|
Encouraging
Extensive Reading
by Scott Shelton
- 3
The
quality of adapted Readers or books written for language learners
has improved in recent times and it is suggested that this
is a genre in its own right deserving to be called language
learner literature, just as there is children's literature
and young adult literature. Brown (2000) cites 1,400 graded
reader titles that are currently in print (EPER 1998) and
suggests that fiction rather than non-fiction titles are superior
for several reasons. The primary one being that non-fiction
is generally harder to read than narrative intermixed with
dialogue. Knowledge of the world presented in fiction is shared
across cultures and there are a variety of settings so no
two stories are the same. Reading fiction at the right level
of difficulty does not require a high level of concentration
so books can be read on the bus, the train, the park or in
bed.
In
my recent class survey, the great majority of students who
were asked where they read, answered: on public transport,
in bed, at work, in the park or in the bathroom. I would agree
with the idea that the type of text chosen for intensive reading
and subsequent skills work and the kind of text chosen for
extensive, pleasurable reading should normally be quite different
if we are to keep our students' needs and our aims in clear
perspective.
As
Brown (2000) asserts,
"
If language learner literature is available in the language
you teach, it is the most appropriate material for extensive
reading by beginning and intermediate learners. It is important
to differentiate extensive reading from other pedagogic aims,
for example teaching students to cope with text that is above
their linguistic level. In order for extensive reading to
do its work - build automaticity of word recognition, build
vocabulary knowledge and develop positive attitudes toward
reading the reading material must be well within the students'
linguistic ability."
The
role of the classroom
Although
reading extensively for pleasure is commonly considered an
activity to be engaged in outside of the classroom, there
is much to be done inside the classroom as well. Firstly,
if students really do have a problem finding time outside
of class to read, a specific period of time can be put aside
for reading silently in class-for example, half an hour once
a week to start with. This in turn may provoke enough interest
in whatever they are reading to find time out of class to
continue reading on their own. Christine Nuttall (1996) gives
some other ideas for the classroom:
"The
teacher may read aloud, stopping the story at a tantalizing
point. Then encourage the class to speculate about what happens
next and encourage them to read on by themselves. Buy cassette
recordings of some graded readers and play parts of them in
class (or make your own recordings!). Promote discussion of
the practical or ethical problems faced by people in the books."
Other
ideas which I have tried are: setting up pairs or groups to
share what they are reading, thus integrating speaking and
listening skills as well as promoting reading. Someone might
become interested in what another person is reading and want
to read it next or leave off what they are reading and start
that one. Another idea is to have students take on roles of
characters in the story and write a letter to one of the other
characters in the story, thereby creating an authentic reason
for both reading and writing.
As well as integrating other skills with reading, the classroom
can also be used to hold regular conferencing between teacher
and student as an additional spoke in the motivational wheel.
The teacher reading aloud in class has proved popular in classrooms.
In the article, Extensive Reading: Why and How? Bell makes
reference to the British Council's reading project in Yemen
and champions reading aloud, asserting that is should play
a full part in motivating the emerging reader to overcome
the fear of decoding words in an unfamiliar script. (Bell
1998) He states that the model of pronunciation provided acted
as a great motivator, students gained confidence in silent
reading because they were able to verbalize sounds they previously
could not recognize and this resulted in wider reading by
some of the weaker readers in the class. Student presentations
on books read was also noted as playing a crucial role in
the program and the subsequent oral work in class for exchanging
information was valued by the students.
I
find that by using class time to involve students in tasks
that refer to their reading out of class is motivating in
two senses. One, if a student has not read anything, they
can a least participate in the discussion or comments by listening
and might be motivated to read more in the future in order
to have something to add. By setting aside class time for
activities related to reading, students will take it more
seriously and consider it a worthwhile activity. In the future,
I plan to continue encouraging extensive reading for all of
my classes and spend more class time dedicated to raising
awareness of the potential there. I have got a trip to the
school library planned for the very near future.
To
page 4 of 4
To
the lesson plan
Back
to the articles index
|
