INNOVATION PROJECT: “Using the Repeated Reading Method

PRÁCTICAS DE ENSEÑANZA

PROFESOR: JULIO ROCA DE LARIOS

FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN

UNIVERSIDAD DE MURCIA

INNOVATION PROJECT: “Using the Repeated

Reading Method with Spanish Primary School

3rd Graders”

“L2 reading research should explore the best conditional practices that would

support reading fluency development and at least provide indirect support for reading

comprehension improvement” [Grabe (2004, p.56)]

GUILLERMO MORENO MELLIZO

DNI: 70056759R

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INDEX

1. Abstract 2

2. Theoretical frame 4

3. Description of the experience 6

3.1 Context 6

3.2 Methodology 7

3.3 Evaluation procedures 10

4. Analysis of the results 12

4.1 Among pupils 12

4.2 Among parents 18

5. Pedagogical implications and future research 19

6. Bibliography 21

Appendix 22

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1. Abstract

This project focuses on the application of the Repeated Reading Method in a

class of Spanish Primary School 3rd grade children. The method, based on the

systematic re-reading of a selected text with an audio-taped model, was implemented

with the aim of improving the children’s pronunciation, rhythm and comprehension. For

assessment purposes, six students were recorded three times reading aloud an adapted

English book and their productions were thoroughly analysed both at segmental and

supra-segmental levels. Parents’ participation was crucial for the development of the

project since they were responsible for monitoring their children at home. It is very

important to find new ways of incorporating reading activities to the Primary classroom

and to foster a good pronunciation in English, and this method integrates both things

satisfactorily.

PROYECTO DE INNOVACIÓN: “Una experiencia del método de Lectura Repetitiva

con alumnos españoles de 3º de Primaria”

RESUMEN: Este proyecto analiza la aplicación del Método de Lectura Repetitiva con

alumnos de 3º de Primaria de un colegio español. En éste, propongo una metodología

basada en la re-lectura de un libro adaptado junto con un modelo hablado del mismo y

cuyo principal objetivo es mejorar tanto la pronunciación como la entonación y la

comprensión lectora. Seis estudiantes fueron grabados tres veces mientras leían en voz

alta el libro en Inglés. Después sus producciones fueorn exahustivamente analizados

tendiendo como referencia los criterios de evaluación a nivel de palabras y frases. La

participación de los padres fue también muy imporante para el desarrollo del método ya

que fueron los responsables de guiar a sus hijos durante las lecturas en casa. Es muy

importante encontrar nuevas formas de incorporar actividades de lectura para la clase de

Primaria y fomentar una buena pronunciación en Inglés, y este método consigue

integrar ambas ideas de forma satisfactoria

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PROJETS D'INNOVATION: "L’utiliçation de la méthode de lecture répétitifs avec des

étudiants espagnols de troisième"

RÉSUMÉ: Ce projet étudie la mise en œuvre de la méthode de lecture répétitifs avec

des élèves de troisième d'une école espagnole. En celui-ci, je propose une méthodologie

fondée sur la re-lecture d'un livre adapté avec un modèle parlé du même et dont

l'objectif principal est d'améliorer à la fois la prononciation, l'intonation et la

compréhension en lecture. Six étudiants ont été enregistrés à trois reprises pendant la

lecture à haute voix du livre en anglais. Après, leurs productions ont été analysées en

tenant référence les critères d’évaluation au niveau des mots et des phrases. La

participation des parents a été également très important pour l'élaboration de la

méthode, parce qu´ils ont la charge de guider leurs enfants pour qu´ils lisent à la

maison. Il est très important de trouver de nouvelles façons d'intégrer les activités de

lecture pour la classe de primaire et promouvoir la bonne prononciation en anglais, et

cette méthode réussit à intégrer les deux idées d'une manière satisfaisante.

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2. Theoretical frame

In the last decades there have been several types of methods and approaches

(including silent reading, reading aloud and comprehension) used by practitioners to try

and improve learners’ basic reading skills both in first language (L1) and second

language (L2) contexts. One of these methods is the so-called Repeated Reading

method (or RR), which originally consisted of the systematic re-reading of short a text

either silently or orally until the reader was able to read it with a certain degree of

fluency. Nowadays some variations have been added to the method such as, for

instance, the unassisted RR, which does not involve a reading model, or the assisted RR

programme, in which a live or audio-taped model of reading is supplied.

The RR method was first formulated by Samuels (1979) as a way to develop

reading fluency and comprehension among speakers of English as their mother tongue.

The method, if done regularly and for a certain amount of time, was found to (i) help

learners improve their comprehension skills by allowing them to focus their attention

not so much on the form of the text as on its meaning, and (ii) be beneficial for the

development of learners’ vocabulary, as it apparently enabled them to read longer and

more syntactically and phonologically appropriate phrases.

In an L2 setting, one can also find some research aimed at providing evidence

for the soundness of the method. Blum, Koskinen, Tennant, Parker, Straub and Curry

(1995), for example, found that a home-based RR plan with an auditory model was an

effective way to increase readers’ ability to read fluently and accurately. This

investigation also proved that the use of the method improved readers’ motivation,

which is a very important factor to be considered when learning a foreign language

(FL). In this L2 context, and in line with the procedures of the used in L1, readers

repeatedly read adapted and easy texts in order to increase their recognition skills both

at word and sentence levels.

In 1997, Taguchi analysed the effects of RR on English reading aloud and silent

reading rates of 15 Japanese EFL university students who had been asked to read a text

seven times, on three ocassions with an audio-taped model throughout a 10 week

period. Silent reading rates increased with the practiced text but unfortunately readers

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were not able to transfer the acquired reading rates to the reading of a new passage. In

spite of this general tendency, there was an exception with the lowest-level readers, who

showed an important improvement in their oral reading rate of the new text.

Having in mind the reported efficiency of the RR method (especially with L2

low-level learners) as well as my own concerns with Spanish children’s English

pronunciation, I decided to adapt this method to my teaching situation, as described

below.

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3. Description of the experience

As stated above, this project was intended as an adaptation of the Repeated

Reading method to my own context. Six Primary School L2 learners were engaged in an

assisted RR programme, in which an audio-taped model was supplied. Thus, the

research questions this project aims to give answer to are the following:

- What changes in reading aloud can be observed among Spanish Primary School

3rd graders after an assisted Repeated Reading experience?

- What were their parents’ perceptions as supporters of the experience?

The proposed method consisted of a series of activities and procedures which

had as their main objective the improvement of the pronunciation, rhythm and the

reading comprehension.

3.1 Context

The experience took place in a State Primary School placed in Orilla del Azarbe,

a small village located in an agricultural area about 8-9 kms away from Murcia. Most

children attending the school come from working-class families whose main

occupations are in the agricultural, services, industry and transport sectors and whose

financial status is generally well established. Although most parents have only finished

their Primary Education, some of them have been able to complete Secondary

Education and just a few hold a university degree. Factors such as educational level,

cultural background and the availability of time, money and other resources may affect

families’ participation in their children’s education. However, I must say that, in this

particular school, parents in general seem to have high aspirations for their children’s

school achievement.

Participants

This experience was implemented in a 3rd grade class. This class is made up of

18 children, 8 girls and 10 boys, who have been learning English since they were five

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years old. Some key aspects regarding the learning attitudes of these children are the

following:

o They are participant, collaborative, extrovert and independent.

o They show a positive attitude towards English because they are

motivated.

o They like learning while they play or carry out playful activities.

o They have a lot of imagination and curiosity.

o They like expressing what they feel.

o They are able to organise and analyse their own learning.

o They are aware of the advantages of working in a cooperative way in

class.

o They are able to infer meaning from context in oral explanations.

Although the project was put into practice with all the pupils in the class, I only

analysed the changes observed in six different pupils (students A, B, C, D, E and F as

they will be named in advanced). Student A is an academically bright boy who has been

diagnosed to be an exceptional student and receives private lessons in the afternoon

provided by the local educational authority. Student B, a girl who is also at a high

academic level, receives private English lessons two days a week with a native teacher.

Students C and D are average students and do not seem to have any special difficulties

in any area of the curriculum. Students D and E are considered as low-level learners, as

they barely reach the minimum objectives in the different areas and have difficulties

when speaking in English.

3.2. Methodology

The textbook for the RR program was a short story from Oxford University

Press: Winnie in winter – Edition for learners of English (Thomas, 1999), which was

adapted to the pupils’ level of English. The children were asked to read the story aloud

at home 3 or 5 times a week for six weeks in front of their parents, who had to sign a

reading card each time their children read. As the children were familiar with my voice,

I read aloud the story and recorded it on a CD so that they could use it as a reading

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model. The children had to listen to the CD before every reading and try to pronounce

as the model reader.

At school, one lesson a week was exclusively devoted to work on the following

aspects of the story:

The new vocabulary was explained to the children with the

help of flashcards and pictures or trough mime.

The children were shown the phonetic transcription of the

new vocabulary and the difficult words in the story with the

help of a phonetic chart (see appendix) they had been working

with for two months before the project started.

The pupils were prompted to understand and interpret the

meaning of the text through yes/no and wh- questions

The fact that some words are more stressed than others when

speaking and reading aloud in English was also shown to the

children in order to get them improve their pronunciation.

Apart from that, every Monday I checked the reading cards so as to monitor the

progress of their weekly readings and encouraged them to keep reading for the rest of

the week. The simple fact that parents had to sign the reading card each time their

children read the book at home made them play an important part in the development of

the project. In fact, they participated actively and without many problems in their

children’s school activity and tried to encourage them to overcome the difficulties they

could find during the process of reading.

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Here it is the teaching plan designed for the development of the project:

Session 1

16/04/08

Chapter 1 – We don’t like winter

1. Reading aloud 1 by 1 – 20 minutes

2. Comprehension questions: Who, what, when, why? – 20 minutes

3. Working on the pronunciation of individual words – 20 minutes

Session 2

23/04/08

Chapter 2 – Winnie in summer


2. Comprehension questions: Who, what, when, why? – 20 minutes

3. Working on the pronunciation of individual words – 20 minutes

Session 3

30/04/08

Chapter 3 – Come back winter!


2. Comprehension questions: Who, what, when, why? – 20 min

3. Working on the pronunciation of individual words – 20 min

Session 4

07/04/08

Chapter 1 – We don’t like winter


2. Working on difficult words and reviewing comprehension – 15 m.

3. Rhythm – 20 min

4. Silent reading – 5 minutes

Session 5

14/05/08

Chapter 2 – Winnie in summer


2. Working on difficult words and reviewing comprehension – 15 m

3. Rhythm – 20 min


Session 6

21/05/08

Chapter 3 – Come back winter!


2. Working on difficult words and reviewing comprehension – 15 m

3. Rhythm– 20 min


Session 7

28/05/08

Review

1. Chosen chapter individual reading aloud – 30 minutes

2. Last doubts and corrections – 15 minutes

3. Impressions about the method – 15 minutes

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No matter how well I planned the different sessions, I never actually knew what

was going to happen in the class until it happened. Activities could take longer or

shorter than expected, students might be more or less interested in the topic I had

planned or something unexpected could happen during the lessons. Therefore, this was

an open teaching plan and variations could be added to the methodology to adapt my

teaching to the different situations.

3.3. Evaluation procedures

In order to answer the first research question (the changes in reading aloud that

could be observed among pupils after the RR experience), the six focal pupils were

recorded three times. The initial recording took place before the project started, a point

in time in which the children had not yet received any training. After three weeks

working with the book at home and in class the six students were recorded again while

reading aloud the same passage they had read the first time. The reading aloud of the

same passage was also repeated in the third recording, which took place after the six

weeks’ instructional period had elapsed.

All the recordings were thoroughly analysed both at segmental level and supra-

segmental levels.

Segmental level. At this level pupils were evaluated taking into

consideration the mistakes they made when pronouncing

individual words. These mistakes were classified according to the

following items (see appendix):

o Vowel insertion

o Vowel reduction (quantity)

o Vowel substitution (quality)

o Consonant substitution

o Consonant omission

o Wrong word stress

Supra-segmental level. At this different level, I tried to assess the

pupils’ rhythm when reading aloud in English. The less

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monotonous the reading the better the reading they were doing.

The evaluation at this level was made in accordance with the

rules of the words that are (or are not) usually stressed in English:

o Stressed words: nouns, proper nouns, main verbs,

adjectives, adverbs, possessive pronouns,

demonstrative pronouns, negative contracted

forms, numbers, the word “not”, to have (when

meaning “tener”) and interrogative particles.

o Non-stressed words: articles, personal pronouns,

prepositions, there is/are, conjunctions, to “be”, to

“have”, auxiliary or defective verbs, demonstrative

adjectives and relative pronouns.

In addition to these pronunciation data, responses to open-ended questions about

the advantages and drawbacks of the method were collected from the pupils (see pages

17 and 18).

To answer the question about parents’ perceptions about the method there was

also an open-answer questionnaire given to the families. It intended to obtain valuable

feedback about the method, including their participation, the role played and the

effectiveness of it (see pages 18 and 19).

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4. Analysis of the results

4.1 Among pupils

The results of the present project seem to support the idea that RR is an effective

method for improving English pronunciation as shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Readers’ reading progression according to the % of errors made during the three recorded

readings (see appendix for detailed results).

0,00

10,0020,00

30,00

40,0050,00

60,00

70,0080,00

Errors

%

A B C D E F

READING PROGRESSION

1st Reading2nd Reading3rd Recording

Table 1 shows clearly that children’s pronunciation improved during the process

of instruction. When recorded for the first time, they were given five minutes of

individual silent reading but no listening input at all about the text. Thus, they had to

use all the linguistic resources they had at that moment to read the selected chapter as

well as possible. The mistakes made ranged from less than 30% of the total number of

words read for the advanced students to up to 75% of mistakes for the low-level

learners, differences that can be explained if we take into consideration the students’

level of English and their visual perception of the written words. In the second

recording, as can be observed in the table, all students decreased considerably their

mistakes when reading the same passage. This decrease can also be observed in the

third reading although it is not so noticeable as in the second one, probably as a result of

the fact that the children had already learned to pronounce the most important words by

the time this second recording was carried out. In addition, the most difficult words for

them to pronounce would probably need more than six weeks to be internalized.

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MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT A

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RS 1st READING2nd READING3rd READING

As for the supra-segmental level, only the advanced and the average students

were able to incorporate some kind of appropriate rhythm to their productions. There

was a clear progression from the first recording, in which there was no rhythm at all, to

the last reading, in which the pupils seemed to be able to stress most of the words

covered during the instructional period. That made their productions verbally richer,

more understandable and fluent.

The results of the the advanced students (A and B) are illustrated in tables 2 and

3. They show the evolution of the mistakes in the six segmental dimensions.

Tables 2 and 3: Students A and B mistakes’ progress according to the evaluation criteria at segmental

level (see appendix for detailed results)

Those two tables clearly show that the advanced students decreased the errors

made when they were recorded reading the selected passage. It is especially remarkable

the vowel substitution item since both students made many mistakes (student A more

than student B) when they read the first time but from that first reading to the second

one they reduced a high number of errors. As for consonant substitution and consonant

omission, it is important to say that they also reduced the amount of errors progressively

MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT B

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but with important changes. After the six weeks there were still mistakes that remained

appearing, as for example the vowel insertion or the vowel reduction. It is also

important to say that both students did not make the same mistakes in the three

readings, a finding that might be due to the fact that during the six weeks’ treatment

period they probably focused their attention on the pronunciation of the words they had

problems with, disregarding those they felt as non problematic.

These two students also paid attention to the rhythm when reading the passage

the second and the third time. At first they only focused their attention on the words and

not on the whole text, but once they internalized the pronunciation of many of the words

in the text, they read paying attention to the rhythm and, therefore, it made their

productions richer and very understandable.

The next two diagrams show the reading results of the average students (C and

D). Even if both of them reduced their mistakes, after the six weeks there were still

some persisting errors which could not be either changed or reduced.

Tables 4 and 5: Students C and D mistakes’ progress according to the evaluation criteria at segmental

level (see appendix for detailed results).

MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT C

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RS 1st READING

2nd READING3rd READING

MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT D

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The above tables show that the average students also improved their productions

after the use of the method. Their errors were reduced and the rhythm started to appear

in the second reading for student D and in the third reading for student C. It is important

to say that student C’s productions did not change much although he reduced the

number of mistakes in most of the items, except for vowel substitution (he made more

mistakes in the third than in the second reading), a fact that can be explained if we take

into consideration that this student was very nervous during the last recording. Students

C and D also increased the number of mistakes in the second reading in consonant

substitution and consonant omission respectively.

The following two charts show that the low-level students also improved their

productions and they were good enough to be understood even though the number of

errors in the last recording was still high.

Tables 6 and 7: Students E and F mistakes’ progress according to the evaluation criteria at segmental

level (see appendix for detailed results)

MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT E

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MISTAKES PROGRESS STUDENT F

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Students E and F also showed improvement during the process but at a different

level than the other four students. When they were recorded for the first time they made

a lot of mistakes, had many problems with vowels, did not say the endings of many

words, and omitted many consonants which form an essential part of the words and

impede their understanding. After the first three weeks their productions improved. This

time they could be understood without many big problems even though they still had

problems with consonants and vowels. The wrong word stress was also reduced in the

second recording but did not disappear completely. Their last recording showed that

most of the words were already understandable and just some errors with vowels and

consonants persisted.

Concerning the rhythm of their productions, it is important to say that it did not

improve much with any of these two students. There were just some attempts to

emphasize the ending of some sentences and the speech quotes but did not vary much

from the rest of the words. All this made that their productions appeared monotonous

and boring.

Students’ questionnaires

After the six weeks pupils where asked to answer an evaluation sheet about

different aspects of the method. This questionnaire consisted of eleven open answer

questions and a twelfth one in which they had to mark the activity from 1 to 10

depending whether they liked the activity or not. These questions were intended to first,

know the students’ opinions about the method, and then, obtain information about the

advantages and disadvantages that they found during the process. The questions were:

Did you like the story? Why?

Have you noticed you have improved your English

pronunciation?

When you started to read, was it difficult? Why?

After some weeks, was it sill difficult?

Was it an interesting activity? Why?

Did you try to pronounce like the CD?

Have you learned new words? Write some.

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Which words were the most difficult to say?

Would you do it again with another book? During the same

number of weeks?

Could your parents help you even if the did not speak English?

How?

Did your parents like the activity? Why?

Those questions were written both in Spanish and English and students could

write their answers in Spanish. Most of them coincided in saying that they liked the

activity except two students that found it boring. Some reasons why they liked the

activity included learning new words and finding the story funny, interesting and

entertaining. They all agreed that their pronunciation had improved after the six weeks.

Some of them said that at the beginning reading was difficult mainly because they did

not understand the meaning of the words but also that after the weeks they felt more

skillful in reading the book in English and had no big problems with it. Most of them

would do the activity again and some proposed to reduce the number of reading weeks.

The average mark on question twelve was 7.5 above 10 which indicates that most of the

students accepted the method as a good activity to be done in class.

4.2 Among parents

As I pointed out before, parents’ opinions were collected in a six open-answer

questionnaire. This questionnaire was given to the children together with a letter saying

that the activity had already finished and that I really appreciated if they could answer a

questionnaire in order to know their impressions about the method and possible

improvements for future applications. The six questions were written in Spanish and

asked about the following items:

Did you like the method? Why?

And, did your child like it? Why?

Have you observed changes in your child’s pronunciation after

each week?

Which benefits could you point out about the use of this method?

Could you tell me any inconvenient found during the process?

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Could you suggest any improvements for future applications?

All the parents that answered the questionnaire coincided in suggesting that the

method was a good way to improve their children’s pronunciation and that it

encouraged them to read in a foreign language. As their children, some of the parents

thought that the method could be carried out in fewer weeks so that their kids would not

get bored. They found it important to read in English to learn new vocabulary and to get

used to the English spoken language. Some parents suggested that the method could be

improved through the use of games, songs and plays. From my point of view, Rthe

experiment has shown that a robust, highly interactive network of parents, and

educators stimulates children’s learning and development (Bronfenbrenner, 1989).

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5. Pedagogical implications and future research

According to the ideas of Taguchi and his applicability of the method with

University students, I adapted his procedures to my school context and to the Spanish

Primary School Curriculum in order to improve the children’s pronunciation and

rhythm when reading aloud in English. The results obtained have proven that this

method responds effectively to the proposed objectives at a Primary School level.

Children were very enthusiastic about being involved in a new method which

combined new technologies (a CD and a digital recorder), and a real English book. At

the beginning they all started with the minimum of readings even if it was difficult at

that moment to understand the text. The weeks were passing by and some children

reduced the amount of reading times per week. I tried, then, to encourage them to keep

reading if they wanted to improve their reading aloud and word recognition skills.

Parents’ participation was also very important in the development of the

experience. At school it was my commitment to follow the children’s progression and to

guide them during the learning process, but it is at home where parents take that role

and if teachers facilitate their job they may do it without big difficulties. That is what I

tried to do with this project. I invited parents to participate as a fundamental part of the

the method, without causing them many problems since they did not need to speak

English at all to help their children do the activity. I had the chance to talk to some of

them personally and they recognised that the activity was a good way to make their

children read in English and help them remember the English they had learned when

they were students.

With respect to my role as a teacher during the process I have to say that I felt

really comfortable doing the activity with my students. I think that trying new

methodologies for teaching English is the best way to improve, first, my own teaching

and, then, the situation of foreign language teaching at a local level. If we want our

students to improve their reading skills we also have to reinforce their oral skills and

that is the main aim of this RR method, namely to stimulate children’s listening skill to

improve their reading aloud. I am proposing then an active role for teachers, who should

design their own methodology. Teachers should introduce a constant analysis and

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interpretation of what is happening in the classroom. That, I think, is the best way of

improving the curriculum: learners’, parents’ and teachers’ development.

To end up with the pedagogical implications, I would like to add that this RR

method could be used as a good way to develop children’s reading motivation as well as

to improve the quality of their oral productions. It could be included in the teaching

practices in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) contexts and in the

teaching plans and units elaborated by the teachers. Furthermore, as some parents

suggested, the method could be improved if the reading repetition activity was aimed at

the representation of a play by the students. Thus, the motivation factor would also

increase and the students might be more interested in doing the activity and would try to

do their best at all times. Another variation of the method might consist of re-singing a

simple song with its correspondent lyrics.

Directions for future research

Following Taguchi’s research, the next step in the development of this method

might consist in the transfer of the vocabulary and rhythm patterns learned with the first

text to a different text that contains a certain amount of the same words. In this way

readers would have to use new mental processes that would enable them to use the

contents already learned to read aloud and understand different passages in different

contexts. The reasons why some students make different mistakes from one reading to

another should also be investigated.

21

6. Bibliography

Hudson, R. (2006). Using Repeated Reading and Readers Theater to Increase Fluency.

Reading First National Conference.

Taguchi, E. (1997). The effects of repeated reading on the development of lower

identification skills of FL readers. Reading in a Foreign Language, 11, 97-119.

Taguchi, E et alii (2004). Developing reading fluency in EFL: How assisted repeated

reading and extensive reading affect fluency development. Reading in a Foreign

Language, Vol. 16, No. 2.

Taguchi, E et alii (2006). Developing second and foreign language reading fluency and

its effect on comprehension: a missing link. The reading Matrix. Vol. 6, No. 2.

22

APPENDIX

The following pages contain additional information related to the project:

Diary of the experience – page 23

Analysis of the students’ recordings – page 29

Recordings’ results – page 35

Home readings per week – page 37

Phonetic chart – page 38

Copy of the book: Winnie in Winter – page 29

23

DIARY OF THE EXPERIENCE

WEEK 1 (7TH -11TH April)

During break-time of the 9th and 10th, 12 pupils were recorded. The six other

students were recorded in class on the 11th after the break. All of them had

about 5 minutes to first look and read the text on their own. After that one by

one they were recorded. Some of them were very nervous for being recorded.

They also asked me how to pronounce some words but I did not say anything,

I wanted them to say the words as they thought they should be pronounced.

They were also very worried about reading in English, and some of them said

that if they did not know how to say something they were going to say

whatever they wanted. I tried to make them feel comfortable and I told them

not to worry because that was not an exam, it was only to see how they could

read at that moment and, check their pronunciation six weeks later.

After the first recording and taking into consideration the students’ personal

abilities I chose the six students who were going to be monitored. The rest of

them were also going to be monitored just in case I decided to change the

analysis of some of them or if any problem might happen during the process.

On the 11th, at the end of the class I give out the book together with the CD,

the reading card and information for pupils and parents, and I told them they

could start that weekend with the activity. Everything was stored in A-4

pockets.

APRIL 17TH

When I planned all my sessions I did not take into account that during this

week the school was going to celebrate a Cultural Week and therefore my

English lessons in the 3rd class were cancelled. Even so, I managed to get a 30

minutes session with the class to start working with the book.

24

The day before, I asked my pupils to bring the reading card in order to check

who of them had started with the activity and to hear their first impressions.

During this first week only 9 pupils had started with the activity so I

encouraged the rest to have the three minimum reading sessions I have asked

them to do to improve their pronunciation.

There is one student who showed me a note from his parents which said:

“Congratulations for the initiative”. I really appreciated it.

Some of them complained that I spoke too quickly while some others said that

my reading was very understandable. That may be caused because many of

them had not done a lot of listening

This day I worked on comprehension. I showed and read them aloud the real

book showing the pictures as well. I tried to speak in English all the time

inserting some Spanish words from time to time to make it more

understandable. I used mime and gestures to make myself understood. When

telling the story some of them already knew the meaning of many words

because they had already worked with the book at home. One student told me

that if he did not understand something when he was reading he would write

down the word and looked the meaning up on the Internet.

I went through the three chapters of the book making them understand the

whole meaning of the text.

APRIL 21ST

On this day I checked again that the students were following the process

correctly. I told them to bring the reading card to see how many readings they

had done the week before. Most of them had done the minimum three

readings, some have read from 4 to 7 times and 4 pupils hadn’t read the

minimum number of readings established (none or once only).

25

I gave the real book to one of the students for her to practice with it. Every two

days another student would get it until all of them had read the original.

One pupil told me that, at first, she did not read very well but after several

readings she realised that her pronunciation was getting better.

Another student said that at the beginning of the experience he was bored but

after the second reading he started to enjoy the tale.

APRIL 22ND

I was supposed to teach a normal class reviewing content for the exam next

week, but as my fast finishers and the average students had finished the review

worksheets, I told them to take the reading book and go to the back of the class

to read it to each other in pairs or threes. They were very excited about reading

to each other. They helped each other with the pronunciation as well and asked

their peers if they did not know how to say a word.

One student told me that his parents had told him that he read exactly as the

CD and that he should read at the same time as the CD. It was a good idea to

share that comment with the rest of the class, and so I told my students to do

so when they mastered the pronunciation of the words.

APRIL 23RD

Since we were at the end of the unit and I usually take the group to the

computer room to practice the vocabulary and structures learnt in class, I had

the opportunity to work with the whole class in two groups for 30 minutes

each.

I worked with both groups following the same structure. We only worked with

chapter one of the book. All of them had to read aloud for me to check their

26

progress since the beginning of the activity. After that, they had to answer

individually first, and then in groups some questions I asked them orally and

with the help of gestures and mime to make myself understood. Finally, after

listening to all of them, I asked them to circle difficult words on chapter one,

making them repeat and showing them the differences of some sounds with the

help of the phonetic chart. I told them to pay attention to those words when

they read at home. Sounds /s/ and /sh/ seemed to be the most problematic

sounds for them.

Some of them had highly improved their productions since they first started to

read. They modified the intonation and the punctuation system. Those who

had not followed the minimum number of readings required did not vary their

productions much.

APRIL 29TH

We worked on chapter number two of the book. One by one, students read

aloud the chapter. Some of them did not bring the book and so I put some

students together in pairs. I could realise who was reading at home and who

was not. They all started reading with big difficulties and without any rhythm

at all and today I could feel the progress made by some of them. Students also

had to answer to some comprehension questions after reading. To end up with

the session I asked my students to circle the difficult words in this chapter and

we worked with the phonetic chart in order to see the transcription of those

words and their correct pronunciation.

APRIL 30TH

Today I continued working on chapter three. When reading aloud they were all

very quiet listening to each other. Following the same structure as that in the

last session, they first read aloud and answered comprehension questions.

After that, we worked on the pronunciation of difficult words with the help of

the phonetic chart. There were 10 minutes left at the end of the session and so

I put the pupils in pairs and made them read to each other the book trying to

27

correct their classmates. I had a couple of minutes to work individually with

each pair.

MAY 7TH

At this point of the project implementation it was time to record the progress

made by the six students that were going to be analysed and so, during break-

time I asked them to read aloud the same chapter they had read the first day.

In class and with the whole group I started with session number four of my

planning. After individual reading aloud and working on difficult words, we

started working on the main focus of this session which was the rhythm of

chapter one. I explained to my students that when we are reading we have to

make more or less emphasis on the different words to make our reading more

pleasant for the listener. I made them write a dot under the stressed words.

MAY 14TH

On this day we continued with what I had planned for the fifth session. The

same as last month, the class was delivered in the computer room so I could

work with the class in two groups. We worked on chapter number two.

Students had to read aloud for me to check their improvement. After that I

insisted on the pronunciation of some difficult words they were not still

reading aloud properly. To end up I focused on the rhythm of the text by

making them write a dot under the words needed to be stressed. I did the same

with the second group in which the six chosen pupils were.

MAY 21ST

We worked on chapter three today. Every pupil read aloud for about one

minute. There was a big difference between those students who were doing the

minimum number of recommended readings and those who were not. We

worked with the phonetic chart during ten minutes to try to solve some

common mistakes. After that we worked on rhythm. Many of them knew

28

which words they had to stress more and which ones less but still I told the

whole class to write the dot under the words. There were some minutes left at

the end and so I made up balanced groups so that children could help each

other with the pronunciation and the rhythm.

MAY 28tTH

Today it was the last day of the project. Students first read aloud the same

chapter they had read at the beginning of the project and I made the last

corrections. After that I gave them out an evaluation sheet so that I could see

their impressions about the use of the method. They were asked to answer in

Spanish since I wanted them to give as much information as possible. I also

gave them an evaluation sheet for their parents so that I could get to know

their impressions about the project. They all seemed to enjoy the activity.

During the break, the six monitored students were recorded reading aloud the

same chapter they had read on previous occasions. They were very excited for

being recorded and realised that they knew what they were reading and that

they were doing their best.

29

ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENTS’ RECORDINGS

STUDENT A

MISTAKE 1st Recording 2nd Recording 3rd Recording

Vowel Insertion

(E)snow (E)start (E)scarves (E)stay

(E)start (E)start

Vowel reduction (quantity)

WArm bOOts glOves

bOOts

bOOts

Vowel substitution (quality)

sUmmer slEEp dEAr skY shout cOme sUn bUt cOAts shIning All glOves sAYs flOwers wAlk coAt dIE plAY gEAt nIce bE hEArs nOw pEOple gO rOAd tO cOming

glOves grEAt theY nOw gArden gO bEgin rOAd cOming plAy stAy

grEAt tO rOAd cOming

Consonant substitution

THe THeir SHining THinks THey aT Very can’T SHout THe THen SHe

SHininG biG Her wilburG Very SHout SHe THen THey

booTs gloVes SHe

Consonant omission

THis bootS niCe gloveS Her ponD sitS HourS He (H)up anD don’T hearS loTs hats

sitS ponD (H)up can’T Back don’T liKe hearS lotS coatS hats bootS

anD coaT biG greaT animalS hearS coaTs

Wrong word stress

be’gin

30

STUDENT B


Vowel Insertion

(E)sky

(E)start


sIts slEEp sIt

blUE grEEn gO


skY dIE sUn pEOple shIning rOAd winnIE aLL sAYs glOves tAkes wAlk wArm stAy grEAt bEgin bE wAnt

theY


SHining Warm SHe siTs Too SHouT SHe Her aRe

Very SHout THen gaRden

SHe Very Sit

Consonant omission

iTs (H)ungry don’T theN

can’T To Go don’T

gloveS don’T roaD

Wrong word stress

Be’gin be’gin

31

STUDENT C


Vowel Insertion

therE outsidE

therE therE


bOOts


winnIE gOEs OUt OUtsIde rOOF shUts I tO sAYs wAves cOmes He sUddenly IdEa rEAd cOAt wArm

wIntertime rOOF sAYs cOmes IdEA Opens rEAds wArm glOves gOEs wAves

dOn’t shUts lOOks rOOf sAYs intO hE IdEa Opens rEAds wArm glOves gOEs


THe Very oF Her Wilburg He Very SHe THen

looKs ouT THe Very oF Wilburg THinks THen wiTH SHouts

iT THe pond Wilburg THinks booK THen SHe SHouts

Consonant omission

it(S) HeR (H)ice SHuTS wilburG His HiS suddenLY Has booK magic(S) read(S) put(S)

wiNTertime colD her(S) ponD comeS His don’T Has biG shuts countS

don’T comeS His oN Has readS putS bootS

Wrong word stress

‘idea

‘idea

32

STUDENT D


Vowel Insertion

(E)sky (E)start intO theY (E)scarves (E)stay

gO (E)start


grEEn bOOts tOO

slEEp


sUmmER grEAt wAkE skY Up bUt cOme sUn lOOk All tAke shIning theY dIE glOves nIce It lIke plAy sAYs bE nIce stAy tAkes nOw shE hOUrs wArm wE hEArs cOAt wAnt pEOplE snOw tO rOAd gloves shout dEAr

shIning thEY tAkes sIts grEAt theY At It wAke bUt tAke thEIr

tAkes SHe grEAt lOOk rOAd tAke plAy


Garden SHout suN beGin SHining THeN THis Hears biG THey SHe THinks animalS littLe THe Very

SHining gloVes SHe GaRden Very Sleep SHout THeiR He scarVeS Sit

THe garDen SHining gloVes SHe Garden Very SHout

Consonant omission

garDeN anD Happy groW sayS see(S) takeS THe Her walK sNow ponD Happy He iT waNt Go

iS waKe niCe don’T siTS theN greaT theRe loTs theN animalS bootS waKe ponD looK hourS can’T wanT Go

iS siT takeS hourS biG greaT He can’T Go baCK SleeP theN lotS

Wrong word stress

be’gin be’gin

33

STUDENT E


Vowel Insertion

housE icE winnIE comEs arE (A)winter On glovEs magIc

IcE On Of wIntEr sAYs comEs intO iS A

icE intO wavEs


snOw intO idEA pUts bOOts

idEA bOOts

tOO


wE, lIkE, winnIE, lOOks, OUt, gArdEn, Ice, rOOf, hOUse, Ice, tOO, I, sAYs, cOmes, fEEt, hE, suddenly, Idea, shE, opens, bOOk, rEAds, wArm, cOAt, snOw, glOves, gOEs, OUtsIde, OUt, tOO, shUts, cOUnts, tO, wAves, shOUts

wintErtIme, lOOks, OUt, It, rOAd, tOO, I, wInEr, cOmes, fEET, arE, Ice, On, hIs, lIke, sUddenlY, IdEa, OpEns, cOAt, snOw, bOOts, glOves, gOEs, OUtsIde, wIth, lovEs, tOO, Shuts, tO, wAves, fIve,

wintertIme, lOOks, windOw, Ice, rOOF, I, sAYs, fEEt, thInks, SuDDeNLy, IdEa, bOOk, rEAds, pUts, cOAt, gOEs, EyEs, cOUnts, tO, wAves, tImes, S


THe SHe whiCH oPen lookS maGic ouT THen GarDeN Scarf Very maGic House He HeR Shuts iT eYes KitCHeN � ive Winter maGiC

Very He House SHouTs Her comeS Very THiNKS SHe maGic Reads WaRM sNoW

liKe THe oF THere Comes His whisKeRs Very SHe Book SHouTs

Consonant omission

theRe, whiSKeRS, SNow He, iT, doN’t, iCe THiNKS, RooF, WiLBuRG, wiNter suddeNLy, don’T, Has, winteR, opeN, wilbuRG, kitcheN, His, theN, putS, oN, warM, Hat, sNoW, bootS, ouTside, magiC, waND, Magic, shuTS, eYes, CouNTS, teN, wanD, TiMeS, anD, SHoutS, maGic

winTeRTiMe, witCH, lookS, oF, theRe, SNoW, iCe, oN, oF, don’T, wiNTeR, SayS, KiTCHeN, HiS, WHiSKeRS, iS, He, don’T, suddenLy, Has, oPeNS, readS, theN, putS, Hat, goes, outSiDe, WiTH, ouT, SHutS

iT, winteRTiMe, wiTCH, ouT, theRe, SNoW, iT, comeS, inTo, whiskerS, He, don’T, THiNKs, SuDDeNLy, Has, oPeNS, booK, magiC, readS, theN, Hat, SNoW, bootS, eYeS, couNTS, timeS

Wrong word stress

Winterti’me,

34

STUDENT F


Vowel Insertion

Of Ice fOUriOUs suddenlY (E)scarves homE somE niCe

outsidE


gO theY wAnd snOW slEEP

bOOts


comE, SHe, pEOplE, winnIE, And, cOAts, hOUse, rUns, fAll, OUt cOUnts, again, nOIse wAves, glOves, gArden tImes, rUn, mEss shOUts, gO, Is, sUn, slEEp, sEllIng, skY cUp, gArdEn, fAll, chocolAte, winnIE, Again Eats, tOAst, gOEs, nIce, sAYs, I, lIke, wArm, wInter, nOw, wInter, thIs

theY glOves mAn hOme sElling slEEP IcE drInks crEAm cUp In A fUrious gOEs rUns tO OUtsIde wArm wAves lIke fAll nOw agAIn they

theY fUrious rUns wAves wAnd agAIN glOves slEEp cUp


baCK beGin wiNNie faLL heR gloVes fuRiouS THey HeR THe maGic aGain aND wiNNie outsiDe To SHe SiTs SHouts winTeR magiC Thinks

ouT noiSe maN SHe SHouts magiC beGins faLL aGain scarVes THinks

maS seLLing In SHe SHouts goeS THinks

Consonant omission

WilburG, garDeN, go(T) pickS, inTo , runS, House ouTside, oF, counTS, gardeN, fiVe, HorriBLe anD, mAn, suddenLy, sellinG, dissapearS, iCe theRe, Her, peopLe, theiR, coatS, Hats, bootS, anD, animalS, flowerS, drinKs, cuP, Hot, theN, nice, thinks, winNie, drinkS

wiNter anD inTo scarveS iCe run(T) couNtS Home timeS animalS dissapearS flowerS theRe drinkS theiR (H)eatS coatS theN hatS HoT gloveS thinKS

(H)a drinkS pickS (H)eatS runS toasT countS thinKs timeS shoutS beginS gloveS Home animalS flowerS

Wrong word stress

Disa’ppears ‘Again be’gins out’side

Be’gins ‘again

35

RECORDINGS’ RESULTS - 1st READING

STUDENT A STUDENT B STUDENT C STUDENT D STUDENT E STUDENT F

VOWEL INSERTION 4 1 2 6 9 7

VOWEL REDUCTION 3 3 1 3 5 5

VOWEL SUBSTITUTION 28 18 17 39 35 44

CONSONANT SUBSTITUTION 12 9 8 16 22 22

CONSONANT OMISSION 15 4 13 17 39 37

WRONG WORD STRESS 1 1 0 1 1 4

TOTAL 63 36 41 82 111 119

TOTAL WORDS 198 198 142 198 142 163

% ERROR 31,82 18,18 28,87 41,41 78,17 73,01

2nd READING








TOTAL 34 13 34 43 85 60

36

TOTAL WORDS 198 198 142 198 142 163

% ERROR 17,17 6,57 23,94 21,72 59,86 36,81

3rd READING








TOTAL 16 7 32 30 62 32

TOTAL WORDS 198 198 142 198 142 163

% ERROR 8,08 3,54 22,54 15,15 43,66 19,63

ERRORS % COMPARISON


1st READING 31,82 18,18 28,87 41,41 78,17 73,01

2nd READING 17,17 6,57 23,94 21,72 59,86 36,81

3rd READING 8,08 3,54 22,54 15,15 43,66 19,63

37

NUMBER OF HOME-READINGS PER WEEK

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 TOTAL

STUDENT A 7 7 5 8 8 8 43

STUDENT B 6 9 1 5 5 4 30

STUDENT C 3 3 3 3 3 3 18

STUDENT D 5 5 5 4 4 3 26

STUDENT E 3 3 3 3 3 3 18

STUDENT F 4 2 2 1 6 3 18

38

PHONETIC CHART

: : : : :

39

40

WINNIE IN WINTER

1. We don’t like winter! (Students C and E)

It is wintertime, Winnie the Witch looks out of the window. There is

snow in the garden. It is very cold. There is ice on the roof of her house.

There is ice on her pond, too. It is winter. “I don’t like winter”, says Winnie.

Wilburg the cat comes into the kitchen. His feet are wet. There is ice on

his whiskers. He is very cold. “I don’t like winter”, thinks Wilburg.

Suddenly, Winnie has an idea.

She opens a big book of magic, and reads it.

Then she puts on her warm coat, her big hat, her snow boots, her gloves,

and her scarf. She goes outside with her magic wand.

Wilburg loves magic, so he goes out too.

Winnie shuts her eyes, counts to ten, waves her wand five times, and

shouts, ABRACADABRA! MAGIC!

2. Winnie in summer (Students A, B and D)

It is summer in the garden! The sky is blue, and the garden is green. The

sun is shining, and Winnie is happy. “This is nice”, says Winnie.

41

Winnie takes off her warm coat, her big hat, her snow boots, her gloves,

and her scarf. She sits in the sun.

Wilburg is happy too. “Summer is great”, he thinks.

Little animals begin to wake up. They look at the garden. They are very

angry. “It can’t be summer now. We want to go back to sleep!”, they shout.

The flowers in the garden wake up, and start to grow.

But the sun is very hot. All the flowers begin to die.

Winnie is sad. The animals and the flowers don’t like her nice summer.

Then she hears a noise…

There are lots of people in the road, and they are all coming to see the

garden.

“Oh, dear!”, says Winnie.

All the people come into the garden. They take off their coats, their hats,

their boots, their gloves, and their scarves.

Then they sit in the sun. They walk on the flowers. They play in the pond.

They stay for hours! Winnie is angry!

3. Come back winter! (student F)

Winnie and Wilburg go into the house. They look out of the window. The

noise in the garden is horrible. The mess is horrible.

A man is selling ice-cream in her garden.

Winnie is furious. She picks her magic wand, and runs outside. She

counts ten, waves the magic wand five times, and shouts

ABRACADABRA! MAGIC!

42

Suddenly the sun disappears. There is no blue sky. The snow begins to

fall again. The people put on their coats, their hats, their boots, their gloves,

and their scarves. They run home.

The animals and the flowers begin to sleep again.

Winnie and Wilburg go into the house. Winnie drinks a cup of hot

chocolate, and eats some toast. Wilburg drinks some milk.

Then Winnie goes to bed. Wilburg sits on the bed. “This is nice and

warm,” says Winnie. “I like winter,” thinks Wilburg. Now, Winnie and

Wilburg like winter.

…and this is the story of Winnie in winter.

THE END

Documents

INNOVATION PROJECT: “Using the Repeated Reading Method