Examining the plausibility of extensive reading as an approach to language teaching and learning the case in a high school

Examining the plausibility of extensive reading as an approach to language teaching and learning: The case in a high school There being much to be discussed over the most effective ways to actually teach reading as a skill, the writer has chosen to present a case for the natural incorporation of Extensive Reading into the teaching and learning of English at her work place- a high school for the gifted in Vinh Phuc This is go ing to be her initial attempt at enhancing the students’ language learning experience and creating more motivation -be it intrinsic or extrinsic- for them to work on improving their reading skills in particular and their knowledge of the target language and culture in general 8/10/2014 Contents Part 1: Introduction Reasons for choosing the study 2 Aims and significance of the study Subjects of the study Limits of the study Methodology Research time Part The Study Extensive reading: A definition The benefits of extensive reading Principles of an extensive reading programme A model of an extensive reading club in Vinh Phuc senior secondary school for the gifted REFERENCES 12 Part 1: Introduction Reasons for choosing the study Various attempts at different levels have been made to improve the quality of teaching and learning English at school In fact, the Ministry of Education and Training has recently suggested that by the year 2020, at least half of the young should be able to use English fluently, and this is a goal for teachers of English and education authorities to work towards The main challenges lay, however, in the lack of human resources to cater for such need and the lack of motivation to learn English from the students In a workshop in 2011, the writer was exposed to Extensive Reading, an “aid to language learning” which has been reported to work in many an Asian countries By doing a great amount of reading under the language teacher’s instruction and facilitation, students are claimed to make steady progress in all language components and language skills It is therefore believed that extensive reading can be the key to language improvement which may be appropriate in our educational setting, since it provides an alternative to the more common teacher-centred mode in Vietnam and can hence deal with the two aforementioned issues effectively Implementing a programme of extensive reading in a particular school, however, needs elaborate preponderance This study is therefore to serve as a theoretical basis for the official formation of an extensive reading club within a senior secondary school for the gifted in Vinh Phuc Aims and significance of the study The study aims to provide a conceptual overview of Extensive Reading and examine the relevance of this approach in a special senior secondary school in Yenbai This review and examination may subsequently encourage similar schools in the area to consider including extensive reading into their teaching/learning, either as part of a required curriculum or as an extracurricular programme Subjects of the study This being a theoretical review, the primary subject of the study is the vast amount of literature on extensive reading Besides, there are 20 students participating in the informal discussions on their study needs and study preferences Limits of the study Should there be sufficient resources for an actual pilot implementation of the programme to support the review, this study could be considerably improved Methodology The study involves reviewing and summarising the literature on extensive reading This is followed by observation of and informal conversations with 20 students in an advanced English class in the school Research time September 2014 –February 2015 Part 2 The Study Extensive reading: A definition Extensive reading is understood as an approach to language learning/teaching which is “generally associated with reading large amounts with the aim of getting an overall understanding of the material Readers are more concerned with the meaning of the text than the meaning of individual words or sentences.” (Day &Bramford, 2002) The benefits of extensive reading Bell (1998) summarised a number of advantages of extensive reading, from positive psychological aspects to real language enhancement, of which the most important are listed below: a The provision of authentic, 'comprehensible input' It has always been proposed that that extensive reading will lead to language acquisition, provided that certain preconditions are met, including adequate exposure to the language, interesting material, and a learner-friendly environment b The enhancement of learners' general language competence Extensive reading increases the opportunity for the learner-reader to practise his automaticity of word recognition and decoding the symbols on the printed page (often called bottom-up processing) In a study on an extensive reading project with school children by Elley & Manghubai (1983), significant post treatment gains in word recognition and reading comprehension was reported to be gained after the first year, and wider gains in oral and written skills after two years c The increase of the students' exposure to the language It is a fact that the quality of exposure to language that learners receive is of great importance to their ability to acquire knowledge, whether in terms of grammar or lexico, from the input Elley’s (1991:404) research subjects in an extensive reading programme showed rapid growth in language development compared with learners in regular language programs He claimed to have seen a "spread of effect from reading competence to other language skills - writing, speaking and control over syntax," d Increased knowledge of vocabulary It is suggested that only a small percentage of vocabulary learning is due to direct vocabulary instruction, the remainder is acquisition of words from reading Traditional approaches to the teaching of vocabulary, in which the number of new words taught in each class was carefully controlled (words often being presented in related sets), is therefore not sufficient in promoting vocabulary growth Exposing leaners to reading text can fill in the gap e Improvement in writing With such regular peruse of “comprehensible input”, there have been reported significant improvements in subjects' written work Extensive reading is accordingly an effective means of fostering improvements in students writing f Increased motivation for learners to read As Bell (1998) put it “reading material selected for extensive reading programs should address students' needs, tastes and interests, so as to energize and motivate them to read the books” With some need analysis in advance, the organiser/teacher can easily identify the appropriate genre(s) for their students to read, for example by means of informal discussion or the delivery of a need analysis questionnaire In many cases, familiar material and popular titles reflecting the local culture, or, paradoxically, stories of faraway land and strange customs and practices could be the most popular among school children and even teenagers g The consolidation of previously learned language The authentic, or near-authentic choice of books to read also mean that by reading students can experience what is termed the “recycling” of language This is by itself a form of reinforcement which helps to ensure that new input is “retained and made available for spoken and written production” (Bell, 1998) h The building up of confidence with extended texts It is the case that all classroom reading work in our course books are traditionally focused on the exploitation of shorts texts Gradually the average student could be accustomed to reading those “simple-looking” texts that he/she would back up when asked to read longer, more complex ones for academic purposes Extensive reading can therefore provide a “fun”, stress-free approach to the acclimatisation of students with these longer texts Principles of an extensive reading programme Drawing on their experience with different extensive reading programmes, researchers (Day, 2002; Bramford, 1998; Maley, 2008) have proposed a number of criteria on which to develop a standard programme which could be useful for future reference Some of the most widely known and well supported ones are as follows: a Maximize Learner Involvement This is meant to reduce the feeling of obligation which may impede students’ automaticity both during the whole programme and during their individual act of reading Particularly, students should be encouraged discuss with the teacher to identify their own interest in reading, for instance, whether it is books about the environment/space or fiction books For students in Nguyen Tat Thanh senior secondary school for the gifted, this involvement is highly desirable From a psychological point of view, most of the students here, being teenagers, have very strong face-saving needs and the teacher’s failure to give them a sense of “ownership” of their reading project may cause feelings of compulsion and later dissatisfaction b Provide a wide range of texts It is strongly believed that some variety in terms of genre and length of texts can minimize the student’s chance of feeling bored For the success of any lengthy project, there should be abundant reading materials available in a range of genre and length The teacher should note, however, that whatever type of material, the language presented must be within the language competence of the reader-student c Avoid the Use of Tests As testing in our context is often associated with rote learning, memorization and lack of freedom, extensive reading done at home or during an agreed period of time assigned should be totally detached from testing d Discourage the Over-Use of Dictionaries Dictionary use may harm the flow of the reader if she/he concentrates too much on looking up the meaning of every single new word Pickard (1996:155) comments that, for the extensive reader-learner "Use of the dictionary was sparing, with the main focus on meaning" Similarly, Day (2002) suggests no dictionary use during reading as most of the chosen material should be “comprehensible input” e The teacher’s role There is a shift in the roles that the teacher plays in an extensive reading programme with those she/he does in a normal classroom setting He/she no longer directs the students’ learning Rather, she/he facilitates it Besides, Bramford (1998) points out that in order to administer the resources efficiently, and to trace students' developing reading habits and interests, effective monitoring from the teacher is fundamental f Maintain the Entertainment This is in fact the key to any extensive reading programme Only when students are delighted with what they are doing can they continue with their work Once the fun is kept, automaticity and self-adjustment along the way can be more feasible Entertainment can be achieved by different ways yet the vast amount of responsibility is on the teacher as a facilitator Her/his creativity, suitable follow-up activities, good management skills may help A model of an extensive reading club in Vinh Phuc senior secondary school for the gifted The above analysis of the literature on extensive reading has made a case for an extensive reading club to be set up in the next school year Below is a step-by-step proposal for such a project a Membership intake It is suggested that membership should be open to everyone, but should primarily target at English-majored 10 graders who may have more motivation to persevere with the project My observation and informal conversation with students from different grades has confirmed me that for 11 or 12 graders the amount of time required by the project may be a source of pressure for them as they are approaching multiple exams (the university entrance exam, the regional and national academic competitions) In addition, those English majored 10 graders, being fresh from junior secondary school, may wish to become part of a society sharing common interest and doing something special In other words, they can be more readily involved and easily motivated For this new reading club, the number of member should not exceed 15 This limitation is justified by the fact that the smaller the group, the easier it is for the inexperienced teacher to monitor and facilitate b Raising fund For the project to work, the teacher has to make sure that the “comprehensible input” students get exposed to is abundant and validated This means at least 200 books need purchasing from reliable publishers The finance for the buying and locating of those books may come from different sources, namely: PTA: A sensitive issue, yet, most feasible in our school context where many parents can be willing to support such a programme, especially those whose children are members of the club ERF: The extensive reading foundation also offers some financial support to certain reading programme A proposal on the programme, including the detailed budget should be submitted to the grant committee for consideration c Need and Competence analysis An informal meeting among the members and teacher could easily help identify the kinds of books to be purchased There is a wide range of choice covering almost every genre, from poems to adapted novels to suit the learner-reader’s needs However, the members’ competence has to be examined carefully by means of testing their speed of reading comprehension With students being at around the same grade, it is supposed that the levels of their competence are more or less the same Again, automaticity should be encouraged In other words, students are given freedom to decide for themselves which level of difficulty is the most suitable for him The analysis has implications for the purchase of materials All extensive reading materials are graded according to their levels of difficulty (see the sample attached on page 14) If, for instance, the students are comfortable with reading a text at level 4, then she/he should buy only those from level 4 and up Prior to the discussion and competence analysis, the teacher should prepare a form to note down all those needs (see below) Name Genre Genre Level d Purchasing/ Accumulating material Books for extensive reading can be purchased from major bookshops in Hanoi and Hochiminh cities Furthermore, a variety of texts and audio specifically designed for the purpose can be downloaded online for free Please find attached on page 14 a sample provided e Other arrangements: time, location, regulations These should be talked through and agreed upon among the members with the teacher playing the role of a key member willing to offer help and a more “global” vision f Extensive reading: 1st cycle The club will last for all the three years of the student’s senior secondary school After each year, reflection is necessary and more books can be bought to keep up with the improvement in the students’ language competence During the time, the following should be noted Monitoring from the teacher The previously mentioned no-test rule does not mean that follow-up activities are excluded from the project On the contrary, they are crucial in the teacher’s effort to monitor the students’ performance and progress Below are some highly recommended activities by Bramford (1998) and Day (2002) The Reader Interview Regular conferencing between teacher and student on what they have read and on their opinion on the book Read Aloud to the Class/ Use of audio books The teacher may need to read some favourite extracts outloud to the class and then share his/her thinking on the parts This act provides a model of how to correctly pronounce a word and how to read with emotion Students then can follow In cases when the teacher is not comfortable with reading out loud, the use of an audio book may help Student Presentations Short presentations on books mean more opportunities to practise speaking skills in a highly authentic context IN similar projects, it has been observed that most of the book choices made by students resulted from recommendations made by friends, not by the teacher Given the right preparation, encouragement, sense of ownership and belonging, an extensive reading program will achieve a direction and momentum governed by the learners themselves; a large step in the promotion of student independence and autonomy Follow-up written reports/ blurbs/ reviews Contests can be organised in which students choose on their own to write a report on a book they have read or an alternative blurb to the one used by the publisher 10 Part 3 Conclusion The study seeks to provide some insights into extensive reading, focussing on highlighting the benefit and relevance of extensive reading in our educational setting From this a plan has been suggested for the next academic year Due to the limited experience in this field from the writer, and the time-restricted review of the literature, problems and oversights are unavoidable I therefore would be grateful to any comments and criticism from the readers for the betterment of this study 11 REFERENCES Bell, T, (1998) Extensive Reading: Why? and How? The IESL Journal, 12 (4) Day, Richard, R (2002) ‘Top Ten Principles for teaching extensive reading.’ Reading in a Foreign Language 14(2) Day, Richard, R and Bamford, Julian.(1998) Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Elley, W B., & Manghubai, F (1983) 'The effect of reading on second language learning.' Reading Research Quarterly, 19/1, (pp 53-67) Maley, Alan (2008) ‘Extensive Reading: Maid in Waiting’ in B Tomlinson (ed) English Language Learning Materials: a critical review London/New York: Continuum pp133156 12 Appendix 1: Sample of a reading text Genre: Literature Grade 5 The Devoted Widow A widow weeping on her husband's grave was approached by an Engaging Gentleman who, in a respectful manner, assured her that he had long entertained for her the most tender feelings "Wretch!" cried the Widow "Leave me this instant! Is this a time to talk to me of love?" "I assure you, madam, that I had not intended to disclose my affection," the Engaging Gentleman humbly explained, "but the power of your beauty has overcome my discretion." "You should see me when I have not been crying," said the Widow (Ambrose Bierce) 13 ... The Study Extensive reading: A definition Extensive reading is understood as an approach to language learning /teaching which is “generally associated with reading large amounts with the aim of getting... questionnaire In many cases, familiar material and popular titles reflecting the local culture, or, paradoxically, stories of faraway land and strange customs and practices could be the most popular among... language learning which has been reported to work in many an Asian countries By doing a great amount of reading under the language teacher’s instruction and facilitation, students are claimed to