Learners’ Perceptions and Attitudes towards the Use of Mind-mapping Technique in Enhancing their Understanding of Short Stories

Abstract

Learners' proficiency in ESL includes their ability in comprehending a reading text. Short stories are often found difficult due to linguistic and cultural elements found in the texts. Despite this, Part 2 Diploma students in Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak are required to read a selection of short stories as part of their English class syllabus. In this study, a mind mapping technique is used to assist learners to understand the short stories well. This technique is chosen as its concept involves the process of associating ideas and information through relationship ties. 60 students from 2 English classes were introduced to this mind-mapping technique which they had to apply when discussing the plot of the story and the traits of the main character to ascertain their understanding of the short story. Although the students managed to complete the task well, it was not known whether the mind-mapping technique had helped them in enhancing their understanding of the short stories. Therefore, this paper aims to find out their perceptions and attitudes towards the use of mind-maps in comprehending short stories through a survey questionnaire using 5-Likert scale. The data from the survey underwent a statistical analysis using SPSS before discussing the findings. The findings revealed that the respondents of this study had a positive attitude towards the use of mind-map and perceived it as a useful tool in helping them to understand short stories. Thus, the mind-mapping technique should continue to be used in reading class to help learners to enhance their comprehension of short stories.