Skkn examining the plausibility of extensive reading as an approach to learning english at a secondary school context

Her students’ increasing need for exposure to more authentic language input, together with the writer’s wish to boost those students’ autonomy has led to this theoretical examination of the plausibili[.]

Her students’ increasing need for

exposure to more authentic language input, together with the writer’s wish

to boost those students’ autonomy has led to this theoretical examination

of the plausibility of introducing Extensive Reading into her teaching context - a tracking school for the gifted in Vinh Yen, Vinh Phuc.

BÁO CÁO

CHUYÊN ĐỀ HỘI THẢO

Examining the plausibility of Extensive Reading as an

approach to learning English

at a secondary school context.

TRAN THI THUY

Part 1: Introduction 2

1 Reasons for choosing the study 2

2 Aims and significance of the study 2

3 Subjects of the study 3

4 Limits of the study 3

5 Methodology 3

6 Research time 3

Part 2 The Study 4

1 Extensive reading: A definition 4

2 The benefits of extensive reading 4

3 Principles of an extensive reading programme 6

4 A model of an extensive reading club in Vinh Phuc senior secondary school for the gifted 7

REFERENCES 12

Part 1: Introduction

1 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.

2 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 extra-curricular programme.

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3 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.

4 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.

5 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.

6 Research time

March 2014 –February 2015

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Part 2 The Study

1 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).

2 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.

3 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.

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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.

4 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)

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.