Extensive Reading in Korea: 10 Years Going From Strength to Strength Dr. Rob Waring

Recent history Traditionally ER not practiced in Korean EFL Strong adherence to the traditional Confucian role of the teacher Students are taught to overanalyze texts and read only a few lines each lesson Focus on intensive difficult texts as exam preparation A few isolated schools (mostly small scale focusing on kids with L1 materials) started ER a few years back Opinion articles are coming out almost weekly Korea Association of English Reading Education in 2008

Increase in awareness Increased awareness among educators but ER has not really filtered into schools, especially High Schools (Hye 2009) However, intrinsic motivation of English is low amid intense stress and competition. There are several sources of this raising of awareness

Changes in publishing in Korea !0 years agoNowadays Almost no home-grown graded readers All major Korean publisher have or are making series Most ER materials were importsMost K publishers have 1-2 series Some foreign publishers didn't bring their readers to display! Everyone has them now No ER Guides or dedicated Readers brochures Many 'Readers' brochures Only shelf-space at major bookstores Some stores have ER displays No readers in publisher's bagsA few, brochure Many sales staff didn't even know what ER was Sadly still too many don't, or don't understand it

KOTESOL SIG Started in 2007 by Scott Miles and Aaron Jolly Regular ER meetings at Chapters around Korea Hold an annual Colloquium (this afternoon 3:30 to 5:20 in C601) An affiliate of the Extensive Reading Foundation

The Korean English Extensive Reading Association Started at KOTESOL October 2010 Website Will host the Second World Congress on Extensive Reading, Sept 2013 Published a Guide to Extensive Reading Supported (but not funded by publishers) KEERA Graded Reader review competition Yahoogroups discussion list Facebook page

Extensive Reading Foundation and KEERA Second World Congress in Extensive Reading

Recent ER research in Korea Kweon, Kim (2008) found that 12 Korean learners gained in vocabulary after ER and retained most of their gains over time Jeon (2008) -> 17 Korean Airforce subjects who did ER showed an increase in interest in ER, and growth in reading confidence over 22 controls who didn't. Suggested formal evaluation was important. Cha (2009) compared 10 Ss with ER and 10 without. ER group improved significantly in speed and attitude, but not vocab. Reaffirmed reading at the right level and the need for explicit and incidental vocab instruction

Recent ER papers in Korea II Hye (2009) suggests ER be strongly integrated into the curriculum to complement IR and provide the missing massive language input Yang (2010) showed improvements in grammar, vocab, reading speed and attitude for 3 groups doing ER (120 Korean subjects) O (2011) showed ER was helpful for developing reading skills and ER can be implemented in formal Korean settings

What actually is Extensive Reading? Read at +1 (or i-minus 1) ? Reading short texts to discuss? Read only for pleasure? Start with simple stories? Reading followed by comprehension questions? Speed reading? Pleasure reading only? Reading L1 materials? ?????

Day and Bamford's 10 “necessary for success” principles of ER 1.The reading material is easy 2.A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics 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.

What about …..? Assessment and evaluation Buddy reading Reading while listening Follow-up exercises Reading speed focus Limited time Limited resources Low motivation Necessity to read things you don't want to The teacher doesn't read much Asian values and norms Teacher selected materials Desire to read something difficult Desire for having one's performance monitored Desire to share their reading Extensive listening Reading Circles?

A uni-dimensional 'necessity for success' view of ER From Day and Bamford's viewpoint to be doing ER, students must: … choose their own texts … read for pleasure not as part of a course … read without assessment … experience ER as a solo activity

Graded vs Extensive reading Graded ReadingExtensive Reading Material at one's levelYes ComprehensibleYes Read a lotYes Read quicklyYes EnjoyablePreferable EasyYes Simplified materialsYesNot essential if high level

'Big Tent ' ER We need to accept that many Asian students are not brought up to be responsible for their learning Encouragement to self-directed learning are often ignored in favour of clubs, social life, part-time jobs or pleasure time. Students can't start with a home-run book, therefore we have to require reading so they can find it. Finding an hour of pleasure reading is hard for many students Massive choice can overwhelm Class reading is a valid form of ER ER is more than just graded readers

When reading extensively, students should READ It is CRUCIAL that learners read at the RIGHT level Read something quickly and Enjoyably with Adequate comprehension so they Don’t need a dictionary If they need a dictionary, it’s too hard and they will read slowly, get tired and stop Their aim is fluency and speed, not learning new language Typically students read at home or out of class- it doesn’t take much class time for HUGE benefits We add the reading to our existing program, we don’t replace it.

Aspects of ER The definition should consider a) the process of reading at the right level ER is a way of processing texts and isn’t just the reading of graded readers – magazines, s, webpages all are part of ER if they are READ b) the pedagogy of ER – the selection of materials, follow-up activities, library management

How do Intensive and Extensive Reading fit together? Slow Reading speed High Low % of known vocabulary 100% Low Comprehension High 90% 98% Reading Pain (too hard, poor comprehension, high effort, de-motivating) Intensive reading (Instructional level, can learn new words and grammar) Speed reading practice (very fast, fluent, high comprehension, natural reading, enjoyable) Extensive reading (fast, fluent, adequate comprehension, enjoyable)

ER Program types Purist ER program Lots of self-selected reading at home with no / little assessment or follow up. Often is a stand-alone class. Integrated ER program Lots of self-selected reading at home and in class. Follow up exercises / reports which aim to build the 4 skills. Class reading - study Students read the same book and work through it slowly. Lots of follow up / comprehension work and exercises. ER as 'literature' Students read the same book and discuss it as if it were a work of literature.

ER / EL program types overview Purist ERIntegrated ERClass ReadingER as literature StyleIndividual Lock-step Amount of reading Lots Little SpeedFast Slow ControlStudent Teacher Language focusNo YesNo Follow up assessment Little Lots MaterialsLibrary Class sets Skill workReading3-4 skills3-4 skills / language 1-3 skills Class time needed Little Lots

ER program types - summary Many different types of ER program Different aims Different levels of involvement for teachers / students Some programs may adopt two or more types at the same time Some programs can start more easily than others Each type is scalable – from a single class to a whole school No 'best' type for all programs

Moving forward – promoting ER Several stages of adoption No knowledgeLack of awareness of the need for ER Initial resistanceHave heard of ER, but resist claiming curriculum, time, resources, exams as excuses Early adoptersA few leading lights shine the way, others take notice Initial acceptanceMost educators have heard of it but still not doing it AcceptanceMost programs are doing ER Integrated adoptionNational, State level programs built into curriculums

Moving forward – promoting ER Meet the teachers and students where they are We need to lessen their fear of change and newness We can promote ER in several ways -peer experience -mathematically -emotionally -logically -with research data -showing how it fits

Korean EFL teachers' perspectives about their participation in an ER program Byun (2010) Interviewed 100 Korean school teachers on their participation in an ER program (1000 graded readers). a)teachers' attitude to ER changed after they tried it despite initial skepticism b)teachers recommended gradual introduction of extra-curricular reading to supplement the test- focused Korean curriculum c)Main problems to implementing ER include evaluation issues, motivating students, reluctant and struggling students and teachers' conflicting role in ER class d)Teachers did not display foreign language anxiety either before or after the program

Ways to promote ER - Mathematical Learners need words to read native texts at 98% coverage (i.e. with high levels of comprehension) Learners need about 2000 words to be intermediate level It takes meetings with a word to learn it receptively (even more for production) Graded readers recycle the vocabulary systematically by frequency and usefulness to aid DEPTH of knowledge and allow learners to meet collocations, phrases and so on they won't meet in course books

Ways to promote ER - Emotional Reading makes you smart learn about the human condition learn about other cultures / places / people etc. Reading is enjoyable it enriches your life and can open worlds Reading is good language practice it's the only realistic language skill most students may need allows them to read web pages, magazines etc.

Ways to promote ER - Logical Course books only can introduce language elements Course books can't teach everything – too much to learn / do Vocabulary selection in courses tends to be topical and not systematically selected Course books are mostly linear in design Typically, course books repeat the average word only 2-3 times in the whole series Course books don't teach more than a few collocations, sentence patterns and multi-word phrases

Promoting ER – the data Furukawa (2009) 2 years of ER gives 2 nd grade JH students an equivalent reading level of 3 rd grade HS students (even taking into account time on task and extra time studying English) Mogi (2008) “from the view point of neuroscience, the best way to make progress in learning English is … to read as many English sentences as possible.”

Promoting ER – Showing how ER fits Course books and graded readers are two sides of the same coin – they help each other Course books introduce language Graded readers help deepen / strengthen this knowledge Graded reading should be integrated into our courses. It should not be an option Choose books at the right level for your students (so they can read fluently with high levels of understanding and without a dictionary) Students need to learn to listen fluently too

Dealing with objections “The books are too easy and childish. They are not learning anything.” -> easy is good - so they can build reading speed. Choose books are at the student's fluent reading level -> Native materials are too hard, demotivating, inappropriate -> 'intermediate' learners can't read intermediate graded readers “I'm not teaching so they aren't learning” -> our job is not to 'teach' but to help people learn, build independence, reading speed, fluency etc. etc. “I don't know how to do it, or where to get information” -> I'll help

Dealing with objections II “Nice idea but I have no time in my course” -> If you don't have graded reading where will your students get the massive exposure they need? -> How else will they get the 'sense of language' they need? “We don't have the money for this” -> Ask your schools to reallocate funds so this reading is done; ask for donations; get some free samples etc. “We have to go through our set curriculum” -> Speak with your course designers to build in graded reading. Re-allocate resources and re-set class hours “We have to prepare the students for tests” -> Research shows students perform better on tests if they have a general sense of language, not a deconstructed 'bitty' one.

Why do ER programs fail? ER is optional. If it's optional: …students will opt out …the message is 'do the reading if you have time, it's not as important as other things' …the administrators don't see it as valuable …it becomes a target to be cut out completely Thus ER should be REQUIRED. Requiring ER means: …the teachers value this reading, so we want you to do it. …it's part of the full course work – and you'll be graded on it. …the students see it as 'natural' and 'normal' not an 'option'

Why do ER programs fail II? Curriculum changes Change to 'test' / speaking / CLT ….. focus ER enthusiast leaves the school Inappropriate materials Reading is too difficult Age inappropriate Books don't get replaced when lost Starting badly Too fast, Too high, Too much to read too soon Students don't understand why they need ER

Promoting / adopting ER Work within the system – don't expect miracles Understand where teachers / institutions are coming from – find out their aims What is at stake for them / what would prevent them from adopting ER? Solve those problems first. If they mistake the meaning of ER, then used the term 'graded reading'

Introducing ER to newbies Demonstrate with an intensive reading book to show the differences between ER and IR Leave publisher catalogs and ER booklets with them Offer to speak to their staff and students – set up workshops Show them what you do, your library, your methods etc. Be a contact point for their questions Direct them to websites (Japanese and English)

Things to recommend to newbies Start small – their own class and then expand later Go slowly at first – new things take time Look for potential problems when expanding and think what they can do about them. Help them with ideas Experiment with different styles of ER to see what suits them and their learners Set aims for the students, the program and themselves Be aware that things don't always go well – so they need your support We should not give the impression ER should replace current instruction, rather enhance it.

About… Extensive Reading Central is: a brand new website developed for the ER community completely free still building the site, so bear with us as we add content.

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