Extensive Reading ESL/EFL PDF

Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing CHAPTER 4 EXTENSIVE READING Extensive reading is a crucial component of a course's meaning- focused input ad fluency development strands. It provides meaning- focused input when books contain few unknown vocabulary and grammar items, and fluency development...

Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing CHAPTER 4 EXTENSIVE READING Extensive reading is a crucial component of a course's meaning- focused input ad fluency development strands. It provides meaning- focused input when books contain few unknown vocabulary and grammar items, and fluency development when easy books have virtually no existing vocabulary knowledge, engaging books, large reading volumes, and supporting learning from reading with other learning methods. Reading serves as both a learning and unknown items. This chapter explores research on graded readers to develop guidelines for setting up and managing extensive reading programmes. It emphasizes understanding the learning type, learners' enjoyment tool.  Extensive reading is a form of learning that requires significant knowledge and skill, including recognizing letters and words, having a large vocabulary, and developing fluency. Learning through extensive reading is largely incidental, with learners' attention focused the story rather than the items to learn. To ensure effective learning, it is essential to have a large quantity of input with substantial opportunities for vocabulary repetition. This input should be close to 500,000 running words per year, equivalent to 25 graded readers or six unsimplified novels. Extensive reading can occur within or outside class time, involving varied, enjoyable reading at a reasonably fluent speed. While extensive reading can result in substantial proficiency gains, it requires considerable time and effort.  Takaki (2003) conducted vocabulary tests at three levels of difficulty to measure vocabulary learning. The results showed that only a small number of words were learned well, but a larger number (up to 15 out of 25) had taken a useful step towards being known. Further meetings with these words should strengthen and enrich this knowledge. The Waring and Takaki study included a delayed post-test, which showed that vocabulary gains from reading were gradually lost over time without further reinforcement. Teachers should ensure that there are repeated opportunities to meet the same vocabulary in reading, and these repeated opportunities should not be delayed too long. Find your learner`s vocabulary level: Extensive reading can only occur if 95 to 98 percent of the running words in a text are already familiar or are no burden to the learner. To do extensive reading at the elementary and intermediate stages of proficiency, learners should read graded readers that have been specially prepared for English learners.-  To determine the level of reading proficiency for learners, measure their receptive vocabulary size by examining their knowledge of the most frequent 2,000 words of English. Tests like Schmitt, Schmitt and Clapham (2001) and bilingual vocabulary tests can help. There are around 1,650 graded readers in print, with over 40 different series. However, these series have different levels, vocabulary, and vocabulary lists, making it difficult for a particular reader to use all words. Provide plenty of interesting and appropriate reading texts: It's better to choose interesting and well-written titles from any available series. Hill's list of the best graded readers is a valuable starting point. The Extensive Reading Foundation website offers award-winning graded reader titles.  programs should prioritize reading for learners to develop their interest in reading. Teachers' judgments of books are likely to be different from learners` judgements of books , and learners` judgments should be given priority. Set,Encourage and Monitor Large Quanties of Extensive Reading Extensive reading programmes should focus on reading as the main activity, with other activities. Oral book reports should fill out short record forms indicating the name of the book, its level, date, time taken, and a brief comment on the book's quality. Discussion groups Additional activities to motivate reading include recording opinions on books, presenting oral book reports, and forming discussion groups. The Extensive Reading Foundation recognizes quality in the production of graded readers, awarding the best books each year, similar to the Oscars for movies. These strategies help learners focus on reading and develop their interest in reading  An extensive reading programme can be a valuable tool for language-focused learning and fluency development; encourages learners to vote on their favorite books, receive awards for their reading, and display books in attractive ways. Teachers should ensure that other parts of the course support extensive reading and that it is supported by other parts. A speed reading program can be a useful supplement to extensive reading, as it involves learners reading texts within their language knowledge, with their speed and comprehension scores recorded on graphs. This can lead to learners doubling their reading speed. Vocabulary growth can also be a significant contribution to proficiency development, but it should not overshadow reading for pleasure. Some suggestions for boosting vocabulary learning from extensive reading include using easy texts, regular practice, and incorporating vocabulary learning into the course.  How to boost vocabulary learning from extensive reading? 1-Before reading a text, the learner quickly skims it and selects five six words to focus on while reading. This has the effect of raising consciousness about some words and thus making them more noticeable when they are met again in the text. 2. While reading, the learner can collect new words that are repeated in the text to put on word cards for later deliberate study. 3. A more formal follow up to this is for learners to report to the class on a word that they met while readingexplaining what it means, how it was used in the text, its word parts, its etymology, and unusual features about it.  4. The use of a dictionary while reading should also have positive effects (Knight, 1994), although this tends to increase the time it takes to read a text (Hulstijn, 1993). After reading a graded reader, the learner can spend a few minutes reflecting on new words that were met in the book and looking back in the book to revise them. Vocabulary learning and reading are helped if the learners are good at guessing the meanings of unknown words from context clues. Guessing from context is a trainable strategy and it is worth spending a few minutes on it each week.  There are several ways of practicing the strategy , but all require a text where there is not a heavy density of unknown words The teacher should model the procedure for the learners ,then work together with the learners on some items, then get the learners working together,in pairs and eventually working individually. A deductive guessing procedure involves the learners making a guess at the meaning of an unknown word in a text and then justifying their guesses. This involves a discussion of the various available clues An inductive guessing procedure involves looking at the available clues-the part of speech of the unknown word, its immediate context, and the relationship between the clause with the unknown word and the adjoining clauses  1. Learners should read at least one graded reader no matter ter what level they are reading at. This rate of reading allows unknown vocabulary to be repeated before the immediately previous 2. Learners should read at least five books at a level (say Level 2) before moving to books at the next level (Level 3). This number of books provides a chance for most of the vocabulary introduced at that level 2. Learners should read at least five books at a level (say Level 2) before moving to books at the next level (Level 3). This number of books provides a chance for most of the vocabulary introduced at that level to occur. 3. Learners should read more books at the later levels than the earlier. This is because the vocabulary of the earlier levels occurs very frequently in the books at the later levels. Books at the later levels thus provide good conditions for learning all the vocabulary of the graded reader series.  4. Learners should read at least 15-20 and preferably 30 readers in a year. This number of graded readers provides plenty of repetition for the vocabulary and provides the opportunity to meet most of the three or four graded readers per year is not an extensive reading Vocabulary several times. A programme where learners read only read programme 5. Learners should work their way through the levels of graded readers as the later levels provide excellent conditions for establishing the vocabulary of the earlier levels. orl 6. Learners may need to study directly the new vocabulary at the earlier levels or at least make use of a dictionary when starting to read books at a particular level. This is because the density of unknown vocabu lary tends to be a little higher at the earlier levels. Extensive reading programmes do not run as neatly as the guidelines described above. Learners often choose books according to their appeal without considering the level of the reader. So they may read a Level 2 reader, then a Level 5 reader, then a Level 3 reader, and so on.. This does not matter too much as long as plenty of enjoyable reading is done. An exten- sive reading programme needs to have a fluency strand (where learners very easy texts quickly) and a meaning-focused input strand (where learners read with around 98 percent coverage). It also does not hurt if there is occasional language-focused learning through extensive reading where learners struggle through an interesting but difficult text. Moving around the levels provides these different levels of opportunities for learning. Some learners begin reading with enthusiasm and then stall when they see that the reading takes time and effort. Some learners have great trouble getting started. Others read very slowly and laboriously and a to increase their reading speed. All of these problems have solutions and are reluctant  teachers need to monitor learners' progress carefully by : 1. looking at their record sheets 2. observing them while they are reading, 3. talking with them individually about their goals, progress and problems. 4. When learners are not enthusiastic readers, it helps initially to make extensive reading part of the programme during class time, with the teacher ensuring that the reading is done. When learners become hooked on reading, it can then be set as an out-of-class activity. Simplified and Unsimplified Texts Some educators view graded readers as inauthentic, simplified versions of original texts, with vocabulary simplification potentially complicating grammar. While these criticisms hold for lower- quality readers, high-quality options exist. Publishers argue that many graded readers are original works rather than mere simplifications. From a vocabulary learning perspective, graded readers effectively limit low-frequency words, allowing for repetition of high-frequency vocabulary. A comparison of a simplified and original version of Dracula shows significant differences in length and vocabulary coverage, highlighting the accessibility of the simplified version for learners with limited vocabulary.  The coverage of 92.8% in vocabulary indicates a significant vocabulary load, with over seven unknown words in every 100, complicating reading for language learners. In the original "Dracula," with 7,957 words, there are 1,435 word families and 3,038 unique words that make it challenging for lower-level readers. These unique terms, while advanced, often hinder comprehension and retention since they appear only once..Ways of supporting extensive reading 1. Glossing where definitions are provided near unfamiliar words, and 2. Computer-assisted reading programs It allow learners to access word meanings and examples without disrupting reading flow. Research increasingly supports the effectiveness of tools such as concordances electronic dictionary look-ups hypertext glossing in aiding vocabulary learning and reading. 3. Elaboration, which involves enhancing texts by adding explanations for unfamiliar words instead of removing them, can also be beneficial. An example from the novel "Lord Jim" illustrates how unknown words can be glossed within the text itself. Additionally, the discussion touches on the necessity of a structured library of resources to support extensive reading initiatives.