Research on Reading

As much as “70% of a literate person’s vocabulary in his/her native language comes through reading.”

--Ray and Seely, 2002

Especially helpful for very frequent/useful words that are still difficult to teach – prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, abstract verbs like wants, thinks

Research on Reading (cont.)

1994 – Cho’s study of Korean ESL students found that they made gains of hundreds of vocabulary words acquired in 2 months… just by reading the Sweet Valley Kids series.

Define “starry” and “chepooka”

• “There were a few starry letters, some of them dating right back to 1960 with "My dearest dearest" in them and all that chepooka, and a keyring and a starry leaky pen.”

Define “veck,” “tashtooks” and “cheest”

• “I didn't like the look of Dim: he looked dirty and untidy, like a veck who'd been in a fight, which he had been, of course, but you should never look as though you have been. His cravat was like someone had trampled on it, his maskie had been pulled off and he had floor-dirt on his litso, so we got him in an alleyway and tidied him up a malenky bit, soaking our tashtooks in spit to cheest the dirt off.”

Research on Reading (cont.)

1978 – Nagy, Herman and Anderson found that English-speakers acquired a significant number of nadsat words after reading A Clockwork Orange. The average score was 76% on a test of 90 words.

Research on Reading (cont.)

1998 – Stokes and Kartner found that students who reported the greatest amount of voluntary reading scored highest on a test of knowledge of subjunctive competence. Amount of formal study of subjunctive and amount of time spent in a Spanish-speaking country were not significant.

Good for nuances like por/para,

preterit and imperfect

Research on Reading (cont.)

Numerous studies have found that students who read more, write better. Students who scored higher on writing exams reported more hours of reading/week. “Writing style does not come from actual writing practice, but from reading.”

--Krashen, The Power of Reading, 2004

Choosing Texts

Pick a text YOU like Pick a text based on your students’ interests

and level – easier is better – pre-teach enough vocabulary so that it is 90% comprehensible

Pick a text with rich cultural information Get someone else to pay for it – very doable

project for a grant or a fundraiser

Choosing Texts

www.tprstorytelling.com www.miracanion.com www.blaineraytprs.com www.fluencyfast.com

Pre-reading Strategies

Wordles and predictions Scanning the text for main ideas and difficult

words Guessing at cognates

Anticipatory activity: Make a prediction based on the Wordle

Present Cognates Beforehandand make a prediction

• Akrobat

• Brokkoli

• Zigarette

• Kamera

• Konfetti

• Medizin

• Melodie

Reader’s Theatre

Great for re-reading or pre-reading Active reading for squirrely kids Costumes and props – essential, but not

expensive

Digital Storybooks

Pictures aid comprehension

and memoryPictures spark discussionIncorporates cultural information“It’s like a movie in my head!”

Paula observa el mural. El mural se llama ‘Guernica,’ porque el mural representa la destrucción de Guernica, España. Franco y sus amigos militares bombardearon Guernica.

Muchas personas hablan sobre la política. Hablan sobre el conflicto nacional. Hay una guerra civil.**

«Durante la Revolución Francesa en 1789, una persona tomó la Lanza de la Sainte-Chapelle.»«¡Qué interesante!» responde Paula.

Luis dice «Vamos a Barcelona. Vamos al restaurante.»«¡Excelente! Quiero ver el arte de Picasso» exclama Paula.

Partnered Reading

Good for students who have trouble focusing in a large group

Good for students who need extra interventions

Accountability for comprehension is key – paired questioning

Reading aloud and circlingCold-calling

Use voices Kids get used to it Combats the problem of know-it-all and too-

shy students Saves time and hurt feelings Constant speaking practice More repetition of vocabulary Easily scaffolded and differentiated

Post-reading Strategies

TPR for plot review Summarization and note-taking Comic strips Partnered, picture-guided retellings

Other Text Types

Non-fiction articles – often textbooks have cultural notes in English. You can use these as a basis for a comprehensible non-fiction text. Include vocabulary words and plenty of cognates.

Authentic readings – investigation – find advertisements, menus, children’s books and magazines and have students read for the main idea, not to understand every word.