ER course outline
I. Course Title: Learning English through Extensive Reading
II. Course Objectives: To improve student’s English skills using Extensive Reading and fluency activities. The overall objective is for students to learn to become lifelong readers of English for pleasure and information.
1. General Objectives:
1) To develop positive attitudes and increase motivation for reading in English.
2) To increase a student’s oral fluency by talking to other students and to the teacher.
3) To increase foreign language competence in other aspects, such as listening, writing, grammar and vocabulary.
4) To develop a student’s critical thinking skills
5) To encourage students to begin autonomous 'lifetime' learning of English through reading for pleasure.
2. Specific Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
Students must read at least 10 Language-Learner novels (at least 750 pages)
Write a short summary of what they have read and then talk with the teacher about the book and their reaction to it.
Students will improve their knowledge of English and critical thinking skills through summarisation and discussion.
III. Assessment Method: Students will be graded on:
Attendance (10%)
Participation in class activities (40%)
Personal Reading Diary: a notebook must be kept by each student, containing their Reaction Reports, Weighted Page Scores, and so on. The teacher will review this book every week.
The total number of pages read, with 750 pages being the minimum course requirement for a grade of 'C'. (50%)
Every effort must be made to lower student’s anxiety over grading. By lowering their Affective Filters, (Krashen) students become motivated to read extensively with pleasure as their reward. Ideally, an announcement should be made at the beginning of the term setting the curve at 50 % 'A', and 50 % 'B' with 'C' given only to those students who under perform and/or meet only the minimum requirements.
IV. Teaching Method
Extensive reading is an approach to the teaching and learning of second language reading in which learners read large quantities of books and other materials that are well with their linguistic competence, then write and talk about what they have read.
Characteristics of an Extensive Reading program: (Principles)
1. Students read as much as possible, perhaps in and definitely out of the classroom.
2. A variety of materials are available to encourage reading for different reasons and in different ways.
3. Students select what they want to read and have the freedom to stop reading material that fails to interest them.
4. The purposes of reading are related to pleasure, information, and general understanding.
5. Reading is its own reward. There are few follow-up exercises after reading.
6. Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar. Dictionaries are rarely used.
7. Reading is individual and silent, at the student’s own pace, and, outside class, done when and where the student chooses.
8. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower as students read books and other material they find easily understandable.
9. Teachers orient students to the goals of the program, explain the methodology, keep track of what each student reads, and guide students in getting the most out of the program.
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader for students, demonstrating what it means to be a reader and the rewards of being a reader.
V. Course Content
During the class, students will do lots of Silent Reading. Outside of class, they will do 'pleasure reading.' A reasonably extensive library of 'easy English' ('Language Learner Literature or Abridged books') should be provided. The books are classified into six levels, from the easiest, Level 1, to the most challenging, Level 6. Students decide which books to read and the level that that they are comfortable with, as taught while learning the 10 Principles.
During the term students must
Read 750 weighted pages in order to pass the course. Weighted pages mean one page of a high level (difficult) book counts for more than one page of a low level (easy) book.
Write a short 'Reaction Report' about each book. They must summarise the book, and then give their opinion about it. They are not graded for grammar, spelling, etc., the teacher just wants to make sure the book was read and give the student a chance to talk about what they read.
The reports are shown to the conversation teacher, along with a 'Summary Card' (125mm x 75mm).
- The Summary Card has a ‘one sentence summary' on the front (exercising critical thinking) as well as other information. The teacher scans the Reaction Report, and engages the student in a conversation about the book.
- The report is given back to the student, who saves them in a notebook. The Summary Card is kept by the teacher as insurance against the student losing their paperwork.
- On the back of the card, the student writes three questions and answers about the book that the teacher can use on any other future student who reads the same book.
- As the teacher interviews individual students, the rest of the class is engaged in Silent Reading or other class related activities. At the end of the term, students hand in their notebooks for points towards their grade.
The course could be elective: perhaps three hours each week over two semesters.
It is not dependent on levels of reading skill or grade-level. However, many Universities around the world now require courses like this as mandatory 'core' courses, intended to 'polish' the upper-level student’s abilities before graduation, so it could be set as a requirement, not an elective.
Any teacher could teach this class, there is little preparation needed, and no special skills are needed, other than a love of books. There would be no conflict with any other ER courses on campus, as the students could choose different books and higher levels, as they mature.
At least one hour per week will be used in conversational activities in class that are designed to make their reading input more comprehensible and also to give the students a break from Silent Reading and make the class more entertaining.
A collection of games and ER activities has been assembled for this purpose. As an example, the game of 'Reader’s Bluff' is one in which three students all claim to have read the same book, but only one or two have read it. The student(s) who have read the book, have to teach those who have not in their group. Then, in front of the class, the class will ask them questions to discern who is the ‘liar’.
Other example activities are:
- Making up story-chains in class,
- Drawing pictures of momentous scenes from their books and explaining their pictures as a group activity
- Giving a book review in front of the class
- Talking about what they are reading in ever-changing groups. The rest of the class time is used in silent reading or writing summaries and cards while the teacher talks with each student individually.
Every effort must be made to teach the student about taking responsibility for his or her own improvement. This is not a course where they are being force-fed information and then tested on it. Students must be made aware that THEY control what and how much they do, and when … and what grade they end up with. Research indicates that a student responds best to this paradigm when reading at least three hours per week, and finishing over 1000 pages in a semester.
www.beds.ac.uk