MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO Extensive Reading: Its Importance in Learning

MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Department of English Language and Literature
Extensive Reading: Its Importance in Learning
English at the Secondary School
Bachelor Thesis
Brno 2011
Supervisor:
Author:
Dr. Rita Collins Ed.D.
Petra Zvolská
Bibliografický záznam
ZVOLSKÁ, Petra. Extensive Reading – Its Importance in Learning English at the
Secondary
School:
bakalářská
práce.
Brno:
Masarykova
univerzita,
Fakulta
pedagogická, Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury, 2011. 54 l. Vedoucí bakalářské
práce Dr. Rita Collins Ed.D.
Bibliography
ZVOLSKÁ, Petra. Extensive Reading – Its Importance in Learning English at the
Secondary School: bachelor thesis. Brno: Masaryk University, Faculty of Education,
Department of English Language and Literature. 2010. 54 pages. The supervisor of the
bachelor thesis: Dr. Rita Collins Ed.D.
Anotace
Bakalářská práce “Rozšířené čtení – jeho důležitost v hodinách anglického
jazyka na druhém stupni základních škol“ se zabývá důležitostí čtecích aktivit a
významem programu rozšířeného čtení na tomto stupni základních škol. Bakalářská
práce je rozdělena do dvou částí. První, teoretická část shrnuje čtyři základní druhy
jazykových dovedností a zdůrazňuje důležitost čtecích schopností. Dále byl navržen
způsob, jak mohou učitelé více motivovat žáky, aby četli anglicky i ve svém volném
čase. Práce definuje rozdíly mezi intenzivním a rozšířeným čtením a soustřeďuje se na
čtení rozšířené. Poté jsou navrženy způsoby jak vytvořit a řídit třídní knihovnu
s anglickými knihami dostupnými pro žáky. V praktické části jsou prezentována data,
která byla získána na základě případové studie. Tato studie byla provedena v sedmé
třídě základní školy Bakalka. Odpovědi ukázaly, zda jejich učitelka anglického jazyka
připravuje pro třídu čtecí aktivity, zda žáci po sedmi letech učení anglickému jazyku
čtou anglicky ve svém volném čase a zda literatura tvoří důležitou součást jejich životů.
Cílem práce bylo nejen ukázat důležitost čtení ve výuce anglického jazyka, ale
také jak může být literatura zahrnuta do výuky angličtiny na druhém stupni základních
škol.
Annotation
The bachelor thesis “Extensive Reading – Its Importance in Learning English at
the Secondary School” studies the importance of reading activities and the value of an
extensive reading programme at secondary schools. The thesis is divided into two parts.
The first, theoretical part summarises four basic language skills and puts emphasis on
reading among them. Further, it attempts to find a way how teachers could encourage
children to read in English outside the class. The thesis defines differences between
intensive and extensive reading and focuses on extensive reading. The ways how to set
up and run a class library with English books are suggested in the thesis. The practical
part of the thesis presents data that were obtained from a case study. The case study was
made in the 7th year class at basic school Bakalka. The answers from questionnaires
show whether the teacher does reading activities with the class, whether pupils from
basic school who learn English for 7 years read in English in their leisure time and
whether literature is important part of their lives.
The aim of the thesis is to emphasize the importance of reading and to show how
literature can be implied into the process of learning English at the secondary school.
Klíčová slova
Rozšířené čtení, program rozšířeného čtení, porozumění čtenému textu, čtecí
aktivity, efektivní čtení, čtecí schopnosti, principy rozšířeného čtení, třídní knihovna,
čtenářský deník.
Key words
Extensive reading, extensive reading programme, reading comprehension,
reading activities, effective reading, reading skills, extensive reading principles, class
library, reading diary.
Declaration
I declare that I have written this bachelor thesis by myself and that I have used
only the sources listed in bibliography.
I agree with the placing of this thesis in the library of the Faculty of Education
at the Masaryk University and with the access for academic purposes.
Brno, 31 March 2011
Petra Zvolská
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my great attitude to my supervisor Dr. Rita Chalmers
Collins for her valuable advice, friendly approach, all the help and support. She was a
great supervisor.
Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8
1
Theoretical part ........................................................................................................ 10
1.1
Language skills ................................................................................................. 10
1.2
The value of literature in the classes ................................................................ 10
1.2.1
How to read effectively? ........................................................................... 10
1.2.2
Reading skills ............................................................................................ 12
1.2.3
How to encourage students to read ........................................................... 13
1.2.4
Support for weaker readers ....................................................................... 14
1.2.5
The selection of materials for efficient reading ........................................ 15
1.3
Intensive and extensive reading........................................................................ 15
1.3.1
Extensive reading ...................................................................................... 16
Preparation for extensive reading......................................................................... 18
1.3.2
Organizing an extensive reading programme ........................................... 21
Class library ......................................................................................................... 22
Reading cards and laboratories ............................................................................ 27
Motivation for reading books from library .......................................................... 28
1.3.3
2
The role of teacher in the extensive reading programme .......................... 30
Practical part ............................................................................................................ 31
2.1
Basic information ............................................................................................. 31
2.2
Hypotheses ....................................................................................................... 31
2.3
The introduction of Bakalka ............................................................................. 32
2.3.1
2.3.2
Class profile and organization of the case study ....................................... 33
The case study............................................................................................... 33
2.3.3
Case study results and analysis ................................................................. 33
2.3.4
Case study results and analysis 2 .............................................................. 43
2.3.5
2.4
Interpretation of the results ....................................................................... 44
Hypotheses ....................................................................................................... 45
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 46
Bibliography.................................................................................................................... 48
Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 49
Introduction
Reading is an inseparable part of studying. It is the same with studying languages.
When children at primary school learn Czech they get a course-book and also a readingbook. As I can remember, we did not have any English reading-book during our studies.
Is learning our mother tongue different from learning our second language? Certainly
there are many differences but there are still four basic language skills – speaking,
writing, reading and listening. And every skill needs to be practised intensively. Only
then is the speaker able to use language effectively.
From my own experience, teachers put the emphasis on vocabulary and
grammatical rules and then on speaking. Speaking is definitely the best way how to
acquire and aid new language. But there is also reading. Firstly, students can practise not
only their reading skills but also their speaking skills. Another point is that when children
build their relation to reading and literature in their childhood, they will keep it for their
whole life.
I would say that children consider English only as a school subject. Once, as they
get used to reading in English as they are with Czech, English may become part of the
children´s lives. And here comes the teachers´ role. They can organize, motivate and
encourage children to read more. Teachers can show why people read not only at schools
or at work but also in their leisure time.
In the theoretical part I mention the value of literature in the classes and why it is
important to read in the process of learning. Then I summarize what to do to read
effectively and how to encourage pupils to read and how to support weak readers. I
mention shortly all four skills but I, of course, focus on reading skills and I will introduce
it in more details. Differences between intensive and extensive reading are defined in
chapter 3. Later, it is dealt only with extensive reading, preparation for extensive reading,
organizing an extensive reading programme and setting up a library. The last chapter of
the theoretical part is devoted to the role of teacher in the extensive reading programme.
In the practical part I deal with data that I gained from the case study. The
answers from the case study show the real situation in the real class at basic school that
focuses on teaching foreign languages. The questionnaire that pupils had to fill in
concerned questions about their reading habits, opinions of reading and opinions of
themselves as good or bad readers. Their teacher answered a similar questionnaire,
8
characterized the class, expressed her opinions of pupils as readers and wrote how she
uses reading activities when teaching.
The aim of the thesis was to show the importance of reading because as Christine
Nuttall wrote in her book: “We learn to read by reading” (168). I believe that information
that I gathered in the thesis will help me in my future teaching career or help anyone else
who is interested in this subject matter.
9
1
Theoretical part
1.1
Language skills
The understanding and knowledge of language skills is necessary for effective
use of language. Language skills are divided into two main groups – productive and
receptive skills. Speaking and writing are productive skills, listening and reading are
receptive skills (Thornbury, 205-6). A language teacher needs to be aware of the
necessity of a well-balanced usage of all four language skills in the language classes.
1.2
The value of literature in the classes
“The teacher‟s success in teaching literature is the extent to which students carry
with them beyond the classroom an enjoyment and love for literature which is renewed
as they continue to engage with literature throughout their lives” (Carter, Long 3).
Carter and Long also bring three main reasons why literature should be an essential part
of the language classroom. These reasons are:
The cultural model – one way how to learn something about different
cultures leads through their literature.
The language model – it cannot be said that texts from textbooks are bad
and not suitable but students who read books in the second language get
in touch with “more subtle and varied creative uses of the language” (2).
The personal growth model – “helping students to read literature more
effectively is helping them to grow as individuals as well as in their
relationships with the people and institutions around them” (Ibid.)
1.2.1 How to read effectively?
Although reading is a receptive skill, it needs active participation of the reader.
For effective reading it is not enough just to read successive letters and words and to
know meaning of words and grammatical rules of the separate sentences. “Readers
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bring their own questions to the text, which are based on their background knowledge,
and they use these to interrogate the text, modifying their questions and coming up with
new ones according to answers they get” (Thornbury 190). Carter and Long stated that
every reader relates the fictional world that the author created with the real world and
experience he or she has (16). Reading is an inseparable part of everyday life but people
approach reading for different reasons. The two main purposes for reading are reading
for information and reading for pleasure, “although these purposes may overlap”
(Thornbury 191). It is also related to different ways of reading. They will be described
later in the thesis.
Thornbury stated that the traditional reading tasks in classes are focused mainly
on testing reading and teaching reading. They usually include a text and then answering
questions that should prove level of comprehension (Ibid.). Thornbury also refers to list
of sub-skills that teachers should teach to help learners to become effective readers.
Some of these sub-skills are:
understanding words and identifying their grammatical function
explicating grammar features and the syntax
identifying the topic of the text
recognizing text-type, purpose and organization
understanding the gist of the text
understanding the author´s attitude
paraphrasing the text. (Ibid)
There could be an argument that students who study English have already
finished the process of developing their reading skills in their mother tongue, they know
how to read, how to find information in text and how to insert their general knowledge
into the text. Then it would not be problem to read either in Czech or in English. Here
Thornbury refers to the lack of language knowledge. It means that the reader is not good
enough at vocabulary or grammar to understand the relationships among sentences. It
can also mean that the reader focuses mainly on words he/she confidently knows and
11
does not think about the meaning of the entire text. It signifies the importance of
selection of the text used to develop students‟ reading skills. A good text should not be
beneficial only for development of the reading skills but also for readers‟ general
knowledge (Ibid., 192).
“Comprehension is the process of understanding speech or writing” (Ibid., 41).
Reading comprehension is the process of understanding a written text. It means that
reader is able to extract important information from the text. Comprehension requires
several kinds of knowledge. Thornbury mentions “linguistic knowledge”, “knowledge
of grammar” and at higher level “there is knowledge of different text types and styles
and knowledge of the situational and cultural context, and background knowledge about
the topic” (Ibid.).
1.2.2 Reading skills
When the teachers want to make reading activities effective and useful, they
should ask the students to do different things with the text. Jeremy Harmer divided
reading skills into two major types – skimming and scanning (“How to Teach” 100).
Scrivener summarizes skimming with the following definition: “Read quickly and get
the gist of a passage” (185). Thornbury calls skimming “skim-reading” or “reading for
gist” (191). As an example, Thornbury presents a situation when a reader skims a film
review to see whether the reviewer is recommending the film or not (Ibid.). He or she is
not looking for a piece of specific information. A reader can find the answer to his/her
question very quickly, without reading word-by-word, Scrivener calls that “speedreading” (185). He describes skimming as “fast reading for: key topics, main ideas,
overall theme, basic structure etc.” (Ibid.). The second type of reading skills is scanning.
People scan texts when they are seeking for particular piece of information and they
know what they are looking for before reading. Harmer gives several examples when
people scan: “when we look for a telephone number in a phone book, what is on
television at a certain time or search quickly through an article looking for a name or
other detail” (“How to Teach” 100). Scrivener again summarizes scanning as “fast
reading for specific individual pieces of information (e.g. names, addresses, facts,
prices, numbers, dates, etc.)” (185).
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Thornbury puts forward also detailed reading and reading aloud besides
skimming and scanning. Detailed reading means that readers are trying to extract “the
maximum detail” from the text and he suggests the situation when people follow the
instructions of a recipe or an instruction manual (191). Harmer emphasizes that detailed
reading must be seen by students as something very different from skimming and
scanning (“How to Teach” 101). Thornbury suggests that the speeches, lectures, stories
or extracts from newspapers can be read aloud in classes (191).
1.2.3 How to encourage students to read
Some students need to be encouraged to read. Only if they read can they become
advanced readers. It is not enough to read only intensively or extensively in classes.
There are several ways how teachers can help students to become engaged in reading. If
a school has its own library, teachers can offer books of different genres to students,
they can carry books around to different classes and books can become really accessible
for students. Another possibility is to have a class library. “The library does not have to
be large. It can be something as simple as a small box of books and magazines”
(Scrivener 189). The class library will be described in more details later in the text. The
reason for setting up a library is that “in order to set up an extensive reading
programme, we need to build up a library of suitable books. Although this may appear
costly, it will be money well spent” (Harmer, “The Practice” 284). Ellis and McRae (17)
and also Christine Nuttall (174) stress the importance of setting up a library open and
accessible for students every time.
Most people like if they can choose what they want to read. So they will
probably read more enthusiastically if they can make the decision what to read. It does
not mean that teacher can not help them with their selection. “Basal readers” are special
kind of textbooks full of stories designed for language learners. “They are used to teach
reading and associated skills to schoolchildren” (State University Libraries). Harmer
calls them also “graded readers” in his book (“The Practice” 283). “They are published
specifically for learners to get extended exposure to English” (Scrivener 189). These
readers are created and graded for different levels of English and so people can choose
with which level they start and then they can continue with higher levels of reading.
13
“Many state the size of vocabulary used and have footnotes or glossaries of words
outside their stated word limit” (Ibid). After reading, students can share their experience
with the class because every reading activity has its sense if you can get or give
feedback on it. Students can give feedback on what they read in written or in oral form.
So teachers should devote some time for feedbacks of outside-class activities. Scrivener
is suggesting creating something like a “book club”, “environment that encourages
learners to choose what books to purchase, talk about favourite books, share them with
each other, write brief recommendations etc.” (189). It is useful to dedicate some time
in lessons for reading. It can be various periods of time during lessons. If the teacher
also reads during the time it gives students good example (Harmer, “How to Teach”
110).
1.2.4 Support for weaker readers
Nuttall states that one of the reasons why some students have an aversion to
reading is that they “are trapped in the vicious circle of frustration” (167). She describes
four portion of this “circle of the weak reader” in the following way: “Doesn‟t
understand – Read slowly – Doesn‟t enjoy reading – Doesn‟t read much” (Ibid.). Any of
these factors can cause the next three elements. When reading is very slow it does not
bring pleasure to the reader. When reading is not a pleasure for the reader he or she
probably does not read very often. Then this weak reader probably does not understand
well what he or she is reading. And this weak and slow reader is not encouraged to
improve his or her reading skills (Ibid.). There should be a teacher who should help the
readers to get out of the circle through practice because “speed, enjoyment and
comprehension are closely linked with one another and with the amount of practice a
reader gets” (Ibid.). The goal, according to Nuttall, is to get into another circle - “The
virtuous circle of the good reader” (Ibid., 168), that comprises four parts as well:
“Enjoys reading – Reads faster – Reads more – Understands better (Ibid.).
14
1.2.5 The selection of materials for efficient reading
“Some teachers and learners will be in environments where a wide variety of
English language material is readily available in the form of newspapers, magazines,
and books” (Wallace 71). On the other hand there are teachers who have to struggle
with entire lack of acceptable material for their English lessons. However, how to
choose the appropriate texts for their learners? Wallace puts forward criteria for
choosing the texts:
Material should provide “specific language structures and vocabulary”
(Ibid.).
The text needs to be well-known and interesting for its readers and it
should correspond with their language level. The books “must appeal to
the intended readers, supplying what they really want. The appeal is
greater if the book is attractive in appearance, well printed and with good
coloured illustrations” (Nuttall 171).
It should be written as an authentic text and not as a text created for
“pedagogic purposes” (Wallace 71).
The text should be applicable for various class activities (Ibid.).
1.3
Intensive and extensive reading
Reading can be divided into two kinds – intensive and extensive. “To get
maximum benefit from their reading, students need to be involved in both extensive and
intensive reading” (Harmer, “The Practice” 283). Concerning intensive reading, the
teachers usually choose extracts from different types of texts (newspapers, magazines,
books, websites, advertisements) and this kind of reading usually takes place in the
classroom. The teachers often prepare activities that are connected with intensive
reading. Scrivener describes intensive reading as “reading texts closely and carefully
with the intention of gaining an understanding of as much as possible” (188). On the
other hand, extensive reading includes reading for pleasure. It means that students can
15
choose what they want to read and do it not only at school but also in their leisure time.
Again students can read texts from many sources – novels, websites, articles in
newspapers and magazines, often longer texts, “but without such careful attention to the
details” (Ibid.). Sometimes the teachers can be worried that students will not be so
hard-working and they will not learn anything when they will not be controlled by
teachers. But teachers should overcome this prejudice. Students can learn different
reading strategies and “various techniques of comprehension” (Ellis, McRae 17)
through intensive reading but intensive reading usually comprises only short texts and
then the space for students‟ self-expression and contribution is limited. And so intensive
reading in class can be combined with extensive reading outside the class. Extensive
reading offers another level of learning possibility. In simple words, extensive reading
gives students “the freedom of the world of reading, which intensive reading equips
them with strategies to handle” (Ibid.).
1.3.1 Extensive reading
It is good to explain extensive reading in more details. Bamford and Day put an
explanation of extensive reading into ten principles. Some of the principles are
supported by Nuttall‟s and Harmer‟s ideas.
1. The reading material is easy. The choice of good and suitable material
for reading is the basis of process of becoming a good reader. “There
should be no more than one or two unknown vocabulary items per page
for beginners and no more than four or five for intermediate students”
(2). “To develop fluent reading it is far more useful to read a lot of easy
books than a few difficult ones” (Nuttall 171). Nuttall emphasizes that
students should start their reading programmes with texts that are a bit
under their level because it is good motivation when they make progress
very soon after start of new programme. But “it is damaging to their selfesteem to ask them to go back to a lower level” (Ibid., 185). Of course, if
students choose their texts by themselves, teachers can not influence it.
Students need to know that it is possible to stop reading when the
material is too difficult for them.
16
2. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics is available.
Extensive reading should be not only reading for information, but also
for pleasure. It means that only in variety students can find things that
they like and want to read about.
3. Learners choose what they want to read. It has been already said but it is
one of the most important things about extensive reading. Students feel
more responsible, free and encouraged.
4. Learners read as much as possible. It should be an agreement between a
teacher and students what is a realistic limit for reading. “The language
learning benefits of extensive reading come from quantity of reading”
(Bamford, Day 2).
5. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower. As it has been already
said in the first principle, the material should be easily understandable.
“The feeling of success will motivate to start another book” (Nuttall
186). It should encourage fluent reading without frequent use of
dictionary. Students should be able to read simple texts without using it,
try to guess unknown words or ignore them.
6. The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information and
general understanding. It is the difference between extensive and
intensive reading. Intensive reading requires detailed understanding. On
the other hand, extensive reading encourages reading for pleasure and
information.
7. Reading is individual and silent. Extensive reading can takes place in the
classroom, but most of materials should be read in the leisure time. “The
whole point about an extensive reading scheme is that it should operate
almost entirely out of class time” (Nuttall 174).
8. Reading is its own reward. There can be some follow-up after reading
but it should be used only as a stimulation and encouragement, not as a
threat. Bamford and Day puts several reasons why to do some questions
17
about comprehension: “to discover what the students understood and
experienced from the reading; to keep track of what students read; to
check student attitude toward reading; to link reading with other parts of
curriculum” (3). However, comprehension question should not be
common part of extensive reading. As Nuttall highlights “we (the
teachers) want to remove the association of books with the drudgery of
the classroom” (174).
9. The teacher orients and guides the students. The role of teacher is to
show advantages of reading and what and how to read efficiently.
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader. When pupils can see that also
their teacher reads and share their reading experience, it can help build
close relationship between students and teachers (Bamford, Day 3).
Teachers can also “occasionally read aloud from books they like and
show, by their manner of reading, how exciting books can be” (Harmer,
“The Practice” 284).
Scrivener emphasizes that “there is a great deal of evidence that extensive
reading has a powerful impact on language learning (188). He points out that the readers
extend their vocabulary and improve knowledge of grammar and do not even realize it
and moreover: “This widening language knowledge seems to increase their overall
linguistic confidence, which then influences and improves their skills in other language
areas, too” (Ibid.). But there must be highlighted again, that material they read must be
“self-chosen and is relevant and interesting to them” (Ibid.).
Preparation for extensive reading
It can be difficult for some students to realize that teachers are not responsible
for what students read in the process of extensive reading. Students themselves have to
choose which book is interesting and useful for them and which is worth spending time
with. It needs some preparation to realize this responsibility and individuality. Teachers
can help students to be prepared in these areas, according to Ellis and McRae:
psychological preparation, methodological preparation, practice in self-direction (6).
18
Within psychological preparation teacher can prepare activities that “encourage thinking
about their approaches to reading and building confidence for reading independently”
(Ibid.). The class can continue with activities which will train students‟ reading skills.
This can be part of methodological preparation. Practice in self-direction contains
direction how to decide what to read, how to read and how to observe and make notes
of reading and progress (Ibid.). These three areas will be described in more details.
There will be probably some students in class that have not tried to read in
second language before. They can feel some kind of barrier that reading in English is
too difficult for them. Their teachers can lead them through their interest in mother
tongue literature and show them which books would be suitable for them in English.
Teachers can ask what kinds of books they like, which problems they eventually have
with reading and what would they like to read. Students should choose books not only
according to their interest but also according to their existing cultural and general
knowledge. It must be emphasized before reading that understanding every single word
is not essential. Students can use information from the context, illustrations or
information about author to make sense of the text (Ellis, McRae 6-7). This is a way
how to help students psychologically.
Ellis and McRae also present methodological area and strategies which are good
to know. Previewing or pre-reading activities comprise looking at the name of the
author, title, cover of book, content, illustrations, flicking through the book and
students´ first impression upon the book. Students can work with teacher or in groups
and discuss their opinions.
„When we read in our mother tongue we predict unconsciously‟ (Ibid., 7) but we
do not always do this when we read in a second language. This strategy can be
presented by the teacher before reading itself. Teacher chooses one book with a clear
title and cover that can suggest some predictions. Students guess words which they
expect to be in this book. It is also opportunity for teacher to present vocabulary that
students might not know and that is included in this book. If the book involves
illustrations, students can try to predict the topic or story from book. There are also
some “contextual and linguistics clues” (Ibid., 8) that can suggest development of the
story. Students can focus on grammar, punctuation, lexis, background knowledge.
Students can make a list of things they expect to be in the book. Teacher can help
students with clues that can help them to guess right meanings of the words, for instance
19
word-order, the context, structure of words, vocabulary similar to vocabulary in the first
language. Teachers can emphasize that some words can be left out without losing the
meaning of the sentence or the paragraph (Ibid., 8). Every student of foreign language
has or should have their own private system how to acquire and remember vocabulary.
Students can be encouraged to take notes of new words they find in texts. Ellis and
McRae suggested several strategies how to organize notes with new vocabulary. The
notes can be also part of reading diaries:
word + translation
word + English definition or synonym, accompanied by picture or note
word + group of notes which are related to the word (feelings,
definitions, memories, characters, events, adjectives, adverbs etc.)
arrangement by topic or alphabetical order
words + examples – usage of words in sentences
vocabulary cards for self-testing (9-10).
It should be also mentioned that taking these notes should be done after reading
so as it does not break the process of reading (Ibid., 10). Overuse of dictionaries also
causes interrupting of reading. Students should be familiarized with effective use of
dictionaries. They should have at least at school the opportunity to use a monolingual
dictionary. “Explain that constant use of a bilingual dictionary encourages word-forword translation” (Ibid., 10).
Practice in self-direction can be similar to psychological preparation. Some
students may not feel comfortable with deciding about their own reading. It would be
easy way just to give them a book and tell them to stop reading if they do not like this
book. But it is much better to support students to make their own choice. If students still
do not feel confident enough to read in foreign language, teacher can offer books which
contain some “visual support” (Ibid., 10), such as cartoons or interpretative notes.
20
1.3.2 Organizing an extensive reading programme
“If possible, get together with your colleagues and plan a reading programme for
the school, in which you all co-operate” (Nuttall 182). It is not necessary to work on the
programme with other teachers, “but a continuing programme will be much more
effective” (Ibid.).
When a teacher plans an extensive programme for the class he or she needs to
know “the level of reading ability” (Ibid., 183). It is a great opportunity when the
teacher can find some valuable information from student‟s portfolio that can also
contain some reading records and notes on reading that have been already done.
Portfolio usually contains “information about the learner, and about their learning
experiences, and examples of their work” (British Council). If there is nothing like the
student‟s portfolio it is a chance to introduce it to students. But then there is a problem
how to determine “the level of their reading ability” (Ibid.). Nuttall suggests that a test
is a good way how to find out their ability. She recommends using a graded cloze test.
“The principle is to have a test consisting of a series of brief texts of steadily increasing
difficulty” (Ibid.) that corresponds to the grading that you use in your class library as it
will be mentioned later. Nuttall suggests that texts should be about 50 – 100 words long
(Ibid., 184). The results of the test should tell you which level you should start the
reading programme with. So it is not necessary to show them to students. Then you can
use the same texts following year to prove their development. Of course, the
interpretation of the results obtained from testing is difficult process. However, as the
teachers can prepare their own tests, they can also create their own hypotheses and
consequences after testing. Some teachers can think that it is not necessary to use the
huge range of different levels in a test as the test will be used just once in one class.
Then the teacher should use the text “with the level below what he/she thinks will be the
lowest, and end with a text from the level above what he/she expect to be highest”
(Ibid.).
It has been mentioned several times that extensive reading is based on
independent reading. Nuttall puts forward that testing is not essential part of extensive
reading programme but it would be better to include occasional testing when the whole
school takes part in the programme. She affirms that the teacher is able to observe
21
students‟ development in one class and to monitor their movements upwards to the next
language levels.
I would strongly recommend that the extensive reading programme
should not be expected to produce marks for the end-of-year
assessments, because that defeats the aim of encouraging reading for
pleasure. It also encourages students to cheat, which is not difficult
with a programme of this kind; we want a programme of personal
reading development, in which the student is in a position to cheat
nobody except himself (Nuttall 183).
Class library
In Czech schools, there are usually only school libraries and students are not
used to going there. And there are usually no class libraries. Because some children are
not used to going to the public libraries, the school/class libraries could be the only
access for students to borrow a book. That is why the school/class libraries are so
important. “Class libraries allow individual readers to choose the book they want to
read, perhaps after a „taste‟ of the text in an extract at the point of entry stage” (Ibid.,
17). On the one hand, Nuttall represents the opinion that a school library should be a
priority as a central collection of books because “in central library the teachers could
manage with fewer copies and cater for minority interests; there may be a dozen railway
enthusiast in the school but only one in any one class” (174). On the other hand, if
students helped with the process of gathering or buying books, “they will naturally
prefer to books to be kept in their own room, where they will be a normal and essential
part of classroom life” (Ibid.). Teachers are main persons in organization of class
libraries. But they should involve also students in setting up their class libraries because
only then “all the time we have spent on setting up a library will not have been wasted
(Harmer, “The Practice” 284). Teachers can ask students to help them with choice of
books and setting up the libraries. Teachers must not forget to explain to the students
the purpose of a library which is reading for pleasure. That is why the library should
provide books of different genres and about various topics to be interesting for
everyone.
22
It would be great if every class would have its own class library with a book
corner with bookshelves and with enticing display of books and other materials. But
probably this is not possible for most teachers and their classes. Another possibility is to
put books in some box which is easy to carry and store in teacher‟s office or in the class
cupboard. There can be also a class librarian who can be elected by teacher or by class
and who is responsible for displaying the books or for moving the box of book when it
is necessary (Ellis, McRae 17-18). Although there are not so many books in the class
library, it is good to classify them. Ellis and McRae suggested that it is good to ask
students to create the categories for the library (18). The categories can be for instance,
historical novels, encyclopaedias, books about nature and animals, fantasy stories, nonfiction books, cartoons etc. “Coloured stickers could be put on the right-hand corners of
the covers” (Ibid.). Then the genre and type of book can be visible for everyone.
Another possibility according to Nuttall is to classify books “according to their
linguistic level” (177). This choice is probably the responsibility of teacher. If the
teacher expects that the students are at the same or at the similar language level, Nuttall
recommends using the classification system according to content.
But if you have to supply books for students of very different levels of
proficiency, it is more helpful for the primary classification to be in
terms of linguistic level, so that students do not waste time or get
discouraged trying to find suitable books (177).
Although some books are graded by their publishers, the class libraries do not
have to stick to this grading system. The grading can be changed when the teacher or
students think the text should be on the different level.
Every library has to have its system of borrowing and returning books. The
easiest way how to record borrowed books, according to Ellis and McRae, is to create
“a library lending book in which the student writes his or her name, the title of the book
and the date borrowed and the date returned” (18). The teacher and students have to
decide how long book can be borrowed. Another possibility is to make “a library
catalogue card” (Ibid.) for every single book where students can write their names and
dates. The class can try to use different models and then they will see which one is the
best for their library. It can help the teacher to make students to become more interested
in the library functioning.
23
Although it has been said that extensive reading is not good to evaluate, there are
some ways how students can be controlled that they read what they have chosen and
that they understand what they have read. So the teacher “should encourage them to
report back on their reading in a number of ways” (Harmer, “The Practice” 285). This
monitoring can become less and less frequent during the year when the class makes
progress in extensive reading, students are familiar with the reading strategies and they
keep reading. And Christine Nuttall emphasizes the importance of keeping some notes
on finished books: “Students will read more willingly if they have visible signs of their
own progress. Moving from one reading level to the next is the most obvious sign, but
of course does not happen very often” (Ibid., 186). According to Nuttall, one of the best
stimuli is “finishing a book itself” (Ibid.).
Ellis and McRae put forward that a good way how to check student‟s work is a
reading dairy which is kept by every student. The biggest advantage is probably that
students are encouraged to keep their own personal and individual thoughts and
opinions. Ellis and McRae suggested dividing a reading diary into following parts:
Story: Students should point out here the most important moments of the whole
story and compare them with expectations they had before reading. Students can
learn here how to summarize things quickly and briefly.
Vocabulary: Students can write down a new vocabulary they have not known
before and useful or unusual words that can be used with different topics.
Characters: Teacher can also ask students to make notes on characters from
story. Students can describe characters, how they look, how they behave, how
they think, how they changes through the story, what happens to them. Students
then can express their feelings about the characters – who was their favourite
character and who they do not like.
Settings: Students can mention both time and place setting.
Narration: It is definitely very useful to ask students to notice the structure of
the book. When students are familiar with the literary theory they can determine
the genres (fairy-tale, fable, historical, psychological, adventure novel, horror,
24
fantasy etc.) and the narrative point of view (“first-person view, third-person
narration, impersonal narrator” etc.) (11).
Illustrations: Possible questions here are: What you can see in the cover of the
book? Are there any other illustrations in the book? Did you like the
illustrations?
Style: Style of the text is not probably the most important point of extensive
reading but it can be useful for students to try to make a simple analysis of the
reading. Students can focus on lexis, syntax, phonology, graphology etc. They
can learn something new from everyday English which can be used in their
books and which can differ from texts they know from their textbooks. They can
find different “archaisms, humour, colloquialism, dialects, specialized language”
(Ibid., 12).
Mother tongue: Both languages (mother tongue and second language) can be
used in the reading diary but students should be encouraged to use more and
more English as they are making progress with the foreign language.
Evaluation: Evaluation means that students should stop for a while after reading
and think about the book. Teacher can provide questions that help students with
evaluating and summarizing how they feel about the book. The question can be
similar to those: Was the book interesting for you? Why or why not? What was
the best moment of the book for you? Try to explain why. Was the book easy or
difficult for you? Why do you think so? Would you recommend this book to
your friends? Why or why not (Ellis, McRae 11-12)?
Keeping personal records of perused book is another possibility. ”Record cards
can encourage students to keep a personal record of their reading and to monitor their
progress” (Ibid., 18). It would not be very useful to check their cards very often as this
could ruin students‟ pleasure in reading but it is good to look at them from time to time.
The teacher can find out which books are students interested in or which problems are
students struggling with. Or the cards can be kept for students‟ personal usage as a
document of their progress and development. Students can start completing their cards
25
in their mother tongue but they should use English as they advance with their reading
skills (Ibid.). Ellis and McRae listed following items should be involved on the reading
card:
Date of borrowing/date of return: the teacher can then try to compare
these dates and see how much time on average it takes to read the book.
Type of book: “to encourage students to classify the book” (Ibid.).
Problems: again this can activate students‟ thinking about their reading.
They can learn how to analyse the process of reading and how to analyse
difficulties. So they can mention if there was too difficult vocabulary for
them, too easy for them to read, too complicated sentences or too
complicated story in the book. Or it could be too boring for them.
Useful vocabulary/information: as it has been mentioned several times it
is not very helpful to look for every single unknown word in the text.
But when the item is interesting or important for reading it is good to
look it up in the dictionary and to write it down because it can help to
remember the word.
Comments: interesting, boring, enjoyable, useful, educational etc. The
students can write also comments on author, illustrations, ending,
structure of book etc. (Ibid., 18-20).
The reading diary should be more complex but it can consist of similar or same
categories in it.
Another possibility is to keep a class library chart. “This may be in the form of a
ladder, each step representing a book, with students‟ names moving up the ladder
according to the number of books they have read” (Nuttall 186). This chart can hang on
the wall in the class near the book corner. Or there can be list of student‟s names written
vertically and the titles of books written horizontally. When someone finishes reading
he/she can tick the corresponding box and the date can be written there. Every reader is
different and needs different amount of time to finish the book. “It may be discouraging
to slower readers and some students may read hurriedly, without real understanding, in
26
order to add another tick to the chart” (Ellis, McRae 20). It must be emphasized at the
beginning that this is not competition and it is not important to have the most ticks on
the chart, as the chart becomes “counterproductive as far as weak students are
concerned” because “it is nice to see your name climbing steadily upwards, but
depressing to stay on the bottom step for weeks (Nuttall 186). The report based on this
chart could be written at the end of the school year and this could be base for every
other year (Ellis, McRae 20). This could be also in the form of a graph that shows how
many books have been finished every week, than “collective rather than individual
progress is emphasized” (Nuttall 186). On the other hand, the individual progress
should still be the most important point for every reader and that is why personal
records should be kept. And “this must not be made into just another classroom chore or
it will take away from the pleasure of the achievement “(Ibid.). Harmer also suggests
putting “comment sheets into the books for students to write in” (“The Practice” 285)
which help the teacher to know which books his or her students enjoyed the most.
Reading cards and laboratories
Nuttall puts forward the possibility to use reading cards and reading laboratories
instead of books. Reading cards have different meaning here. Reading cards consist of
texts with questions or tasks and are stored in boxes. When there is a large collection of
reading cards that are divided into different levels and are intended to be used
systematically. Nuttall calls them reading laboratories (188). Reading cards are good
option when the class starts its extensive reading programme because reading cards
usually consist of short and simple texts and they can be also used independently in
class or at home instead of books for beginners. Because texts in the cards are quite
short they can be read in quite a small amount time so “further progress is rapid and
motivation will be high” (Ibid.). It can help students to become more self-confident to
start reading books. Nuttall suggests that every teacher can make his or her own series
of cards of different levels. Teachers can find texts for their cards almost everywhere –
in magazines, newspapers, on the websites or in old textbooks. Nuttall also mentions
that reading cards are great opportunity for “student who is far above or below the level
of the rest of the class” (Ibid., 189).
27
Motivation for reading books from library
It is not enough to set up a library, to create a library system and to inform pupils
that there is the opportunity to borrow a book any time they want. The students‟ interest
must be encouraged and motivation sustained. Of course, in every class there are some
students who do not become attracted to reading at all. However, there definitely are
many others who “quickly develop a real appetite for books” (Nuttall 171). Ellis and
McRae put together several tips how to motivate students to read books from school
library:
It is good to have books that provide interesting and various topics from the
textbooks or that are concerned with topics from students‟ everyday life, for
instance, healthy lifestyle, the environment, relationships, drugs etc. Nuttall
highlights that if the books are enjoyable “it is more powerful than any other
motivation” (Ibid.). If the teacher really wants to attract pupils‟ attention it is
good to read a description or a short extract from the book and stop the story “at
a suitably tantalizing point. Help the students to speculate about what might
happen next and encourage them to read on by themselves (Ibid., 186).
The teacher can give personal recommendations on some books. This can not
only attract children‟s interests but the teacher can also become more part of a
reading community in class. It is good to explain why he/she liked that book
who he/she would recommend it.
Also students can give their recommendations to class. They can prepare very
short one- or two-minute speech why would they recommend it and what they
enjoyed about the book and who they think would enjoy this book.
Students can choose a book of the week or a book of the month and some of
them can prepare a presentation for children that haven‟t read this book or for
children from other classes or the class can create posters about this book and
put them in different places around the school. Then other children can be
motivated to read these books when they can see that their peers liked them.
28
Students can be asked to prepare a short extract which they think would attract
other students to read the book. Then they can ask other classmates without
telling them which book was this extract taken from what they think the book is
about, who they think are the main characters, if they would like to read this
book. This activity is useful not only for students‟ interest in books but they also
practice their speaking skills and they can become more confident in speaking
English in front of an audience (Ellis, McRae 21-22).
There are many other activities that can be more or less interconnected with
class library. Only a short summary of these follow-up activities will be put here:
Writing “short book reviews for the class notice board” (Harmer, “The Practice”
285).
Creating posters and adverts for other students.
Making presentations, film adaptations or cartoons on the basis of books.
“Acting out role-plays” (Ellis, McRae 23). For instance, interview with author,
interview with the characters from book etc.
Making surveys in class or at school on reading interests and habits.
Arranging reading aloud, for instance, poetry or short stories.
Designing reading and comprehension tasks for classmates.
Choosing the extracts from books that can be used later on for some more
detailed analysis (Ibid. 22).
Voting “on the most popular book in the library” (Harmer, “The Practice” 285).
Promoting discussions “of the practical or ethical problems faced by characters
in the books” (Nuttall 186).
Experience has shown that encouraging students to set up a class
library and to develop their extensive reading can motivate them to
29
read more in English, to develop independence from their teacher and
to build up their confidence. Above all, it can help them to enjoy
reading in English (Ellis, McRae 22 ).
1.3.3 The role of teacher in the extensive reading programme
Although extensive reading is considered to be private and independent the
teacher still plays important role in the extensive reading programme. Christine Nuttall
puts several suggestions that are useful for teachers that want to have effective and
successful extensive reading programmes in their classes. Nuttall puts several qualities
of good teacher on the first place. These qualities are hard work, concern for students‟
progress and positive approach. Only than teachers can comment on what students has
done right rather than simply criticize what has gone wrong. However, these qualities
should be essential for every good teacher. Then there are some qualities especially
important for language teachers who want to arouse students‟ interest in reading. And
the first quality is teacher‟s own interest in reading. Nuttall says: “Readers are made by
readers” (192). There may be most students in the class that do not need to be invited to
read. But if there is at least one who will be encouraged by seeing you reading than it is
worth doing. Many children maybe come from family environment where reading is not
provided as useful and beneficial and their teacher may be the only one who can show
them reading. The teacher can refer to books when talking about the subject, carry
books around with him or her, read short passages in lessons etc. Students simply need
to know that their teacher care about books. Because as Nuttall emphasizes “reading is
like an infectious disease: it is caught not taught (and you can‟t catch it from someone
who hasn‟t got it himself)” (Ibid.). The second piece of advice from Christine Nuttall
seems to be time-consuming. Nuttall recommends reading every single book in the class
library. Only when the teacher knows at least a bit about every books and author in the
library, he or she can really help everyone effectively with reading difficulties. Also
teachers can be a part of the reading programme to increase their own “reading
efficiency” (Ibid., 194).
30
2
Practical part
2.1
Basic information
The practical part of this bachelor thesis describes the situation in one class at
basic school Bakalka on Bakalovo nábřeží in Brno. Firstly, the basic school Bakalka
will be pictured in more details. I will then focus on 7th year class where the
questionnaire was applied. There were two types of questionnaires, the students filled
in one type of questionnaire and their teacher filled in the second one (see Appendix 1
and 2). The questionnaires contain questions about students‟ reading habits and
opinions of reading. Then their opinions will be analysed and I try to propose whether
and how their reading routines could be improved.
The case study was made for several reasons. I wanted to find out whether
students in one class of secondary school with extended education of foreign languages:
Devote time to reading in their leisure time
Think reading is important and useful for the process of their language studies
Read in a foreign language
What they think about themselves as readers
What does their teacher think about them as readers
2.2
Hypotheses
There were several hypotheses established for this thesis.
It is assumed that ¼ of questioned pupils will write that they do not read in their
leisure time and that they do not like reading.
It is supposed that everyone who reads in his or her leisure time reads at home.
It is supposed that more that a half of questioned pupils do not read in English in
their leisure time.
31
It is expected that pupils who read in their leisure time read mainly novels about
love and growing up and fantasy novels.
It is expected that a half of them will say that they consider themselves to be
good readers.
It is expected that their teacher consider most of her students to be good readers.
2.3
The introduction of Bakalka
The basic school Bakalka has more than 40 years long tradition of teaching
foreign languages. The motto of Bakalka is “Our results talk in foreign languages”
(“Naše výsledky hovoří cizími jazyky”) and it is also name of their school educational
programme. There are about six hundred pupils at Bakalka. There are 26 pupils in one
class on average. The pupils of this school are being taught English from their 1st year
and from their 6th year they learn 2nd foreign language. They can choose between
German and French language. The aim of the school is the best preparation of pupils for
their further studies and the individual work with every child. Bakalka has teachers
qualified in teaching some subjects in English that is quite exceptional at Czech basic
schools. The pupils can have informatics or practical activities in English. Bakalka can
also prepare their students for Cambridge exams and students can gain international
certificate. Bakalka offers wide range of optional language classes in addition to
English. Students can study also Russian and Spanish. Pupils are during their English
lessons divided into small groups that enable teachers to work with them effectively and
more beneficially. The language class work can take place in class that is provided with
special equipment – with computer, projector and screen and headphones. Teachers can
prepare interesting, various, interactive activities on the interactive board that becomes
more and more popular. Teachers with their classes can use also the class with
computers. Bakalka has many educational language programmes available that can be
used to practice grammar and vocabulary. Bakalka shares in several language projects.
The school cooperate with EdTwin, Comenius II and Erasmus. Thanks to these
organizations some native speakers work at school and help teachers with their language
teaching (Bakalka).
32
2.3.1 Class profile and organization of the case study
The case study was made in the class 7. C. during their lesson of English
conversation. The pupils filled in the questionnaires (see Appendix 1) on 25 November
2010. It took them about 45 minutes. Their teacher filled in the questionnaire (see
Appendix 2) in the same week and she was asked about more information about her
class and its extensive reading in February and March in the following year. The teacher
teaches only one subject - English at secondary school in Bakalka. The questionnaire
was given to seventeen students. There were fourteen girls and three boys in the class.
2.3.2 The case study
Questionnaires for children in class were written in Czech because it was
supposed that children would be more willing to answer the questions in Czech and that
they would share more information. The questionnaire for the teacher was in English.
The questionnaire for the teacher consists of slightly different questions.
The questionnaire for children will be analysed first. Firstly, it is presented in
Czech as children filled it in in Czech (see Appendix 1a). Pupils‟ answers were
translated into English. The teacher filled in the questionnaire in English (see Appendix
2).
2.3.3
Case study results and analysis
1. What do you read? Try to think about everything you read.
For the first question children were asked to think about as many things they
read as possible. In general, girls answered in more details than boys but everyone was
very willing to fill in the questionnaire and they wrote a lot of things to every question.
They also added their opinions to their answers.
33
Figure 1: What do you read?
In the graph, there are not items that were named just once or twice. They are
listed here:
TV guides, textbooks and poems were written twice
Letters and drama were named once
The item letter was named just once that shows that most children these days are
used to writing e-mails and not letters.
Only one girl from the whole class answered that she does not like reading at all
and when she has to read she chooses very short books which can be read in one or two
hours. All children mentioned books in their questionnaires and there were magazines in
the second place.
2. What do you like to read most?
Children were encouraged to think about everything they like to read. Results of
this question could be useful when setting up a library. The teacher can learn from this
question about pupils‟ interests, their favourite genres and favourite materials for
34
reading. It could help teachers to buy books for the library. It will be shown in three
graphs how children answered this question. First graph shows answers for the whole
class, the 2nd one shows girls‟ answers and the 3rd one illustrates boys‟ interests. This
question is related to the question no. 3 where students were asked to be more specific
and to write particular authors and titles of books they like.
The whole class - what do you like to read
most?
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Figure 2: The whole class - what do you like to read most?
In the graph, there are items that appeared more than twice in the questionnaires.
The most favourite books in the whole class are adventurous novels and historical
novels. It was expected that 12 years-old children read fairy-tales but only one person
from the whole class named fairy-tales.
35
Figure 3: Girls – what do you like to read most?
Figure 4: Boys – what do you like to read most?
3. Do you have any favourite author or book? You can write more authors or titles.
36
In this question children were more specific and wrote particular authors and
books that they like. Only one girl and one boy wrote that they have no favourite book
or author. Others wrote a lot of names and titles of books. Their answers are a great
inspiration for their teacher. The texts from books they named could be used in their
lessons. It has been mentioned in the theoretical part that authentic texts are much better
than texts that are used in the textbooks. Most students named foreign authors. The only
Czech authors that appeared in the answers were Karel Čapek, Irena Dousková, Karel
Jaromir Erben and Radek John. The most favourite author in this class is British writer
Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Her name or the name of her sequel of novels about Harry
Potter appeared in the questionnaires most often. Books that appeared in questionnaires
are put in alphabetical order in the Appendix 3.
Pupils‟ answers confirmed that fantasy books and science fiction are popular in
the class.
4. What was the last time you got or bought a book? Try to remember the title of
the book.
Pupils that filled in the questionnaire are 12 or 13 years old and it is supposed
that most of them cannot afford to buy books by themselves. It is expected that their
parents should encourage them to read and support them by providing and buying books
for them. This question should reveal whether children have the opportunity to buy or
get new books.
Two girls from the whole class answered that they do not remember the last time
they got or bought book but on the other hand, both wrote that they have a lot of books
at home which they read. Three girls wrote that they get books every birthday and/or
Christmas, one of them wrote about seven books that she got for last Christmas. One
girl prefers to borrow books from library but she got three volumes of Harry Potter saga
that made her very pleased. Two girls got books for the last time two months ago and
they were a book of jokes and a fantasy book. Four people answered that they got a
book in last two weeks. Books they got were – Miracle Novel, The War of Witches, The
Lost – The Dark Ground and again The War of Witches. Moreover, one girl got a book
the day they were filling up the questionnaire. She got Memento by Radek John and she
was reading the book before, after and even during working on the questionnaire.
37
Boys were not so rich in detail. One boy gets a book from time to time but he
does not remember the last time. The second one could remember that he got one book
for his birthday but it was the only book he remembers. The last boy buys books by
himself and his parents only contribute to him from time to time.
The results of this question showed that most of the children live in an
environment where they are supported to read, they have opportunities to buy or get
new books or they have an opportunity to read books that they have at home.
5. Do you have any favourite magazines or websites you visit and where you find
some interesting information?
The materials from various websites and magazines that children like could be
also used in their lessons either for intensive or extensive reading. Four graphs are used
here. The first two graphs show girls‟ interests in magazines and websites and the
second two graphs show boys‟ favourite magazines and websites. This question
presents Czech magazines and websites that children read in their leisure time. The
following two questions will show whether children read also English materials,
magazines or websites.
Figure 5: Girls – favourite magazines
38
Figure 6: Girls – favourite websites
Boys - favourite magazines
3
2
1
0
ABC
Quatrefoil
Asterix and
Obelix
Figure 7: Boys – favourite magazines
39
Garfield
Figure 8: Boys – favourite websites
As their answer showed, chidren do not have many favourite websites in Czech
they read. They use mainly social network facebook.com and then web portals
seznam.cz, google.cz etc., where they are probably looking for further information.
Concerning magazines, the answers showed that students read magazines not only for
fun but also for educational reasons as they read magazines such as 21st century, ABC
or 100+1.
6. What do you read in English?
It was expected that children should be able to read in English effectively as they
learn English for seven years. They should read in English not only materials that are
dedicated to learning English but also magazines or books. All girls and boys answered
that they read a book in English in their lessons. The book was chosen by their teacher.
It is called Anne of Green Gables and was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Girls
also wrote other books that they read in English. They named, for instance, Disney
stories, Winnie the Pooh by Alan Alexander Milne, The Three Musketeers by Alexander
Dumas, Harry Potter saga, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and other books.
Only one boy wrote that he reads something else besides Anne of Green Gables. He
reads also Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The answers showed that six pupils do
40
not read in English anything else but Anne of Green Gables. It is a pity as reading
authentic texts in English improves language skills. It was proved in the theoretical part.
7. Do you have favourite English magazines or websites you visit and where you
find some interesting information?
The results of this answer were not so interesting but they are beneficial because
they suggested that children are not used to reading English magazines and websites.
Their teacher could show them how many opportunities they can find on the Internet
and that Internet can be very useful help during their English studies. Nine girls out of
fourteen answered that they do not read any English magazine and that they do not visit
any English website. The rest of girls named following websites which they are visiting
from time to time:
www.drunkduck.com
www.himymonline.info
www.britishcouncil.org
www.j.k.rowling.com
www.discoveringegypt.com
The only English magazine that appeared in the questionnaire was “Bridge”.
“Bridge” is probably available to pupils at school as it is at other basic schools.
One boy wrote that he also does not visit any English websites and that he does
not read any English magazines and other two boys use websites where they probably
play games online:
www.blizzard.com
www.nhl.com
8. Where do you read most often?
This question was used because the results could be applied by the teacher in
preparing an extensive reading programme. The teacher can learn from his or her
pupils‟ answers about pupils‟ habits and how they spend their leisure time. The choice
of book can be also influenced by place where people intend to read and it is why this
question was put in the questionnaire.
41
It was expected that most children would write that they read at home most
often. Seven children were even more specific and they wrote that they read in their bed
most often. The answers of boys and girls were put together in one graph because they
were very similar to each other.
Figure 9: Where do you read most often?
9. How would you characterize a good reader?
10. Do you consider yourself a good reader? Why yes, why not?
The last two questions are concerning pupils‟ opinions on good readers. It is
important for them to realize who is a good reader and what are the characteristics of
good readers. In the following question children were asked to write whether they think
about themselves as good readers. Again, children were very rich in details in their
answers. The complete answers are transcribed in the Appendix 4. The most common
answer on the question no. 9 was that a good reader reads a lot, can read understandably
aloud or very fast in silence. A good reader can also get into the stories in the books
easily, talks often about books and have a huge wordage.
Three children out of seventeen wrote that they do not consider themselves to be
a good readers and 2 children wrote they do not know the answer on this question.
42
2.3.4 Case study results and analysis 2
The teacher‟s questionnaire is put in Appendix 2.
1. Why did you choose this class from other classes for filling the questionnaire?
Could you please briefly characterize the class?
The teacher characterized the class as communicative, easy-going and active
team. She thinks that they like working on various projects and relationships in class are
strong and friendly. Moreover, the teacher is a class master and that is why she has
chosen the class.
2. How long have these children been studying English and what is their level of
English.
Children have been studying English for seven years and they are at the level
A1.
3. Do you think that children from this class read also in their leisure time?
4. Do you think that these children are good or bad readers? Why do you think so?
The teacher answered that in her opinion most of them are good readers because
they read fluently and most of them come to school with a book which they read during
their break times. It also probably means that they read in their leisure time.
5. How would you characterize a good reader in general?
A good reader, according to the teacher, is interested in reading and reads not
only for duty but also for fun.
6. Do your lessons include reading activities?
7. How much time do you often spend on reading activities with the class?
The teacher and her class usually spend one lesson per week on reading
activities. In the time they did the questionnaire they were reading Anne of Green
Gables. In March, when the practical part of the thesis is being written, they are reading
books – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Wizard of Oz.
43
8. What materials do you use for reading activities (textbooks, articles, websites
etc.)?
The teacher usually uses the books with simplified texts or various websites.
9. Is the organization of the class during reading activities different from other
activities? Or do you think that it should be different?
The teacher does not think that the organization of the class is different during
reading and during other activities. After reading they usually talk about the story and
characters then they practice new vocabulary that they learnt from the text and then the
teacher prepares some exercise that is related to reading.
10. Do you have at school English books that children can lend home and read?
At Bakalka there are not many English books. But teachers are working on
setting up an English library and they are also preparing something that could be called
“a book club” where children would be reading in groups and talking about books.
2.3.5 Interpretation of the results
The case study was applied in the class to find children‟s reading habits and
opinions of importance of reading. Their teacher answered similar questionnaire to
show whether she does reading activities in their lessons with children and what she
thinks about pupils as readers.
Only one person out of seventeen answered that she does not like reading which
is quite positive. Their teacher had the right assumption that children like reading and
that they spend their time with books. The most popular genres in the class are
adventure novels, historical books and detective stories. It could be useful when setting
up a library. As the teacher wrote, the school is preparing English library where English
books will be available to children. Mainly foreign authors and their books are popular
in the class and they are primarily English speaking writers and this information could
be also used when choosing materials for reading activities and class library. It was
indicated in the answers that children have the opportunity to get or buy new books and
they are encouraged by their parents to read. Children like various magazines and
44
websites that could be also used in or outside the class. Answers have showed that the
class reads the English book during its lessons and some of them also read English texts
outside the class. Some of them do not and it could be probably improved. Children
could be encouraged to read in English and more materials could be provided for them
in the class and in the school. It is same with English magazines and websites. All of
them answered that they devote at least some time to reading. And that is why I think it
is worth to offer them English books and other materials. The more they practice
reading in English the easier and natural it will be for them. Only three people wrote
that they see themselves as bad readers and two people wrote that they do not know the
answer. Here is a space for their teacher to show them that they can become good
readers. Others answered that they see them as average or good readers. However, they
still need to be supported in it.
The teacher has chosen this class because she is the class master and also
because she thinks that children from this class like reading and that most of them are
good readers. This was confirmed by the answers in questionnaires. The class spends
only one lesson per week on reading activities. It may be improved when school will set
up an English library and will arrange a book club. There are some things that I really
appreciate about the teacher. She uses not only textbooks but she also tries to look for
different materials from magazines and websites and she uses simplified English books
for reading and she tries to prepare tests on her own for her class. She is the person who
knows the class best and so she can prepare some of the tests more suitable for them.
As the answers shown most children from the class devote time to reading not
only at school but also in their leisure time. But it does not mean that they do not have
to be supported and encouraged to read. Their teacher should keep on working with
them on reading, practicing their reading skills and provide them with enough English
materials corresponding to their levels of English.
2.4
Hypotheses
The first hypothesis assuming that ¼ of questioned pupils will write that they do
not like reading at all was not confirmed. Only one person out of seventeen answered
that she does not like reading.
45
The hypothesis supposing that everyone who read in his or her leisure time reads
at home was confirmed.
The hypothesis assuming that 50 % of pupils do not read in English in their
leisure time was not confirmed. Six people answered that they do not read in English
which is 35 %.
The hypothesis assuming that fantasy books and girl‟s novels are the most
popular in the class was not confirmed because adventure novels and detective stories
are the most popular genres in the class.
The hypothesis supposing that 50 % of pupils will write that they consider
themselves good readers was not confirmed. Only three children wrote that they see
themselves to be bad readers and two people wrote that they do not know the answer. It
means that 70 % of pupils consider themselves to be good readers.
The hypothesis assuming that the teacher considers her students to be good
readers was confirmed.
Conclusion
There were two aims in my bachelor thesis. The aim of the theoretical part was to
illustrate the importance of extensive reading in learning foreign language. “The more
students can read in and through language the better able they will be to come to terms
with a literary text as literature” (Carter, Long 2). Extensive reading should be a
necessary part of language learning and I tried to explain how an extensive reading
programme could be implied at secondary school. As Christine Nuttal puts forward in her
book Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language: “The best way to improve your
knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers. The next best way
is to read extensively in it” (Nuttall 168).
The data that were obtained from the case study were presented in the practical
part. The case study was made in the class at basic school Bakalka. The answers from
the questionnaires illustrated pupils‟ attitude towards reading and their reading habits.
The questionnaire that was filled in by their teacher showed what the teacher thinks
about the pupils reading habits and whether extensive reading activities are applied in
the class. The answers showed that reading is an important part of life for most children
in this class, they read in their leisure time and they do reading activities in the class
46
with their teacher. However, it was revealed that not every child reads English materials
outside the school and it should be improved. The teachers are working on setting up a
library that should provide more suitable English materials for pupils that would
encourage them to read in English.
47
Bibliography
“About Basal Readers.” PennState University Libraries. The Pennsylvania State
University. Oct. 2010. Web. 5 Jan. 2011.
Bamford, Julian, and Day, Richard R. Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching
Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004. Print.
Carter, Ronald and Michael N. Long. Teaching Literature. Burnt Mill: Longman. 1991.
Print.
Ellis, Gail and John McRae. Extensive Reading Handbook: for Secondary Teachers.
London: Penguin English. 1991. Print.
Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English: New Edition. Harlow: Longman. 2007. Print.
---. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Harlow: Longman. 2007. Print.
Hodál, Pavel. Bakalka. Základní škola s rozšířenou výukou jazyka. ZŠ Brno. Bakalovo
nábřeží 8, 2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.
Nuttall, Christine Elizabeth. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. London:
Heinemann Educational. 1982. Print.
“Portfolio.” TeachingEnglish. British Council BBC, 1 July 2003. Web. 31. March.
2011.
Scrivener, Jim. Learning Teaching: a Guidebook for English Language Teachers.
Oxford: Macmillan. 2005. Print.
“Teacher‟s Choices 2010.” International Reading Association: The World Leading
Organization of Literacy Professionals. The Reading Teacher. Nov. 2010. Web. 2 Dec.
2010.
Thornbury, Scott. An A-Z of ELT: A Dictionary of Terms and Concepts Used in English
Language Teaching. Oxford: Macmillan. 2006. Print.
Wallace, Catherine. Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1996. Print.
48
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 1a
Pupils‟ questionnaire - Czech
Čtení a já
Věk:
Třída:
1. Co všechno čteš (snaž se napsat co nejvíce věcí, které tě napadnou)?
2. Co nejraději čteš?
3. Máš nějakého oblíbeného spisovatele nebo knížku? Můžeš jich napsat i víc.
4. Kdy jsi naposledy dostal/a knížku nebo si ji koupil/a? Co to bylo za knihu?
5. Máš oblíbené časopisy, nebo webové stránky, na které rád/a chodíš a dočteš se
tam nějaké zajímavé informace?
6. Co čteš v angličtině?
7. Navštěvuješ nějaké anglické webové stránky nebo čteš anglické časopisy? Napiš
prosím jaké.
8. Kde nejčastěji čteš?
9. Podle čeho se dá soudit, že je člověk dobrý čtenář?
10. Myslíš si o sobě, že jsi dobrý čtenář? Zkus říct, proč sebe považuješ za dobrého
nebo špatného čtenáře.
49
Appendix 1b
Pupils‟ questionnaire - English
I and my opinion on reading
Age:
Class:
1. What do you read? Try to think about everything you read.
2. What do you like to read most?
3. Do you have any favourite author or book? You can write more authors or titles.
4. What was the last time you got or bought book? Try to remember the title of the
book.
5. Do you have any favourite magazines or websites you visit and where you find
some interesting information?
6. What do you read in English?
7. Do you have any favourite English magazines or websites you visit and where
you find some interesting information?
8. Where do you read most often?
9. How would you characterize a good reader?
10. Do you consider yourself a good reader? Why yes, why not?
50
Appendix 2
Teacher‟s questionnaire
Secondary school students and their reading
1. Why did you choose this class from other classes for filling the questionnaire?
Could you please briefly characterize the class?
2. How long have these children been studying English and what is their level of
English?
3. Do you think that children from this class read also in their leisure time?
4. Do you think that these children are good or bad readers? Why do you think so?
5. How would you characterize a good reader in general?
6. Do your lessons include reading activities?
7. How much time do you often spend on reading activities with the class?
8. What materials do you use for reading activities (textbooks, articles, websites
etc.)?
9. Is the organization of the class during reading activities different from other
activities? Or do you think that it should be different?
51
10. Do you have at school English books that children can lend home and read?
Appendix 3
Books and authors that were named by girls as answers for question no. 3:
Brezina Thomas – The Knickerbocker Gang
Carranza Maite – The War of the Witches
Christie Agatha – Ten Little Niggers
Colfer Eoin – Artemis Fowl, Cross Gillian – The Lost, The Dark Ground
Čapek Karel
Daniels Lucy – Hamster in a Hamper
Dousková Irena – Onegin was Russian
Ende Michael – The Neverending Story
Erben Karel Jaromír
Gnone Elisabetta – W.I.T.C.H.
John Radek - Memento
Kinney Jeff – Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Meyer Stephenie – The Twilight Saga
Patterson James – Maximum Ride
Riordan Rick – Percy Jackson
Scott Michael – The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The
Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Shakespeare William – Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet
Springer Nancy Connor – The Case of the Missing Marquess, The Case of the LeftHanded Lady
Wilson Jacqueline – The Story of Tracy Beaker.
Following books were named by boys:
Flanagan John – Ranger’s Apprentice
Skelton Matthew – Endymion Spring
Tolkien J. R. R. – The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings
World of Warcraft.
52
Appendix 4
Girls‟ answers on question no. 9 + 10:
-
A good reader reads a lot.
Yes, I think I am a good reader because I read a lot and I like it.
-
A good reader reads a lot and he/she likes reading.
No, I do not read very often and there are only few books that I like. When there
is a book I do not like I do not finish reading.
-
A good reader can read fast either aloud or silently.
I think I am an average reader.
-
A good reader can get into a story in the book very fast, he/she does not mind
reading and he/she has reading as relaxation in his/her leisure time.
I think I am a good reader because when I am reading I can get into a story.
-
You know that someone is a good reader when he/she is enthusiastic about a
story and he/she can talk about books interestingly and can get into a story.
Yes, I think that I am a good reader because the characteristics I wrote to the
previous question about me.
-
A good reader is someone who has read a lot of books during the life, who
remembers details about these books and who can talk about books.
Yes, I read a lot and I want to get books for Christmas.
-
A good reader is someone who has wide wordage, who has a lot of favourite
books at home, who can talk about books and who sacrificed something to
reading books.
In my opinion I am a good reader because my friend told me that I am a
bookworm. I have two bookcases at home crowded with books. I also spend
quite a lot of money on books.
-
A good reader reads a lot, can read well, knows interesting books and has
knowledge about books.
I do not know because I need very good book to be interested in it.
-
A good reader is not fastidious about books and is not hard to be pleased by
books and he/she reads everything.
No I do not think that I am a good reader because I cannot get into stories in
books.
53
-
A good reader reads a lot. He/she reads classic books and knows details about
them.
Yes, I like reading and I read also classic books, not only fantasy books.
-
A good reader can get into a story. He/she reads a lot very often. He/she can
understand complicated materials. He/she is able to find time for reading.
I think that I am somewhere in the middle. When I do not have time I do not
miss reading but when I am ill and I have a lot of time I can read a lot of books.
-
A good reader does not think that reading is tediousness but he/she takes reading
as an alternative that extends his/her knowledge. He/she also likes reading of
thick books and it is amusement for him/her. Bad readers read only textbooks at
school or tabloids or parodies on great authors.
Yes, I am a good reader.
-
A good reader is someone who can recite books or who read fast and well but
understandably.
Yes, I can read aloud nicely and fast but there has to be absolute silence. And I
can enjoy reading.
-
A good reader reads very often.
I do not know I read from time to time.
Boys‟ answers on questions no. 9 + 10:
-
A good reader is someone who reads a lot and who has huge wordage.
I think that I am a good reader because I read a lot.
-
A good reader reads a lot and he/she understands what he/she is reading and
he/she has big wordage.
Yes, I am because I read a lot and I like it.
-
It depends on how often he/she reads and how much time it takes to him/her to
finish thick book.
I do not think I am a good reader because I have not been to the library for quite
a long time.
54