Learning advanced reading in English lessons

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CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BASIS OF TEACHING EXTENSIVE READING IN ENGLISH CLASSES

1.1 Notion of extensive reading

1.2 Historical perspective of extensive reading in teaching English

1.3 Importance of extensive reading in English

CHAPTER 2. THE PROBLEM OF FORMING EXTENSIVE READING AT HIGH SCHOOL

2.1 Role of teacher in forming extensive reading

2.2 Characteristics, techniques, and problems of extensive reading

2.3 Selecting reading materials for high school pupils

CHAPTER 3. USING EXTENSIVE READING IN PRIOR CLASSES

3.1 Tips and activities for developing extensive reading among students

3.2 The results of the experimental study

INTRODUCTION

Language is a tool of communication which helps people to communicate and interact with each other. It involves both verbal and non-verbal communication. Language focuses on receptive and productive skills, which includes listening, reading and speaking, writing, respectively. These skills are developed with a help of teachers at high schools. When it comes to foreign language teaching, English for instance, it is more challenging than mother tongue of students.

Nowadays, role of foreign languages as English, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German and others becoming essential. Especially in our country special attention paid to them. The head of our government said: “The main objective of all our reforms in the field of education is individual. Therefore the task of education, the task of growing up a new generation capable of national renaissance will remain the prerogative of the state and constitute a priority. For this, the power of foreign languages also must work in new generation's mind…”

Teaching a foreign language is a challenging task because of the variety of constraints that English as a foreign language teachers face daily. For instance, they have to look for ways to motivate their students to learn a second language in a meaningful and attractive way and they have to explore appropriate methods to teach it. These are demanding tasks for English teachers whose main goal is to achieve effective learning for their students. Bearing in mind these challenges,English teachers need to be selective and analytical to choose the suitable methodology that they try to implement in their classrooms. In the last two decades, methodologists have argued about the importance of developing the reading skill for language learners. The benefits of this skill have been widely pointed out by most scholars who have both implemented and studied the effects of reading in the classroom. Consequently, the analysis of the different reading approaches is relevant for teachers to carry them out in their own classrooms appropriately. Currently, extensive reading is one of the reading approach that is being studied by most reading experts. The fact of promoting autonomous and self-selected readings, extensively makes this reading approach suitable for all language learners. extensive reading skill teaching

The topicality of this research concerns the fact that the issues of teaching extensive reading at school is fully skipped and require special attention and methodological development.

The novelty of the research is that, the extensive reading process has been discussed in many works but in this project we will view this process from the point of view of difficulties in usage of it in high school classes especially in Uzbekistan. In this work I tried to give some solutions in order to deal with that difficulty, which will help to encourage high school students to read for pleasure.

The aim of the research is to explore the significance of extensive reading in English language teaching and motivate high school pupils` to do extensive reading by using appropriate techniques.

The general aims define the following objectives of the research:

1. To explore extensive reading peculiarities and fundamental characteristics.

2. To consider extensive reading types and effects.

3. To study effective techniques for developing extensive reading among high school students.

The object of the given research is the process of providing extensive reading with high school students.

The subject is the ways of developing pupils extensive reading using a set of reading materials which provide the formation of extensive reading at high school.

The major methods used in the research process are: the method of linguistic description and analysis, which let us create the theoretical basis of the present course paper. The method of continuous selection was used to single the research material out. The structural, formalization methods were used for working with the results got in the research process. The research material of the work is the activities taken from different websites. The given material presents a broad field for research. It also gives us an opportunity to rich the set goals of the present research.

The sources of the research paper while investigating the given qualification work are the works of well-known scholars and the Internet web sites which are given in the references that follows the conclusion.

The theoretical value of the research paper is for those willing to take up their future carrier in the field of teaching methodology and pedagogy as valuable reference to the subject matter of Methodology, English for Specific Purposes, in teaching language skills.

The practical value of this work is that the suggested modern methods of teaching extensive reading and analysing activities can be applied into FL classes and revealed significance of reading for pleasure in teaching English.

The research paper consists of introduction, three chapters, conclusion and the list of used literature.

The first chapter is devoted to the study of theoretical basis of reading skills, particularly extensive reading. Moreover this part of work represents information about historical perspective of extensive reading in teaching foreign language

The second chapter is devoted to the importance of developing extensive reading, revealed the subject of the research. In the chapter the role of teacher in setting extensive reading, reasons of skipping extensive reading in classes, problems and solutions for setting an extensive reading is discussed.

The analysis of techniques and activities used in the process of developing extensive reading and materials used during experimental study on the topic of research are given in the third chapter of the work.

In conclusion the basic results of investigation are submitted.

At the end of research paper the list of used literature was attached,which is valuable for the user of this research paper.

CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BASIS OF TEACHING EXTENSIVE READING IN ENGLISH CLASSES

1.1 Notion of extensive reading

Extensive reading is a language teaching process where learners are exposed to a variety of reading materials to gain a global understanding although may read for pleasure. Students choose books of their own choice to read independently and it should not be followed up by any task related to the reading material. If they do not feel any interest in the chosen material or find the content hard to understand, they can leave it there and start off with the new book or text. Students of any age and level can benefit from this extensive reading but at least they should have basic skills to read it According to Krashen (2004)І, “extensive reading is also like free the voluntary reading approach, sustained silent reading and independent voluntary reading. In other words. Extensive Reading (ER) is the process of reading longer easier texts for an extended period of time without a breakdown of comprehension, feeling overwhelmed, or the need to take breaks.It stands in contrast to intensive or academic reading, which is focused on a close reading of dense shorter texts, typically not read for pleasure. Though used as a teaching strategy to promote second-language development, ER also applies to free voluntary reading and recreational reading both in and out of the classroom. ER is based on the assumption that we learn to read by reading. Implementation of ER is often referred to as Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) or free voluntary reading; and is used in both the first- (L1) and second-language (L2) classroom to promote reading fluency and comprehension. In addition to fluency and comprehension, ER has other numerous benefits for both first- and second-language learners, such as greater grammar and vocabulary knowledge, increase in background knowledge, and greater language confidence and motivation. Extensive reading is reading as much as possible, for your own pleasure, at a difficulty level at which you can read smoothly and quickly without looking up words or translating to English as you go. In other words, instead of spending a half hour decoding a tiny part of one book (also known as intensive reading), you read many simpler books that are at or slightly below the level at which you read fluently. This lets you get used to reading more complex sentences with ease, reinforces the words you already know and helps you learn new words from context. Palmer who is the originator of the term defines that extensive reading means rapid reading`. Those, who obtained some amount of foreign language, are able to read texts written in the foreign language with understanding and without that process of mental translation, referring to the dictionary frequently. Palmer called frequent use of a dictionary a vicious linguistic tendency. Longman Dictionary of Language teaching and Applied Linguistics defines extensive reading as a skill that intended to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading . Williams defines extensive reading as ЇThe relatively rapid reading of long texts… give the definition to extensive reading using criteria.

Extensive reading is reading Ї(a) of a large quantities of material or long texts; (b) for global or general understanding;

(c) with intention of obtaining pleasure from the text which is important for language learning.

Davis (1995, p. 329) summed up the notion of extensive reading: Їpupils are given the time, encouragement and materials to read pleasurably, at their own level, as many books as they can, without the pressures of testing or marks. Extensive reading exposes learners to "large quantities of material within their linguistic competence" (Grabe and Stoller, 2002, p. 259), which is, at the same time, pleasurable. Hedge (2000: 202) defines extensive reading with the peculiar characteristics: reading large quantities of material such as short stories and

novel, newspaper and magazine articles, or professional reading reading consistently over time on a frequent and regular

basis reading longer texts (more than a few paragraphs in length)

of the types listed in the first point above reading for general meaning, primarily for pleasure, curiosity,

or professional interest reading longer texts during class time but also engaging in

individual, independent reading at home, ideally of self selected material In language teaching terms, extensive reading is considered by some writers as just another reading subskill along with skimming, scanning and intensive reading (Grellet, 1981; Calfoglou & Sifakis, 2004).

Extensive reading is regarded as a teaching/learning procedure, not a reading subskill by , , Krashen (2004)І, Nuttall (2000). According to Rodrigo, V., Greenberg, D., Burke, V., Hall, R., Berry, A., Brinck, T., Joseph, H., Oby, M. extensive reading is reading of great amounts for a general understanding of the text or for the enjoyment of the reading experience. Other terms used for extensive reading are USSR (uninterrupted sustained silent reading), SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), FVR (free voluntary reading), DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) supplementary reading, free reading time, reading lab and pleasure reading. According to Krashen (2004)І free voluntary reading, or FVR, is a system for encouraging silent, self-selected reading of enjoyable books written at the students` independent level.

1.2 Historical perspective of extensive reading in teaching English

An extensive reading program was established at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. An elementary level class of government employees (age range 17-42) was exposed to a regime of graded readers, which was integrated into normal classroom teaching. Students followed a class reader, had access to a class library of graded readers, and had classes in the British Council library, which gave them access to a collection of 2000 titles. Questionnaires were used to examine students' reading interests, habits and attitudes, both prior to, and following the program. The class library contained 141 titles in the published readers of some major publishers . Familiar titles (e.g. popular Arab folk tales) were selected for both the class readers and the class library, so as to motivate the students to read. These titles proved very popular, as did the practice of reading aloud to the class. Students' reading was carefully monitored; formal and informal records being kept both by the researcher, and by the students themselves. Reading diaries and book reports were used, together with a card file system to document the program and record both the titles read and students' written comments on the books. A wall chart acted as a focal point for in-class reading, discussion and exchange of titles. Reader interviews were conducted throughout the program, which ran for a period of six months over the course of two semesters. Students became actively involved in running the class library; tables were arranged and titles displayed attractively during the periods set aside for the reading program. Students were taken into the main British Council library for one lesson a week, during which they participated in controlled twenty-minute sessions of USSR 1 . In order to clearly delineate and understand the negative aspects of extensive reading, it is perhaps necessarily to look back at a history of this learning technique. Ostensibly, extensive reading began to be applied to learners in English as a Second Language (ESL) situations and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) during the late 1990's, but was used primary for English speaking native speakers long before that time. In its most popular first language incarnation, extensive reading was done primarily by assigning out of class reading utilizing a library reading programs or by using SRA (Science Research Associates) reading comprehension laboratories in class. The SRA's were one or two page offerings which featured short readings of different levels with comprehension and vocabulary exercises after each reading. This technique was utilized for native speakers of English in the United States from the 60's and continued all the way through the 1990's. In the 1980's and increasing exponentially in the 1990's, second language education pioneered the use of both intensive reading (that type of reading that focuses of form and meaning) and extensive reading. What is extensive reading anyway? In contrast to intensive reading, extensive reading is done when reading is “focused on the language rather than the text.” (Waring, 2012)10 Synonyms for extensive reading are “free reading,” “book flood,” and “reading for pleasure.” (As will be seen later, the definition of ER seems to change depending on how it's practiced.) As the popularity and necessity of learning English grew due it becoming a world language, demands on getting beginners to increase their vocabulary and reading ability increased. Teachers began looking for other ways of making “comprehensible input” available to their students rather than using textbooks in the classroom utilizing intensive reading. Though probably not the first practitioners of ER for ESL/EFL in the 1980's and 1990's, Day and Bamford (1998)11 were probably the first to categorize a group of common traits that were basic to the use of extensive reading. They call them the Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading (TTPTER): (1) The students should read as much as possible.

(2) The students' reading materials should be well within the individual reader's grammatical and vocabulary competence.

(3) These reading materials should also be varied in subject matter and character. (4) Students should choose their own reading material and are not compelled to finish uninteresting materials.

(5) Reading normally should be for pleasure, information or general understanding. (6) Reading should be individual and silent.

(7) Reading should be its own reward with few or no follow-up exercises after reading.

(8) Students' reading speed should usually be faster when they read materials they can easily understand.

(9) The teacher should be a role model who also orients the students to the goals of the extensive reading program.

(10) The teacher should keep records of what has been read and guides students in materials selection. (Day and Bamford, 2002)12 Most researchers in the field of extension reading tend to agree with the above statements. However, a cursory look at the research shows that a few of these traits are either ignored or glossed over or perhaps re-defined in order to meet a specific goal. Another well-known practitioner in the field of ER, Nation (2005)13 suggested that the following conditions should also be met when students learn by using extensive reading:

(1) The focus should be on the general meaning of the English text.

(2) The students should understand the type of learning that can occur through such reading.

(3) That the student should have a choice of interesting and engaging books.

(4) The students should do large quantities of reading at an appropriate level.

(5) The extensive reading should be supported by other kinds of learning.

As one can see, Nation's conditions cover a incredible bargain with the characteristics of Day and Bamford, but include other vital focuses. With these measures for the most part acknowledged and recognized by the ESL/EFL community, advance in making strides ER programs was at that point assisted in other ways. To fulfill the prerequisite of being inside the reader's syntactic and lexicon competence (that's , at an suitable level, TTPTER number 2 and Country number 4), reviewed peruser arrangement got to be well known. Grader perusers do for non-native English learners what the SRA research facility did for local talking learners. Understudies can select materials at their possess level (or instructors can offer assistance them choose) and after illustrating competence at one level, they can move up to the another level. As of late, it has been the Oxford arrangement and the Penguin/Longman arrangement of evaluated readers that are the foremost utilized within the extensive perusing community. Using these Reviewed Perusers (GR) can fulfill some of the fundamental principles of the TTPTER. The taking after step within the broad perusing chronology was finding a way to keep exact records of students' advance. Within the past, instructors either depended on library book check-out records or depended on the students' claim record-keeping. In some cases instructors required understudies to bring what they were perusing to lesson and after that recorded it at that time. Perhaps the foremost utilized strategy in later times is Moodle. Moodle could be a free open-source program learning administration framework that was utilized in numerous scholarly circumstances indeed some time recently being utilized for broad perusing. When adjusted for ER, the framework is called Moodle Peruser. Maybe made as early as 2007, the Moodle Peruser Test Module makes a difference to reduce the challenges of applying ER by overseeing the test records of a huge populace of understudies. Employing a university's server on the web, understudies can take tests on over 5500 reviewed perusers and have their scores recorded and available to their educates. The framework is supervised by Thomas Robb, who has done a great deal of research in the field of ER which show that the benefits of ER in reading comprehension, writing performance, grammatical competence and vocabulary. The creation of Moodle Peruser and the capability of any college to include the Moodle Peruser computer program to their possess servers sets up the impulse for this paper. In any case, as will be point by point afterward, utilizing GR and utilizing the Moodle Peruser module moves understudies encourage absent from what a few consider to be genuine broad perusing. This specific institution (Adventure College, a national college in Japan) started presenting broad perusing into classes utilizing both the reviewed perusers and Moodle Peruser as early as 2012 with a extend by Fellner and South (2012). Since that time, the positives have for the most part exceeded the negatives, especially when the number of reviewed perusers that understudies had get to to was expanded. In expansion, when other teaches started to utilize the framework here, different sorts of investigate were conducted and the comes about essentially reflected the positive comes about that most broad perusing analysts accomplished in their tests. In 2013, here at SAGA university, a modern preparation for study abroad program began. This International Study Abroad Curriculum (ISAC) enables students to take intensive classes in English so as to prepare them to study abroad at a foreign college or university. In expansion to taking their customary course stack from their divisions, understudies in ISAC must take an extra three to five classes in English per term (for illustration, Intercultural Communication, Coordinates Composing, or Basic Considering). In this way, one of the objectives of the program is for the understudies to attain a tall sufficient score on a standardized test (such as TOEFL) to enter college programs overseas or to reach a point in their learning where they might enter a normal English-speaking university level educational modules. In endeavoring to assist the understudies accomplish these goals, some instructors and directors have chosen that ER may be a great necessity for the understudies and have started to require instructors to include ER within the syllabus for 1st and 2nd year ISAC understudies. Whereas concurring that ER may be a great learning technique, a few instructors at SAGA university are hesitant to require their understudies to utilize it in their classes. The main question is here why teacher still have resistance towards ER if it can be great learning technique? In order to answer to this question I looked for some pros and cons of extensive reading on the web.

1.3 Importance of extensive reading in English

What are the benefits of extensive reading? Both common sense observation and copious research evidence bear out the many benefits which come from ER .There are useful summaries of the evidence in Day and Bamford (1998: 32-39)11 and and passionate advocacy in Krashen's The Power of Reading. (2004)2.

Extensive reading develops learner autonomy

There is no cheaper or more effective way to develop learner autonomy. Reading is, by its very nature, a private, individual activity. It can be done anywhere, at any time of day. Readers can start and stop at will, and read at the speed they are comfortable with. They can visualise and interpret what they read in their own way. They can ask themselves questions (explicit or implicit), notice things about the language, or simply let the story carry them along.

Extensive reading offers Comprehensible Input

Reading is the most readily available form of comprehensible input, especially in places where there is hardly any contact with the target language. If carefully chosen to suit learners' level, it offers them repeated encounters with language items they have already met. This helps them to consolidate what they already know and to extend it. There is no way any learner will meet new language enough times to learn it in the limited number of hours in class. The only reliable way to learn a language is through massive and repeated exposure to it in context: precisely what ER provides.

Extensive reading enhances general language competence

In ways we so far do not fully understand, the benefits of ER extend beyond reading. There is `a spread of effect from reading competence to other language skills ~ writing, speaking and control over syntax.' The phenomenon is noted by Day and Bamford (1998: 32-39)11 they even note evidence of improvements in the spoken language. So reading copiously seems to benefit all language skills, not just reading.

Extensive reading helps develop general, world knowledge

Many, if not most, students have a rather limited experience and knowledge of the world they inhabit both cognitively and affectively. ER opens windows on the world seen through different eyes. This educational function of ER cannot be emphasised enough.

Extensive reading extends, consolidates and sustains vocabulary growth

Vocabulary is not learned by a single exposure. ER allows for multiple encounters with words and phrases in context thus making possible the progressive accretion of meanings to them. By presenting items in context, it also makes the deduction of meaning of unknown items easier.

Extensive reading helps improve writing .There is a well-established link between reading and writing. Basically, the more we read, the better we write. Exactly how this happens is still not understood but the fact that it happens is well-documented .Common sense would indicate that as we meet more language, more often, through reading, our language acquisition mechanism is primed to produce it in writing or speech when it is needed. (Hoey 2005)12.

Extensive reading creates and sustains motivation to read more . The virtuous circle - success leading to success - ensures that, as we read successfully in the foreign language, so we are encouraged to read more. The effect on self-esteem and motivation of reading one's first book in the foreign language is undeniable. It is what Krashen calls a `home run' book : `my first'! This relates back to the point at the beginning of the need to find `compelling', not merely interesting, reading material. It is this that fuels the compulsion to read the next Harry Potter. It also explains the relatively new trend in graded readers toward original and more compelling subject matter. Many studies have emphasized the effectiveness and benefits of extensive reading in both ESL and EFL classrooms. Generally, authors and researchers agree that extensive reading promotes

1) reading speed and reading comprehension;

2) vocabulary growth;

3) improvements in the other language skills of listening and speaking as well as writing; and,

4) positive changes in motivation and attitude toward language learning in general and reading in particular. Regarding reading speed and reading comprehension, researchers compared an extensive group who used graded readers (texts which are adapted for language learners and target a specific level of reader) and an intensive group who read short texts. Results showed that learners in the extensive group achieved significantly faster reading speeds and higher scores than those in the intensive group. In addition, Nation (2009 p. 64)13 also stated that graded readers are effective sources for language students to improve their reading speed because they no longer find it difficult to read, and they can focus on reading for meaning and content. In terms of vocabulary growth, many studies show that extensive reading is an effective way for ESL/EFL learners to acquire vocabulary of the target language. In their case study of vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading, Pigada and Schmitt (2006)14 concluded that reading extensively in the target language not only improves grammatical knowledge but also enhances spelling as well as acquisition of vocabulary meanings. Maley (2009)15 argued that learners acquire vocabulary by having exposure to various reading materials. He affirmed that “extensive reading allows for multiple encounters with words and phrases in context thus making possible the progressive accretion of meanings to them.” In this kind of reading, more new vocabulary comes into learners' minds, and more importantly, reading helps the learners retain prior learned vocabulary. Day (2004) stressed that “the more our students read, the better readers they become. An integral part of this is learning new vocabulary” (p. 1). It is apparent that extensive reading plays a vital role in vocabulary development, which is considered an indispensable part in the acquisition of a second or foreign language. Such research strongly supports the evidence that vocabulary growth can occur incidentally through extensive reading. Besides reading speed, comprehension, and vocabulary growth, extensive reading helps to improve the other three English skills of listening, speaking, and writing. Researchers established a program using graded readers to investigate the effects of extensive reading upon other language skills. The program was conducted with one experimental group and two other control groups. After three months of the project, the result was that the experimental group considerably improved their reading comprehension and writing skills due to their exposure to a wide range of lexical, syntactic, and textual features in the reading materials. In addition to this, Bell (1998)15 argued that extensive reading enhances learners' general language competence. Bell established a reading program with a variety of published and graded readers to help an elementary level class of EFL learners improve their English. As a result, those students not only gained word recognition and reading comprehension, but they were also better at oral and written English skills. Finally, extensive reading has a great impact on learners' motivation and attitudes toward language learning. Mason and Krashen (1997) conducted an investigation of Japanese students' motivation through a reading program. They experimented on students who had failed English. The result proved that those students had positive changes in the way they learned through extensive reading in place of traditional teaching. More importantly, Mason and Krashen found that those students, through extensive reading, were highly motivated in their language learning and were actively involved more in extensive reading activities. Day (2012) also affirmed that through extensive reading, students' language skills are improved, which can lead to positive changes in students' attitudes and motivation toward reading (Extensive Reading, 2012).

Many researchers and scholars have been closely concerned about extensive reading. For example, Day and Bamford (1998) and Hunter (2009) have recognized an influential effect of reading on academic success. Similarly, Nuttall (1982:65) says “an extensive reading program … is the single most effective way of improving both vocabulary and reading skills in general”. Thus, extensive reading is believed to contribute to enhancing vocabulary knowledge and developing students' overall language abilities. Nation (1997) puts forward that language students highly take advantage of extensive reading. First, large amount of reading materials leads them to pick up new vocabulary and revise their existing vocabulary knowledge. High frequency lexical items are read regularly through extensive reading, and learners are able to master these items. Second, extensive reading activities enable learners to develop attitude towards reading and language learning. They may find reading enjoyable, start to like literary texts, and develop reading habits. Third, extensive reading also makes learners both fluent readers and writers. Davis (1995:335) argues that “any classroom will be the poorer for lack of an extensive reading program and will be unable to promote its pupils' language development in all aspects as effectively as if such a program were present”. He further suggests that an extensive reading program is most likely to get the learners to gain positive attitude towards reading, improve their comprehension skills, and provide them with broader passive and active vocabulary items. In the same line with Davis's argument, Day and Bamford (1998) claims that ER enables learners to face increasing amount of words outside the class. Therefore; extensive reading can be accepted as one of the best ways for language learners to recognize the words automatically when they see them. By the same token, Hedge (2000) points out that ER presents the benefit of subjecting students to a huge quantity of English materials, which is especially important where the class time is insufficient. Hedge further claims that the chance of reading at home or reading silently makes the possibility of carrying on learning by themselves stronger. In other words, extensive reading offers learners a good number of ways of working independently. Furthermore, according to Hedge (2000), providing children with books stimulates critical thinking and leads to developing attitudes towards creative experiences. Wilkins (1972) highlights another outstanding benefit of extensive reading that learners can easily understand which words are appropriate in certain contexts with the help of reading. He further notes (1972:132)16: “Through reading, the learner …. is exposed to the lexical items embedded in natural linguistic contexts, and as a result they begin slowly to have the same meaningfulness …that they have for the native speaker”. Robb and Susser (1989) also bring forward the idea that letting students choose reading materials that they like will enhance students' motivation to learn more. When they see that they are able to read successfully in the target language, they are more motivated to do more extensive reading. Robb and Susser (1989) also underline the skill-building side of extensive reading such as comprehending important facts, predicting vocabulary from the context. Another important issue of extensive reading to be taken into consideration is that extensive reading can also have positive impact on students' writing skill. Particularly upper-intermediate and advanced-level students are frequently supposed to write essays during their L2 classes. As they gain a good amount of vocabulary through extensive reading, they can become fluent writers with well-written essays. Hoey (2005) suggests that when learners are exposed to more language more often through extensive reading, their production in writing and speech will be a lot more impressive.

Outcomes of the first chapter

An extensive reading program was established at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. However most teachers faced some difficulties in usage of it during classes. Scientists Day&Bamford had done a lot of researches on this topic and was able to show the importance of extensive reading in teaching process. Moreover Paul Nation also recommended to use extensive reading program during classes, in order to make it easier he suggested to use graded reader books for each level, he stated that it will be easier for student to concentrate on book's content. Researchers also showed some benefits of extensive reading which makes extensive reading reasonable to use in teaching process as extensive reading develops learner autonomy, offers comprehensible input, enhances general language competence, helps develop general, world knowledge, extends, consolidates and sustains vocabulary growth, helps improve writing , creates and sustains motivation to read more. However, when survey was provided among teachers in order to find out why do not they use extensive reading during class, as it has so many benefits for students, they counted a lot of problems and the answers came down to these:

a) insufficient time.

b) too costly.

c) Reading materials not available.

d) extensive reading is not linked to the syllabus and the examination.

e) lack of understanding of extensive reading and its benefits.

f) too lazy and weak students

CHAPTER 2. THE PROBLEM OF FORMING EXTENSIVE READING AT HIGH SCHOOL

2.1 Role of teacher in forming extensive reading

In recent years, there has been an impressive body of evidence in favour of extensive reading as a means of improving not only students' reading level but also of raising their general proficiency. Research indicates that reading is crucial in our live especially independent reading. An independent reading is an important aspect of any balanced literacy opportunities. Independent reading helps build fluency in readers and develops readers' confidence toward increasingly sophisticated books. Reading large amount of easy material has a vital role to play in learning to read fluently. Firstly, it helps wean students away from the word-by-word processing of text, encouraging them instead to go for the general meaning of what they read, and to ignore any details they do not fully understand. Secondly, by meeting the same patterns of letters, words, and combinations of words again and again, students process them more quickly and accurately, thus developing sight vocabulary (words that are recognized automatically). This ultimately, increases their reading speed and confidence and thus giving more attention to working out the overall meaning of what they are reading. Nation and Day and Bamford (1998) concluded in their studies that extensive reading results in students' making significant gains in other aspects of foreign language competence such as listening, writing, and vocabulary. In a study of university students who were failing their English as a foreign language (EFL) classes, Mason and Krashen (1997) found that extensive reading helped the students improve their scores. The important role of comprehensible input in foreign language learning has been well documented by Krashen (1993). Arguably, the impact of extensive reading may also be related to attitude. Many people find learning a foreign language difficult and feel more or less inadequate to the task. Successful foreign language reading experiences can counter such feelings of failure. Mason and Krashen (1997 p.93) stated: Perhaps the most important and impressive finding in this study is the clear improvement in attitude shown by the experimental students. Many of the once reluctant students of English as foreign language learners became eager readers. Several wrote in their diaries that they were amazed at their improvement). Nation posits that extensive reading shows a wide range of learning benefits. He indicates that not only is there improvement in reading, but that there are improvements in a range of language uses and areas of language knowledge. There are affective benefits as well. Success in reading and its associated skills, most notably writing, makes learners come to enjoy language learning and to value their study of English. He concludes that teachers need to be serious about extensive reading programs particularly in ensuring that learners do large amounts of reading as the benefits of extensive reading do not come in the short term. Nevertheless, the substantial long-term benefits justify the high degree of commitment needed. Extensive reading has been shown to be a highly successful way of reinforcing, confirming and deepening knowledge of vocabulary and expressions hitherto only imperfectly known, and of developing an implicit understanding of when and how words are used, by experiencing language in context. Another advantage is that, as each student chooses a book within their own capability range, weaker students need not feel embarrassed about not keeping up with more advanced ones, as can happen with a teacher-chosen class reader that all students must follow. Students are therefore less likely to get frustrated and demotivated, so the overall effect on their attitude will be beneficial. In other words, success in individual reading encourages learner autonomy which leads to "learning success and enhanced motivation" Dickson (as cited in Mutoh, Bamford & Helgesen, 1998). By eliminating follow-up checks and exercises and encouraging students to go for understanding the general meaning rather than detailed comprehension, students are gradually weaned off word-by-word decoding at the sentence level as Carrell (1998) said, the goal is to turn learning to read into reading to learn. Spio (2008) identifies the importance of voluntary reading as discovering the lessons other people have learnt from life experiences. The writer quoted W. Somerset Maugham's observation that “to acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life” (p.9). The writer added that book shops and libraries stock a good number of autobiographies, biographies and other reading materials that are full of experiences from people of various professions and walks of life. Another benefit of reading is that it presents to you the opportunity to explore new ideas. Voluntary reading also enables people to significantly improve skills and competencies needed for professional development and to do every day job. There are several well written “do'' it yourself” books in various professions that guide practitioners. Regular reading is said to reduce cognitive decline. It has been observed that the older a person becomes the higher the risk of decline in the ability to be aware and acquire knowledge (Spio, 2008). “However, K. Warmer Schiae, who investigated cognitive decline, observed that the risk of cognitive decline could be reduced by three factors namely higher education, extensive reading and being married to a spouse with higher cognitive status”(p.9). Perhaps, one of the most underestimated benefits of reading is that it is a wonderful way of relaxing. It is indeed fun. A very good book does not only bring pleasure and provide knowledge, but in some cases inspires people to unleash their talents and pursue their passion (Spio, 2008). He further posits that a report published by the National Endowment for Arts in the United States observed that “keen readers were found to be more likely to engage in “positive more civic and individual activities”- such as voluntary work, attending sports or cultural events and exercising. In an inaugural speech at the launch of a number of reading clubs in Accra, Owusu (2008) stated that reading develops a person's creativity. According to her, it also improves one's ability to understand concepts and ideas which makes teaching easier, and through critical thinking, one is able to make good decisions and also avoid the bad influence of peer pressure. Many authorities agree that oral language experiences and wide reading influence students' word knowledge and refer to this type of word learning as “incidental word learning.” In fact, they believe that the majority of words acquired over life span are learned incidentally (Cunningham, 2005). Thus, plentiful experience with written language, beneficial for many reasons, it plays an important role in vocabulary development. Extensive reading presents students with exposure to rich vocabulary. Furthermore, written texts provide multiple exposures to words. Grabe (as quoted in Mutoh, Bamford & Helgesen 1998) called extensive reading a "major way to round out a reading program", and in 1991 went on to sum up simply and forcefully the many benefits of extensive reading by arguing that: Students need to read extensively. Longer concentrated periods of silent reading build vocabulary and structural awareness, develop automaticity, enhance background knowledge, improve comprehension skills and promote confidence and motivation (p. 396). 47 The literature on the importance of extensive reading comments largely on increased vocabulary acquisition. This being the case, there is a clash over the suggestion that students can make huge vocabulary gains from extensive reading, when so little of the vocabulary is new. In fact, Nation (1997) and Waring (2001) both concur that students can only hope to make small, incidental gains in vocabulary knowledge from extensive reading.

Modeling refers to the patterning of thoughts, beliefs, strategies, and actions after those displayed by one or more models--usually teachers or parents who explain and demonstrate skills (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1997). The role of the teacher is paramount. Research suggests that the frequency with which students read in and out of school depends upon the priority classroom teachers give to independent reading (Anderson et al., 1988). In Singapore, the most common extensive reading program among schools is the USSR. One of the most effective, if not the most effective, ways to motivate the pupils to read during USSR is teacher modeling. In the seminal article on teacher modeling, McCracken and McCracken (1978) underscored the importance of the teacher as a model: “We came to the key notion that all adults in the classroom have to read or SSR does not work” (p. 406). In his social learning studies, Bandura (1969, 1977, 1986) showed the importance of social behavior. A child will follow the beliefs and behaviors of an adult perceived to be important. Consequently, any activity that that particular adult performs, the child responds with a desire to do it as well. Consciously or not, if teachers present the lesson or activity with enthusiasm, suggesting that it is interesting, important and worthwhile, students are more likely to adopt the same attitude (Wlodkowski, 1978; Bucher, 1997; Rose, 2004). Affirming this, Campbell (1989) found that children spent more time reading if the teacher also read. When children see their teachers enjoy reading during USSR, it reinforces the idea that reading is valuable and important. Empirical studies by Methe and Hintze (2003), Pluck et al. (1984), Wheldall and Entwhistle (1988), and Widdowson et al. (1996) demonstrated unanimously that when the teacher models reading for the students, the students' on-task reading naturally increases. These studies are important as they adopted the reversal design, whereby the teacher stopped modeling for a period of time and then modeled again after that period of time. The pupils' on-task reading correlated positively and directly with the teacher's action. Not only is teacher modeling important in itself, it proves to be even more important to lowachieving readers. Few of such readers have reading models outside of schools (Jones & Wills, 2004). Therefore, there is greater need for these students to have appropriate reading role models in schools. Pluck et al. (1984) showed that the gains made by the low-achieving readers under concurrent modeling were greater than those made by the high-achieving readers. High achieving readers already have a reading habit. Teacher- or adult-modeling reading has less impact on good readers compared to readers who do not have a reading habit. Low-achieving readers need to be convinced of the importance of reading; they do not read and hence they are the ones who require convincing. Thus, teacher modeling of reading has a positive effect on student learning. In a study conducted more than a decade after the study by Pluck et al. (1984), Widdowson et al. (1996) found that concurrent modeling clearly increased the on-task reading behavior of both low and average-achieving readers during USSR. The on-task behavior for the low-achievers increased to nearly that found for the high-achieving readers at baseline. Both these studies demonstrate that teacher modeling is indispensable in motivating low-achieving readers. Therefore, to help students to become highly engaged readers, teachers themselves need to be highly engaged (Guthrie, Dreher & Baker, 2000). Garrett (2002), in his article delineating the affective and cognitive factors impacting students' reading attitudes and consequent reading behavior, found that “teachers and principals have an enormous impact on the attitudes children develop toward reading” (p. 21). Generally, getting the child to mimic the modeling teacher is more effective than preaching to the child. Most students will not do a lot of extensive reading by themselves unless they are encouraged to do so by their teachers. Clearly, then, our role is crucial. We need to promote reading and by our own espousal of reading as a valid occupation, persuade students of its benefits. Perhaps, for example, we can occasionally read aloud from books we like and show, by our manner of reading, how exciting books can be. Having persuaded our students of the benefits of extensive reading, we can organise reading programmes where we indicate to them how many books we expect them to read over a given period. We can explain how they can make their choice of what to read, making it clear that the choice is theirs, but that they can consult other students' reviews and comments to help them make that choice. We can suggest that they look for books in a genre (be it crime fiction, romantic novels, science fiction, etc.) that they enjoy, and that they make appropriate level choices. We will act throughout as part organiser, part tutor.

2.2 Characteristics, techniques, and problems of extensive reading

Bamford and Day (1999) have outlined a list of characteristics of successful extensive reading programs as follows: 1. Students read as much as possible, in class and outside of the class. 2. A variety of materials on a wide range of topics is available so as 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 usually related to pleasure, information, and general understanding and are determined by the nature of the material and the interests of the student. 5. Reading is its own reward. There are few or no 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 during reading because constantly stopping to look up words makes fluent reading difficult. 7. Reading is individual and silent. Students read at their own pace, and outside class, they choose when and where to read. 8. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower as students read books and other material they can easily understand. 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 for students and an active member of the classroom reading community, who demonstrates what it means to be a reader and the rewards of being a reader. An extensive reading approach introduces students to the dynamics of reading as it is done in real life by including such key elements of real-life reading as choice and purpose. An extensive reading classroom should help students develop a love of words, those they encounter in poetry, biography, fiction, letter or any other genre (Cameron, 1999). An ideal extensive reading classroom should have one purpose to develop, which is a lifelong love for reading. Through reading and writing, students would learn about themselves and other places in the world. They would realise that reading and writing have real-life connection. Students would accept the underlying invitation present in every well written book to imagine, wonder, and reflect (Mentor, 1999). A reading classroom would have vast selection of reading materials from which children choose (Niles, 1999). An ideal reading classroom should be filled with books (Fox, 1999). Regardless whatever name is used to describe extensive reading in the review, the characteristics generally include the relatively fast reading of a large amount of longer, easy-to-understand material, with the reading done mostly outside of the classroom and at each student's own pace and level. There are few, if any, follow-up exercises, because the aim is for overall understanding rather than word-by-word decoding or grammar analysis. For the same reason, there is minimum use of dictionaries. Children are expected to read a number of different books for variety of reasons such as pleasure, information, etc. Unfortunately, most teachers saddle students with inflexible curriculum texts that they neither enjoy nor understand. However, with extensive reading, the reading materials are generally chosen by the students themselves. This means that the students have decision making power in their learning. In this situation, the students enjoy some small measure of responsibility for decisions affecting their learning, a basic tenet of communicative teaching. However, nothing is said about the approximate number of books one is expected to read and within what time limit in an extensive reading classroom. Similarly, little emphasis is given to comprehension as a component of extensive reading. When a text is difficult to comprehend, children would not be motivated to want to read such a text because if they read they would not comprehend. Next let's look through some techniques which will help in implementation of extensive reading in classroom.