Extensive Reading for Building Fluency in Adult ELLs

EXTENSIVE READING FOR BUILDING FLUENCY IN ADULT ELLS

Doreen Ewert, Indiana UniversityMITESOL, October 8, 2011

Kalamazoo, MI

The basic problem

“Students learning to read a second language do not read, and they do not like to read.”

(Eskey, 1986, cited in Day & Bamford, 1998, p. 4).

Five Processes of Reading(Rauding Theory)

Memorizing (slow with many repetitions for memory)

Learning (not as slow but some repetition for learning)

Rauding (moderate speed with little repetition for sufficient comprehension—fluent silent reading)

Skimming (quick pace with no repetition for overall meaning)

Scanning (fast pace skipping to find specific information)

R. Carver (2000)

Extensive Reading Definition

Reading quickly large amounts of easy, varied, and interesting self-selected material.

Student Journal Excerpt

“I read a lot of books in the class. I could understand almost all, but there were some difficult words and topics. However, I could enjoyed from book’s information. I learned fun of reading, because it was my first time to read in English.”

Goal of Extensive ReadingTo fluently read massive amounts of

comprehensible language within one’s comfort zone to build fluency while consolidating language knowledge.

(Waring, 2009)

To develop good reading habits integrated with the immediate priorities of the teacher and the students.

Other types of ER Abundant reading Sustained Silent

Reading Pleasure Reading Free Voluntary

Reading Supplementary

Reading Book Flood

Rationale for Extensive Reading Development of positive

attitude/motivation for L2 reading.

Development of sight words (over-learning for automaticity).

Development of general vocabulary knowledge.

Development of different knowledge types.

Student Journal Excerpt “I learned that I can find books by

myself. The books are my reading level. I also learned that I can guess words meaning without a dictionary.”

Characteristics of an Extensive Reading Program

.

Original in Day & Bamford, 1998, p. 7-8)

Reflections by Day, R. (2011);

Students read as much as possible, perhaps in and definitely out of the classroom

This is not always followed, but still is essential to what ER is.

A variety of materials on a wide range of topics is available so as to encourage reading for different reasons and in different ways.

He couldn’t tell if this were true in all programs. Some seem rather limited.

Students select what they want to read and have the freedom to stop reading materials that fails to interest them.

He feels this is still the very core of what ER is and when programs don’t allow for this, he finds it hard to consider them ER.


Updated by Day, R. (2011);

The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information, and general understanding. These purposes are determined by the nature of the material and the interests of the student.

This seems to be working although the use of Moodle quizzes to track reading out of class may be changing this.

Reading is its own reward. There are few or no follow-up exercises after reading.

This may be suspect as a principle because it can’t always be the case. Students may need to “pushed” to read.

Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Dictionaries are rarely used while reading because the constant stopping to look up words makes fluent reading difficult.

After looking at program descriptions, this still seems to be true.


Updated by Day, R. (2011);

Reading is individual and silent, at the student’s own pace, and, outside class, done when and where the student chooses.

This still seems to be a good principle, but there may be a place to bring in oral reading to build fluency as in L1.

Teachers orient students to the goals of the program, explain the methodology, keep track of what each student reads, and guide students in getting the most out of the program.

This is also essential still and may be more important than he thought at first.

The teacher is a role model of a reader for students—an active member of the classroom reading community, demonstrating what it means to be a reader and the rewards of being a reader.

This is still important, but scaffolding support might also be necessary.

10 principlesPure ER

Modified ERMany principles

ER LightSome principles

0 principlesNot ER

IEP ER Program Options• Stand-alone Course in

Level 4 (of 7-level program)

• Part of existing Reading/Writing courses (Levels 1-3 & 5)

• Elective Extensive Reading Course (Optional Levels 6 & 7)

ER Syllabus: What will we do in this class?

Students will use a variety of level appropriate reading resources including library books and IEP EPER resource books.

Students will visit libraries as a class, choose books, read in varied locations, and talk to each other about what they are reading.

Good things happen to students who read a lot in the new language!

Research shows that students who read a lot…become better readersbecome more confident readerswrite betterimprove their listening and speaking abilitiesdevelop richer vocabularydevelop positive attitudes toward the new languagehave increased motivation to learn the new language!

What are the rules for extensive reading?

CHOOSE what you read. Choose EASY material. Read for general meaning,

information, and enjoyment. (No dictionary!)

Enjoy Enjoy! Enjoy!

How will you be graded?25% Extensive Reading Log (ER log)

Bring your ER log to class EVERYDAY! You will keep a record EPER books and library books that you read in class (EPER days and Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) days) and at home.

25% Extensive Reading Journal (Weeks three to six) 15 pages or more=A 12-14 pages=B 9-11 pages=C 6-8 pages=D

5-0 pages=F 25% Attendance and Participation:

We will be reading in class, so attendance is very important Every absence affects your grade. If you miss 10 or more classes, you will automatically receive an F in this class. If you are more than 15 minutes late, you are absent.

25% Self Evaluation:

Students will decide this part of their grade. It will be based on personal goals, effort, and learning.

Grading is a PASS/FAIL format. For a PASS grade students will: complete a reading log which is turned in

2 -3 times during the course. complete 4 journal assignments with a

minimum of 750 words total (about 190-200 words per week).

complete a self-evaluation. arrive on time, attend class and

participate during class have no more than 10 absences.


“A chat circle was very good. In first I forgot everything I read, but when we start I remember some story and some details. I think all books I read are interesting. And it was easy to read. Also, I understood all story. Then, of course, I felt very good. Time is running quickly, especially in this course. Because when I start to read any store I cannot stop if I didn’t finish. In fact, I learn many things of skills. I feel much better reading.”

Intensive vs. Extensive Reading

Adapted from Day & Bamford, 1998.

Type of Reading Intensive Reading Extensive ReadingClass goal read accurately read fluently

Reading purpose answer questionsstudy

get informationenjoy

Focus words pronunciation meaning

Material teacher choosesoften difficult

you chooseeasy

Amount not much a lotSpeed slower faster

Method must finishuse dictionary

stop if you don’t like it

no dictionary

Student Journal Excerpt “I like to go to the public library. If

class don’t bring me to the public library, I wouldn’t know that library. There are a lot of resources that I can borrow in the library. O love to go and I will go there next time. I am not afraid of reading in English. I started reading novel in English. I enjoy reading English.”

Sample ScheduleWee

kMonday Tuesday Wednesda

yThursday Friday

1 Intro to Extensive Reading

Motivation for Reading in English

QuestionnaireHomework

EPER Test EPER dayMake-up EPER Test

EPER dayMake-up

EPER Test

2 EPER dayMake-upEPER test

SyllabusWhy read fiction?

How to choose books

Education Libraryvisit

Library book dayMusic Library

EPER day

3 Intro: JournalsBook chat

EPER day Intensive and Extensive Rdg

EPER day

Public Library prep.EPER Day

Library book dayIMU So. Lounge

4 EPER day Book chat Public Library visit Library book dayChemistry Library

EPER day

5 EPER day Library book dayNeal Marshall

Library

EPER day Book Chat EPER day

6 EPERday

Book chat Library book day Fine ArtsLibrary

EPER day Evaluations

7 EPER day EPER test Library book daystudents’ choice

Sample ScheduleWee


yThursday Friday




EPER Test EPER day

Make-up EPER Test

EPER day

Make-upEPER Test

2 EPER day

Make-upEPER test


How to choose books



EPER day



EPER day

Public Library prep.EPER day



EPER day


Library


6 EPER day Book chat Library book day Fine ArtsLibrary



Sample ScheduleWee


yThursday Friday





EPER dayMake-up

EPER Test



How to choose books

Education Library Library book day

Music Library

EPER day



EPER day


Library book day

IMU So. Lounge

4 EPER day Book chat Public Library Library book day

Chemistry Library

EPER day

5 EPER day Library book day

Neal Marshall Library


6 EPERday

Book chat Library book day

Fine Arts Library



Sample ScheduleWee


yThursday Friday





EPER dayMake-up

EPER Test



How to choose books


Library book day

Music Library

EPER day



EPER day


Library book day

IMU So. Lounge

4 EPER day Book chat Public Library visit Library book day

Chemistry Library

EPER day

5 EPER day Library book day

Neal Marshall Library


6 EPERday

Book chat Library book day

Fine Arts Library


7 EPER day EPER test Library book day

Students’ choice

Sample ScheduleWee


yThursday Friday





EPER dayMake-up

EPER Test



How to choose books



EPER day



EPER day




EPER day


Library


6 EPERday

Book chat Library book day Fine ArtsLibrary



Student Journal Excerpt “I like much to read in my first language…

But in my life I hadn’t read much in English. I spend long time…Although the exercise of chose the children books is strange because you feel like when you had 7 years old, I think that this is good , because is the same process like when you learned to read in school”

Extensive Reading LogName_________________

Class___________Title EPER level or ‘library’

In class time

At home time

Level: easy, okay, difficult

Opinion: good, fair, poor

The LongRoad

EPER B 20 min. 15 min. Easy fair

Peanuts Librarybook

30 min.15 min.25 min.

Okay good

Student Journal Excerpt “I have a little experienced in reading in

English because in general about reading I do not like read so much even in my native language which is Arabic....When I went to education library I felt I can choose the books better than in the past and most of books that I chosen them I interested of them I like them.”

Student Journal Excerpt “EPER books are easy to read for me and

so fun, because I can read books smoothly, and easy to understand. There are many kinds of books… I read 19 books, so I want to read more books.”

What are the benefits of ER? Research claims have been made

that students who read a lot… become better readers (Flahive &

Bailey, 1993; Tsang, 1996) become more confident readers

(Takase, 2007, 2008, 2oo9) write better (Elley & Mangubhai, 1983;

Janopoulos, 1986; Tsang, 1996) improve listening and speaking

abilities (Elley, 1991)


“I like outside class. One of my favorite outside place is the Union. I didn’t know what reading a book with drinking coffee make me happy.”

“I have learned so far enjoying the books in English is so important for learning English because I think enjoying books encourages me to learn English. When I read only books which have difficult words, and are so severe I feel so boring to learn English. But the Extensive Reading makes me remember pleasure of English!!!”

What are the benefits of ER?

develop richer vocabulary (Horst, Cobb, & Meara, 1998; Lao & Krashen, 2000; Pulido, 2003; Waring & Takaki, 2003)

develop positive attitudes toward the new language (Mason & Krashen, 1997)

Increase motivation to learn the new language (Takase, 2009)

Increase motivation to read (McQuillan, 1994; Pillgreen & Krashen, 1993

Student Journal Excerpt “I learn to be used to reading

English. I think this class is the best way to like English, because English is close to me by reading easy grammar English with pretty pictures. In my opinion, if I don’t like English, I cannot to improve English skill. So, to like English is very important thing for me. So, this class is very meaningful for me.”

What are the benefits of ER?

Improve general language proficiency (Elley, 1991; Renandya, Rajan, & Jacobs, 1999).

Increase reading rate (Lao & Krashen, 2000) Do as well or better than non-ER

learners in the short run (Mason & Krashen, 1997)

In the long run, ER learners do better (Krashen, 2004 for review of studies)

Study Purpose

Does our ER course benefit the learners? Will our students be motivated to read more

on their own?

Will general or specific aspects of their proficiency grow?

Study Challenges Will we be able to

measure/identify changes? It’s hard to measure incidental and

incremental learning We cannot control for all other sources of

learning especially in an SL context. L2 adults are harder to “control” than L1/L2

children. By definition, the students should not be

tested. Ethically, we had to give ER to all the

students, so no control group was possible.

Initial IEP ER Study Recruitment of Students

May 2003 through June 2011 (093-113) Total number of students included: 291

Data Collection Pre and Post EPER Diagnostic Test (E.P.E.R. 2009) Institutional test scores Motivation Survey (Komiyama, 2009) Reading Journals Reading Logs Motivation Self-Report Delayed post course questionnaire(dropped)

Results Quantitative Results

Pre and Post EPER Diagnostic Test (E.P.E.R. 2009) Institutional test scores

IEP Placement Exam(pre-post) pBT TOEFL (pre-post)

Motivation Survey (Komiyama, 2009) Qualitative Results

Reading Journals Reading Logs Motivation Self-Report ER Book Checkout List

Paired-sample T-tests

Pre-EPER Test Post-EPER Test All levels n** M (min-

max) SD M (min-

max) SD Average

Gain

216 41.7 (7-60) 10.2 47.5 (19-64) 9.1 6.4*

p<0.05

Pre and post E.P.E.R tests

*p<0.05 **1 student started and stayed in Level E

Pre-EPER Test Post-EPER Test Starting Level

n** M (min-max)

SD M (min-max)

SD Average Gain

A 17 18.2 (7-25) 5.71 29.2 (19-42) 6.93 11*

B 16 29.3(26-32) 2.06 37.7 (32-46) 4.01 8.3*

C 100 40.3 (33-45) 3.62 46.6 (30-60) 5.98 6.6*

D 82 50.8 (46-59) 3.71 54.3 (42-64) 4.71 5*

Average EPER Gains from Starting Level

A B C D0.02.04.06.08.0

10.012.0

11.0

8.36.6

5.0

Average Gain

EPER level gains in 1 session

87 of 215 improved by at least one EPER Level

Level A to B+

Level B to C+

Level C to D+

Level D to E+

Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post17 11

64.7%

16 14

87.5%

100 53

53.0%

82 9

10.9%

Institutional Test Scores

IEP Placement Reading Test (with ER, 093-113)

*p<0.05

n M SD Average Gain

Pre 222 20.3 4.92Post 222 20.9 5.15 5.13*

Level Test Cut Off Scores

Initial Placement

Score

Post Placement

Score

% Above initial

Placement% Above Level 4

Level 1 0-11 8 4 0.0% 0.0%Level 2 12-15 32 33 59.4% 0.0%Level 3 16-19 54 44 46.3% 22.2%Level 4 20-22 53 46 47.2% 47.2%Level 5 23-25 45 51 31.1% 53.3%Level 6 26-29 21 28 9.5% 76.2%Level 7 30-35 8 7 0.0% 75.0%Above 36-40 0 0 0.0% 0.0%Total 40 222 222 38.7% 38.3%

IEP Placement Reading Test

IPT Reading Score (Level 4 with ER, 093-113) n M SD Average Gain

Pre 122 40.0 4.97Post 122 39.9 6.18 -0.1

ER Reading Journals

•Iterative reading of journals•Noting themes•Checking themes•Rater reliability checking (not yet done)

Student Journal Prompts

Reading Journal Themes

How little had been read in English prior to this class

Surprise at the need for easy texts

Delight in reading complete texts

Positive attitude towards reading generally

Expressed desire to continue such reading

Implications of results so far Started an ER elective for high

intermediate/low advanced students Put a book chat earlier in the session to

motivate more careful reading Trained more teachers in the ER

implementation

What do we still want to do? Look at motivation survey

(Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation at beginning of course in relation to gender, country of origin, proficiency level)

Do motivation survey after ER course Analyze more reading scores for pre ER course

period Estimate amount of reading in time and words

(titles?) (in relation to gender, country of origin, proficiency level)

Determine most popular texts

Keep on “teaching” ER!

If you have questions, feel free to contact me.

Doreen Ewert, Associate ProfessorDirector, Academic English for Multilingual Students Program

Department of Rhetoric and LanguageUniversity of San Francisco

[email protected]

Documents

Extensive Reading for Building Fluency in Adult ELLs