WebThis article looks at extensive reading and aims to answer the following questions: What is extensive reading? I did that with 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre' by B. Traven, reading first in my native language and then in a second language. Atwell, Nancie. Why isn't extensive reading popular with teachers? An integral part of this is learning new vocabulary. In fact, the students do enhance their vocabulary knowledge, but they do not really learn a lot of new terms and expressions. The website also has an article describing how the Ask the Author feature came about. This relates back to the point at the beginning of the need to find compelling, not merely interesting, reading material. Is there a way of cosying up to the librarian, so as to persuade her/him? Extensive readinghelps develop general, world knowledge. She gets an opportunity to be on TV, but what will happen? Also the effect on students' self esteem when they realise that they can actually read a whole book in the foreign language. Teaching in Action (series) Sydney: NCELTR, McQuarie University, Nation, Paul (1997) The language teaching benefits of extensive reading. The Language Teacher. As to how to inspire your students to want to read, there is no single answer. Books not just educate us but introduce us to a world of imagination and stimulates creativity and analytical skills. As per researchers reading helps connect us with the complex network of circuits and signals in the brain and as our reading skills mature So what should we be doing or not doing? (1991) Incidental EFL vocabulary learning and reading. Reading in a Foreign Language. This results in a kind of personal intertextuality, where the patterns form and re-form as we read more different books. And, as you say, it requires tremendous determination. effects. Reading is the act or skill of reading and Strategy is a plan of action made to reach a goal. Well, as a teacher myself, as well as a writer and editor, I think there are some really great things you can do with extensive readers that exploit the full potential and benefits of ER. The booklet tirtled Bookworms Club Reading Circles : Teacher's Handbook, published by OUP. On our website we have a facility called Ask the Author where students can email the writer of a book they are reading or have read and get an immediate reply. WebTeachers can do a lot to help students pursue extensive reading outside of the classroom. It is what Krashen calls a home run book : my first! http://www.eflliteraturecircles.com/ I encourage everyone to give it a try. 0000020853 00000 n Instead, they give priority to what actually happens in the book. Thank youfor your article. Convincing a school to install ER books in the library is tough, as I know Thom understands! In a way reading helped me prepare for the real world. According to the Compelling Input Hypothesis by Stephen Krash, [c]ompelling input appears to eliminate the need for motivation, a conscious desire to improve. I agree with the reasons given by teachers and will expand on one of them. These question are our brains developing new thoughts and hypothesis on the world which leads to even more knowledge. Submitted by Alan Maley on Sun, 12/20/2009 - 15:08, In reply to Literature Circle groups by Scott J. Shelton. First of all, reading gives you a wonderful opportunity to learn about other cultures and places of interest in the world. Submitted by georgejacobs on Sun, 12/13/2009 - 14:21. Extensive reading affords them extra time outside of class hours to get a good deal of that extra practice that they need in order to consolidate what they have already learned, and to experience English grammar and vocabulary in new contexts so that they can get a firmer hold on how it is actually used in the living language. Nowadays Now, a big amount of books will now be commonplace for the pupils in an extensive reading program: A book a week is an appropriate goal (Day and Bamford 2004, 2). Today, though, I want to make my main comment on the teaching/learning question. Reading is the act or skill of reading and Strategy is a plan of action made to reach a goal. by trobb. They all said that they learned English by reading in general and by extensive reading in particular. This means that the students foster their literacy development without even noticing it. (1989) Extensive reading and the development of language skills. ELT Journal 43 (1) 4-13. This approach has several benefits. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics is available. Xreading VL offers a variety of features that make it ideal for any extensive reading program. This illustrates that intensive reading in order to gain depth of knowledge does not actually give anyone wisdom, but rather the tools necessary for experience which then creates. Of course, that is one way to use them (though it flouts the 'free-choice' criterion I cited in my original article.) One argument that I have found useful, is that to improve in overall English proficiency, a large number of contact hours with the language is essential -- much more than the students will ever get in their classes alone. Exactly how this happens is still not understood (Kroll 2003) but the fact that it happens is well-documented (Hafiz and Tudor 1989) Common sense would indicate that as we meet more language, more often, through reading, our language acquisition mechanism is primed to produce it in writing or speech when it is needed. Its got high-impact concepts and frameworks for professionals and students who want to enhance their reading ability. She is capable of solving her own problems without any help. At first, I will shortly explain what extensive reading really is by giving definitions. I hope you find the articles, websites and resources useful. WebIntensive reading: "the readers carefully and closely read a short text with the intention of gaining an understanding of as much as detail as possible" (Scrivener, 1994, p.188). Counterclaim: For this reason, library chairmen and executives ban certain books from being placed on their shelves. When they finish, they exchange it with another students. But when you have extensive reading in your curriculum and there are time- constraints and pages , we have to think of activities , testing and the program. is the most easily available form of source of comprehensible input. Repeated Reading Here is a digest of what I think are the seven most important principles for successful Extensive Reading: What are the benefits of Extensive Reading? This girl had decided to draft some questions to ask the author, and then to try to find the author on the internet. Hoey, Michael (1991) Patterns of Lexis in Texts. The contention made by Krashen and others that ER does such magical things for the learners language development is actually bewildering - even threatening- to many teachers. Youll find your reading comprehension significantly improving with practice. Now, if the school adminstration can be convinced of the merits of ER, so that the school library purchases and maintains the collection, it then becomes much more do-able. When you read from multiple sources, you become better at picking up new words. Apart from that, there are not major differences in terms of the characteristics. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. In ER we are using the power of narrative to facilitate learning and it is in the nature of good story telling that the text itself stimulates thoughts and questions in the reader's mind. The process of acquiring language works in a Kyoto Sangyo University. Another important feature is that the pupils do not have to do annoying exercises, as it is the case in intensive reading. 0000050177 00000 n This ability opens your eyes to the world and how beautiful it can be. In a literature circle, each learner is given a specific role to play while and post-reading. help, extensive reading students can improve their writing skills. When learners read a lot, Michael Hoeys theory of lexical priming (Hoey 1991, 2005) also gives powerful support to the effect of multiple exposure to language items in context. Schmidt, Ken Lower level Extensive reading Opportunities for Lower-level Learners of EFL/ESL. by Vishnu S Rai. These benefits are indeed not as obvious as all the other benefits. London/New York: Continuum pp133-156. This is complemented by Philip Prowse (2002). Maley, A (2008) Extensive Reading: Maid in Waiting in B. Tomlinson (ed) English Language Learning Materials: a critical review. I think that many teachers are unwilling to try extensive reading because the orthodox form, using graded readers, requires that a large variety of readers to be available to suit the various interests and levels of the students. Extensive readingwill help you develop a healthy interest in reading. WebEXTENSIVE READING BENEFITS Numerous research (e.g. Webreading can play in foreign language acquisition, particularly in the all-important learning of new words. Submitted by Neli Kukhaleishvili on Thu, 12/17/2009 - 18:05. Oxford: Oxford University Press. The teacher orients and guides the student. There are a range of factors which influence teachers focus on teaching to the detriment of learning. When Anaxandra is being chased by the men that came to attack King Nicander, she has enough courage to try and save Callisto. Thus, the learners should not focus on grammatical constructions or on word connections. by Neli Kukhaleishvili. And it is highly individual. Lets explore the meaning anddefinition of extensive reading. More reading results in Without being forced to read a specific book, the pupils are free to choose their own reading material. xb```}\ ea8 Ma"RHBs4\e9}zR}7{S ntnaQ Dr\t" @70005wf&" lG&f:^ ) ]aNjY"xNBE:@| D Students then read their own book, mainly out of class. A person who reads more is more likely to be up to date with the latest news, show empathic growth and pro- social behavior. There is a wealth of research into the benefits of Extensive Reading for language learners. without mentioning titles, which would be invidious (! These skills will go a long way in improving your work performance! 7. WebThe familiarity of syntactic patterns acquired through extensive reading enables the learners to string together various words to produce their own creative original language which is in conformity to established patterns. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. For this reason it is essential that the books are interesting to students and at a level appropriate to their reading ability. Both common sense observation and copious research evidence bear out the many benefits which come from ER (Waring The question now is which of the two approaches contribute most to pupils literary skills. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every email. When you get compelling input, you acquire whether you are interested in improving or not (Krashen 2013). Let me know in the comments below! Teachers who show that they read widely are models for their students. 31 30 Many theories suggest that the first reading should be a compelling Thanks for the ideas of hooking students which are excellent ways of attracting students to reading . 0000016268 00000 n Non-native Teachers are also the ones who need support in giving instructions and motivations to L2 learners to read more in the classroom as well as outside. Materials are within the language competence of the students. Of course, teachers alwasy feel they have to have activities but they mmay not always be rightactivities may come inb the way of reading rather than fostering it. 2004 ) The Power of Reading: insights from the research. through exposure to that specific language regularly and extensive reading is The Best way to learn any language is She is the type of girls that will go big or go on. For example, very recently I got an email from a 13-year-old Dutch girl. The joy of reading is being able to consume all forms of written material unrestricted. 2. I think it was Krashen again who made the point that any time spent doing activities is time taken away from actual reading. Submitted by Scott J. Shelton on Tue, 12/15/2009 - 14:33, In reply to Allowing learning to take place by sueleather (not verified). Anaxandras father is able to teach her skills that other women dont know. More specifically, Aebersold and Field state that [] teaching reading is based on the belief that when students read for general comprehension large quantities of texts of their own choosing, their ability to read will consequently improve (Aebersold and Field 1997, 43). Imagine if you had to read the same story every day for the rest of your life. People usually, Time teaches these lessons to people as they experience more interactions. How can we hope to get learners to read if we dont do it ourselves? It is difficult to give firm advice not knowing the precise context (especially the hierarchy) within which you work. Extensive reading involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills. It develops your communication tools and expands you knowledge and the conception around you. 14 (2). Without the first reading, i probably never would have made it through the second. When she cant save Callisto, Anaxandra is brave enough to jump off the cliff and put an octopus on her head to scare off the men. 375-411, Hafiz, F.M and Tudor, I. The fact that the students also build their vocabulary seems to be obvious as well, since they permanently encounter new words due to the fact that they read numerous books. Academic circles suggest that (1989) Extensive reading and the development of language skills. ELT Journal 43 (1)4-13. There is work on the non-linear reading required by Internet users in Murray and Macpherson (2005), and articles on hypermedia by Richards (2000), and Ferradas Moi (2008) and some interesting reflections in Johnson (2006). The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Mokhtari & Sheorey (2002). Youll be able to make sense of text right from the get-go. It can open many The only reliable way to learn a language is through massive and repeated exposure to it in context: precisely what ER provides. - with students help, choose a book they think they might like. Furthermore, the books we read outside our narrow professional field can have an unpredictable effect on our practice within it. Reading WebExtensive Reading develops communicative competence (Wang 2006 cited in Guo, 2012,). Both common sense observation and copious research evidence bear out the many benefits which come from ER (Waring 2000, 2006). After they have chosen the books the accompanying adult vetoes certain books usually comics and picture books and instead pick up other books (ones without any pictures) and sign them out. Students are highly unlikely to encounter vocabulary sufficient times within the classroom to learn it. Many thanks for supplementing the point being made by Sue Leather. The reading material is relatively easy for the level of the students. And, as Krashen points out in his book, 'The Power of Reading', (the section on 'Light Reading') - comics, graphic novels, and teen romance may not be regarded as 'good' reading material. Extensive readingwill help you tackle complex sentences and words that are hard to understand. Most of the authentic materials for extensive reading can be compiled from newspapers, magazines, or unabridged novels or fictions together with hypertexts from websites, which can cause frustrations and discouragement for readers who don't have enough background knowledge required for comprehension. 375-411, Ferradas Moi, Claudia. Fights Stress. You can hardly find a modern novel which is provided with different interesting activities and which might help you to get feedback from your students and keep up their interest throughout the reading course.Teachers have a hard time of making up and improvsing activities that might keep the students on the track. Teachers who are readers are more likely to have students who read too. 0000004135 00000 n It is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading. As Extensive Reading builds vocabulary. Improvement in general language skills and capabilities, Keeping your calm through active listening exercises, How to prepare the child for school daily, 21st Century Early Years Important Skills, How to engage students more effectively in class. London: Routledge. avenues for students and students can see and learn different perspectives, and It is thus critically important in an extensive reading programme that learners have the opportunity to keep meeting words that they have met before (Nation 2007, 155-156). This kind of system is not easy to operate, i agree, but it can also contribute to solving the second problem you mention: motivation. Reading is individual and silent. Having a classroom library and regularly encouraging students to borrow books to take Youll learn to interpret texts and make sense of complex reading material. You can improve your reading speed, saving time at work. It imprisons you yet, releases you from your mental confinement. Two of the shelves at the library are devoted to children's literature and often there are a lot of children picking up books from there. You can read from different sources to develop your reading skills. 21 (5), Nation, Paul and Wang Ming-Tzu, Karen (1999) Graded readers and vocabulary. Reading in a Foreign Language. (see references for websites) And there is the indispensable annotated bibliography,http://www.erfoundation.org/bib/biblio2.php, Extensive readingdevelops learner autonomy. As the texts are short and difficult, they encounter numerous new vocabularies. To promote learner autonomy extensive reading should be a student-managed activity. helps her or him in improving the vocabulary of that specific language. But How can I inspire my students and get them involved in extensive reading voluntarily? Submitted by Alan Maley on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 09:40, In reply to what to do? That is to say that students should decide what, when, where and how often they read. Coming back from the Xmas break when I have been blissfully 'disconnected'! That's what Krashen calls a 'Home Run' book, that is a kind of psychological milestone on the road to learning the foreign language. How do you convince a school? Alexandras dream is to become a top chef. According to plenty of studies in academic circles with the help of extensive The teacher is a role modela reader, who participates along with the students. This gave me an idea to find out how other teachers learned English. Reading is its own reward. There are two reading strategies that are used mostly in schools, colleges and technical institutions and are taught in communication and study skills course which is extensive reading and intensive reading. But it may be impossible to avoid reading altogether. Students have a wide variety of genres and topics to choose from. This is probably because as students encounter more language, more frequently, through extensive reading, their language acquisition mechanism is primed to produce it in writing. I'd be waitingto read more from him on the 'non-reader' issue. Japan, in fact, rates near the bottom of the list of countries where the general public itself (or was it teens?) The readers read in the text, focusing on the new vocabulary, grammatical forms, the purpose of the author and (2006) The Reading Zone: how to help kids become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers. She is a very ambitious girl and is living life to the fullest at that young age. The aim is to be a good reader who is capable of understanding even difficult texts without much effort. This means that literacy not only frees us in the literal sense as Frederick Douglass used in his essay, and not just the figurative sense of freeing us in the subjects of reading and writing but, literacy frees us in all aspects of education and the world in. trailer I have had nothing but positive experiences with literature circles and have seen its benefits as students gain confidence in themselves and really come alive. It's just, well, books That may be one of the reasons that make it less appealing to administrations. develop a sense of liberty. Many thanks for your posting and apologies for the delay in replying. This way, you do not need storage space, and students get to read more books. Individuals form associative networks among the books they read. Whether youre a beginner or a proficient reader,extensive readingwill help you polish your reading ability. Students learn the language not only from books , but from their teachers where the exposure to the language is great . Its effects spread more by infection than by direct injection. The group joins together in class and discusses what they have read from the many view points dictated by their individual role preparation. 0000001192 00000 n This makes them more interesting to be around and students generally like their teachers to be interesting people. There are no tests, no exercises, no questions and no dictionaries. Now, by following the ten principles by Day and Bamford, the pupils in an extensive reading program should expect to succeed in reading, that is, improving their reading comprehension and overall understanding. If not for pleasure, we still have to go through work-related material like reports, minutes of meetings and emails. They stress that This way you can learn to focus on the text itself without losing yourself in its structural makeup. Hoey, Michael (2005) Lexical Priming. I am sorry if I have not responded fully to what you asked. One Kroll, Barbara (ed) (2003) Exploring the Dynamics of Second Language Writing. The ability to read and write is both creative and destructive. 60 0 obj<>stream 1383 Words6 Pages. Some people never escape from this confinement, some do; and those who escape sometimes go on to do great things in life. supprting teachers, inspiring the students. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower. 41. The readings Is Fiction Making Us Stupid by Jonathan Gottschall, and Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie are outstanding, This application of the reading process should allow the reader to deep read when necessary, letting the information be absorbed entirely and, Reading exposed me to many different situations and outcomes, and it broadened my vocabulary. 4 (2,) 59-77. What is the secret of extensive reading?, Prowse, P. (2002) Top ten principles for teaching extensive reading: a response. Reading in a Foreign Language. Moreover, they can choose topics which they find interesting and entertaining. Reading allows one to learn new things and to become a more knowledgeable and understanding person. This specifies in some detail the roles each member of a circle has to play. In contrast to intensive reading, extensive reading tries to level out the above-mentioned weak points of intensive reading. This also goes back to my writing, if I find a word in a book that I have read I can add it to my writing to improve my writing skills. 4. connection between reading and writing is well-established. When it comes to reading many advantages can be taken away from just the shortest passages. The first one is the choice in reading material. However, if they read extensively they are much more likely to get multiple encounters with words and phrases in a variety of contexts. The reason is that [] self-selection [] puts students in a different role from that in a traditional classroom, where the teacher chooses or the textbook supplies reading material (Day & Bamford 2004, 3). Students become more motivated to read. 12 (2), Pigada, Maria and Norbert Schmitt (2006) Vocabulary acquisition for extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language. In short, extensive reading refers to the idea that pupils read as many books as possible. For an avid. In ways we so far do not fully understand, the benefits of ER extend beyond reading. ER is not sexy, like some other teaching resources. The reasons you give why ER isn't used more often in classesallring true to me from my experience of workingwith teachers in many different cultural contexts. 7 (2). We will process your data to send you our newsletter and updates based on your consent. Maley, A Extensive reading: why it is good for our students and for us., https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/extensive-reading-why-it-good-our-students%E2%80%A6-us (accessed 23 September 2016), Prowse, P. What is the secret of extensive reading?, http://www.cambridge.org/elt/readers/prowse1.htm (accessed 23 September 2016), Your email address will not be published. 2. I hope it will send teachers (and students) running to access your website - and similar ones run by other publishers of graded readers series. A good question. %PDF-1.6 % extensive reading that cause her or him to keep doing it. On the other hand , I feel we have to change the program or do something so as to turn extensive reading into exciting and attractive reading , something that might make them want to read , share and re-read. Remember that ER books are best used if they are in large multiple copies. Bamford and Day depict intensive reading as a [] careful reading (or translation) of shorter, more difficult foreign language texts with the goal of complete and detailed understanding (1997). 0000019677 00000 n Cho, K., & Krashen, S. D. (1994). 0000024086 00000 n All the resaerch available points to the fact that ER is the single best way to acquire, reinforce and extend language acquisition. a result of extensive reading students start developing language-related skills Vocabulary is not learned by a single exposure. She is smart enough to stand up to those that hurt the people close to her. You can try to read as much and as widely as possible. 0000017474 00000 n e) Lack of understanding of ER and its benefits. It can be done anywhere, at any time of day. They remember the words they pick up from their teachers much better than the words they are forced to learn which is another advantage of extensive reading. New York: Cambridge University Press. 'Students choose what to read.' WebFeatures and Benefits of Xreading. startxref <<355046082E69CF4B9AD90B8C75614E38>]>> It can be compared with extensive reading, which involves learners reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills. Unsimplified texts include texts written for native speakers who read for pleasure and information rather than in order to learn a foreign language with pedagogical purposes. Speed is faster, not deliberate and slow. It also has the potential to destroy your entire grip on reality and expose you to the actual world you live in. WebMany language teachers believe that extensive reading is the best way to improve language skills. g) Resistance from teachers, who find it impossible to stop teaching and to allow learning to take place. (2004). You bring up lots of thought-provoking questions here. And, as you pointed out, in finding activities which do not interrupt the reading but which add value to it. It has been variously described as Free Voluntary Reading (FEVER), Uninterrupted Silent Reading (USR), Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), or Positive Outcomes While Enjoying Reading (POWER). Obtaining and managing such a collection is something that takes true dedication. Sometimes its hard to focus on a sentence if its too complex. Topics. Richard Day has provided a list of key characteristics of ER (Day 2002). WebExtensive reading is an approach to language education that has shown great promise for foreign language learners to acquire language; however, implementation reveals difficulty in maintaining student motivation to read over long periods of time. Example. However, they do get many young readers started, and the evidence tends to show that such readers fairly rapidly move to more 'serious' forms of reading. This article is derived from a study that aimed at implementing extensive reading in an action research project in a public University in Mexico. It may actually take years! Extensive reading: why it is good for our students and for us. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments on ER. : Chapter 10 Reading and Writing Relations. Reading has been shown to put our brains into a pleasurable trance-like state, similar to meditation, and it brings the same health benefits of deep relaxation and inner calm. Regular readers sleep better, have lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and lower rates of depression than non-readers. And without this, the students will never have enough exposure to the language in context to acquire it. Opposed to Day and Bamford, Aebersold and Field support the idea that the teacher can to some extent (1997, 43) choose the books for the pupils. undoubtedly, authentic texts have a role to play but exposure to accessible authentic texts may not be itself enough. Even arriving a bit late for the discussion I just would like to say that it seems to me that improving levels of extensive reading among English language teachers has been something that is very close to my heart and something we have been working with in the ELT e-Reading Group for over 2 years now. 9. For vocabulary, the most important thing is contextthe setting where each word is used. Bamford and Day add that the [] readers attention should be on the meaning, not the language of the text (1998, 5). Why Should Students Do Extensive Reading? Someexamples of extensive readingare newspapers, blogs and e-magazines. one of them. Conclusion I apologize for the delay in responding to your posting. I teach in Hanoi, Vietnam at the British Council here and although I am new to the country, I something I noticed straight away was that reading is still a major favourite pastime of many and desperately wanted to capitalize on this with my classes. Kieran Donaghy, Director of the School for Training, writes about the benefits of Extensive Reading for English language students. For example, Cho andKrashen (1994) reported that their four adult ESL learners increased competence in both listening and speaking abilities through reading extensively. According to Day and Bamford, the first principle is also the [] most important principle of extensive reading for language learning (2004, 2). Basically, the more we read, the better we write. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Develop the habit of reading everything from novels to business reports. 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