Reading challenge in L2 for more reading in our schools part 2 sept2012

READING CHALLENGE IN L2 – PART 2 FOR MORE READING IN OUR SCHOOLS! In Spring Issue 2012, I presented my classroom experience and materials with 11th graders in what concerns Reading in EFL. In the current issue, I will share not only further strategies, but also some results and tips for summer reading.

Other strategies In what concerns English, vocational courses comprise nine modules and in 2011/2012 I started each one with a reading aloud of a poem that I had prepared beforehand. I believe that is why my students didn’t find it strange when one Friday they came into class and I started reading aloud an excerpt of “The Final Problem” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the short story in which the author “kills” the world famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. From http://learningisland.org/ I had printed some copies which I took into class and four students started to read it the very same day. What followed is not hard to predict: an afternoon at the cinema for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows which motivated its further reading once it was this adventure which, in part, inspired Guy Ritchie to produce this flick. Bearing in mind that my main concern should always be reading, I prepared the next resources allying cinema with the value of reading, writers… DOC 4 was handed out before going to the movies and it is Conan Doyle’s biography but instructions had to be given. I divided the class into pairs (A and B) and gave each student the appropriate handout as well as some time to read the text quickly through. I then pointed out that they would have to fill in the blanks and to work together to complete the biography. I also drew their attention to the fact that it was written in past tense (as almost all biographies are!) and so the questioning for the missing information would have to be done in past tense. Also included in DOC 4 are the worksheets to revisit, extend and practise vocabulary on books, writers, different texts, examples of fiction and nonfiction books. On our way to the cinema, I handed out another worksheet (DOC 5) to be filled on the spot not only about the film we

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were about to view but also containing some personal questions. Back at school and under the topic “Entertainment”, I spent the next class with After-Viewing-Activities (DOC 6) which included a synopsis of the film, vocabulary and dictionary work on crime and punishment, association with other famous detective series and some curious facts which most certainly arose their interest: the role Arthur Conan Doyle and his detective Sherlock Holmes played on popularising scientific crime detection methods and forensic investigation. Finally, there was only a plain worksheet (DOC 7) to compare the book and the film for those students who had already finished reading it.

Results I can say I was successful in having students read books they selected; I was successful because there was a very positive feedback concerning our Friday’s Reading Challenge; I was successful in motivating them to read and in getting them involved in our English learning activities, but I cannot be sure they will become readers… at least they had the chance of choosing what to read, had a different contact with the English language and literature and they were more often exposed to different reading materials. More: despite being troubled teens (some from CEF classes), our classes ran smoothly, and not only on Fridays, so behaviour was never an issue in my classes. (DOC 8) Caught Reading COLLAGE above.

Yet, here are the facts. Again and again as teachers we face the same situations: not all have managed to finish the books they started... either they were absent from class, involved in different activities or... they simply "forgot" it! Whenever that happened, I would show them some others and they would pick one to read - they would start a different book without ever finishing it. Others though read more than one - some http://www.clubeinglesoure.blogspot.pt

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more slowly, others a bit faster - and one of the students accomplished the feat of reading 5 books. For these classes and for the time we had, it's not bad, believe me!

Let me show you how it was in a clear and simple way: (DOC 9) GRAPH below:

READING CHALLENGE 2011/2012 Vocational Courses 5 4 3 2 1 0

Books Books

One last (but not least) strategy: tips for Summer Reading “We lived in farms, then we lived in cities, and now we’re gonna live on the Internet” (from the motion picture The Social Network, 2011) The character, Sean Parker, was referring to FACEBOOK alright, but we all acknowledge that, in varying degrees, it applies to us and our daily lives, especially to this generation of screenagers (1). Whether we like it or not, ours is a fast-moving, technologyobsessed world, where mobile devices are ubiquitous. Why not take advantage of this and again and again dream to cast a powerful and lasting spell on our students by nurturing reading???

Because I recognize and have always fought against an almost certain summer reading loss, as soon as the school year came to an end, I decided to do some research on ebooks, a growing phenomenon that can no longer be ignored. Indeed, more and

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more ebooks are available in new forms and accessible through different digital platforms, which is not a surprise in itself, but quite simply, a mirror of the shift in today’s society, as the printed word makes way for new technologies.

Though I’m not yet fully ready for ebooks, I admit they are ideal for holidays and have lots of advantages: they are lightweight and handy to carry around (even an entire library!) thus providing a new approach to engaging reluctant readers; they are designed to adapt to a variety of formats to suit individual needs (we can even highlight, add notes, look for definitions and translation), and nowadays, faced with squeezed budgets and environmental concerns, ereading may surely be the right choice. Besides, there are no cognitive differences in reading a printed book or an electronic one; what matters is not how one reads but what, content over format! I therefore believe that reading in a digital interface will be a kind of rebirth for books, a new opportunity for those who argue that Gutenberg’s heritage is old fashioned, outdated, and sometimes may even become the source of some embarrassment…

With no excuses now, with time on their hands and with so many free and legal sources and public domain directories for students to download ebooks to read on their smartphones / tablets / PCs, by the middle of July, I got in touch with my former students and sent them some links and suggestions challenging them to keep on reading during their Summer break.

Final Remarks Looking back, I feel pleased with what these teens achieved during the school year: they learnt English without being formally taught, were in contact with literature, writers / authors, asked for more on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, asked me to order some other books for the school library, reminded me and took to school books that had been previously offered with textbooks (such as “Johnny English”) but were still unread; As teachers, we cannot force them to read but we can create the conditions for that to happen within the boundaries of our own classrooms and out of them with today’s technological wonders. Just as important is setting the example… By the way:

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are you, (both as a parent and teacher), setting the example??? Do you read? Do you read to / with your children in Portuguese? Why not in English as well???

Let me finish by sharing with you the treasure of the final lines of the poem “The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan: “You may have tangible wealth untold – Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be.

I had a mother who read to me.”

Hope these lines may inspire you… to read more with (y)our children and youngsters both at home and at school.

Feel free to reach me at teacheralex.duarte@gmail.com; for further info, links and / or your comments, please access http://www.clubeinglesoure.blogspot.pt; for (my and your!) book reviews and recommendations http://padlet.com/wall/myreadings; for pics, infographics, quotes and further info regarding reading, readers and libraries, please visit http://pinterest.com/alexteacher/libraries-and-readers/ Note that all the documents mentioned above have already been published and are available here.

REFERENCES (1) Rushkoff, D. (1999): Playing the Future. Riverhead Books, U.S.

Thank you.

Alexandra Duarte APPI Member no. B – 2304 Agrupamento de Escolas Martinho Árias – Soure http://www.clubeinglesoure.blogspot.pt

Alexandra Duarte