!! LovE ReadinG !!

!! Extensive Reading !!!! Extensive Reading !!!! Extensive Reading !!!! Extensive Reading !!

Motivating Students to Read…

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The value of extensive reading

How to encourage students to read extensively

Integrating extensive reading into the TBL curriculum

The value of extensive readingThe value of extensive readingThe value of extensive readingThe value of extensive reading

Extensive - a wide range of texts a large number of books

Comprehensive - of the right level

It provides exposure to extensive comprehensible language and istherefore highly beneficial for language acquisition and literacy development 

Revisiting vocabulary and structures in different books and contexts

reinforcing understanding of story structure ie. introduction, setting (place and time), characters, plot (problem or goal), episodes or events, resolution

Extensive practice of reading skills such as word attack skills, meaning attack skills, prediction skills → fluent reading

Extensive exposure to language not usually encountered in textbooks and simplified readers

It is an important source of ideas and information 

It can nurture a good reading habit 

Cycle of growthCycle of growthCycle of growthCycle of growth

Extensive reading – increased exposure – cycle of growth (Nuttall 1996)

Extensive reading helps student to become fluent, independent readers

who are interested in reading.

Read more

Learn more

Enjoy more

Read faster

EnjoymentSustained exposure /

reading habitLanguage

improvement

Improving the extensive reading lessons and encouImproving the extensive reading lessons and encouraging students to read extensivelyraging students to read extensively

Improving the extensive reading lessons and encouImproving the extensive reading lessons and encouraging students to read extensivelyraging students to read extensively

Lower forms No interest in reading

Some books are boring Reading-related activities are boring e.g. taking tests Lack of vocabulary knowledge and so find reading difficult

Upper forms

No time to read : need to prepare for examinations Reading materials are too difficult

 General

Not motivated Not aware of the benefits of ERS Lack confidence in reading

Problems identified by teachers: 

ImplicationsImplicationsImplicationsImplications

Books / reading materials need to be interesting and not too difficult

Students need to develop reading skills - e.g. how to guess

words from context, activate background knowledge, read

for implied meaning etc

Reading-related activities should be interesting and creative

A reading culture should be developed in the school

1. Choosing suitable reading materials for an extensive1. Choosing suitable reading materials for an extensivereading programmereading programme

1. Choosing suitable reading materials for an extensive1. Choosing suitable reading materials for an extensivereading programmereading programme

Compare passages in the course books with stories for extensive reading. Are they different? Which are more interesting?

What kinds of books are suitable for extensive reading?

How do we find out about the interests of the students?

How do we grade books? Note that the input must be ‘comprehensible’!

Characteristics of good booksCharacteristics of good booksCharacteristics of good booksCharacteristics of good books

Entertaining

The content is rich and varied

Contain interesting and imaginative characters, themes, events and situations

The illustrations are attractive and provide appropriate support

The language is rich and creative

Children can respond to them Good books?

What books / materials?What books / materials?What books / materials?What books / materials?

L2 readers

Reading schemes for English-speaking children (including picture books)

L1 books for leisure reading

adolescent literature

movie books

popular series – teenage fiction

non-fiction

Magazines / CD-Roms / websites

SecondarySecondarySecondarySecondary

Allow ‘subliterature’ e.g. movie books (Home Alone, Jurassic Park), the Apple series, The Bailey school kids, Goosebumps etc.

Let your students choose topics / authors they like

Get them hooked onto a series!!!

Finding out about the interests of studentsFinding out about the interests of studentsFinding out about the interests of studentsFinding out about the interests of students

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

Do you enjoy reading? 

Which of these do you like to read? Tick in the columns

Dislike Like Like a lot

Comics

Magazines

Newspapers

Stories

Poems

Books about true things

If you like stories, what sort do you like?

Dislike Like Like a lot

Fairy stories

Ghost stories

Funny stories

Animal stories

People stories

What sort of books do you like best of all?

If you like to read books about true things, what kind of things do you enjoy?

What T.V. programmes do you enjoy watching?

2. Helping students overcome reading difficulties2. Helping students overcome reading difficulties2. Helping students overcome reading difficulties2. Helping students overcome reading difficulties

Problems

  Too bottom-up in approach – too much concentration on individual

words. If they get stuck with a word, they do not know how to go on. (Even place or people’s names)

Do not know how to activate background knowledge in reading

Do not know how to work out ‘implied meaning’

Suggestions for helping students overcome these Suggestions for helping students overcome these problemsproblemsSuggestions for helping students overcome these Suggestions for helping students overcome these problemsproblems

Cloze reading (to develop ability to tolerate vagueness and to guess words from context)

Think-aloud protocol (to help develop awareness of the importance of background information)

Predicting the ending of short stories

Discussion of plot, characters, setting, problem, resolution etc through story frames and story maps

Read more!!! ‘We learn to read by reading’ (Smith 1978, Nuttall 1996)

References

Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. London: Heinemann

Smith, F (1978) Reading. Cambridge: CUP

3.3. Including reading-related activities that are interesting and Including reading-related activities that are interesting and enjoyable in your extensive reading lessons in addition to enjoyable in your extensive reading lessons in addition to Uninterrupted sustained silent ReadingUninterrupted sustained silent Reading

3.3. Including reading-related activities that are interesting and Including reading-related activities that are interesting and enjoyable in your extensive reading lessons in addition to enjoyable in your extensive reading lessons in addition to Uninterrupted sustained silent ReadingUninterrupted sustained silent Reading

Teachers acting as facilitator and motivator (Readers are made by readers)

Suggestions:

Introducing stories and recommending books in class

Using a multimedia approach - watch a related movie etc

Psychological preparation

Discussing a book with students (small group or individual conferences)

Teacher reading a book herself

Creating a reading community in class (Peer support and sharing are essential)

Suggestions

Literature circlesReaders’ and writers’ workshopsReaders’ theatreConferencing with and writing to book authorsPublishing students’ stories in the form of ‘small books’

Providing a print-rich environment (Easy access to books is important)

Suggestions:

Class libraries

Display corner for ‘Book of the month’, ‘Author of the month’

Display corner for students’ work e.g. letters to the authors, book cover design.

A whole school approach

Eg. Book week to celebrate literacy:

- Book character day

- Graphic display of number of books read by the entire school

in the form of a bookworm that ‘grows’ around the school

- Book talks by authors and community leaders

4.4. Developing a reading culture in schoolDeveloping a reading culture in school4.4. Developing a reading culture in schoolDeveloping a reading culture in school

Display of English books in the library – a book corner (Change it every month) – can adopt a theme (Detective stories) or an author approach (Roald Dahl)

Display of students’ work, like book reviews, letters to

the authors, book cover designs

Board displays with slogans – e.g. Reading is fun!

Activities to promote reading e.g. story-telling competition, drama competition, book report competition, best readers of the class, the form, the month etc.

Surveys on books

Teachers’ recommendations (the ten best books) in school newsletters

Opportunities to borrow books in the summer and the holidays

Enlist the help of parents

Integrating extensive reading into the TBL curriculuIntegrating extensive reading into the TBL curriculumm

Integrating extensive reading into the TBL curriculuIntegrating extensive reading into the TBL curriculumm

Why?Why?Why?Why?

Extensive reading is an important source

of ideas and language for carrying out tasks

in the English language curriculum

Extensive reading is an important source

of ideas and language for carrying out tasks

in the English language curriculum

For exampleFor exampleFor exampleFor example

Task: Write a letter to a friend asking for help and adviceStudents each choose a character from a book they have read. They pretend to

be the character and write the letter

e.g. The Pied Piper of Hamelin - The mayor of the town asks a friend to

suggest ways of getting rid of the rats.

The Three Little Pigs – The pigs ask for ways to protect themselves

from wild animals

Task: Produce a radio play

Students who have read the same book can work as a group to

produce a radio play based on the book

ie. different groups will produce different plays

Task: A project based on the theme ‘Animals’Students can make use of the animal stories / books they have

read in doing some of the tasks, e.g. they create / publish their own animal

stories in the form of small books.

Task: The most popular character Each student nominates a character from the books he/she has read

and draws a picture / writes a short description of the character.

The whole class vote to decide on who the most popular character is

Task: Students create a new ending to a story they have read

Task: Students design new book covers, book marks or

cartoon strips based on a story they like

There is more variety in the students’ work because they have read

different books

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusion

Extensive reading materials should be actively used in completing

tasks in the TBL curriculum

Students will be motivated to read if:- The books / reading materials chosen are interesting and of

appropriate level- They are helped to develop reading skills- The reading-related activities are interesting and creative- There is a reading culture in school