Introduction:
Language learning is of prime importance in almost every walk of life. Without sufficient vocabulary, one faces difficulty in the expression of views. A lot of work has been done to devise different novel and interesting teaching methodologies to improve vocabulary. Use of literature in language teaching has been appreciated by a lot of researchers especially by Maibodi (2008) and Vaughnetal (2004). Nasreen (2010) further strengthens this view by saying that “short-stories” will create a marked difference while teaching language to build vocabulary.
Pakistani school students are taught English from the very first class but most of graduates are unable to use English fluently and correctly which is the result of rote-learning system. To cope with this situation, a number of changes are being introduced in the field of education which is quite evident from the conversion of Urdu medium schools into English Medium by Government of Pakistan. Waqas (2011) further supports it by saying that Punjab government has felt the importance of English language by making it a compulsory subject from class one. Government teachers are regularly trained to teach English efficiently. Present study is designed to do a comparative analysis of rural and urban students regarding vocabulary enhancement through short stories. It was hypothesized for the present study that short stories will prove to be an effective tool in vocabulary enhancement of both rural and urban students. It was also to be tested that for which group this methodology was more suitable. Moreover, it is an effort to reduce tension and anxiety among students as it is really useful not only for teachers but also for students, parents and policy makers to use new techniques in language teaching.