Reading for Pleasure in a Second language
By Julie Watson, Cambridge University Press Manager Ecuador
This paragraph by Victor Nell sums up the feeling of pleasure avid readers feel when they set off on a journey of exploration through a new book. It is the way we would like our students to feel when reading, totally immersed and involved in the plot, the storyline, sitting on the edge of their seats, just waiting to find out what happens next.
But unfortunately, that is not the reality amongst the majority of our students. And it’s not their fault. The blame lies in their past reading experience, one in which they were forced to read often difficult and boring literature, which did nothing more than give them a feeling of fear and hatred towards reading, almost like the feelings evoked by a visit to the dentist.
This is a great pity because our students are missing out on so many benefits by not being regular readers. Research shows that by reading in a foreign language we develop and improve the following areas:
• Reading skills
• Writing skills
• Listening skills
• Speaking skills
• Vocabulary
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Confidence
• Knowledge of the world
Confidence is a great aid towards learning a language – the more confident we feel, the more we open up our minds to learning, the more we learn, the more confident we feel. Christine Nuttall, in her book Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language (Heinemann, 1996) refers to ‘The virtuous circle of reading’, which means that the more we read, the better we get at reading and the more we read.’
‘The vicious circle of reading failure’ (usually caused by forced reading) means the lack of success we feel in reading leads to a lack of interest in reading.’
So we give up!
To get our students to start reading we need to show them what a pleasure it can be. Try talking about ‘genre’, which refers to the types of book available. It is very similar to the genre in films – horror, romance, science fiction, true stories, documentaries, detective stories, suspense, human interest, murder mysteries, to name but a few.
There are readers for every level, and for every interest. These readers are little books, written especially for students of English to be able to enjoy reading. They have controlled vocabulary and grammar input according to the students’ levels of English. Check out the Cambridge University Press readers websites:
www.cambridge.org/elt/ readers for adult readers, and www.cambridge.org/elt/discoveryreaders for teenage readers. There you will find titles of every taste and you can even read sample chapters and participate in books reviews, competitions, etc.
At Cambridge University Press we are holding a National Reading Competition this year, in which students can participate from high schools all over the country. They will read a reader and then interpret it in a way of their choice, written, spoken and in film. For more information about our reading competition write to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Quito 3340302 or visit our website on www.cupteachersclub.org
Apply the DEAR theory in your classroom from time to time – DROP EVERYTHING AND READ! But remember – reading is a silent activity, students should be able to have some choice in what they read and should be allowed to read at their own pace, in silence. This way, they will start to feel the pleasure of reading, bit by bit.