ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute OBJECTIVES You will understand: 1. Criteria to use when selecting literary pieces for use in your classroom. 2. The advantages and disadvantages of graded readers. 3. Various techniques for using literature to teach reading. You will be able to: 1. Plan and teach reading lessons that make use of literature.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute INTENSIVE VERSUS EXTENSIVE READING When teaching reading, English language teachers may engage their students in either intensive or extensive reading. Intensive reading is designed to help students develop specific reading and language skills; all students in the class read the same material and study it in depth, for both content and language. In contrast, in extensive reading, students choose their own texts and read for pleasure so that general language improvement can take place. In an extensive reading program, students can choose what they would like to read based on their personal interests or the teacher’s suggestions. As a result of these choices, students in the same class may read different books at different times.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute USING LITERATURE FOR EXTENSIVE READING A really good choice for reading material for extensive reading is literature. Literature is defined as written material such as poetry, novels, essays, and other works of the imagination that are characterized by “excellence of style and expression, and by themes of general or enduring interest”. Another great definition of literature is that it is “artistic writings worthy of being remembered”. The reason literature is so effective in the language classroom is that the themes of the stories and the work cut across all cultures and present experiences that every human being can relate to: love, family, loss, hope, and so on.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Some examples of literature that has been used effectively in the language classroom are as follows:  The Little House on the Prairies books  Pride and Prejudice or any other Jane Austen book  Edgar Allen Poe short stories  The Three Musketeers  Jane Eyre or any other book by the Bronte’s  Tom Sawyer or other Mark Twain books  Treasure Island  The Swiss Family Robinson  Anne of Green Gables *Almost any piece of literature can be used as long as it is of interest to the students.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute CHALLENGES WITH USING LITERATURE There may, however, be challenges when literature is used in the language classroom. The main challenge is the language level. If the language is too difficult and the students are struggling to understand every word, they cannot read for pleasure, and the main goal of the activity is lost. Extensive reading calls for texts that students can understand. One solution to this problem is the use of adapted versions of the literature that have been written specifically for a language learner. This type of text is called ‘learner language literature’, ‘readers’, ‘graded readers’, or ‘simplified readers’.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute USING READERS IN THE CLASSROOM Readers can be original fiction and non-fiction or simplifications of established works of literature. They contain a limited range of vocabulary and grammar so that students can read them easily and confidently. Although simplified, these books maintain the atmosphere and plot of the original book. Readers have their advantages: They are easy to understand and allow for successful reading experiences which in turn build confidence. Because the texts are level appropriate, students do not need to go to the dictionary too frequently and are able to participate in uninterrupted reading sessions. The more successful reading experiences students have, the more the students will want to read. Readers also expose students to texts written in the target language so students can learn about and read important cultural works. Readers promote independent learning and encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. The one disadvantage of readers is that it can be expensive to build up and maintain a library of them; the books get well-used and have to be replaced frequently.

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute CRITERIA TO CONSIDER WHEN USING READERS Regardless of whether you use literature in its original form or as an adapted reader, the following are some criteria to think about when selecting which literature to use:  Age appropriateness  Student interest in content  Student interest in genre  Appropriate vocabulary level and content  Appropriate level of grammar complexity  Appropriate length  Appropriate ratio of text to illustrations

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute ACTIVITIES TO USE WITH LITERATURE When using literature with your students, particularly for extensive reading, you want to ensure that you can answer the following questions:  How can you as the teacher ensure that your students are actually completing the reading?  How can you as the teacher ensure that your students understand what they are reading?  How can you as the teacher ensure that your students are benefiting in some way from their reading experience? Many of the traditional reading activities work well to help answer the above questions, including:  Prediction based on the title, the cover, the chapter names, and the pictures  Verifying student understanding of vocabulary specific to the characters, setting, or time period of the literature  Discussion of the characters, plot, setting, and theme of the literature  Personalization questions that allow students to relate the literature to their own personal experiences

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Other activities that also work are:  Having students keep a reading journal to note what pages they have read and their personal reactions to what they have read  Having students complete a book review to rate the book (out of five stars for example), and provide support for their rating  Students complete a book report in which they answer questions about the character, setting and plot. *See the full sample of a literature reading lesson in the lecture notes for this module, pp

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute How does extensive reading help students improve their general language skills, in your opinion?

ACE TESOL Diploma Program – London Language Institute Complete task journal question 2 and submit via to or (preferred), or print and hand in.