THE IMPORTANCE OF READING - DO YOU READ ANY BOOKS?
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a26
Reading in L1 It is widely accepted that before TV sets and computers invaded our homes, reading played a major role in learning and leisure activities. Children, youngsters and adults spent hours reading and without leaving their rooms, they would travel and visit far-off places, lost in their thoughts. As time went by, other very attractive options have emerged and the passion for Reading has faded away. Nowadays we are aware that no matter the age group or walk of life, we all are too busy with computer games, social networks and / or Television. It is true that we also use the computer for research and work but time has come to focus more on yet another type of literacy – that from Reading, from knowledge conveyed by each book, by each page turn. According to UNESCO (http://www.unesco.org/education/ild2010/FactSheet2010_Lit_EN.pdf) , literacy is a fundamental right not only for achieving the much desired “Education for All” but also as a tool for eradicating poverty. There is nothing then like starting early and nurturing a child’s interest by reading short stories to them. The best time to instill good habits and values is during childhood. As everything in life, Reading is a habit that should be acquired as early as possible. Reading for children / Reading with them is one of the best strategies to help children enjoy Reading, to fuel their imagination, develop their creativity, their critical thinking, extend their vocabulary and promote linguistic and communicative skills. It is therefore crucial that parents understand the importance of that attitude – sometimes, let’s admit it, somewhat painful after a working day – and do not neglect it because it is well worth the investment of our time and energy:
when a child grows to cherish reading and books there is a greater likelihood that they become avid readers in their teen years and their reading choices will help them grow into adulthood with all the skills they need to succeed. Nowadays, books and the Internet are the wealthiest and most varied sources of information covering a wide spectrum of topics and storing an immeasurable volume of information. The reading practice – either printed material or other formats, for example, e-books – creates an habituation, a ritual, an healthy dependency… it doesn’t let us get bored and, after reading a book, one just feels like grabbing another in an endless search for knowledge. Research in this field proves that more avid readers stand out due to their cognitive skills; they think creatively and grasp everything around them not only faster but also more easily. Additional benefits of reading are, for example, to open up horizons, to share what we read with friends or classmates; it promotes self-confidence and increases self-esteem since it improves our wisdom regarding (a) particular topic(s), provides performance improvement in what concerns writing… books can be real sources of inspiration and even change lives depicting real stories and deeds. Reading in L2 Well documented and proven is, thus, the importance of reading in our Mother Tongue. Now the question will inevitably be: why not invest in L2 reading as well as to promote teaching / learning of that language and therefore contribute to its success? According
to
Stephen
Krashen
(http://successfulenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/81-
Generalizations-about-FVR-2009.pdf), Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) done in school, known as Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) – time set aside for recreational reading – contributes for a better performance in writing, writing fluency, spelling, vocabulary and grammar. Other positive aspects of this extensive reading (opposed to intensive reading in http://www.oupjapan.co.jp/teachers/media/tebiki_GREng_1100.pdf) referred to by Alan Maley (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/extensive-reading-why-it-good-ourstudents%E2%80%A6-us) are Students select what they wish to read; reading goals lie in pleasure, information and general knowledge no tests, exercises, questions or dictionaries available materials within the language competence of the readers reading is individual and silent teachers / trainers as role models: a reader who participates along with the students If the arguments in favour of reading in L1 apply to L2, the more important will be the principle that whoever has that intrinsic motivation to read, will never stop. Now, taking into account that reading allows
different and repeated encounters with words and phrases and that it takes more than one exposure to truly
“learn”
them
(research
suggests
between
15
to
20
meetings
(http://www.oupjapan.co.jp/teachers/media/tebiki_GREng_1100.pdf), conditions must be created so that our learners read more and more often. The key question that arises here to L2 teachers is then: why don’t we create conditions for reading – both in our classrooms and at home? Still according to Maley (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/extensive-reading-why-it-good-ourstudents%E2%80%A6-us), the reasons are many and varied: insufficient time within the curricula too costly reading materials not available lack of books linked to the syllabi downward pressure on teachers to conform to syllabi and textbooks lack of understanding of the benefits of reading and, therefore, some resistance from teachers to stop teaching and allow students to learn…. This last point does seem to me to be a common feature and the least acknowledged by us, L2 teachers: learning will only take place when there is motivation, which sometimes, for different constraints, is lacking – if this is true for teachers, it is much truer for our learners!
Sharing my experience with adult classes Assuming that our learners of English as a foreign language have little access to recreational reading in English and that its exposure is often planned and artificial, restricted and gradual, some conditions have to be created so that learning can take place with materials that they (children, youngsters and adults) might consider not just interesting but engaging and in a stimulating and relaxing atmosphere. Having also in mind
the
previous
acquisition
of
dozens
of
Graded
(http://elt.oup.com/cat/subjects/graded_reading/all/?cc=global&selLanguage=en&mode=hub)
Readers for
the
school library and many highly motivated and interested adult groups (either from Educação e Formação de Adultos courses or from Unidades de Formação de Curta Duração / UFCD) ready for 90 min / twice a week or 180 min / once a week training sessions, I came up with the idea of starting something different: to make time for reading. So, after bringing into class as many Graded Readers as I could, I challenged them, after a day’s work, to pick up a book in English, to try a few pages to know what it is about and after deciding on the “winner”, to take their seats reading for about 10 / 15 minutes waiting for some latecomers and for the lesson to start - that way, they relax a bit and, in silence, we all read but not just for 10 / 15 minutes… sometimes for 20 to 30 minutes!
Feedback has been amazing. Firstly, it is hard to stop those moments we all cherish so much and treasure already; a true ritual has been created that has to stop so soon. Second, and to their great bewilderment, they find out that they do read and in English!!! After some initial reluctance and after dispelling any doubts as for the aims of this suggestion, the way is paved to develop linguistic fluency and self-confidence; it doesn’t matter what they read: adventure, fiction, novels, real stories… what does matter is the fact that they feel pleasure in doing it, that they feel engaged and that when a book comes to the end, they feel like opening another book, and another, and another. This challenge had yet other unexpected consequences: some read at home, came into class willing to talk about it with me and looking forward to the next one! We all know that reading is a habit; once you have established a routine, it is impossible not to enjoy reading – with many adult groups it has been a “click” to rekindle their interest and motivation. I believe these are not very common situations in our schools, but we have to dare and try. Research (http://successfulenglish.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/81-Generalizations-about-FVR-2009.pdf) has confirmed that there are fewer behaviour problems when learners are motivated, including what concerns reading. Why not trying a reading activity with CEF / hard classes? If we don’t give up on them and support their choices (forbidding as little as possible), sooner or later they will start to focus and have fun; maybe, just maybe, we can experience classes running smoothly… Besides, reading throughout childhood and adolescence are essential to future success in the workplace and in what concerns adult learners, there are further benefits to take into account: people who have been lifelong readers show less memory loss. Of my last group whose training finished in July, one must refer that there were some avid readers; those who didn’t often read, started reading, first in class and then some more pages at home which surely will be a fine example to follow by their kids. There were even some who, voluntarily, scanned the books, wrote summaries and asked me to correct them; others still wrote 160 characters and recommended the reading of a favourite book (http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/myreadings); one of the learners even bought her book and brought it into class. Something similar had already taken place with previous groups in which digital posters were made and published (http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2010/07/whitedeath.html, and http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2010/07/blog-post.html,)
And, because reading has an endless array of benefits for all ages and because it is important never to let it die away, even or above all in holiday periods, why not resort to the nearest public library and borrow not one but two or three books to take home? Another possibility is also to take advantage of the new technologies and once we are undergoing a crisis period, to read in English, the interested reader can also have access - among so many others - for example, to http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ where you can find popular free audio books from the public domain; at http://www.planetpdf.com/free_pdf_ebooks.asp you can freely download dozens of world literature classics; at http://openlibrary.org/ and in their own
words “The World's classic literature at your fingertips. Over 1,000,000 free ebook titles available” and they can be read online, downloaded to our computer, read on Kindle and other ereader devices, and even embedded into other sites. For a more specialised reading, http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/ provides fully editable and totally free open textbooks created by top authors in various academic fields; at http://sciyo.com/ you find over 270 free scientific books you can read, download and share. There is no lack of supply; let us hope the willing to read is there regardless of where they are.
Final Remarks
“I beg of you… tame me!” he said “Willingly, “ the little prince replied, “but I haven’t got much time.” – Saint-Exupery, Antoine de The Little Prince, Wordsworth Classics, page 78
Just like the Little Prince from this famous fable, teachers often claim lack of time – which is undoubtedly true, given the multiplicity of roles and tasks both in school and at home. It is therefore legitimate that we also need to be tamed, to be motivated by the Portuguese Department for Education and by our school boards, to overcome so many daily constraints of lack of space, funding, adequate material and, obviously lack of time to manage so much paperwork and still meet our students’ interests, thus promoting the longawaited school success. The motivation role to motivate does not rely solely on the hands of teachers and students; it should rather come from the top of the hierarchy…
If you are interested, consider checking these blogposts: http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2010/07/reading-mission-reading-for-pleasure.html http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2010/08/reading-reading-reading.html http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2010/12/reading-yes-please.html http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2011/01/students-like-you.html http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2011/07/some-months-ago-i-published-here-my.html http://clubeinglesoure.blogspot.com/2011/08/summer-reading.html
ALEXANDRA DUARTE APPI MEMBER NO. B- 2304 Agrupamento de Escolas Martinho Árias - Soure