Read All About It!Thanks for checking out this page all about reading. Before you listen to my mini-lecture why don’t you use the skill under discussion (for those of you who have trouble picking up on my amazing wit, I am talking about the skill of reading) to get caught up on some of the basic tenets that we should be considering when it comes to reading for second language development.
In this mini-lecture I get the opportunity to interview Justin, an American gentleman who had never studied Korean until he was 25. In this talk we discuss the role reading played in his journey from zero (no knowledge of Korean) to hero (highly competent in using the Korean language – although his writing is still a little rusty) within 3 years. Please watch the mini-lecture at the bottom of the page. |
Stop Press! Who Knew That Words On The Page Matter?
It is no secret that reading helps enhance a student’s knowledge of L2 lexical items and grammatical features. However, as teachers, we need to ensure we know how we can use reading to expedite the learning process for our students. This means that we must not only understand how reading contributes to language development, but also have a good understanding of what skills we should be teaching our students to help them learn to read more effectively.
Here are my Top Fifteen Tips To Help You Help Your Students Enhance Their Reading Abilities.
1. Start small: Choose texts that are well within the limits of your students' abilities. Aside from making it easier to glean meaning from context, easier texts have been shown to have a positive impact on student motivation – especially for beginners. Conversely, texts that are too difficult are often of limited utility and may result in a unmotivated/demotivated students. It might help to pre-teach key vocabulary - but don't overdo it.
2. Make it interesting: Choose texts that are of interest to your students. This can be achieved more easily if your students have a say in which texts are being selected. Of course, with younger students, it might be easier for the teacher to choose the text, but it is still important (maybe even more important) to select texts that are of interest to your students.
3. Make extensive reading a priority: The practice of extensive reading (sometimes referred to as free voluntary reading, wide reading, or sustained silent reading) requires learners to select and read large amounts of texts that are both interesting and within their level of comprehension. This type of reading activity has been linked to enhanced L2 vocabulary development and writing skills, higher levels of motivation and affective involvement, increased reading speeds, and better overall L2 proficiency.
Note: Three key points to remember. First, extensive reading is exactly that; just reading. No tests. No analysis (unless the student wants to). Second, extensive reading might work best once a student has already achieved a basic level of reading comprehension and vocabulary development. Third, encourage your students to read a lot!
4. Mix it up: Yes, I know I said that students should have a say in what is being read. And that is true. However, if a student only selects one genre or text type (e.g. sports, cooking, fairy tales) then reading development may be stymied. It is the teacher’s role to guide the students to different text types and genres – this is especially true as students get more proficient.
Varied texts introduce new concepts, lexical items, writing styles, and formats etc. This being the case, it quickly becomes clear as to why teachers need to set themes or topics of discovery in their reading classes.
5. Narrow reading has huge benefits: When it comes to narrow reading, an approach that entails the repeated exposure to a specific genre, author, or topic over a relative short period of time, research has shown that this approach to reading helps a student develop knowledge of the topic, facilitates the acquisition of lexical terms and structures related to the chosen topic/theme, and enhances overall language development.
A good way to help your students engage in narrow reading is by having weekly reading missions that revolve around one topic or theme. For example, you might have your students read five articles (one every weekday) on a current event or news story. They could then compare the vocabulary/grammar/style used in each article to see how often the same words/phrases/structures are used in each topic or genre. Conclude with a short written summary.
6. Look it up and go deep: Encourage students to be in command of their own learning. This can be done by simply encouraging your students to look up words in a dictionary. Now, I know some teachers are against using bilingual dictionaries, but research suggests that in many cases translations can be beneficial. In addition to looking up a selection of unknown vocabulary items, try to encourage your students to go deeper when they encounter new words/structures by google example sentences, writing the word in a sentence, and exploring other related words. Teach your students how to increase their depth of processing and levels of language engagement.
7. Get childish: Using children’s books for lower level students (both adults and children) can be very beneficial. This is probably because books written for children often have illustrations that can facilitate comprehension, have repeated grammatical patterns and lexical items (think Dr. Seuss, Mr. Men, Little Miss), and often contain many high-frequency words.
Note: When teaching adults, it might prove pertinent to explain why you are using children’s books as a learning device. In my experience, I have learned that if an adult student understands why a children’s book has been chosen they are often more open to using it.
8. Confidence - You can do it: Confidence is key! I cannot stress this point enough. If you start too hard, the student will lose confidence. If you start too easy, the student may not see a benefit. Choose reading materials that challenge, but not overwhelm, your students. As the students start to make sense of the text, their confidence will grow.
Note: As teachers, we should not only be looking for opportunities to enhance our students’ linguistic competence (i.e., their knowledge or lexis and grammar), but also looking for ways to help our students gain confidence in their use of the language (i.e. the confidence to use the L2 – regardless of the risk of error - to communicate).
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9. Mad skills and strategies: Don’t forget to teach different skills and strategies that students can use to enhance their reading ability (e.g. reading for gist, skimming, inferring from context before looking up the word in the dictionary, repeated reading). This will not only help your students understand the reading process a little better, but also yield better results. Just make sure the skills you are teaching are based on current research, and not some form of pseudo science/junk science.
If you have the time please read this post on the TESOL website about reading comprehension..
10. Read out loud: It might be a good idea to encourage your students to read aloud in the privacy of their own homes. This allows the student to practice speaking in a safe environment. The added benefit of reading out loud is it allows our students to hear their own errors free from criticism or evaluation, and affords the student the opportunity to self correct. If possible, have your students record their reading and then listen back so they can hear where they need to improve.
11. Read-along: Reading to your students (or with your students) allows them to hear the natural tone, intonation, rhythm, and speed etc. of the language. It also allows the teacher to specifically point out and address any comprehension issues, introduce new vocabulary/lexical items, and elaborate on any points that the teacher thinks might be of importance. Oh, it also decreases the processing burden for our students – great for tired students or lower-level students.
Note: When doing a read-along/read-aloud activity remember that it is your job to provide scaffolding and support – not just provide answers or instruction. Encourage the students to become involved in the story and provide answers or suggestions to the questions asked.
12. Be a role model: Simple as that. If you read, your students will read.
13. Get critical: So, your students are advanced readers. That’s awesome. Your job is almost complete. Not so fast hotshot. Have you taught your students critical reading skills? Have you taught your students a range of different reading genres? Have you taught your students how to read for different purposes (e.g. for research, for pleasure, for business)? If not, please ensure you do.
Note: If your students intend to work or study in an English speaking country (for example), they are probably going to need to know how to read and think critically. And guess whose job it is to help them develop this skill. That’s right; it’s yours.
14. Shut up: When your students are reading try to avoid the temptation to explain or elaborate on every little thing. Our main goal should be to help our students develop a love of reading – and who can develop a love of something if we are constantly being corrected or interrupted? However, in order to do this - you need to ensure the learners are reading level appropriate texts (aim for about 2 or 3 unknown words per page - at the most - if the goal is free reading and fluency development).
Note: The above point relates to extensive reading and reading for pleasure. Of course there are times when explicit teaching is required, but this should be made clear to the students at the start of the session so they know that you will be offering them assistance and feedback.
15. Enjoy the pleasure: As stated – the teacher's goal should be to help our students develop a passion for reading. So, let the students have fun with books. Let them enjoy the materials as well as the process. And don't worry, you will see the results in due course.
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank Justin Carnahan (a great guy and a great teacher) for taking the time to talk with me about how reading benefited him while studying Korean.
Second, it should be known that the above tips are largely based on the works of Williams (1986), and Day & Bamford (2002), with elaboration, extra tips, and further commentary provided by myself based on in-class research and findings from cognitive neuroscience related to the importance of focus and depth of processing.
It is no secret that reading helps enhance a student’s knowledge of L2 lexical items and grammatical features. However, as teachers, we need to ensure we know how we can use reading to expedite the learning process for our students. This means that we must not only understand how reading contributes to language development, but also have a good understanding of what skills we should be teaching our students to help them learn to read more effectively.
Here are my Top Fifteen Tips To Help You Help Your Students Enhance Their Reading Abilities.
1. Start small: Choose texts that are well within the limits of your students' abilities. Aside from making it easier to glean meaning from context, easier texts have been shown to have a positive impact on student motivation – especially for beginners. Conversely, texts that are too difficult are often of limited utility and may result in a unmotivated/demotivated students. It might help to pre-teach key vocabulary - but don't overdo it.
2. Make it interesting: Choose texts that are of interest to your students. This can be achieved more easily if your students have a say in which texts are being selected. Of course, with younger students, it might be easier for the teacher to choose the text, but it is still important (maybe even more important) to select texts that are of interest to your students.
3. Make extensive reading a priority: The practice of extensive reading (sometimes referred to as free voluntary reading, wide reading, or sustained silent reading) requires learners to select and read large amounts of texts that are both interesting and within their level of comprehension. This type of reading activity has been linked to enhanced L2 vocabulary development and writing skills, higher levels of motivation and affective involvement, increased reading speeds, and better overall L2 proficiency.
Note: Three key points to remember. First, extensive reading is exactly that; just reading. No tests. No analysis (unless the student wants to). Second, extensive reading might work best once a student has already achieved a basic level of reading comprehension and vocabulary development. Third, encourage your students to read a lot!
4. Mix it up: Yes, I know I said that students should have a say in what is being read. And that is true. However, if a student only selects one genre or text type (e.g. sports, cooking, fairy tales) then reading development may be stymied. It is the teacher’s role to guide the students to different text types and genres – this is especially true as students get more proficient.
Varied texts introduce new concepts, lexical items, writing styles, and formats etc. This being the case, it quickly becomes clear as to why teachers need to set themes or topics of discovery in their reading classes.
5. Narrow reading has huge benefits: When it comes to narrow reading, an approach that entails the repeated exposure to a specific genre, author, or topic over a relative short period of time, research has shown that this approach to reading helps a student develop knowledge of the topic, facilitates the acquisition of lexical terms and structures related to the chosen topic/theme, and enhances overall language development.
A good way to help your students engage in narrow reading is by having weekly reading missions that revolve around one topic or theme. For example, you might have your students read five articles (one every weekday) on a current event or news story. They could then compare the vocabulary/grammar/style used in each article to see how often the same words/phrases/structures are used in each topic or genre. Conclude with a short written summary.
6. Look it up and go deep: Encourage students to be in command of their own learning. This can be done by simply encouraging your students to look up words in a dictionary. Now, I know some teachers are against using bilingual dictionaries, but research suggests that in many cases translations can be beneficial. In addition to looking up a selection of unknown vocabulary items, try to encourage your students to go deeper when they encounter new words/structures by google example sentences, writing the word in a sentence, and exploring other related words. Teach your students how to increase their depth of processing and levels of language engagement.
7. Get childish: Using children’s books for lower level students (both adults and children) can be very beneficial. This is probably because books written for children often have illustrations that can facilitate comprehension, have repeated grammatical patterns and lexical items (think Dr. Seuss, Mr. Men, Little Miss), and often contain many high-frequency words.
Note: When teaching adults, it might prove pertinent to explain why you are using children’s books as a learning device. In my experience, I have learned that if an adult student understands why a children’s book has been chosen they are often more open to using it.
8. Confidence - You can do it: Confidence is key! I cannot stress this point enough. If you start too hard, the student will lose confidence. If you start too easy, the student may not see a benefit. Choose reading materials that challenge, but not overwhelm, your students. As the students start to make sense of the text, their confidence will grow.
Note: As teachers, we should not only be looking for opportunities to enhance our students’ linguistic competence (i.e., their knowledge or lexis and grammar), but also looking for ways to help our students gain confidence in their use of the language (i.e. the confidence to use the L2 – regardless of the risk of error - to communicate).
.
9. Mad skills and strategies: Don’t forget to teach different skills and strategies that students can use to enhance their reading ability (e.g. reading for gist, skimming, inferring from context before looking up the word in the dictionary, repeated reading). This will not only help your students understand the reading process a little better, but also yield better results. Just make sure the skills you are teaching are based on current research, and not some form of pseudo science/junk science.
If you have the time please read this post on the TESOL website about reading comprehension..
10. Read out loud: It might be a good idea to encourage your students to read aloud in the privacy of their own homes. This allows the student to practice speaking in a safe environment. The added benefit of reading out loud is it allows our students to hear their own errors free from criticism or evaluation, and affords the student the opportunity to self correct. If possible, have your students record their reading and then listen back so they can hear where they need to improve.
11. Read-along: Reading to your students (or with your students) allows them to hear the natural tone, intonation, rhythm, and speed etc. of the language. It also allows the teacher to specifically point out and address any comprehension issues, introduce new vocabulary/lexical items, and elaborate on any points that the teacher thinks might be of importance. Oh, it also decreases the processing burden for our students – great for tired students or lower-level students.
Note: When doing a read-along/read-aloud activity remember that it is your job to provide scaffolding and support – not just provide answers or instruction. Encourage the students to become involved in the story and provide answers or suggestions to the questions asked.
12. Be a role model: Simple as that. If you read, your students will read.
13. Get critical: So, your students are advanced readers. That’s awesome. Your job is almost complete. Not so fast hotshot. Have you taught your students critical reading skills? Have you taught your students a range of different reading genres? Have you taught your students how to read for different purposes (e.g. for research, for pleasure, for business)? If not, please ensure you do.
Note: If your students intend to work or study in an English speaking country (for example), they are probably going to need to know how to read and think critically. And guess whose job it is to help them develop this skill. That’s right; it’s yours.
14. Shut up: When your students are reading try to avoid the temptation to explain or elaborate on every little thing. Our main goal should be to help our students develop a love of reading – and who can develop a love of something if we are constantly being corrected or interrupted? However, in order to do this - you need to ensure the learners are reading level appropriate texts (aim for about 2 or 3 unknown words per page - at the most - if the goal is free reading and fluency development).
Note: The above point relates to extensive reading and reading for pleasure. Of course there are times when explicit teaching is required, but this should be made clear to the students at the start of the session so they know that you will be offering them assistance and feedback.
15. Enjoy the pleasure: As stated – the teacher's goal should be to help our students develop a passion for reading. So, let the students have fun with books. Let them enjoy the materials as well as the process. And don't worry, you will see the results in due course.
Acknowledgements
First, I would like to thank Justin Carnahan (a great guy and a great teacher) for taking the time to talk with me about how reading benefited him while studying Korean.
Second, it should be known that the above tips are largely based on the works of Williams (1986), and Day & Bamford (2002), with elaboration, extra tips, and further commentary provided by myself based on in-class research and findings from cognitive neuroscience related to the importance of focus and depth of processing.
References and further reading
Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of verbal learning and verbal behavior, 11(6), 671-684.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(72)80001-X
Day, Richard & Bamford, Julian (2002). ‘Top ten’ principles for teaching extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language Volume 14, Number 2 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2002/day/day.html
Elley, W. B., & Mangubhai, F. (1981). The long-term effects of a book flood on children's language growth. Directions, 7, 15–24.
Leow, R. P., & Mercer, J. D. (2015). Depth of processing in L2 learning: Theory, research, and pedagogy. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2(1), 69-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/23247797.2015.1026644
Nation, P. (2013). Vocabulary acquisition in second language acquisition. The encyclopedia of applied linguistics.
Williams, Ray (1986). ‘Top ten’ principles for teaching reading. ELT Journal Volume 40/1 January 1986 © Oxford University Press http://203.72.145.166/ELT/files/40-1-6.pdf
Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of verbal learning and verbal behavior, 11(6), 671-684.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(72)80001-X
Day, Richard & Bamford, Julian (2002). ‘Top ten’ principles for teaching extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language Volume 14, Number 2 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2002/day/day.html
Elley, W. B., & Mangubhai, F. (1981). The long-term effects of a book flood on children's language growth. Directions, 7, 15–24.
Leow, R. P., & Mercer, J. D. (2015). Depth of processing in L2 learning: Theory, research, and pedagogy. Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2(1), 69-82. https://doi.org/10.1080/23247797.2015.1026644
Nation, P. (2013). Vocabulary acquisition in second language acquisition. The encyclopedia of applied linguistics.
Williams, Ray (1986). ‘Top ten’ principles for teaching reading. ELT Journal Volume 40/1 January 1986 © Oxford University Press http://203.72.145.166/ELT/files/40-1-6.pdf