EXTENSIVE READING

By : GIRLS PISMP SEM3 TESL B/2013

WHAT IS EXTENSIVE READING? Reading as much as possible, for pleasure,

at a difficulty level at which students can read smoothly and quickly without looking up words or translating to English.

Extensive reading is not tedious and not slow.

http://joechip.net/extensivereading/what-is-extensive-reading/

Involves students reading long texts or large quantities for general understanding, with the intention of enjoying the texts.

Extensive reading lets students get used to reading more complex sentences with ease, reinforces the words that are already know.

Helps in learning new words from context.

CHARACTERISTICS

Reading material requires a large selection of books be

available for students to choose from at their level.

Setting up a class library is a good way to provide material for students.

Student choice

Students are allowed to choose the books they read depending on their interests.

If a student finds a book is too difficult or they don't enjoy it, they can change it for another one.

Extensive reading out of class

Teachers can do a lot to help students pursue extensive reading outside of the classroom.

Having a classroom library and regularly encouraging students to borrow books to take home are some things which can help.

If books are shelved in the classroom, students can also be given class time to browse and select books

Use of dictionaries Reading becomes a chore if students

think they have to stop and look up every word they do not understand in a dictionary.

Dictionaries should be avoided. Students should be encouraged to jot

down the words they come across in a vocabulary notebook, and they can look them up after they have finished reading.

Language level

The vocabulary and grammar of the books that students read should not pose a difficulty.

The objective of an extensive reading programme is to encourage reading fluency, so students should not be stopping frequently because they do not understand a passage.

TOP TEN PRINCIPLES FOR TEACHING EXTENSIVE READING

1. The reading material should be appropriate.

2. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics must be available

3. Learners choose what they want to read.

4. Learners read as much as possible.5. The purpose of reading is usually

related to pleasure, information and general understanding.

6. Reading is its own reward.7. Reading speed is usually faster rather

than slower.8. Reading is individual and silent.9. Teachers orient and guide their

students.10. The teacher is a role model of a

reader.

http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/october2002/day/day.html

HOW TO MAKE STUDENTS INTEREST IN EXTENSIVE READING?

Read Aloud to the Class The model of pronunciation provided acted

as a great motivator, encouraging many students to participate in classroom reading.

Students gained confidence in silent reading because they were able to verbalize sounds they previously could not recognize.

Reading aloud play a full part in motivating the emerging reader to overcome the fear of decoding words in an unfamiliar script.

Use Audio Material in the Reading Program

Listening material provided the learners with a model of correct pronunciation which aided word recognition, and exposed students to different accents and speech rhythms.

Student confidence in their ability to produce natural speech patterns and to read along with the voice of a recorded speaker is central to maintaining their motivation to master the language as a medium for talking about their reading.

 Discourage the Over-Use of Dictionaries

If learners turn to the dictionary every time they come across an unfamiliar word, they will focus only on the language itself, and not on the message conveyed.

This habit will result in slow, inefficient reading and destroy the pleasure that reading novels and other literature are intended to provide.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/extensive-reading

ADVANTAGES improve reading and listening

comprehension and word recognition ability through revisiting vocabulary and structures in different books and contexts as well as getting extensive exposure to language not usually encountered in textbooks;

facilitate good reading habits and motivation for reading as students learn to read by reading and viewing texts in their areas of interest at the right level.

improve writing ability and other skills, as extensive reading offers the potential for reinforcing, recycling, and recombining language learned in the classroom so new language input can be retained and made available for spoken and written production;

DIFFICULTIES

Different students are at different levels. It takes some work to make a viable curriculum in which not everyone is necessarily reading the same thing at the same time.

Reading materials can be expensive, hard to find or simply unavailable.