The Pleasure of Reading Can Lead to Learning

by Despena Dalmaris

Why does a person read? There are many answers to that, but one of the reasons why a person reads is for pleasure. There is nothing more relaxing than settling down with a good book. A book is able to give you hours of pleasure and transfer you to another world.

A good story gives food for thought, it makes you think and react to certain events that happen. You actually become a part of the hero or heroine as you follow their progress in the story. You feel as if you have experienced something similar or that under certain circumstances you may act in a similar way. When this point is reached then you have become one with the story and you are actually living through the details of the experiences outlined in the story. When the climax is reached there is a feeling of completion.

This of course happens because of the language that is used in the stories. The beauty of the language can only be seen through literature. Only through such an experience will the students acquire a feeling for the language and understand how it can be used to express feelings and thoughts. Through such an experience, the students’ own imaginative powers will be awakened. They will be able to use this new awareness in their own writing; they will not be afraid of experimenting with words and ideas.

Therefore, teachers should incorporate reading into their programme. Just as much learning can take place through the reading of a good story as in a set piece of learning. Comprehension exercise, grammar, vocabulary, writing, speaking, listening, etc. can be integrated into such a lesson.

Through my experience as a teacher, I have found that by introducing readers to all my students from the very beginning of their English language learning, it not only gives them pleasure but it has helped them to take an interest in the language.

Starting (or ending) a lesson with ten minutes of reading becomes a habit after a while and something that the students look forward to. They will actually ask for another book once the first one is finished.

There are two types of reading that can be done – silent or oral. Both types can be used depending on the type of lesson the teacher wants to develop. I prefer oral reading (especially in the junior classes) because many things can be taught through oral reading.

First of all, pronunciation. A must if the students are to understand what they are reading and what is being read to them. If words are not pronounced properly then there is no understanding of what is being read. At the beginning it will probably be necessary for students to be corrected for their pronunciation more often, but as the reading of the story progresses then the need for correction will not be as great. In conjunction with this, there is the rhythm and stress and the intonation that is necessary if there is to be an understanding of what is being read. The students must learn to put feeling and expression into their voices otherwise the reading is monotonous and unemotional.

Then of course there is vocabulary work when certain words in the story have to be explained. This can be done either when the story is being read or for homework and checked in the next lesson before the reading continues. However, it is often best to give a quick oral explanation of a word when the reading is in progress so that there is an understanding of the story and the students maintain their interest in the story. Sentence construction can be set for homework where the students make up sentences of their own using the words found in the story. Spelling can also be included in this where the unknown words can be learnt and given in a spelling test.

Depending on the part of the story that is being read, a discussion may take place on either the character/s or the setting or an incident that has occurred and the outcome of that. Going on from here, extra work can be done in the writing lesson – again in describing a character or a place or an incident. Certain parts of the story can be studied to see how certain descriptive words or phrases were used. These can be practised by the students in similar exercises in their writing.

Although many readers are available as audiobooks, another way of practising their listening skills is for the students to have their books closed while the teacher reads. This can be done after a first reading of the book. Questions can then be asked to see how much the students have understood. The problem areas such as in recognising similar vowel and diphthong sounds or consonant clusters can then be practised using drill exercises so that the students become aware of the different sounds they have to listen for when doing a listening exercise.

As the FCE exam consists of different types of reading texts, i.e. narrative, factual, etc., by introducing reading as a permanent part of the course, the students will become acquainted with different types of texts and different styles of writing. They will learn to read quickly and to understand what they are reading.

A class library can be set up whereby students can borrow books outside what is read in class. Small projects can be set on the books chosen which can then be presented to the rest of the class. This will increase the interest of the students because they will want to read a book that somebody else in the class enjoyed reading.

Because of the time factor, it might be a good idea to choose short stories for the junior classes. This will ensure a quicker turnover of stories as well as keeping the interest of the students. Once they reach FCE level, there will be no problem in keeping their interest and doing a more complete analysis of the story. Choose stories in which the plot is simple to follow and where a lot of explanation is not necessary.

Although reading should be looked at from the viewpoint of pleasure, the exercises and projects that are set will ensure an amount of supplementary learning that would otherwise not have been possible. However, it should be done in such a way that it is not regarded as another piece of homework. The students will then truly look upon reading as a form of relaxation and something that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Despena Dalmaris is a teacher and an author of EFL textbooks.
This article first appeared in the printed version of the ELT News.

Selecting Reading Texts & Tasks Appropriate for Young Learners

by Vasso Barbati

Reading is considered a very important skill. McDonough and Shaw (1993:101) point out that “in some instances around the world we may argue that reading is the most important foreign language skill” as learners may never have the opportunity to practise speaking, listening or writing. However, it is taken for granted and some readers – and even teachers – regard it mainly as a decoding process which involves simply putting meaning on the marks of the page. In order to make students effective readers, teachers should employ a number of criteria which have to do with the selection of the appropriate texts and tasks.

The selection of texts

As regards the selection of the texts these criteria are:

(a) the issue of authenticity

Students need to be acquainted with a variety of texts. Urquhart and Weir (1998) stress the existing consensus that authenticity should be one of their essential features. The term authentic is used to refer to “a text not specially produced for language learners” (Williams and Moran, 1989: 219). Authentic texts are considered a very important language source because they represent real language. Grellet (1981) claims that exposure to them contributes to better understanding of texts in everyday life as they represent real world and are more interesting and motivating especially if their topic is within the learners’ preferences.

However, this notion of “authenticity in nature” has been challenged by certain researchers. Instead, they see “authenticity of purpose” as lying in the interaction between text and reader and not in the text itself (Wallace, 1992; Williams and Moran, 1989). Authentic texts are difficult to use at low levels due to the lexical and grammatical restrictions imposed by the students’ language level. On the contrary, at intermediate and advanced levels more and more coursebooks include them treating in that way learners as real audience (Beaumont, 1996: 28).

(b) topic familiarity

Special attention should be paid to the relationship between the content of the text and the learners’ background knowledge, Urquhart and Weir (1998: 143) say that “when the content is adequately familiar, then it can be mapped into the students’ existing schemata making them capable of deploying the appropriate skills and strategies to understand it.” Having this in mind, textbook writers and teachers should seriously consider what students bring to the classroom and always try to associate this knowledge with the appropriate texts. When background knowledge is activated, the distance between the learners and the text is reduced and comprehension becomes easier as learners know what to expect while they read.

(c) purpose

Beard (1990) mentions that purpose in reading can be divided into three categories:

• recreational, which relates to leisure reading
• functional, which has to do with everyday reading and
• occupational, which focuses on one’s work.

Teachers can motivate students and give them a purpose for reading if they provide them with an interesting text. As Williams (1986: 42) points out in his “Top Ten” principles for teaching reading, “in the absence of interesting texts very little is possible.” Teachers should not be indifferent to their students’ interests if they want to draw their attention and succeed in their goal that is making them effective readers.

The selection of tasks

Apart from choosing the appropriate texts, the tasks are of great importance too if the aims and objectives of the lesson are to be accomplished. They will be examined in terms of the following categories:

(a) purpose

It has already been stated that motivation arises from interesting texts. However, it should not be overlooked that it arises from the tasks too. An interesting text can very easily become boring if students are assigned tasks without a specific purpose in mind. Teachers should create tasks that are authentic-based and represent real life. As in everyday life people know why they read something before they actually read it, the same should occur in classroom. According to Greenwood (1981: 84) the golden rule of any reading activity is “that learners should know the purpose for their reading before they read.”

Readers employ four different approaches when reading a text:

• skimming (to get the main idea)
• scanning (to find specific information)
• intensive reading (slow and careful reading) and
• extensive reading (for recreational or educational purposes)

Extensive reading cannot be applied in a classroom since it involves reading lengthy texts (Greenwood, 1981; Williams and Moran, 1989; McDonough and Shaw, 1993). Teachers should not simply ask learners to read whole texts and then answer comprehension questions because this is not considered reading. Effective readers are those who can employ different approaches when coping with a text so as to “select specific information at the expense of other” (McDonough and Shaw, 1993: 114) and that is what teachers should teach their students to do.

(b) skills and strategies

Williams and Moran (1989: 223) define skill as “an acquired ability which has been automatised and operates largely subconsciously” and strategy as “a conscious procedure carried out in order to solve a problem.” The terms are also used interchangeably and are considered synonymous.

According to Davies (1984) students should learn to develop the following four skills:

• identifying word meaning
• drawing references
• identifying writer’s technique and recognising the mood of the passage and
• finding answers to questions.

They should also learn to anticipate content, make predictions, identify the main idea of a text and generally process information successfully. The selection of tasks that allow the performance of appropriate skills and strategies is therefore, very crucial.

Conclusion

The teacher’s role is to assist learners to adopt a more positive attitude towards reading and develop good lifelong habits concerning this skill. The existence of the previously mentioned criteria when selecting reading texts and tasks helps learners gain confidence and satisfaction from reading and eventually become effective and autonomous readers.

References

Beard, R. (1990) Developing Reading 3-13 (2nd edition). London: Hodder and Stoughton

Beaumont, M. (1996) “The Teaching of Reading Skills in a Second Foreign Language Distance Programme, Manchester University of Manchester interferences in ESL reading” in Carrell, P.; Devine, J. and Eskey, D. (eds) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. New York: Cambridge University Press, 102-103

Davies, A. (1984) “Simple, simplified and simplification: What is authentic?” in Alderson, J. C. and Urquhart, A. H. (eds) Reading in a Foreign Language. London: Longman, 181-195

Greenwood, J. (1981) “Comprehension and reading” in Abbot and Wingart (eds) The teaching of English as an International Language. London: Collins, 81-111

Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

McDonough, J. and Shaw, C, (1993) Materials and Methods in ELT. Oxford: Blackwell

Urquhart, S. and Weir, C.J. (1998) Reading in a Second Language: Process, Product and Practice. New York: Addison Wesley Longman

Wallace, C. (1992) Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Williams, E. and Moran, C. (1989) “Reading in a foreign language at intermediate and advanced levels with particular references to English in Language Teaching” in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 217-227

Williams, R. (1986) “Top Ten Principles for Teaching Reading” in ELTJ 40/2, 42-45

This article first appeared in the printed version of the ELT News.

Les Enfants du Siécle/The Children of the Century (1999)

Story

George Sand (Juliette Binoche), a novelist, meets poet Alfred de Musset (Benoit Magimel) and they fall passionately in love. She is a mother of two, separated from her husband and he is six years younger, but together they created some of their finest works.

Η Γεωργία Σάνδη (Ζιλιέτ Μπινός), μυθιστοριογράφος, συναντά τον ποιητή Αλφρέ ντε Μυσσέ (Μπενουά Μαζιμέλ) και ερωτεύονται παράφορα. Εκείνη μητέρα δύο παιδιών, σε διάσταση από τον σύζυγό της και εκείνος έξι χρόνια νεότερος, αλλά μαζί δημιούργησαν τα καλύτερα έργα τους.

Benoit Magimel and Juliette Binoche © 1999 Alexandre Films and Canal+

Review

It is one of those movies that although the story is good –after all, it is based on the true tale of the tumultuous love affair between two French literary icons-  the direction does not do justice. Plus, there’s no chemistry between the leading actors.

Είναι από εκείνες τις ταινίες που ενώ το σενάριο είναι καλό – εξάλλου πρόκειται για την αληθινή ιστορία του θυελλώδους έρωτα δύο προσωπικοτήτων της γαλλικής λογοτεχνίας – η σκηνοθεσία την αδικεί. Επίσης, το ζευγάρι των πρωταγωνιστών δεν έχει χημεία.

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel

Written by: Murray Head, Diane Kurys, François-Olivier Rousseau (based on his novel)

Directed by: Diane Kurys