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CAMBRIDGE
ANGUAGE DUCA
ION
SerieEditor:
ack
.
Richards
This eries
raws
n
hcbest
vai lable
esclrch.hcory. nd
ducational
ractice
o
hclp lari fy
ssues
nd
esolveroblems
n anguagceaching.
anguagceacher
du -
calion,
nd clatecl
rcls.
Books
n
he
e'ries
ircus na widc
ange
f ssuesnd re
written
n a style
hat
saccessible
oclassroorneachers.
eachen-in-bdning.
nd
teacherducators.
In
this series:
Agendas
or
SecondLanguage
Literacy bt'Sundra
Lee
MtKut'
Reflective
Teaching n
Second
Language
Classroomsby
Juck C. Richards
and
Charles
Locklutl
Educating
SecondLanguage
Children:
The
whole
child, the whole
curriculum,
the
whole community
etlited
bt' Fred
Genesee
Understanding
Communication in
Second
Language
Classrooms
ht'
Karen E.
Johnxtn
The
Self-directed
Teacher:
Managing
the
learning process
bt
Duvitl
Nunun
ond Clarice Lumb
Functional
English Grammar:
An introduction
for
second anguage
teachers
bt'
G
ahum Lot'k
Teachers
as
Course
Developers
editedbv
Kttthlcen
Grat'es
Classroom-based
Evaluation
in
SecondLanguage Education
bt Fred
Genesee
ntl
JolrrtA. Upshur
From
Reader
to Reading Teacher:
ssues
and strategies
or
second
languageclassroomsby
Jo
Ann
Aebersoldund
Mury Lee
Field
Extensive
Reading in
the SecondLanguage
Classroom
ht Ri
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P t T R L t S H E D
B l
' , t
H E P R E S S S Y N I ) t ( , r ' , t . t
) [
. t
i l H t r
l v t : R S T T Y
O F C , \ ] \ t B R l D ( ; t l
Thc Pitt
Bui lding,
Truu.rpington
trcct.C'anrbridgc. ni tcd
Kingdom
C ' A N I B R I D G E
T I
I v E R S I T Y
P R F ] S S
Thc Edinburgh
ui lding.Cambridgc
C'B22RU.
UK
40 Wcst20th
Strcct,
Ncw York, NY l00l I 42 I I ,
U S
A
477 Wil l ianrstown oad,Port Melboume. IC 3207,Arrstral ia
Ruiz-
c Alarcon
3, 21{01.1
adrid.
Spain
Dock Housc.
Thc
Waterfront,
apc
Town 8001,
SouthAliica
http://wwrv.cambridgc.org
tt
C'ambridge
nivcrsi ty
Prcss 99lJ
It is nornral ly
ecL-ssary
br wri t tenpcrnrissionbr copying o bc obtaincdn
advancc
tiom a
publ isher.
igurc (a) on
pagc l f l .
F igurc2 on
page147.
nd Figurc
3(a)
on
pagc
5l of this book arc
photocopiable.hc
nonnal cquircrncntsrc waivctl
hcrc,
and t is not ncccssaryo wri tc to C'arnbridge nivcrsi ty
Prcss i rr
penxission
br an
indiv idual
cachcr
o makc
copics br usc
within
his or hcr
own
classroom.
l ' i rstpubtishcd99t{
4th print ing
200;l
Printcd
n thc
United
Statcs f Amcrica
Typeset
n Tinrcs
Roman
L b u r.t'
(-
n
grc.s,s u a og
u-
n >
b Lu on D u
u
Day,
Richard l .
Exlensivc
cading
n the
second anguagc
lassroor-n
Richard
Da y
zrnd
ul ianBanrlbrd.
p.
c l l l .
"Bibl iography
f ' languagc
carncr i teraturcn Engl ish"
p.
Inclurics ibl iographicalc l -crcnccsp. ) and ndcx.
ISBN0-521-56073-X
hb).
lS tsN -521-56t i29-3
pb )
l . Languagc
nd
anguages
Studyand
caching.2. Rcading.
l . Bamtbrd.
u l ian.
I . T i t l c .
P53 .75 .D39
99 7
4l ft ' .4'07
dc2l
97-24481
C I P
,1 ttlulogtrt' autnl
lir
tltis hook .s tt'uilttltla
iont
thc British Lihrcn'
ISBN0
521 56073
X hardback
ISBN0
521 56u29
papcrback
To
the ate Dr. Shigckazu
ukuyama
To Tcrry
and
Lcanne
Day, anclMarion
an d
Vincent
Barrrfirrd
And to HaroldPalmer
nd MichaelWcst, he
parents
f second
anguagc
xtensivc cading
in modern
iurcs
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I I
viii
Contents
Affect
35
Vocabulary
36
Linguistic
ompetence
37
Writing
37
Spel l ing 37
Conclusion
38
Further
eading
38
5 Extensivc
eading
nd he sccondanguage
urriculum
Integrating
xtensive
eadingnto
secondanguage
prograrns
4l
Extensive
eading
and second anguage
cademic
programs
44
Goals of
an extensive eadingprogram
45
Why is
extensive eading
he approach ess
raveled'?
Conclusion 48
Further
cading
48
MATERIALS
FOR EXTENSIVE
READING:
ISSUES N
DEVELOPMENT
5I
6
The
cult of
authenticityand the myth
of simpli fication
Thc cult
of authenticity
53
The rnyth
of simpli fication
56
Authenticity
and sirnpl ici ty eexamined
58
Communication 60
Conclusion 6l
Further
eading
6l
7 Language earner
iterature
63
Language earner i terature ntroduced 63
Writing for
an audiencc f second
anguage earners
Language
earner i terature
as art
14
The
irnportance
f content 76
Support br reading
77
Conclusion 78
Further
eading
19
THE
PRACTICE
OF EXTENSIVEREADING
8I
tl
Setting p a
program:
urricular
ecisions
How
muchmaterial
hould tudentsead?
83
84
53
I I I
Contents
ix
l 0
How can eachers
valuate tudents'J
ll 6
Should students ead n class
or
tbr homework
or both?
At what level of difficulty
should students
ead'/ 9l
Should
students se
dictionaries
while
readine'J 93
Conclusion
94
Further
eading 95
Materials:The lure and the ladder 96
Language earner iterature 97
Children's books
98
Learners'
own stories
99
Newspapers
10 0
Magazines 102
Children's
magazines
10 2
Popularand simple i terature 103
Young adult i terature 104
Comics 104
Translations 105
Conclusion
10 5
Further eading | 06
The extensive eading ibrary
10 7
Deciding he size of the
program
10 7
Making a budget 108
Determining
he students' eading evels 109
Discovering
student nterests 109
Purchasing he readingmaterials
ll I
Catalogingand organizing he materials 112
Deciding where o
place
he materials l l2
Setting up a checkoutsystem I I
5
Displaying he rnaterials
I l5
Conclusion l l6
Further eading I 16
Studentorientation I l8
The goals
of the
program
l2 O
The procedures
f the
program
l2 l
Reading equirements 123
Readingmaterials 124
Conclusion 124
Building
a community of readers 126
Ongoing class
guidance
12 6
u
t2
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x
Contents
lndiv idual
ounsel ing
12 7
ln-c lassacr iv i t ies
128
The
eacher
s ole
model
136
Help
or struggling
eaders
13 7
Conc lus ion
138
Further
eading
138
13
The eading
ommunity
n
action
140
Answering
uest ions
l4 l
Writing
summaries
112
Writing
eaction
eporls
143
Giving
ral eports
14 8
Popular
ooks ection
l5i)
In-book
pinion
orms
15 0
Ravc
eviews
15 3
A reading
air
15 3
Wall
displays
15 4
Conclusion
15 5
14
Progranr
valuat ion
15 6
Purpose
151
Audience
15 7
Method
l5 l
Seeing
f
a
program
as
chieved
ts goals
t5 g
Seeing
hat
other esults
program
might
have
ha d
Identifying
spects
f a
program
eeding
mprovement
Rcsults
16 2
Conclusion
16 3
Further
eading
16 3
l
5 Taking
he
approach
ess
raveled
164
Extensiveeading nd hc eacher 16 7
Appendix
A
bibliography
f language
earner
iterature
n
Engl ish
169
An
EPER
bibliography
f high-quality
anguage
eamer
literature
17 2
Description
f the
series
lgg
References
203
Index
21 7
1 5 9
1 60
( -
.
I .
,
r
Jerrcs edrtor
s
pre.lace
Al t l rough
nurnber f Lrsefu looks
areavai lable n the eaching
f rcading
in
a second r fbreign anguage,his
s he
lrst
book
o
focusspecifical ly n
the nature
of extensive eadingernd he
developmcnt
of extensivc cading
prograrxs
n
fbrcign and second anguage eaching.
RichardDay
and
Julian
Bamforcl
t-fer
n ntbrnred
nd
practical
nalysis f thc
natureand scopeof
cxtensivc
eading.
rguc
convincingly br thc
need o
give grcatcr
attention
to
extensivc eading
n
language eaching,
nd
provide
a
valuablcguide o
developingan efI'ective xtcnsit,e eading progralx within a sccond or
lbre ign
anguage
un' iculum.
In devcloping heir
rationale
br
extensive cading,
he authors cvlcw a
cornprehensivc ody of rcscarch
hat demonstratcs he
benefits hat can
accrue
ronr
extensivc eading.Tlresc
bcnefits nclLrde
ot only the
obvious
improver.nents
n studcnts ' reading
ki l lsarrd
eading
peed
ut changesn
their gencral
anguage roficiency
and
n their
atti tudes oward eading
an d
language
earning. For
rnany
lanuuage
tuclents,
hc
abil i ty
to
engagc'
n
tluent eacl ing
nd
o read
both
fbr
irnportant
nfbnration
and
clr
plcasurc
s
perhaps
hc
most
valuable
bcnefit they
wil l
gain
fiorn language
study;
hence t is
crucial
hat
suchan outcontc s
planned
br
in language eaching
rather
han eft to chance.
The autlrorsdernonstrate, owever. hat there s tar ntore to cxtensir,e
reading
han
sirnply
providing
materials. hey
analyzc he
factors
hatnccd
to bc considered n
planning
and mplementing
a
progralx,
and how
such a
progralr
can
be efl 'ectivcly rganized
nd adrninistcred. etai ledguidarrce
is
given
cclnccrning
ow
to intcgrate
extensive eading
nto the
second
or
foreign
anguagc
curriculum, what
the
goals
fbr such
activities
are,
what
rcsources nd
planning
are
needed,
hc criteria br choosing
suitable ead-
ing tcxts, tow to
evaluatc he
prograrn,
nd
rtrportarrtirctors o considcr n
the day-to-day managenrent f
a
program.
The authorsemphasizehat
al though
xtcnsivc
cadi rrs s
a
studenf-
centered
nd
student-nranagcdctivity sinccslutlcrrts
horisc lhal. rvlrcrr.
XI
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xii
Series
editor's
preface
and how
to read
--teachers
have a
crucial role
to
play
in ensuring
he
success
f the program.
Teachers
eed
a thorough
understanding
f the
nature
of second anguage
eading,
of the nature
of
extcnsive
reading
materials,
nd
of thc strategies
or
developtng
eading
ski l ts
and a love
of
rcading
hrough
extensive
eading.
Extensive
Reading
n the
SecondLunguage
Classroornprovides
a com-
prehensive
nd stimulating
account
of theseand
other mportant
ssues
n
extensive eading and wil l
be a valuable
resource
both for
classroom
teachers
nd br teacher
ducators
reparing
novice
eachers
br
careers n
second
and fbreign
anguage
eaching.
Jack C. Richards
Prefoce
Students re unsure f what hey have ead; hey feel hat hey
tlo not havesufficient anguageo say what hey want o say.
' l 'hcy
hcsitatco admit hat hcy arcnot surcwhat hcy
us t
rcad.
Thcy arc apprehcnsivcboutbeingevaluatcd y thc
tcacher
nd hcir
pecrs.
hcy
clcct
o
sit si lcntly ndwait or
the
eachero ask
qucstions
r for otherstudcntso spcak.
'fhis
is a description f
what
Jo
Ann Aebersold
and Mary Lee Field
(1997
p.
I l6) cal l
"the
world of real L2IFL reading lasses." ut studentsearning
to reada second anguage o not have o act l ike that. Rather, hey can be
cnthusiastic nd
confident about reading,and
can
leave the
second
an -
guage reading
course as
independent
and
lifelong readers n
the
target
language.
This book can help makesucha transformation
ossible.
Although t is a
book about he
teaching
and
learning
of
reading
n a second anguage. t
differs from most books on the subjectbecause f i ts focus extensive
reading.The
purpose
ofthis book is to
provide
a theoretical
nd
pedagogi-
cal foundation for the
premise
hat
extensive
eading
should be an
integral
part
of reading instruction in the second anguageclassroom.
Extensive eading s an approach o the eachingand eaming of second
language eading n which leamers ead argequantities
f booksand other
materials
hat are
well
within
their l inguistic
competence. xtensive ead-
ing, however, s not
ust
a matterof submerging tudents n a bath of
print.
As Albert Harris and Edward
Sipay
observe,
lt
takes superiormaterials,
clever eachers ho love o read hemselves,ime, and
effbrt
o
develop
he
read ing ab i t "
1990 ,
.655) .
The benefitsof such an instructional pproachare wide-ranging. f
se t
up and carriedout appropriately, xtensive eadingnot
only
helps
students
learn o read n the
second
anguage,
ut also
eads
hem to cnjoy reading.
x i i i
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xiv Preface
This
encourageshem
to continue eading
ong
after formal
study of the
second anguage
s over. n
addition,
extensive eading,
at the very least,
consolidates
tudents'
eaming
of
the
second anguage
and,
at best, n-
creasesheir
proficiency.
For al l these
easons, e
are irm
advocates fthe
inclusion
of
extensive eading n
anv second anguage
eading program.
Second
anguages
are earned by
different
people
for
different reasons.
Although
thesedifl 'erences
re mportant
n some
contexts,we
seeexten-
sive reading
as useful to
anyone who reads
or intends o
read a
second
language.
We also
see extensive eading
as appropriate
or
both a second
lunguage ontext where
he arget anguage
s leamed
n a
cornmunityof
i ts
speakers, uch
as learningEnglish
n the
United States-
anda.lbreign
language
ontext, n which
the target anguage
s leamed
where that an-
guage
s not
spoken,
such as earning English
n
Japan.For
convenience,
throughout the
book we
use
the
term second
anguage to include
both a
second
and a fbreign language
earning
environment.
When the term
for-
eign s
used, t is o refer
specifical ly o
a foreign anguage
eaming
context.
An
extensive eading
approach
doesnot assume
hat the
students ave
any
particular
evel
of abi l i ty n
the target anguage.
n our view,
extensive
reading s
appropriateat
al l stagesof language
earning;
t is never oo
early or too ate
to learn o read
a second anguage.
t the
same ime, an
extensive eading
approachhas
nothing
particular
o offer
the
prereading
stages f learning
o read.Therefore,
n this
book t is
assumedhat
students
are
already
iterate
n their
first languages
nd that they
know the written
form
of t he second
anguage.
The
book has hree
major
sections.Part
provides
a theoretical
ounda-
tion for
extensive eading.
Part II is
a cri tical
examinationof materials
developmentn
second anguage eading.
Part II presents
nd discusseshe
practical
aspects f conducting
an extensive eadingprogram.
Although we
believe hat
extensive eading
should
be a
part
of
every
second anguage
eadingprogram.
t is
not our intent ion
o evangel ize.
Rather,we presentan altemative or additional way of approaching he
teaching
of reading.
We are not
so naive as to
believe hat an
extenslve
reading
approach
can turn al l students
nto independent,
luent
readers.
However, fused
appropriately,
n extensive eading
approach
an consid-
erably mprove
second anguage
eading nstruction
and the
chances hat
studentswil l
cnjoy reading
n the second
anguage. t would
be an
unusual
extensive eading
class hat i t the
description f the
ypicalL21FL reading
classdescribed
y Aebersold
and
Field.
We would l ike to
express ur
appreciationo
Jack Richards, he
editorof
the
series n which
this book
appears,or his
encouragement
nd support; o
David Hil l
and the Edinburgh
Project on Extensive
Reading
or making
Preface
xv
rrvl i lable
heir researchn the form
of
the
bibl iotraphy in the Appendix; o
Stcven
Brown,
Marc Helgesen,David Hil l , Ted Plaistsr,
oyceTaniguchi,
l(oberta
Welch,and
Cambridge's nonymous cvicwcrs br their nvaluable
cornments
on earl ier drafts
of
the
manuscript; o the Bodleian Library,
(
)xfbrd,
and
he
CILT
Library
in London and their
staff; o Judy Davis for
Ircr
work
on the
ndex,
and o Mary Vaughn
and Mary Carsonat
Cambridge
tJniversity
Press.
We are
particularly
grateful
to editor Olive
Collen and
copy editor David Thorstad br their exceptionalwork on t he manuscript.
We
hope hat the deas
presented
n this
book wil l stimulate eaders o
rcf' lect
n their own second anguage
eadingexperiences,
oth as
eachers
rrndas students.
We alsohope hat readerswil l
enjoy
reading
t as much as
we enjoyedwriting i t.
Richard R. Day
Julian Bamford
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I
An
approach
ess aken;
r f , . 7 |
Lxtensrve eaatng
mtroaucea
'I
hc rather
curious si tuationhas arisenwhereby, despi te
universal
acceptance f the view that onc becomes
good reader hrough reading, reading cssons where
rlost
t imc is actual lyspent on reading
as
opposed o
discussion, nswering
uestions.
tc.)
are relat ively
rare.
-Chris
Moran and EddieWill iams
(
1993,
.
66 )
I
he
purpose
fthis chapter
s
to :
.
Reexaminehc
purposes
or second anguage eading
nstruction.
.
Define
cxtensive eading nd ntroduce t
as an approach o the eaching
of sccond anguage eading.
o List he definingcharacteristicsfsuccessful xtensive cading
programs.
r\t
the beginning
of
the | 950sAmerican
musical TheMusit'Man, Professor
l larold Hil l
blows
into River
City, lowa, and startlcs he residentswith the
pronouncement
hat heyhavc rouble.Being
carefulnot o cri ticize hem as
parents,
ProfcssorHil l asks he
good
citizensof River City to think about
thcir chi ldren: Do they
dressbadly when they
go
out? Do they use
slang?
Are therenicotine
stains etween heir ingers?Do they keep sleazynovels
hidden rom view'?
In
the same
hetorical
manner,we begin with a
similar
pronouncement:
.fhcre
is trouble n the
second
anguage
eadingclassroom. akea moment
to consider any
students
ou
know who are learning to read a
second
language.Are
they
reluctant
o rea d? Do they seem bored
or under stress'l
Do they
come to reading class with fear and trepidation'? o
they
read
anything n the second anguage part rom their
assignrnents'?
ln The Mu,sic'Man, ProfessorHill was in fact
a con artist
who
stirrcd up
the
citizenry
or his
own unscrupulous nds.
Our
intcntions,or.r he
other
hand,
are
honorable.
We raise the
possibi l i ty
that thcrc may
be,
if
no t
trouble,
hen at least wo
good
reasons o reexaminc hc scconcl anguagc
3
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4 The dimensions
of extensive readinq
reading classrocrtrr:
n
general,
tudent.s
earning to reatl u .second
anguage
do not read and lhe1,
610 ot like reading.
Students
ot readingand
not l iking
to read s
a
problem. t is
simplistic
but
neverthelessrue
hat he more
students
ead, he
better
hey
becomeat
it.
"Reading
. .
must be developed, nd
can only be developed.
y means
ofextensiveandcontinual
practice.
People
eam to read,and
o readbetter,
by
reading," tates
David Eskey
1986,p.21).
In
addi t ion,
tudents
it h
negativcatti tudes
oward second anguage
cadingare unlikely
to be moti-
vated to do the reading
they need to
do
to
become
fluent
readers.
In
an
ideal world, are
here
any
reading
eacherswho
would
not
want
thcir students o
/cri
read
a
great
deal and
(b)
enjoy
reading'?t is unl ikely.
But such aims may
seem emotc, unattainable,
nd even
rrelevant o the
.job
at hand.Aller ir l l ,
he curriculurrrs
l l led to the brirr already.
eachers'
inrrrrediateriori tiesare making sure heir
students o
well in their courses
and
pass
hc nccessary
xaminations;ndeed,
heir ivel ihoods
depend n t.
What is more, teachers
already know
how to
achieve
hese
mmediate
priori ties.
They rightly
pride
themselveson
their
accomplishments
nd
abi l i t ies.
Formal educationhas a l i fe of i ts own. For students. t is commonly
something
lrat rnust be
gone tlrrough,
evolving
around
fulfi l l ing
credit
requirements nd
passing
examinations
ather han the learning
of some-
thing that one wants
or fbels a need
o learn. Pedagogical
ractices
also
have a l i fb of their
own to the extent
hat they becomedivorced
rom the
realneeds
r
goalsofthe students. econd
anguage eading lassrooms re
no exception
o this
possibi l i ty.
Carlos
Yorio, in a
paper i tlecl
The
ES L
Reading
Class:
Reali ty
or
Unreali ty,"
notes
hat, f one s "to cotnpare
.
classroom ctivities
with real-l i fe
situations
n
which peopleare
eading
br
various
purposes
r
reasons . . in Inost
cases he degree
f'unreali ty' of
the ESL reading lasses
s str ik ing" 1985,
.
l5 l ) .
The second anguage
eading essoncan avoid being
merely an empty
ritual come o class. ead he exts,do theexercises,eaveclass, eturn o
real i fe
-
by addressing
he two aitns
of students eading
a greatdeal and
enjoying
reading.
Teachers ightly feel satisf'action
hen students
pass
examinations nd
rneet
he requirenrents f the class.But their
satislaction
would be even
greater f their students
lso eft their classes
eadingan d
enjoying he
process.
Can
the two aims
of reading n
quarrti ty
nd developing
a
readinghabit
be
integratedwith
the mrnediate
riori ties
of
teacher
and
student
without
undennining
successful lassroorn
practicesand methodologies',) r
ar e
such aims
rnerely
the lofty
drearrrs
f academics
-ar emoved
from tlre
classroom,
he
preachings
f
thosewlro do
not know what
it is l ike to face
An
approach
less taken 5
r l rL
la i ly
igors
nd
pressing
emands
f teaching' l
n
rcsponse, e
can
sa y
tlrrrt
he
present
volume derives
iom
thc cxpericnces f teacherswhose
,rrrtlurts
lo
read and
enjoy i t.
These are not
extraordinary
eacherswith
,
rtraordinary tudents. hey
are
ordinarypeople acing he
samedemands
r'r
cl ')r)ne lse
aces,
eaching
and eaming
n situations
hat range
rom
th e
r'\tlcnre (a
wall-lesssecondary lassroom nZanz,lbar) o the conventional
r:r
vcl l-equipped niversity
lassroom
n the
United
States).
Our
purpose
n
tlris volume, then, is to present heoreticaland practicalsupport br the
pr
cnrise hat
an extensive eadingapproach
an be
profi tably
ntegratednto
,rrrv
ccond
anguage eadingclassroom.
Extensive eading
l
ouis Keffy,
in his
volume 25 Centuries o./ Lunguage Teaching,
credits
I arold
Palmer
with first
applying
the term
extensive
eading in
foreign
lunguage
cdagogy
1969,
p. l3 l ) . Palmerwas a
pioneer
of
language
tcaching
n
modern irnes,
and
arnonghis
many
talentswas
a
genius or
tcrrninology.For
his I9l 7 book
The
Scienti fic'
Stucl l '
ntl keu'hing of
Lan-
gtuges,
hc
selected
extensive"
rom the multi tudeof synonyms reviously
rrscd
o convey similar ideas
such
as
"abundant
reading"
used n
th e
landrnark 1900
Report of'the CommitteeofTi 'elve
(Modern
Language
,\ssociation
f America, 190
),
which suggested ow languages
e
taught
in
secondary
chools.
For Palmer, xtensiveeading
meant
rapid ly" 192111964,p.
l l ) read-
i r rg
book
afterbook"
(191111968,
.
137).A rcadcr 's t tent iorr
hould
be
on
the rneaning,
ot the anguage, f the text.
Palmer
contrasted
his
with
what
he termed ntensive euding, by
which
he rneant
o
"take
a text,
study
it
l ine by l ine,
eferring
at every
moment
o our dictionaryand our
grammar,
comparing. analysing, ranslating,and retaining every expression hat i t
contains" 192111964,p. I I ). A "mul t ip le ine of approach" p. I I l ) wa s
one of Palrrrer's ine
principles
of language tudy,and he consequently aw
the importanceof both types of reading.
In Palnter'sconceptionof
extensive
eading,
exts were
clearly
being
rcad
or the
purposes
f language tudy,but, because ttentionwas
on
th e
content
and
not the
anguage,t could only be that
he
extswere
alsobeing
read br
ordinary
eal-worldpurposes f
pleasure
nd nformation.
And
so
it was
that
extensive eading took on
a special
sense n the
context of
language eaching: eal-world
reading
but fbr
a
pedagogical
urpose.
Other terms
lbr
extensive
eading were
used.
cven as i ts goals were
beingmadeexpl ic i t .
MichaelWest, teacher
nd mater ia ls
r i lcr
working
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6 The dimensions of extensive
readino
in India who more han anyoneelse established
he methodology
of exten-
sive reading,cal led
it
"supplementary"
eading
(1926/1955,
p.
26). This
was also the term used by the New
York
City
Board
of
Education for its
1931
S1'llabus
f Minima in Modern Foreign
Lunguages. Here the
goal
of
supplementary
eadingwas
"the
development o the
point
of enjoymentof
the abi l i ty
to read the fore ign anguage"
1931/1948,
.301),
and the
methodology
nvolved
"taking
care of
individual differencesand encourag-
ing the readinghabif' (p. 302).
Today, in language-teaching
erms,
extensive
reading is recognized as
one of four styles or ways of
reading, he
other
three being skimming,
scanning, nd ntensive eading.
Eddie
Wil l iams and Chris
Moran note hat
these our reading stylesare recognized
on
the basis of observable e-
haviour
notably
speed
f reading, egree f re-reading,
skipping'
of
text)"
( 1 9 8 9 ,
. 2 2 2 ) .
However, he
present
olume s not
primari ly
concerned
with
extensive
readingasa style;
ather, he bcus s on extensive eadingas an approacho
second
anguageeading nsl ruct ion.
An extensive eadingapproach
An extensive eading approachaims
to get
students
eading in the second
languageand l iking i t. Or, to
put
things
more fotmally,
as
the Longman
Dictionan' o/'Language Teachingand Applied
Linguistics
does, extenstve
reading
s
"intended
o
develop
good
readinghabits, o bui ld up knowledge
of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a
liking for reading"
(Richards,
Platt,
&
Platt,1992,
.
133).As this definition
mplies,
extensive
reading also
pays
off
in increased
eneral
second anguagecompetence.
Although this wil l occasionally e
referred o, the
present
olume mainly
restricts tself o the impact of extensive
eading
on
the abili ty to read n a
second anguage.
William Grabe, n a 199 TESOL
Quarterlv
paper,
discusses
ome of the
benefitsofextensive reading.
Longer
concentrated
eriods
ofsi lent
read-
ing build
vocabulary
and
structuralawareness, evelop automaticity,en -
hancebackground
nowledge, mprove comprehension ki l ls, and
promote
confidenceand motivation"
(p.
396).
In addition,as Aud Marit Simensen
points
out
(echoing
Harold Palmer60
years
earl ier),extensive
eading an
counteract
a
tendency among oreign language eanrersalways
to regard a
text as an object for language studies and
not
as an
object for factual
information, i teraryexperiencc r simply
pleasure,
oy
and delight"
(
1987,
p .42) .
An
approach less taken 7
l l r is
ast
point
may be morc rnportantharr t at l r rstsccms.
Studies
f
l , , r lh
l rst
and second
anguage
eginning cadcrs n ntanycountr ics ave
rr ' r
i l lgd e l l ing onnect ionsetween eading bi l i tyand he viewsstudents
lr,rl ti
about cading.Readcrs f lowcr abi l i ty tend o see eading n tenns
of
'e
roolwork"
Bondy,
1990,
p.
35 36) or
"as
a ser ious, i f l lcu l t
process,
r t ' t ; t r i r i nghardworkandd isc ip l i nede f fo r t " (E l l ey .
992 ,p .77) .Studcn tso f
lr glrcr
eading
bil i ty, on
the
other
hand,
ake a meaning-ccntcrcd pproach
tl )cvine, 1984).For them, reading s
a
"pleasant.
rnaginat ivc ct iv i ty"
r
: l lcy,
992,p.
77),a
way
o
earn
hings hat s botha
pr ivate leasure
nd
, rsocia l
ct iv i ty
Bondy,
1990,
p.36
38). t is the atter iews-the kind
Iostcrcd
y extensive cading that are nost
often associated
ith
success-
l r r l
outcomes hen eaching eading.
As
an
approach o learning o read
a second anguagc, xtcnsivc cading
rrray
e done n andout of the
classroom. utside
he
classroorn.xtcnsivc
rcading
s encouraged
y al lowing students o borrow books o takc homc
,rrrd
ead. n the
clussroorn.
t requi res pcr iod
l f t i rnc.a l lcasl 5 ln inulcs
ru.so,
o bc setaside or sustained i lent eading, hat s, br students
an d
pcrhaps
he teachcras well to rcad indrvrdually
anything
hey wish to.
Somc reading spccial ists
Stephen
Krashen
and
Beatrice Mikulecky
f orne
mrrcdiate y to mind cal l
cxtcnsivc
eadingTrlcusureeading.
As
he
told
a 1995 ol loquium udicncc,Wi l l iam
Grabe
s not
part icular ly
een
on
eithcr tcnn: extensive eading being rather general.
and
pleasure
eading
too
specific n that
"lots
of
people
. .
get
urncdon to al l kinds of materials
that
someone ouldn' t
put
n a
pi lc
cal lcd
plcasure
eading. .
.
Extensive
lcading
s
people
wil l ing to cngagc . .
fwith]
a lot
of extended
exts br
a
varicty
of
reasons." here s
also a
possibi l i ty
hat
"plcasurc
cading" has
l i ivolous
ovcrtones or studcnts,
arents,
nd
adrninistrators.
erhaps br
l lrcsc
rcasons,Krashcn and his col leagueshave
used another ern.
fi 'ee
voluntan'
reuding
(as
n his 1993
book
The
Pow,er l Reotl ing).
The
characteristics
f an extensive
eading
approach
.lustas t is hard o f ind a namc br cxtensive eading hat
satisfles veryone,
it
is hard to reduce t to
a dictionary-type efinition. For tcaclrcrs, more
rrscf l way of understandinghe
cornplexityof cxtcnsivc cading s though
a clescription
f
the
characteristicshat arc fbund in succcssful xtensive
rcading prograrns.
l.
Sltrtlenls
eatl
as muchas
possible,perhaps
n ancl lctlnitclyout of the
classroom.
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8 The
dimensions
of
extensive
readino
2. .4 variet.t'of
nrulerial.s
on
a v,ide
runge,f'topic:.t
is
ut,uilublr,
so as to
encourage
eading
fbr different
reasons
and
in
diff-ercnt
ways.
3. Stttdent,s
elec'twhul
the.t,tt'unt
o
reud
and
have
the
fieedom
to stop
reading
matcrial
hat fai ls
to
interest
hem.
4. Thepurposes
o/ reading
ure
usuallv related
to pleaswe,
infitrmutittn,
und getteral
uncler,stuntling.
hese purposes
are
deternrined
by
the
naturc
of the rnaterial
nd
thc
interests
f
the
student.
5. Reading is it'; .wn rewurd. There are f'ew or no follow-up exercises
afier reading.
6.
Reuding
muterials
are
y'ell
v,ithin
the
linguistic'
t'ompetente
of'the
.ttudent:i
n terms
of vocabulary
and
grarnmar.
Dictionaries
are rarely
ussd
while reading
because
he constant
stoppine
o look
up words
makes
luent reading
difficult.
7. Reuding
.v ttclividuul
und
silent,
at the
student's
own pace,
ancl.
utsidc
class,
done
when
and
wherc
the student
hooses.
8.
Reuding
speed
is
usuullv./aster
ruther
thun slov'er
as
students ead
books
and othcr
material hey
find
easily
understandable.
9.
Taut'hers
fient
students
o the godls
ol the pntgram,
erytluin hc
meth-
odology,
keep
rut.k of what
each student
eads.
and guirlc
studcnts
n
gctting the most out of the prograrn.
10.
Tha
eut'her
.su role
model
of'u reuder
itr
stutlenl.t
.an
active
rrcmber
of
the classroom
eading
community,
demonstrating
hat i t r.neans
o
be a readcr
and
the rewards
of bcing
a reader.
These
elerlents
aiscquestions
br both
students
nd teachers
l ike.
At
workshops
on extensive
cading,
eachers
sk
such questions
as :
o
What
are he theoretical
'ounclations
f
extcnsive
eading'/
o
What
are he
beneflts'J
o
Is thcrc
any
empirical
evidence
br these
alleged
benefits' l
o
Do second
anguage
earners ave
hc proper
atti tude
oward
reading
o
allow
extensive
eading'?
o
Arc
learners
motivated
o
read
outside
he
classroom'l
.
How
much reading
s rneant
by
extensive'
r
what
materials
are suitablc
or
stucients t various
abil i ty
levels
n tlrc
second
anguage'?
r
Are
sirnpl i fied
rrraterials
br Iclwcr-lcvel
tudents nlbrior
to authentic
"real-l i f-e"
naterials'l
o
On
what
basis might
students
who
read
cxtensively
be
evaluated
an d
grades
be given?
o
Horv
might the
success f
an extensive
eading
program
be cvaluatecl 'J
An
approach
less
taken
g
., ,r lc
()1 ' thesc
ssucs
avcbarely
been
eal twi t l r
n thc
protessional
i tera-
rrrr ' .
rnd
one
of
the aims
of th is
book s to
rcnrcrry
hat
dcf lc icncv.
Conclusion
l . lhcrc
trouble
n the
second anguage
eading
lassroom' l
s
t a problcm
rl r i r l . ls notedby Moran
and
wi l l iams
at
the beginni rrg
l-
h is
chapter,
.lrrtlcnts
o
not rcad
rnuch
n reading
class'l s i t
a
problem
hat,
as
yorio
, lrrirns.
eading
classes
car
ittlc
rcsemblance
o tlre
ealworlcl
of reading?
It
is
our position
hat hese
rc problems
and
hat hcy
have
a
direct
bearing
,rr
sludcnts'
eading
bil i ty
and atti tude
oward
eading;
urther,
hat
sccond
lrrn{uagc
eading
nstruction
an
and should
allow
students o
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^
Z A
cognitive view of
reading
To
tcach
orcign
or sccond
anguagc cadingwel l , wc
nccd o know
as
rnuch
as
possible
about how thc
rcading
proccss
works
and
how to integratc hat
knowlcdgc
eftcctivcly
nto
our
rcading
pedagogy.
Marva Barnet t
19t39,
.
l)
Thcrc is nothing as
practical
as a
good
thcory.
Anonvlnous
The
purpose
of
this
chapter
is to:
r
Exarnine
fl rst
and second
language reading
as
a
cogni t ive
process.
.
Explain f iorn a cogni t ivc
pcrspcctivc
thc
rolc
of extensive
reading in
dcvcloping f lucnt sccond languagc rcadcrs.
Which of t l rcsc tatc lncnts cstcapturcs
our
vicw of thc
rolc
of theory
n
thc teachingof rcading'l
l.
"To
tcl l thc ruth, rcal lydon' t
pay
nuchattcnt ion o th is
whole
heory
busincss.'m a teachcr nd nccd o know what o do in c lass."
2.
"Well,
I
get
very
confused.
hcar thcm talking about top-down and
bottom-up
eading
rnd erns
l ike that;
don't undcrstand
t. Ijust tcach
fiorn thc books hat thc school ordcrscaclr
ycar."
3.
"The
rcading
collrse
n ury r.nastcr's
rograrn
was bascdorr hcory, so
I
tunderstand
he issues.But I rcal ly lcarned to tcach rcading in thc
practicurn."
4.
"l t 's
irnportant, o
doubt abor-rt
t. I rnean,
everything
hat wc do has a
thcorctical bundation. sn't that right'?"
We have
encountercd
crsions of thcsc fbr-rr
oints
of vicw about hc
value of
theory n the teaching
of
reading iom widcly difftrcnt typcs o1'
rcading eachers
fiorn graduate
of advanced-degree
rograms
n English
as a sccond anguagc o tcachcrswho
have r.ninirnal
ornpetence
n the
second anguagc nd l i ttlc forrral training n language eaching.
The'posi-
tion taken
in this
book
is
closer
o rrurnbcr4 than to any of thc others.
Thcory is impoftant.
When cducatorsdcsign sccond anguagc cading
progralns,
and
when
reading eachers rdcr texts,sclcct rratcrials,and
plan
activitics,assump-
10
A
coonitive
view
of
readino
11
r
,
n\
re
being
made
about he natureof rcading.and how studentsearn o
' , , r , i
rsecondanguage. hese
assumptionsrc n rcal i ty heor ics f read-
,rrr ' .
urd t is not
uncommon
brthem
to
go
unexaminccl .f theyarebrought
t,,
l l lg
ssrfsse
and compared to accepted heorctical models, however,
,'
r ious
contradictions nd inconsistenciesxay
emerge.
A
deeperunder-
.t,rrrding
f the reading
process
and how
students
earn
o read a sccond
l.rrrsrrage
an
ofTer a stronger heoretical ationale
or second anguage
r 'rtl ing prograrxsand nstructional pproaches.
ln this
chapter
we set
out
the first
of
two
justi fications
br thc
premise
tlurt
an
extensive
eading
approach
as mportant
beneflts o offer a second
lrursuaqe
eading
program.
This first
usti flcation
s based
on
the nature
of
rt'rrtl ing
s a cognitive
process.
hc flrst half of the
chapter
s
a consider-
rrl ion
of cognitivc ntcractivcmodels of reading; he
secondhalf examincs
tlrc role
that extensive eading can
play
in developing second anguage
:t trdcnts '
eading bi l i ty.
Reading
as a cognitive
process
l {cading
akcsmany bnns.Think fbr a morrent of al l the
activities hatca n
lrc
labeled euding.They include serious
academic eading
what
you
ar e
tloirlg now), reading he
comics, scanning he television istings br your
l 'avorite
rograrn,
kimming a
magazine
rl icle o find out whether t rnerits
close attention,scttl ing nto a ncw novel
by
your f'avorite
uthor, cading
lloud to
your
children,absorbing he
subtitlesas
you
watch a movic in
a
l irrcign anguagc,
nd
glancing
at
your
notesas
you givc
a
spccch.
And
this
l ist
does not begin to capturc he cntire
spectrumof activities hat can be
cal lcd eading.
These varied activities hat go
by
the name
of readingcan be viewed
liorn
a
number
of different
perspectives,
ncluding sociocultural,phys-
iological, atlective, philosophical,educational,and cognitive. Although
these
erspectivcs
re
ntcrrclatcd
nd nterdependent
as
Martin
Gil l
points
out, for example,
culture
and cognitionare strictly nconceivable
without
cachother"
U992,
p
62]), hcrc s alsovalue n looking
at each
perspective
individually n i ts own terms. An
analogy
might
be that althougha novel
can
be appreciated
n its
entirety,
nsights
can bc
gained
iom
a detai led
scrutiny
of
the
developrnentof the main characters. he fbcus
of this
chapter
s
the supporta cognitive
perspcctivc
n the reading
process
ff-ers
an extensive
eading
approach o second anguage eading nstruction.
Although
hereare
nany
activities al lcd eutl ing, t is
possible
o offer a
definition hat most eadingexpcrtswould accept
as
helptul
n understand-
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12 The dimensions of
extensive
readino
ing reading iom
a cognitive
point
of vicw. This simple
definition
s that
reading is lhe t'onstruction
of'meuning
rom
u
printed
or wrilten mes.\uge.
The construction
of
rneaning
nvolvcs thc reader
connecting
nfbrmation
from the written
message ith
prcvious
knowledge o
arriveat meaning at
an understanding.
Cognitive
psychologists
ave
long been nterested n how it is that
a
reader s able o
create
meaning
iorn thc
printedpage.
The
activitiesof
th e
brain, of course,can only be vicwcd unhelpful ly as bursts of electrical
energy.
The
detectivework carried out
by cognitive
psychologists.
hcrc-
fore, is
done in mctaphorical erms.
Over
the past forty years,
scorcsof
models of the reading
process
have
been
produced.
Although essential ly
works of irnagination, nodels
are basedon what can be
observedabout
reading.They
seek o explain such
phenomena
s the r-nistakes
nd self-
corrections
eople
nakewhen reading
aloud,or the way the
eyesdartalong
lines
of
print.
These nodels,
hen,arc cal i ty-based peculationshat
com-
bine
findings iom
many studics nto a single,
coherent ystern"
Adarns,
t994,
p.842).
Interactive odelsof reading
The rnost
widely acccptcdmodelsof fluent first language eadingposit
an
inleruction of a variety of
processes,
eginning
with
the l ightning-l ikc,
automatic ccognitionof words.This initial process
f accuratc, apid,an d
autornatic
ecognition
of vocabulary iccs the mind to
useseveral
imulta-
neousprocesses
nvolving rcasoning, nowledge
of
the world,
and
knowl-
edge of the topic to
construct
meaning.
Although thc hypothcticalcon-
structs
bottom-upprocessing
i.c.,
tcxt-driven) and top-tlown prcr'es.ti ttg
(i .e.,
concept-drivcn) were useful heuristics n
conceptualizingearl ier
modcls of rcading, t is
probably
better
to leave them
behind lest they
unhelpful ly
polarize
a descriptionof how mental
processes
nteractwith
text f'eaturesn fluent readingcomprchension.
The fol lowing
description f the
readingproccss
raws on a numberof
sources,ncludingAdams
1990,
1994),Perf 'e t t i
1985),
Samuels
1994),
and Stanov ich
1992) .
c
Reuclingbegin.s 'ith
the u('curate, sw'ili,und automutit' visuul rettryni-
tion ol
voc'ubulur.t',
ndepentlento/ the contexl in whit'h il ot'
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8/11/2019 Extensive Reading in the ESL Class
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16 The dimensions of extensive
readino
"We
do not. and ndeed lnd i t difTlcult o. draw a
cleardistinctionbetween
fi rst and breign anguageeading"
19U4,
.xv).
ln more cchnical enxs,
Catherine
Wallace notes n her book Reuding hat
"we
draw on similar
processing
trategies
n the eading
of al l
languages,
ven
where he writing
systemsare
very
different"
(1992,
p. 22). Thus, it
can be said that the
dcscription of thc cognitivc intr 'ractivc
processcs
of fluent reading
discussedn the
previous
section s also useful n capturing he essence f
f' lucntsccond anguagc cading.
The
role
of extensive
eading n
developingluent
second
anguage eaders
Extensive cadingcan
perhaps
nust
play
an important ole in develop-
ing the
colrponentsupon
which fluent second anguage eacling epends:
largc sight vocabulary;a wide
gcneralvocabulary;
and knowledgeof the
targct anguage, hc world, and ext types.The role of extcnsive cading
n
dcvcloping achof thcst- ornponcntss cxarnincd clow.
The development of sight vocabulary
The
development f a
large sight vocabularycan be seenas overlearning
words to the
point
that hey are autornatical ly
ecognized n their printed
fbrm. The bcst and easiestway to accornplish his is to read a
great
deal.
Beginning cadcrssirrply havc o cncountcr epeatedlywords with which
they have
some
'amil iari ty.As
an
individual word is met and understood
againand again n variouscontexts,
al l
the sources f infbrmationabouta
word are consolidated nto a single, highly cohcsivc reprcscntation. . .
Thus
a
printed word
becomesa syn-rbol
br i ts
phonological,
semantic,
syntactic, nd orthographic
nformation"
(Harris
& Sipay,
1990,
pp.
43 5
436). As a resultof multiple encounters,he
word
enters
he reader's
ight
vocabulary.Famil iari ty brecdsautomaticity.
To refbrmulate
Stephen
Krashen's arnousdesignation f second an-
guage
omprehcnsib lcnput
c.g.,
1985, 99l
),
he nater ia lsbr h is
auto-
rnat ic i ty ra in ing"
Samuels,
994.
p.
834) must be at
" r
minus " whcrc
"i
"
is the
student's urrent
evel
of acquisition.
his nl inu.r1 is n contrast
to Krashen's ornprehensible
nput hypothesis.n which, fbr furtheracqui-
sition to takc
placc,
hc comprchcnsible nput has o containelements hat
aresl ightlv be1'6rr1
,"
that s,
"i
+
l.
"
Thc rcason or i minu,s is that
thc
goal
of the automaticity raining
is
developinga
large
sight
vocabu-
lary rather han he earning f new l inguisticclcmcnts.Of course, minu.s
text is an ideal argetwhen learning o read; ncvitably,matcrial ncludes
A
coqnitive view
of
readino
17
,t t tr tus
vocabulary
and syntact ic
tructurcs s wcl l
as r
( the
reader 's
,
rrrlcnt
evel
of l inguistic
competence)
nd
son.rc
+
1
(elernents
hat the
,
,rtlcr
asnot
yet
mastered).
ut
as
ong
as hc bulk
o1'thcvocabulary
nd
, ' l i lnunar
is wel l
wi th in he eader 's
ompetence
i minus 1 wi thout
oo
rrrrny
+
l
d istract ions,he
developmentof
sightvocabularys possib le.
Ilrc
development
of
general
vocabulary
nowledge
lr
l l rst language
eading,
he ovcrarching
role of vocabulary
n fluent
rr ' i r ( l ing
rasbeen wel l
establ ished.
i rnply
put,
the larger
chi ldren's
o-
, ,rbular ies
re, he
better hci r
cornprehension.or
example,
eanne hal l
rr
i tcs.
Every
study of reading
achievement oints
to the importancc
of
r r rcabulary
nowlcdge" 1987, .
l5) . Nagy
andHerman
tate t unequivo-
, ;r l ly :
"Chi ldren
who
know more words
understand
ext better"
1987,
p.
, ' /
).
( i iven
our
position
that, from
a cognitive point
of view,
there is no
t sscntiol
i ffercnccbetween
'lucnt irst
and sccond anguage
eading, he
rrecd
br
a
largc
vocabulary
s cqually rue
n flucnt second
anguage ead-
rrrg.
lusthow important
t is can
be
gaugcd
rorn he
fol lowing
observation
Itv Wil l iarnGrabc.a second anguage eading xpertnot given o overstate-
rrrcnt.
Grabe
points
out
that
flucnt readers
ced
"a
mussive
fi tal ics
added]
rcccptivc
vocabulary
that is rapidly,
accurately,
and automatical ly
ac -
t
csSod"
1988,p.
63). The ack
ofsuch a vocabulary,
ays
Grabe,
may
be
tlrc
greatest
ingle rnpedirnent
o fluent eading
by ESL students"
p
63 )
Children lcarn large
numbcrs of new
words in their
tlrst language
by
ruessing
hcir
meanings n
context whilc they
read. Nagy
and Herman
eonclude,
fter a rcview
of the rcscarch i teraturc,
lncidental
learning
of
rr
ords
during eading nay
bc the
easiest nd single nostpowerful
means
of
lrrornoting
arge-scale
ocabularygrowth"
(
1987,p.
21).
Can second anguagc
earners
do the same
,
learn words incidental ly
ri 'hi lc
eading'?
lthough he
second anguage
csearchs not
as abundant
r
robust
as t
is
in first anguagc
cading, t
al lows a
similar,albeit
quali fied,
tortclusion;
Second anguage eadcrs
who read
masses f varied
and nter-
cstirrg
minus I material
can ncreaseheir general
ocabulary
nowledge.
.larres
Coady, n
a
review
of the relevant
second anguagc
esearch,
on -
e ucles,
The
incidental
acquisition
ypothesis
uggestshat here s gradual
l)ut
stcady ncremental rowth
of vocabulary
nowledge hrough
meaning-
l i r l
in teract ion
i th text"
(1993.
p.
l8) . But
Coady
points
out thaL
ow ,
lcaders
either rrst
or second anguage
do
this
is not known.
Part
of
the quali fication
or the conclusion,
n addition
to i ts sl irn re-
scarch
base, s thc nature
of t hc diflerences
bctween
besinnins flrst
an d
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18
The
dimensions
of extensive
readinq
beginning
ccond
anguagc
eaders.
cginning
second
anguage
eadcrs
re
at the
early stagcs
f
second anguage
inguistic
development,
nl ike
heir
first
language
ounterpafts.
eginning
second
anguage
eaders
lso ack
the
argeoral vocabulary
hat
beginning
irst larrguage
eaders
rin-e o the
task
of learning
o
rcad.This rneans
hat vocabulary
earnine
iorn
context
whi le
reading
s.
as Thomas
Huckin
and Margot
Haynes ut
i t .
"d ist inct ly
problematic"
1993,
p.290)
fbr
beginning econd
anguage eaders.
But the proccssof incidentalvocabulary earnin-e ecomesmore effi-
c ient
as secondanuuage
eading
bi l i ty mproves.
once
a certa in
evel
of
knowlcdge (and
vocabulary)
s
achicved
. .
."
say Fredricka
Stol ler
an d
wil l iarn
Grabe,
students
wil l
then
be
able
o
apply
he richer
knowledge
o
learning
ew vocabulary"
1993,
pp.3l
32).
To
allow this
initial ly
diflcult
and
problenratic
process
of
guessing,
lcarning,
and re inins
the
knowlcdge
of
words
fiorn
context,
second an-
guage
readcrsnlust
read
materials
with a very
low
ratio of
unknown to
known
words. n
otherwords, exts
shouldbe
essential ly
minus
/,
contain-
ing
only a very
srnall
nurnber
of
unknown words
and difficult
syntactic
structures.
nd the
reading
of thcse
easy
exts
.rrust
e
plenti ful
because
a
clear
sense
of a
word's
defining
I'eatures
an
only
be rcached
hrough
repeatedncountersn divcrse ontexts" Huckin& Hayncs,1993, . 290).
As Paul
Naticln
and Jamcs
Coady
conclude,
ln
general
he research
leaves
us n l i ttle
doubt about he
importancc
f
vocabulary
nowledge
or
reading,
and the
value
of readins
as a ffleans
of incrcasing
vocabulary"
(19U8,
.
108).
Sccclnd
anguage
tudents
ust
rctrd
and
read
sol re more
both
to learn
words
fiom
contcxt
through
rnultiple
encounters
nd to
be -
come
better caders
o hat nciclental
ocabulary
earning
becornes
asier.
An
extensive eading
approach
in which
second
anguage
eaders ead
large
amountsof
easy,
varicd,
and
interesting
material
ensures
hat
stu-
derrts ave
he best
pt'rssiblc
hance
o
do this.
The developmentof different knowledge types
The
tlnal fbctor
necessary
br
fluent
reading
s knowledge,
br i t is
on
knowledge
hat
cc-rmprehension
cpcnds. nterestingly,
t
seetls
as though
rcading
s
an excellent
source
of
the knowledge
hat s needed
orrca
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20 The dimensions
of
extensive readino
collectionof
papers
hat races
he
developrnent f thinking
oward nterac-
tive models
of
tl .re
econd
anguage eadingprocess.
lnteractive nodels
of
reading
owe
much
to the
work and writings
of
Frank
Smith and Kcnneth
Goodman
n
the 1970s.
Col in
Harr ison.
n h is
articlc
"The
ReadingProcess
nd Leaming o Read"
1992).gives
a l ively,
balanced
ccount
fiom
a
first language
erspective)
fboth the enduring
importance
f Srnith and
Goodman's nsights nto
tlre
reading
process
nd
the modifications hat rrust be made n l ight of subsequentesearch.
For rnore nformation
and detai ls
about he first
language esearchha t
helped o
establish hc role
hat automatic,
apid,and
accurateword recog-
nition
pfays
n tluent reerding,
ee The Ps.trholog,,
/'Reuding
und Lun-
guuge
Comprehension y
Marcel Just and Patricia
Carpenter
1987)
an d
The Psvc'futlog.t,
7/'Rcuding
by Keith Rayner
and Alexander
Pollatsek
(
1989).Although technical,
hesebooks epay he nvestment
f eflbrt and
t ime.
The learning
of vocabulary
hrough reading s
discussed n the 1993
vofume
Sec'ontlLunguuge
Reucling
anel Wtcabulun.
Learning,
edited by
Thorlas
IJuckin.Margot
Haynes.
nd Janres oady.
Sinccmost research
n
tlris opic hasbeen
donewith first languagc
ubjccts,
chapterof
particular
interest s " l rnpl icat iorrsor L2 VocabularyAcquisi t ionand Instruct ion
ftonr Ll VocabularyResearch"
y FredrickaStol ler
and
Wil l iam Grabe-.
-i Affect:
Thesecret
garden
of
, .
reaatng
Att i tudes
and
pcrccptions
olor
our cvcry
cxpcricncc.
' l -hey
arc thc
f i l tcr through
which al l lcarning
occurs.
RobertMarzano
1992.
p.
3)
It is not that
studcnts i rnnot
earn: t is
that
thcy
do
no t
wish o l carn.
Miha ly
Cs ikszcntmiha l l ' i
1990b, I l -s )
I rc purposc
f
th is chapter
s to:
.
I)rovidcan introduction o atti tudc and rrrotivation n sccond
anuuage
lcading.
.
l {c late xtcnsivL-e-acl ingo att i tudc nd nrot ivut ion.
lcachcrs
havc a
deep
cspcct br the
rtl le
hat atti tudcand moti l 'ation
play
rn
carning.Thcy know fiorn t hcir classroom
xpericnccs
hat students i th
poor
atti tudcs
about school,
he subjcct
matter, and
their classroom
ar e
olien poorly
rnotivated
nd
thus
prcsent
nra.jor eachingchallengcs.
l lowcvcr, cven hough cachcrs ccognize heir rnporlancc, oncerns or
thc aflectivc aspects
f
readingscldom ind
tlrerr
way into rcading
nstruc-
t ion, vhethcrn
t l rc i rstor
a second anguage.
ichael
McKcnna.u,r i t ing
rrbout
he
teaching
of first
language cading,
suggcsts
reason br
this:
"Poor
conccptual izat ionf what
Athey
(1985)
has cal led he
'shadowy
r ariables' f affect p.521) may reinforce he notion hat school iure s best
t lcvoted
o the pursui t
of rcading
prof ic iency"
1994,
p. l8) .
The si tuat ions simi lar n second
anguage
eadingnstruct ion. otwi th-
standing
work
on
general
notivation o leam
a
second anguage f'ew
lcachers rc unlanri l iarwith RobertGardncr
and
WallaceLarrbcrt's
ntcg-
rat ive
and
inslnrrncnla l
not ivat ional or icnlat ions
(e.g.,
1959),
fb r
cxarnple there has bccn conrparat ivelyi t t le conccnl
f i r r
att i tudean d
rurotivationn
learning o rcad a seconclanguagc.
The ack
of systernat icnd
pr incip led
ttcnt ion o thc af lbct ive i rnen-
sionsof
second
anguagc cading
s
untortunatc. l tcr a l l .
whcn
tcachcrs
21
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22 The
dimensions
of extensive
readino
design heir
rcading
courses,
rder
texts,
develop essonplans,
and
set up
reading
asks,
xercises,
nd activities.
hey
are n ef-fect
naking
statcments
about the rolc
that
atti tude
and motivation
play
in
their teaching
and thc
leaming
of their
students.
Pcrhaps,
ike theorctrcal
ssumptions
bout he
nature
ofhow
students
carn o read
a
second anguage,
hesc
tatenrents
re
unexamined.
hey
are often pushed
nto
the
background
y the
daily
pres-
suresof teaching
and a
usti fied
concern br rnecting
he
tangible,
oncretc
aims and goalsof the rcading ourse.Ncverthelcss, decperunderstanding
ofatti tude
and notivation
ndhow
teachers
an use hem
o their
advantagc
can have
mntediatc,practical
benefits.
This
chapter
ntroduccs
nd
discusses
second
ustification
br
includ-
ing
extcnsive
cading
n a second
anguage
eadingprogram
a
ustifica-
tion
based
on the
affective
dimcnsion
of t he reading
proccss.
We bcgin
by
throwing
Athcy's
shadowy variables
of aflect
into
as sharp
a rel ief
as
possible,
and then relating
hem
to
extcnsive
cading.
The flrst
afl-ective
variable
o
bc
examined s
atti tude;
hc second.
motivation.
Attitude
Atti tude
s
a complex,
hypothetical
onstruction,
whosegencral
deflnition
usual ly
ncludes
ome
notion
of evaluat ion.
or
exarnple,
cck Ajzen
states
that
"an
atti tude s
a disposition
o respond
avorably
or unf-avorably
o
an
object, erson,
nst i tut ion,
r
event" 1988, .
4) .
Sin i lar ly,Al ice
Eagly
an d
Shel ly Chaiken
1993,
p.
l ) wr i te,
"Att i tudc
s a
psychological
endcncy
that
s
exprcssed
y cvaluating particular
nti ty with
sorne
egrec f favor
or
disfavor."
This evaluative
spectof
atti tude s i ts
dcfining
attribute,
nd
sets
t apart rom
other aff-ective
ariables.
Another
important point
about
atti tudes s
that they
are
subjcct to
change
thcy
are not set n
concrete.
his is good
news
or teachcrs,
n
that
poor atti tudes an be changed.But the good news s tcmperedby the -act
that
there
arc many
variablcs
associatcd
with
atti tude
change
e.g.,
other
atti tudes,
he
strcngth
of the
parl icular
atti tude.
and its
source)
so that
attempts
o
change
atti tudcsmay
not
always be
succcssful.
here s
some
research,
owcver,
ndicating
hat an
awareness
f a negativc
atti tudo
an d
its source
may help
compensate
br
clr even
eliminate
he bias
(pratkanis,
I
989,
p.
82). A
useful irst
stcp br
teachers,
hcrcfbre.
an
be to understand
the
sources
of student
atti tudes positive
or ncgative
toward
sccond
language
cading.
First language eading
attitudes
Previous experienceswith
learning
to read other second
languages
if
any)
Attitudes toward the
second
language,culture,
and
people
The
second
anguage
classroom
environment
(teacher,
classmates,
approach o and
suppo(
for
L2
reading.
ongoingexpenencesn
L2 reading)
Affect
23
I
t:ltrt'e
Model
of the uc'quisition
untl developnrent
o.f
set,ond
anguuge
,'
,rtl ing
utti ludes.
Attitudesand second language reading
\ornc
analysisof f irst language
eading
atti tudeshas
been made,notably
(
,rovcr
Mathewson's
1994
Model
of Atti tude nfluence
upon Reading
nd
I
clrning
to Read" and Michael
McKenna's
developrnent
f
that
model,
prrb l ished
s
"Toward
a
Model
of Reading
Att i tudeAcquisi t ion"
1994).
I
isure
I intcrprets his work
from a second
anguage
erspective,
nd s
a
rrrodcl
depicting our
sourcesof studcnt
atti tudc oward
second anguage
lcading.
Thcse bur
sources atti tudes oward
first language
eading;
pre-
vious
sccond anguage
eading
experiences; tti tudes
oward the
second
lrrnguage,
culture, and
people;
and the
second language
classroorn
crrvironment
arc examined
n tum below.
F I B S T
A N G U A G E
E A D I N G
T T I T U D E S
Assuming
that
studcntsare
already i terate n
their first language,
onr:
source
of atti tudcs oward
second anguage
eading s the
atti tude hat
students
avc toward reading
n their native
language. n
short, students
with positive
atti tudes oward reading n
thcir own languagc
are ikely to
bcgin with
a
positivc
atti tude oward
sccond anguagc
cading;
students or
whom
first language
eading s less
attractivcor irnportanl
wil l
corne o
second anguage eading
with less hanpositive.
)r
cvcn
ncr.lal ivc,
rtti tudes.
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26
Thedimensions
f extensive eading
Extensive
reading
and
attitude
What int' luence
an an extcnsive
reading approach
o tcaching second
language
eading be
expected o have
on studentatti tudes?Not
al l of
th e
tirur
sources
f second
anguage
eading
atti tudes
n
Figure I
can be nflu-
enced
by extensive
eading:
First language
eading
atti tudes nd
previous
expericnccs
ith rcading n
othcr sccond anguagcs
oth bclong o the
past
and are beyond the reachof subsequent eadingprograms,extensiveor
otherwise.
But as br the other
wo atti tude ourccs,
he mpactof cxtcnsivc
reading
an be substant ia l .
An
extensive
eading
approach ray nfluence
atti tutles oward he
sec-
ond language
ulture and people i f
the str-rclents.hrough
their reacl ing.
cornc
o vicw thc sccond anguagc
ultureand
pcoplc
n a f-avorableight.
This,
however, s
only a
possibi l i ty,
as here s
no
guarantee
hat students
wil l
read
about the target
culture and
peoplc,
since
hey arc free to read
what
they want to.
On
the other hand, because
t includes ndividualized,
iee
choice of
readirrc
material,
an extensive eading
approach
makes
t possible or indi-
vidual
studcnts o fbl low
thci l own intercsts n
rcading. It is therclbrc
possiblc br thcrn o cl l tcr thc sccond anguaee ultureon their own tenns.
and
even
o
enter
t
deeply.
One of the authors f this
book, or exarnple, as
studcnts
n an English anguagc
xtsnsive eading program
eadingabout
(to
cite four students)American
major leaguebaseball ,
rnportant igures
fiorn
the
past
such
as Charl ie
Chaplin and
Martin
Luther King, hol istic
health
and environmental
activism, and contemporary
cultural issues
through
American and Britislr young
adult fiction.
Equally to thc
point,
these
nclividuals
o
not
have to read
about the other tlrree opics,
which
intcrcst
hcm cssor not at
a l t .This f lcxib i l i ty s ess
vai lablen classesn
which
students xust read
hc sarne exts selected
y the teacher.
Successful
xtensive eading progrants
also
place
great
emphasls
on
positive
classroom environrnent
and ongoing
reading experiences.
Teachers akc the rolc of active participantand model reader. ending
prestige.
xarnple, nd support o the
activity.
The ndividual,
privatenature
of
cxlensive eadingalso
nrakes t casier br tcachcrs
o establish noncom-
pctitivc.
nonjudgrncntal
corrrurunityof readcrs.
Fcar of evaluation by
tcachcr
and
peers
s rninimized
bccause he crnphasis
s not cln a righl
answer,
but on stuclents' ersonal eactions o the
reading material.Th e
individual
variation nhercnt
n
any
eaching
nd
earning
ituation analso
be
catered
o, fbr
an extensive eading
approach
oes
not
deal
with students
in
a
lockstep
manner n which
all
learners ave
o
read
he samematerialat
approximately
he same ate.
Affect 27
It
rs r.rdced
he
ongoingexperiences
l 'cxlcrrsir.'c
cconclanguaee
ead-
' , ' t l l r t
have he
most
potent ia l
o establ ish osi t ivc
att i tudcs oward
sec-
' r r , l
i rnsuage
eading.
Students
ead
nrater ia l
vcl l
wi th in thei r
i r r -euist ic
, l , r l r tv,
hcy havc
a choiceof what o
read,
nd
hey
are
not tbrced
o read
l ,( )ut
opics n which
they have no interes t.
n addi t ion, hey
have he
rr'
(
(lorr
to
stop readingwhen they want
o, with no
questions
sked.
They
,,
.rtl
uvhcn
and where hey want to.
l heseelementsof students'choosingwhat, when, how, and where to
r , ,r t l
are
hal l rnarks
f autonor.try
n learrr ing.
n
a
review
of autonomy
nd
(
r 'ond
angua-ue
earning, esl ie
Dickrnson
1995, . 114\
inds
substant ia l
,
r
rdcncc
hat
lcarncrs aking responsibi l i ty
br and being ablc
to control
r l rc i r
wn
learning
elps hernsucceecl
n thei r
second
aneuage
earning.
l :rtensive reading
s thus
a
powerful
tool fbr teachers
oncernedwith
I'rri lci ing
nd u.raintainingositivc
atti tudcs
oward sccond anuuage
eading
,rnong
their students.But the
development
f
positive
atti tudes s not
an
,
rrtl
n i tself, or
atti tude nfluences omething
qually
rnportant
n
reading:
r r ro t i va t i on .
Motivation
It is
easy
o
confuseatti tude
and
rnotivation.
They have hings n
comtnon:
Ncither
can be
directly observed; oth rnust
be
nf'erred iom
behavior
an d
lctions.
Both
have degrees f
intensity,
anging
rom strong o
weak. But
tlrereare di l ' lbrences.
obert Franken
1988,
p.3)
writes that lre
study of
rnotivation as
raditionally eenconcerned
ith the arousal, irection,
an d
pcrsistcncc
f
bchavior.Sirnply
put,
lrotivation
is what makcs pcoplc
do
(or
t to t
do) scl rnething.
Psycl ro logical
odels
f
motivat ion
re
hick
on
theground.
One
group
of cogni t ive
models
art icular ly e lptu l
rom
a teacher 's
oint
of
view
sees
rrrotivation s
having wo equal components
expec'tationsnd
ualue
se e
I'eather, 982,pp. I 5).The gistof these xpec'tanct, value nodels s that
pcople
do what
thcy cxpcct o accomplish
succcssful ly nd tcnd
to avoid
what they
expect they
cannot accomplish.This is
balanced
by
people
tending o
undertake asks hat hey value,
and
ending o
avoid hose hings
that
have
ittle
value or thenr,
even
housh
hey reasonably
xpect hat hey
could do them.
Looking at
expectancy value n terms
of reading,unlcssstudents
av e
a reasonable
xpectation hat they wil l
be able o rcad a book with
under-
standing, hey
wil l most ikely not begin
he undertaking:
l 'd
l ike to read
that
book, but I know that I
can't,
so
I won't even rv." But cxpectation
f
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28
The dimensions
of extensive
readino
Reading
abi l i ty
in
the second anguage
Sociocultural
environment,
including nfluence
of
family
and friends
Figure
2 Model
of the mujor variubles
motivuting
the det'ision
to reud
in u ,secontl
unguuge
(u
solicl
line indic'ules a .\tronger influence thun u
brt*en
line).
success
r
fai lure
s only half
of thc
picture.
n an deal
classroom, tudents
place
a
high prcrniurx
on
reading,
believing t to be
of
value
n learnirrg o
read
and as a
sourceof
plcasure
nd nfonnation.They
may
consequently
try to read
difflcult books
becausc hey value
hc result
of the clfort. In sucl-r
cases,
he valueattached
o thc act
of
reading
might
outweigh he
expecta-
tion
that hey wil l
havc a hard timc
rcading.
Motivation
and second language
reading
F-igure is an cxpcctancy value model of motivation n the context of
sccond
aneuage eading.
Four major
variables
materials, eading
abil i ty,
atti tLrdes,
nd sociocultural
nvironlxent-
are sccnas motivating
hc desire
to rcacl
sccond anguage.
wo of these
variables materials
and reading
abil i ty rcf
ate o Ihe
expec'tatinr f success
n reading he
second anguage,
antl two atti tudcs
and
socioculturalenvironment
relate to
the
value
atluclrcd o rcading
he
second anguage.
'l
' ,vo
of the variablcs
n thts model
materials
and atti tudes
are con-
sirlclcd prirnary.
and t is
difficult to rank thern.
Rather han
attenrpting o
cstablislr
a casc fclr
either as more important
han the
other, t rnight
be
Attitudes
toward
reading n
the
second anguage
Affect 29
'
r
lo
cla i rn hat hey are of equal
weight. A l i r i lurc o have
posi t ivc
'
r r l r ' :
) l ' lhe
ppropr iate
ater ia ls ould rcsul t n a ackol ' thcnecessary
rLr,r t ion
br a lcarner o decide o
read hc sccond anguage.What the
,,1,
srrrgcsts
s that either a low reading abil i ty or an
inappropriatc
rr,t
1111,' 'u1
nvironmcnt an be compensatedbr by
positive
second
an -
L,,r '