16 minute read
Readaxation and the power of reading for pleasure
by Nicola Morgan
Nicola Morgan is a multiaward-winning author and international expert on teenage brains and mental health, and the science of reading for pleasure.
Reading for pleasure is widely regarded as a good thing but is that enough? It’s enough for those of us who happen to love reading and who have time for it. But what if we had evidence that it was such a good thing that omitting it from a school curriculum or time-table was a bad thing? What if senior management teams needed evidence? What if school library funding were being cut? What if too many people were too busy to prioritise reading for pleasure? What if teenagers were avoiding it because no one was telling them how it would affect their lives, wellbeing and perhaps even exam results? It turns out that all those things are true. It turns out that reading for pleasure has a wide range of extremely important benefits, benefits which we absolutely owe our young people. I’d argue that not to promote reading for pleasure and not to create a reading culture in school is a dereliction of duty towards our students. It will make their lives poorer. Until 2015, I felt this in my heart but actual evidence was flimsy. There were many studies but some were very small or not replicated and it was hard to be able to say with any certainty what the results really showed. All that changed in 2015 when the UK’s Reading Agency published its Literature Review, a metastudy of hundreds of other studies over many years. “Reading for pleasure has a dramatic impact on life outcomes,” was the headline conclusion. The research also showed that it wasn’t just the daily act of reading but the enjoyment of it that made the difference. Hence the phrase “reading for pleasure”. So, now we know: Daily reading for pleasure positively affects mental health, self-esteem, vocabulary,
• If we’re engaged in a book we can’t simultaneously be worrying – it gives negative thoughts a break. • Reading for pleasure allows a state of “engagement”, offered by Martin Seligman and others as an importantly positive and transformative psychological state. • It leads to increased self-worth, itself likely to reduce the stress of negative feelings. • We can choose books to create a desired emotion. If our emotional state is one we don’t like, we can change that by reading a book that will make us feel another emotion. • Reading gives us space away from the demands of other people. It gives us a break. This is especially important for introverts.
What if my school doesn’t care enough about stress and wellbeing? They should care because too much stress and poor wellbeing lower exam results. There’s also a strong link between daily reading for pleasure and improved exam results, with better overall performance at school.
general knowledge, socio-economic status, relationships, mood control, empathy, self-understanding and stress levels. It was that last one – stress levels – that led me to invent the concept of “readaxation”. I define this as “Reading for pleasure deliberately to lower stress levels, thus increasing wellbeing and performance.”
Why might reading for pleasure reduce stress? • Because readers believe it does. Ask any reader, “Do you think reading for pleasure would reduce stress?” and most say yes. Confirmation bias means we tend to see what we expect to see: if we expect to see stress reduction, we do.
How can I help my students read more? My tips for all classroom teachers are: • Don’t leave it to English teachers or librarians – this is a human activity, for all ages. • Read yourself. Talk about what you read. • Show an interest in everything your students read. Ask them for recommendations. • Never disparage their reading choices. Fiction or non-fiction – neither is “better”. • Introduce silent reading time into your practice (you must read while they’re reading). Look for schemes such as DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) and ERIC (Everyone Reads In Class.) The beginning or end of the day are great times for this; it’s settling and calming. • Support your school librarian and library
TEACHER-LED STORYTELLING
by Jamie Keddie
Jamie Keddie is a teacher trainer and storyteller. He is the founder of Lessonstream, and the author of ‘Images’, ‘Bringing online video into the classroom’ and ‘Videotelling: YouTube Stories for the Classroom’. Jamie is an affiliate trainer at Norwich institute for Language Education in the UK.
In teacher-led storytelling, the teacher becomes the story manager and looks for ways to get students involved and interacting. Here are some thoughts about the what, the how and the why:
1Everyone is a storyteller. Human beings are creatures of narrative. Stories define us. We use stories to entertain, stories to strengthen bonds, stories to persuade, stories to sell, stories to understand the world, stories to communicate.
2Everyone can collect their stories. Some people write down their dreams. I would encourage everyone to collect their stories. Whenever you recall a personal story, anecdote or experience, don’t lose it. Create a story bank and choose your best stories for the classroom – the ones that will connect best to your students.
3Your students are naturally curious about you.
One thing that fascinates human beings is other human beings. And as the teacher, your students will be naturally curious about you. You may not have realized this before, but you may be the most valuable resource in the classroom. Sharing stories with students does not mean trying to impress them. Often, the best stories for the classroom are the unremarkable ones – the simple everyday stories that are meaningful and worth sharing – the ones that allow use to remove our masks. After all, isn’t this what many of us expect from our students?
4Teacher-led storytelling is not necessary teacher centered. Images of teacher and learner centredness are vague. It is much better to judge an activity or an approach on whether or not it is learning centred.
5Use storytelling to develop your teacher talk. As we all know, it is important that teachers don’t talk too much. But teacher talk should not be defined in terms of quantity alone. We should pay attention to our teacher talk quality and look for ways to develop our classroom communicative skills. There are many techniques and micro skills that we can become aware of that will help to improve our teacher talk. These include: • Making good use of space (i.e. pause and silence)
• Slowing down your speech • Making use of repetition
• Grading your language • Using gesture to reinforce language Teacher-led storytelling is a great way to develop your teacher talk.
6There is never just one story. Next time you listen to a story, ask yourself the following questions: • Did you think about somebody that you know/used to know? • Did you judge someone in the story in any way at all?
• Did you bring yourself into the story? • Did you visualise?
• Did you make any predictions? • Did you ask any questions? • Did the story unlock another story in you?
• Did you learn anything from the story? Each person who hears a story, watches a film, reads a book, listens to a podcast, etc. will have different answers to these questions. For any given story, we all interact with it in very different ways.
In the classroom, this diversity is the real resource. Through storytelling, we can create a relaxed environment where individuals feel safe to express ideas or simply listen in order to learn from others.
7Prepare and reflect. There is always more than one way to tell a story. Become aware of how stories are structured. Pay attention to details: what is relevant and what is not? Look for ways to make your stories interactive. Let your stories evolve and always ask yourself what you want your audience to take away from your story.
The better you can answer that question, the more developed your story will be.
Catch up on Jamie’s blog about storytelling.
SCAN ME!
5 WAYS TO RELAX AFTER A LONG DAY (AS RECOMMENDED BY BUSY TEACHERS)
CLEIDE OLIVEIRA I usually go swimming in a river that crosses our city. It feels like it washes all of the stress away, or I go walking in the woods...it always helps!
TILLY_MAC Yoga followed by an amazing homemade dinner.
LESCHOOLS Taking up an art is a great way to relax. Like simple sketching, a notebook and a pen/pencil, just drawing something around you.
SALDANHA.WAGNER A simple tea time with mom (she’s 90 years old).
BECKY_TEACHER Go for a quick run, have a cup of tea and watch an episode of a favourite comedy programme.
The compassionate schools approach
by Dr. Kate Brierton
Dr. Kate Brierton is an Independent Clinical Psychologist and School Governor with a longstanding interest in education. She is currently working with school leaders at a Cambridge school to develop a compassionate approach to wellbeing for both staff and students.
Compassion and wellbeing Human beings are social animals. A compassionate approach to emotional wellbeing suggests that we should maximize our opportunities for connection in the workplace to promote feelings of flourishing and thriving. Nowhere is this more important than our schools and colleges, where we are laying foundations for young people to go on to lead successful, fulfilling lives. However, for this blog I'm going to provide you with some practical ideas about laying the foundations for a compassionate culture.
Begin by noticing
Compassion is firstly about noticing distress, both in ourselves and others around us. There is strength in having the courage to notice suffering in others so that we can then take positive action. When we are in a driven state of being, which may frequently occur in a busy school, it is easy to ignore our own distress and the distress of colleagues and students around us. We are so busy getting the job done, we forget to make time to provide care and support.
We prioritise achievement and results over wellbeing and compassion. This can make for an emotionally unhealthy school environment. The first way to increase compassion in your school is to slow down. Make time in your day to check in emotionally with your colleagues and your students. Think of a time where this is going to be possible and set yourself a realistic goal – for example, would it be realistic to make some time to check in with your colleagues over your lunch
hour or at the end of the day? How are they feeling? Do they need some help or support? When would it be a good time to check in with the students? Set an intention to do this every day.
Develop self-compassion Self-compassion is also vitally important. Remember to check in with yourself at various points during the day. How are you feeling today? Is there anything that you are worrying about? Anything that you are feeling frustrated about? How can you tackle these issues in a productive way? A regular meditation practice gives clarity to our emotional lives and can help us notice our own feelings. 10 to 20 minutes of daily meditation is a great way to build self-compassion.
Many guided meditation apps are available to use with smartphone or tablet technology or you may be able to take a class in mindfulness meditation to help you learn this skill. concerns too, without feeling weak or inferior in front of you. No-one is perfect; we have a shared humanity and we all face common difficulties every day. Facing them together will build a stronger school community.
Make connections Finally, any activity which strengthens strong and supportive relationships within your school will promote compassion, creating feelings of trust, safety and a sense of belonging.
Dare to be vulnerable Another way to practice compassion is to dare to be vulnerable with your colleagues. Talk to them about your worries, frustrations and insecurities. You may find that they share some of your concerns and discussing the issues may not only provide support, but also potential solutions. There is a flow to compassion. Expressing your vulnerabilities may allow your colleagues to express their own Develop a shared vision and mission for your school, to give your work meaning and purpose. Encourage school leaders to provide chances for staff to connect during the school day and in extracurricular activities. Organise some social groups and outings. Discover common interests with your colleagues and celebrate them. Every journey starts with the courage to take the first step – I wish
you luck as you begin your
compassionate journey!
Life in a day
Dan Vincent is a teacher and materials writer, who has worked in the UK, Japan, Ukraine and Spain, with a teaching career spanning over 20 years. He was one of the founders of the Global English Training (GET) Program of the international NGO Peace Boat, has studied materials development for endangered languages, and is co-author of a new teens course for Cambridge University Press. He lives in Spain and works for the British Council Madrid.
In the spirit of get-to-know-you activities familiar to EFL teachers the world over, here are two truths about me and a lie. I’m from London, I teach at the British Council Madrid, and my favourite age group to teach are the under-fives. The last one’s the lie, as I don’t teach children that young, but other than that I do teach a really enjoyable mix of ages. This year that includes a class of very inquisitive nine-year olds, several lively groups of adults, and two fun groups of teenagers. Teaching each of these age groups poses its own set of challenges, but each one also brings its own rewards.
Take the teens, for example; although it’s not always easy to build a
comfortable dynamic with adolescents, I find that once you do, they often bring a lot of energy and ideas to a class, especially during class discussions and project work. This energy, for me at least, is especially welcome in the afternoons and evenings, which is when I usually teach; coffee alone is not always enough to keep me going!
Teaching can of course be a serious business, but rarely does a day go by without some funny incident
or other. Recently, for example, one of my adult students was supposed to be giving a
presentation about problems in his neighbourhood but instead started going on about the faces of dogs, which according to him were everywhere you looked. He was adamant they were blighting the streets, and was of the opinion that although you can’t hold dogs responsible for their own disgusting faces, the police should be fining the owners. I had to interrupt him, and keep a straight face of my own, when I realised he meant ‘faeces’. On another occasion, at the end of my first class with a group of eight-year olds, during which I had constantly referred to the interactive white board pen (in what I thought was an entertainingly whimsical manner) as ‘the magic pen’, one of the children stayed behind to inform me, in a tone of voice that made it clear just how much of a dinosaur he thought I was, “Teacher, the pen – it’s not magic, it’s technology.” When I’m not in front of my students, embarrassing myself by nicknaming digital devices, I’m at my computer, writing materials for Cambridge University Press. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been working with a team of authors and editors on a new course for teens. As a fairly new kid on the materials-writing block, one of the things I’ve found most rewarding is how hugely collaborative the whole process is, and although it can at times feel a little isolating to be working at home alone, especially in contrast to the lively atmosphere of a language classroom (especially one in Spain!), my co-authors and the editing team are only ever a supportive Skype call away. It’s also much more creative than I anticipated it would be. It’s true that there are many restrictive criteria – language level, wordcounts, and so on – but I like to think of that as akin to writing a haiku or a sonnet, where you also have to convey meaning within very tight parameters. Writing a coursebook is clearly not the same as writing poetry, but there’s certainly an art to it that I’m enjoying getting to grips with.
In fact, when I’m not writing EFL materials, I actually do quite often write poems or prose for open-mic nights here in Madrid (there’s a lively openmic scene and I really enjoy reading on stage). I also do a lot of painting and drawing (not particularly well, mind you, but it’s great for the soul!) And I still love, even ten years after getting here, to explore Madrid on foot or go walking in the countryside with friends. Even then, though, I usually have a notepad with me for any writing ideas that might come to mind!
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Motivating Teenage Learners
Using projects with teenagers
