overmuch. I, Keesh, have said it!”
Jeers and scornful laughter followed him out of the IGLOO, but his jaw
was set, and he went his way, looking neither to the right nor left.
The next day he went forth along the shoreline where the ice and the land
met together. Those who saw him go noted that he carried his bow, with a
goodly supply of bone-barbed arrows, and that across his shoulder was his
father’s big hunting-spear. And there was laughter, and much talk, at the
event. It was an unprecedented occurrence. Never did boys of his tender age
go forth to hunt, much less to hunt alone. Also were there shaking of heads
and prophetic mutterings, and the women looked pityingly at Ikeega, and her
face was grave and sad
"He will be back here long," they said cheeringly.
"Let him go; it will teach him a lesson," the hunters said. "And he will
come back shortly, and he will be meek and soft of speech in the days to
follow."
But a day passed, and a second, and on the third a wild gale blew,
and there was no Keesh. Ikeega tore her hair and put soot of the seal-oil on her
face in token of her grief; and the women assailed the men with bitter words
in that they had mistreated the boy and sent him to his death; and the men
made no answer, preparing to go in search of the body when the storm
abated.
Early the next morning, however, Keesh strode into the village. But he
came not shamefacedly. Across his shoulders he bore a burden of fresh-
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killed meat. And there was importance in his step and arrogance in his
speech.
"Go, ye men, with the dogs and sledges, and take my trail for the better
part of a day's travel," he said. "There is much meat on the ice - a she- bear
and two half-grown cubs."
Ikeega was overcome with joy, but he received her demonstrations in
manlike fashion, saying: "Come, Ikeega, let us eat. And after that I shall
sleep, for I am weary."
And he passed into their IGLOO and ate profoundly, and after that slept
for twenty running hours.
There was much doubt at first, much doubt and discussion. The killing of
a polar bear is very dangerous but thrice dangerous is it, and three times
thrice, to kill a mother bear with her cubs. The men could not bring
themselves to believe that the boy Keesh, single-handed, had accomplished
so great a marvel. But the women spoke of the fresh-killed meat he had
brought on his back, and this was an overwhelming argument against their
unbelief. So, they finally departed, grumbling greatly that in all probability, if
the thing were so, he had neglected to cut up the carcasses. Now in the
north, it is very necessary that this should be done as soon as a kill is made.
If not, the meat freezes so solidly as to turn the edge of the sharpest knife,
and a three-hundred-pound bear, frozen stiff, is no easy thing to put upon a
sled and haul over the rough ice. But arrived at the spot, they found not only
the kill, which they had doubted but that Keesh had quartered the beasts in
true hunter fashion and removed the entrails.
Thus, began the mystery of Keesh, a mystery that deepened and deepened
with the passing of the days. His very next trip, he killed a young bear, nearly
full-grown, and on the trip following, a large male bear and his mate. He was
ordinarily gone from three to four days, though it was nothing unusual for him
to stay away a week at a time on the icefield. Always he declined company
on these expeditions, and the people marveled. "How does he do it?" they
demanded of one another. "Never does he take a dog with him, and dogs are
of such great help, too."
"Why dost thou hunt only bear?" Klosh-Kwan once ventured to ask him.
And Keesh made a fitting answer. "It is well known that there is
more meat on the bear," he said.
But there was also talk of witchcraft in the village. "He hunts with evil
spirits," some of the people contended, "wherefore his hunting is rewarded.
How else can it be, save that he hunts with evil spirits?"
"Mayhap they be not evil, but good, these spirits," others said. "It is
known that his father was a mighty hunter. May not his father hunt with him
so that he may attain excellence and patience and understanding? Who
knows?"
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Nonetheless, his success continued, and the less skillful hunters were
often kept busy hauling in his meat. And in the division of it, he was just. As
his father had done before him, he saw to it that the least old woman and the
last old man received a fair portion, keeping no more for himself than his
needs required. And because of this, and of his merit as a hunter, he was
looked upon with respect, and even awe; and there was talk of making him
chief after old Klosh-Kwan. Because of the things he had done, they looked
for him to appear again in the council, but he never came, and they were
ashamed to ask.
"I am minded building me an IGLOO," he said one day to Klosh- Kwan and a
number of the hunters. "It shall be a large IGLOO, wherein Ikeega and I can
dwell in comfort."
"Ay," they nodded gravely.
"But I have no time. My business is hunting, and it takes all my time. So,
it is but just that the men and women of the village who eat my meat should
build me my IGLOO."
And the IGLOO was built accordingly, on a generous scale which
exceeded even the dwelling of Klosh-Kwan. Keesh and his mother moved
into it, and it was the first prosperity she had enjoyed since the death of Bok.
Nor was material prosperity alone hers, for, because of her wonderful son
and the position he had given her, she came to be looked upon as the first
woman in all the village; and the women were given to visiting her, to asking
her advice, and to quoting her wisdom when arguments arose among
themselves or with the men. But it was the mystery of Keesh's marvelous
hunting that took
chief place in all their minds. And one day, Ugh-Gluk taxed him with
witchcraft to his face.
"It is charged," Ugh-Gluk said ominously, "that thou dealest with evil
spirits, wherefore thy hunting is rewarded."
"Is not the meat good?" Keesh made an answer. "Has one in the village
yet to fall sick from the eating of it? How dost thou know that witchcraft be
concerned? Or dost thou guess, in the dark, merely because of the envy that
consumes thee?"
And Ugh-Gluk withdrew discomfited, the women laughing at him as he
walked away. But in the council one night, after long deliberation, it was
determined to put spies on his track when he went forth to hunt so that his
methods might be learned. So, on his next trip, Bim and Bawn, two young
men and of hunters the craftiest, followed him, taking care not to be seen.
After five days they returned, their eyes bulging and their tongues a-tremble
to tell what they had seen. The council was hastily called in Klosh-Kwan's
dwelling, and Bim took up the tale.
"Brothers! As commanded, we journeyed on the trail of Keesh, and
cunningly we journeyed, so that he might not know. And midway of the first
day he picked up with a great he-bear. It was a very great bear."
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"None greater," Bawn corroborated and went on himself. "Yet was the
bear not inclined to fight, for he turned away and made off slowly over the
ice. This we saw from the rocks of the shore, and the bear came toward us,
and after him came Keesh, very much unafraid. And he shouted harsh words
after the bear, and waved his arms about, and made much noise. Then did
the bear grow angry, and rise on his hind legs, and growl. But Keesh walked
right up to the bear."
"Ay," Bim continued the story. "Right up to the bear Keesh walked. And
the bear took after him, and Keesh ran away. But as he ran, he dropped a
little round ball on the ice. And the bear stopped and smelled of it, then
swallowed it up. And Keesh continued to run away and drop little round balls,
and the bear continued to swallow them up."
Exclamations and cries of doubt were being made, and Ugh-Gluk
expressed open unbelief.
"With our own eyes we saw it," Bim affirmed.
And Bawn "Ay, with our own eyes. And this continued until the bear stood
suddenly upright and cried aloud in pain and thrashed his fore paws madly
about. And Keesh continued to make off over the ice to a safe distance. But
the bear gave him no notice, being occupied with the misfortune the little
round balls had wrought within him."
"Ay, within him," Bim interrupted. "For he did claw at himself and leaped
about over the ice like a playful puppy, save from the way he growled and
squealed it was plain it was not played but pain. Never did I see such a
sight!"
"Nay, never was such a sight seen," Bawn took up the strain. "And
furthermore, it was such a large bear."
"Witchcraft," Ugh-Gluk suggested.
"I know not," Bawn replied. "I tell only of what my eyes beheld. And after
a while, the bear grew weak and tired, for he was very heavy and he had
jumped about with exceeding violence, and he went off along the shore- ice,
shaking his head slowly from side to side and sitting down ever and again to
squeal and cry. And Keesh followed after the bear, and we followed after
Keesh, and for that day and three days more we followed. The bear grew
weak, and never ceased crying from his pain."
"It was a charm!" Ugh-Gluk exclaimed. "Surely it was a charm!" "It
may well be."
And Bim relieved Bawn. "The bear wandered, now this way and now
that, doubling back and forth and crossing his trail in circles, so that at the
end, he was near where Keesh had first come upon him. By this time, he
was quite sick, the bear, and could crawl no farther, so Keesh came up
close and speared him to death."
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"And then?" Klosh-Kwan demanded.

"Then we left Keesh skinning the bear and came running that the news of
the killing might be told."
And in the afternoon of that day, the women hauled in the meat of the
bear while the men sat in council assembled. When Keesh arrived, a
messenger was sent to him, bidding him come to the council. But he sent
reply, saying that he was hungry and tired; also, that his IGLOO was large
and comfortable and could hold many men.
And curiosity was so strong on the men that the whole council, Klosh-
Kwan to the fore, rose up and went to the IGLOO of Keesh. He was eating,
but he received them with respect and seated them according to their rank.
Ikeega was proud and embarrassed by turns, but Keesh was quite
composed.
Klosh-Kwan recited the information brought by Bim and Bawn,
and at its close said in a stern voice: "So explanation is wanted, O Keesh, of
thy manner of hunting. Is there witchcraft in it?"
Keesh looked up and smiled. "Nay, O Klosh-Kwan. It is not for a boy to
know aught of witches, and of witches, I know nothing. I have but devised a
means whereby I may kill the ice-bear with ease, that is all. It be head craft,
not witchcraft."
There was a long silence. The men looked in one another's faces, and
Keesh went on eating.
"And . . . and . . . and wilt thou tell us, O Keesh?" Klosh-Kwan finally
asked in a tremulous voice.
"Yea, I will tell thee." Keesh finished sucking a marrowbone and rose to
his feet. "It is quite simple. Behold!"
He picked up a thin strip of whalebone and showed it to them. The ends
were sharp as needle-points. The strip he coiled carefully, till it disappeared
in his hand. Then, suddenly releasing it, it sprang straight again. He picked
up a piece of blubber.
"So," he said, "one takes a small chunk of blubber, thus, and
thus makes it hollow. Then into the hollow goes the whalebone, so, tightly
coiled, and another piece of blubber is fitted over the whalebone. After that it
is put outside where it freezes into a little round ball. The bear swallows the
little round ball, the blubber melts, the whalebone with its sharp ends stands
out straight, the bear gets sick, and when the bear is very sick, why, you kill
him with a spear. It is quite simple."
And Ugh-Gluk said "Oh!" and Klosh-Kwan said "Ah!" And each
said something after his own manner, and all understood.
And this is the story of Keesh, who lived long ago on the rim of
the polar sea. Because he exercised head craft and not witchcraft, he rose
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from the meanest IGLOO to be head man of his village, and through all the
years that he lived, it is related, his tribe was prosperous, and neither widow
nor weak one cried aloud in the night because there was no meat.
To Build a Fire
by Jack London
The man walked down the trail on a cold, gray day. Pure white snow
and ice covered the Earth for as he could see. This was his first winter in
Alaska. He was wearing heavy clothes and fur boots. But he still felt cold
and uncomfortable.
The man was on his way to a camp near Henderson Creek. His
friends were already there. He expected to reach Henderson Creek by
six o’clock that evening. It would be dark by then. His friends would
have a fire and hit food ready for him.
A dog walked behind the man. It was a big gray animal, half dog and
half wolf. The dog did not like the extreme cold. It knew the weather was
too cold to travel.
The man continued to walk down the trail. He came to a froze stream
called Indian Creek. He began to walk on the snow-covered ice. It was a
trail that would lead him straight to Henderson Creek and his friends.
As he walked, he looked carefully at the ice in front of him. Once, he
stopped suddenly, and then walked around a part of the frozen stream.
He saw that an underground spring flowed under the ice at that spot. It
made the ice thin. If he stepped there, he might break through the ice
into a pool of water. To get his boots wet in such cold weather might kill
him. His feet would turn to ice quickly. He could freeze to death.
At about twelve o’clock, the man decided to stop to eat his lunch.
He took off the glove on his right hand. He opened his jacket and shirt
and pulled out his bread and meat. This took less than twenty seconds.
Yet, his finger began to freeze
He hit his hand against his leg several times until he felt a sharp pain.
Then he quickly put his glove on his hand. He made a fire, beginning with
small pieces of wood and adding larger ones. He sat on a snow-covered
log and ate his lunch. He enjoyed the warm fire for a few minutes. Then
he stood up and started walking on the frozen stream again.
half-hour later, it happened. At a place where the snow seemed very
solid, the ice broke. The man's feet sank into the water. It was not deep,
but his legs got wet to the knees. The man was angry. The accident
would delay his arrival at the camp. He would have to build a fire now to
dry his clothes and boots.
He walked over to some small trees. They were covered with snow.
In their branches were pieces of dry grass and wood left by floodwaters
earlier in the year. He put several large pieces of wood on the snow,
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under one of the trees. On top of the wood, he put some grass and dry
branches. He pulled off his gloves, took out his matches, and lighted the
fire. He fed the young flame with more wood. As the fire grew stronger,
he gave it larger pieces of wood.
He worked slowly and carefully. At sixty degrees below zero, a man
with wet feet must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire. While he was
walking, his blood had kept all parts of his body warm. Now that he had
stopped, cold was forcing his blood to withdraw deeper into his body. His
wet feet had frozen. He could not feel his fingers. His nose was frozen,
too. The skin all over his body felt cold.
Now, however, his fire was beginning to burn more strongly. He was
safe. He sat under the tree and thought of the old men in Fairbanks. The
old men had told him that no man should travel alone in the Yukon when
the temperature is sixty degrees below zero. Yet here he was. He had
had an accident. He was alone. And he had saved himself. He had built
a fire.
Those old men were weak, he thought. A real man could travel
alone. If a man stayed calm, he would be all right. The man’s boots
were covered with ice. The strings on his boots were as hard as
steel. He would have to cut them with his knife.
He leaned back against the tree to take out his knife. Suddenly, without warning, a
heavy mass of snow dropped down. His movement had shaken the young tree only a tiny
bit. But it was enough to cause the branches of the tree to drop their heavy load. The
man was shocked. He sat and looked at the place where the fire had been.
The old men had been right, he thought. If he had another man with
him, he would not be in any danger now. The other man could build the
fire. Well, it was up to him to build the fire again. This time, he must not
fail.
The man collected more wood. He reached into his pocket for the
matches. But his fingers were frozen. He could not hold them. He began
to hit his hands with all his force against his legs.
After a while, feeling came back to his fingers. The man reached
again into his pocket for the matches. But the tremendous cold quickly
drove the life out of his fingers. All the matches fell onto the snow. He
tried to pick one up but failed.
The man pulled on his glove and again beat his hand against his leg.
Then he took the gloves off both hands and picked up all the matches.
He gathered them together. Holding them with both hands, he scratched
the matches along his leg. They immediately caught fire.
He held the blazing matches to a piece of wood. After a while, he
became aware that he could smell his hands burning. Then he began to
feel the pain. He opened his hands, and the blazing matches fell on to
the snow. The flame went out in a puff of gray smoke.
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The man looked up. The dog was still watching him. The man got an
idea. He would kill the dog and bury his hands inside its warm body.
When the feeling came back to his fingers, he could build another fire.
He called to the dog. The dog heard danger in the man’s voice. It
backed away.
The man called again. This time the dog came closer. The man
reached for his knife. But he had forgotten that he could not bend his
fingers. He could not kill the dog, because he could not hold his knife.
The fear of death came over the man. He jumped up and began to
run. The running began to make him feel better. Maybe running would
make his feet warm. If he ran far enough, he would reach his friends at
Henderson Creek. They would take care of him.
It felt strange to run and not feel his feet when they hit the ground. He
fell several times. He decided to rest awhile. As he lay in the snow, he
noticed that he was not shaking. He could not feel his nose or fingers or
feet. Yet, he was feeling quite warm and comfortable. He realized he was
going to die.
Well, he decided, he might as well take it like a man. There were
worse ways to die.
The man closed his eyes and floated into the most comfortable sleep
he had ever known
The dog sat facing him, waiting. Finally, the dog moved closer to the
man and caught the smell of death. The animal threw back its head. It let
out a long, soft cry to the cold stars in the black sky.
And then it turned and ran toward Henderson Creek…where it
knew there was food and a fire.
88
May 26, 2022
Apitong National High School

Apitong, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro
GRADE 10 STUDENTS
Dear student/s:
You are being invited to participate in a research study titled “A Comparative Study Between The
Effectiveness of Reading Short Stories and Watching Movie in Grammatical Competence of Grade 10 Students of
Apitong National High School. The purpose of this is to test the effectiveness of short stories and watching movies in
student’s grammatical competence. This study will contribute to the researchers’ completion of their requirement in the
subject Practical Research II.
This study consists of a pre-post test that will be administered to individual participants in Apitong National
High School. You will be asked to read the short stories and provide answers to a series of questions related to
grammatical competence especially when it comes to structure of modification, vocabulary development and the se of
punctuation.
Participation in this study will require 20-30 minutes of your time. The results of this research will be
presented at Mindoro State University. While individual responses are obtained and recorded anonymously and kept in
the strictest confidence, aggregate data will be presented representing averages or generalizations about the
responses as a whole. No identifiable information will be collected from the participant and no identifiable responses
will be presented in the final form of this study. All data will be stored in a secure location accessible only to the
researchers. The researchers will retain the right to use and publish non-identifiable data. At the end of the study, all
records will be destroyed.
Your participation regarding this request will be highly appreciated. Thank you and Godspeed!
Very truly yours,
HANNAH MAE B. LUPIG

89
90
91
APPENDIX D1
CURRICULUM VITAE
HANNAH MAE B. LUPIG
Batuhan, Pola, Oriental Mindoro
09566833170
scarletthnnh@gmail.com
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth: February 19, 2001
Place of Birth: Monteverde, Socorro, Oriental Mindoro
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Nationality: Filipino
Religion: Born Again Christian
Father’s Name: Arnulfo F. Lupig
Mother’s Name: Ruth B. Lupig
Language Fluency: Filipino and English
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
TERTIARY
Mindoro State University, Main Campus
Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro
2019-Present
92
SECONDARY
Domingo Yu Chu National High School
Maluanlan, Pola, Oriental Mindoro
2016-2019 (SHS), 2013-2016 (JHS)
PRIMARY
Pola Elementary School
Batuhan,Pola, Oriental Mindoro
2012-2013
93
APPENDIX D 2
CURRICULUM VITAE
RUTH ANN D. BALANA
PInagsabangan II, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro
09085358790
ruthannbalana@gmail.com
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth: September 26, 2001
Place of Birth: Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Nationality: Filipino
Religion: Baptist
Father’s Name: Dante G. Balana
Mother’s Name: Lydia D. Balana
Language Fluency: Filipino and English
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
TERTIARY
Mindoro State University, Main Campus
Alcate, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro
2019-Present
SECONDARY
94
Apitong National High School
Apitong, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro
2016-2017
PRIMARY
Naujan Christian Baptist Academy
Pinagsabangan II, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro

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Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

In everyday communication, English is one of the most widely used

languages. It has become a worldwide language. English is taught and studied in

today's society for its obvious practical application, primarily as a medium of

international communication. In the Philippines, it has long been a part of the

curriculum in a variety of academic programs. It has become one of the most

English grammar makes up a substantial amount of the Philippines'

Considering spiral progression is used from K to 12, learners are required to

grasp grammar competencies early in their education as a requirement for

dealing with more sophisticated grammar topics at subsequent levels. In addition,

are taught at increasingly demanding and sophisticated levels. This enables

pupils to graduate from foundational to advanced levels of language use. Thus,

language learners' performance in English, particularly in writing, which focuses

on grammatical competence, is a critical aspect of their language learning

because it has a significant impact on their performance in subsequent grade

to prepare students to use English effectively both in their academic and

everyday life. Given this premise, communicating effectively especially through

and career success of the students.

The school administrators and English teachers are continuously

PHIL-IRI assessment in the year of 2020-2021 scored an overall mean of 59.4

indicates a low profile at the backdrop of international standards. School faculty

students particularly the structure of modification, vocabulary development and

their functional grasp of punctuation. Subjectively, the Grade 10 students of this

activities. Another concern is the learners’ restricted vocabulary, both in terms of

will be hampered if they lack basic vocabulary knowledge.

Accordingly, Grade 10 students are expected to acquire grammar skills

on the early stage in order to be able to cope with increasingly sophisticated

while also improving their grammar accuracy. The researchers plan to

concentrate on teaching grammar through stories and films because it is critical

to understand the fundamental grammar principles in a foreign language in order

Nowadays, teachers commonly use literature and media as strategies to

increase student’s motivation to ease the burden of teaching English grammar.

and movies in improving the grammar, vocabulary and punctuation of students.

teachers in developing their grammar structures and vocabularies (Azziz, 2012).

uncertain and debatable among researchers in terms of their effectiveness in

grammatical competence. The main purpose of this study is to investigate how

are useful and interesting in teaching grammar. Another purpose is to discover

the significant difference between both materials’ effectiveness in terms of

Statement of the Problem

movies in the Grammatical Competence of the Grade 10 students of Apitong

National High School.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the level of grammatical competence of Grade 10 students

1.1. Structure of Modification

1.2. Vocabulary Development

2. What is the level of grammatical competence of Grade 10 students

exposed to watching movies in pre-test and post test in terms of:

2.1. Structure of Modification

2.2. Vocabulary Development

3. What is the effect of reading stories to the grammatical competence of the

respondents in terms of:

1.1. Structure of Modification

1.2. Vocabulary Development

4. What is the effect of movie watching to grammatical competence of the

respondents in terms of:

1.1. Structure of Modification

1.2. Vocabulary Development

5. How do reading short stories and movie watching compare in terms of

their grammatical competence? Is there a significant difference?