(1) The difference between first and second language reading process
I have seen from Hollywood movies the scene that in a bookstore, not in a library, an adult read a storybook aloud, surrounded with lots of children. Although I couldn’t hear it at all because the scene was just background, I could imagine the voice was so clear, soft, and vivid enough to arouse every child’s curiosity. All children sitting down floor was about 5 or 6 years old. That is, I would like to mention, the difference between first and second language reading process. We start learning to read in first language at the early age, in the course of living their lives like washing hand, having three meals, and sleeping at night. I mean, they are not aware that they have to do the reading. The thing which is not associated with what they should or should not is much easier to form it as a habit. The reading which became a habit naturally triggers mature of mental ability, that is inner curiosity, as the children grow older. At this point, two factors should be pointed out when it comes to learning to read in first language. In order to follow this process, children should know basic vocabulary and structures before they started to read books. Children acquire their first language since birth, so they can start to read without stopping or labor. The other factor is that the first book should be easy, interesting and familiar – they have already heard it from parents or others – story. It gives them the impression that reading is interesting and in turn, causes them to read books as a way of enjoyment like watching moves, playing games, or playing sports. On the other hand, second language reading process starts when learners should learn the second language. The time is at least when they start a regular formal schooling. Although they start reading in second language at the age of 7, because the thing they learn in school accompanies the sense that they have to do, it is really hard to form learning in second language as a habit, that is to say, the reading beyond intensive reading for academic analysis to extensive reading for enjoyment. Besides, readers don’t have enough vocabulary and structure to read the book in second language. Therefore, they have to ‘study’ the vocabulary alone before they are absorbed in the story itself, or they have to ‘study‘ structures while they are reading so as to follow the tread of the story. It is easy to give readers the impression that reading is another study. For average people, keep reading in second language takes a lot of effort, or self-consciousness. To sum up, the differences between first language and second language process are when to start to reading, how willing to read, and how much of a basic knowledge of vocabulary and structures.
(2) What intensive reading means in ESL setting
Intensive reading means intensive study of reading texts in order to increase learners’ knowledge of language ultimately for getting better chance in life, such as getting good job. Intensive reading, not one in first language, is based on grammar translation. However, it no longer only means explaining the meaning of a text sentence by sentence without thought of its purpose, main idea, and theme, but it means comprehension of a text and development of reading strategies, as well. Also, the change in the reading text being dealt with is noticeable. Rather than more difficult, abstract, and academic text, such texts are dealt with in class as more practical text easy to contact at anytime and at any place, to develop a writing skill, or to develop a mental ability. That is to say, a reading text consists of language features contributing to the communicative purpose. Through this intensive reading, readers learn basic linguistic knowledge needed to understand what is read with no interruption at times in order to analyze the sentence itself in superficial sense, not to read between the lines. Through this intensive reading, a reader can step up extensive reading, so that he/she can satisfy his/her intellectual need. Therefore, intensive work on a reading text deals with comprehension, sound and spelling relations, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, information structure, genre feature, and useful reading strategies. These works appear as forms of questions in written or oral exam in order to ascertain that readers is performing the reading well. These kinds of reading exercise can afford to lead a learner to comprehend texts, not comprehension of a text. It means that what is dealt with in intensive reading can be found in almost any text. Also, a reading exercise can afford to trigger a learner’s curiosity about what the book is about – contents, and in turn, it causes a reader to go further into other related book – an act of expanding a thinking power. A reading exercise also keeps a teacher and a learner interacting, proceeding toward supposed direction. Therefore, intensive reading needs a systematic plan and careful fulfillment. This is the reason why a reading text is made according to a sequence of a linguistic feature from simple to complex, such as grammar ingredients, social issues, themes, and reading strategies.
(3) What extensive reading means in ESL setting
Extensive reading is letting readers keep reading books which have only a few unknown vocabulary and grammar items, or have no unknown items. Readers can consolidate previously learned vocabulary and grammar knowledge, and can learn new vocabulary and grammar from extensive reading at a variety of levels of proficiency. The most important thing is to make readers keep engaging large quantities books, consequently enabling readers to gain knowledge of the world. Therefore, it is important to select books which satisfy this requirement. The real value of extensive reading lies in the fact that readers gain reading skill and fluency in reading, and most of all, their reading enjoyment. Therefore, during extensive reading, we have to check whether learners, or, readers gain extended knowledge, skillful reading, and knowledge of world where they are involved. Consequently, well-planned and systematic reading program should be made and monitoring activities should be also planned in order to keep both learners and a teacher interact. This extensive reading program needs inevitably long-term, and reading outside a classroom. Because extensive reading is a form of learning from meaning-focused input beyond learning special language features, it has to be varied, self-oriented, enjoyable reading at a reasonable fluent speed. For learners to gain adequate comprehension with proper speed, graded readers should be used as texts because they arrange a range of words which are appropriate for graded readers. First, diagnose learner’s current level of vocabulary. Second, select books which keep learners interested in reading with words repeating and new words extending. Third, develop several techniques and procedures that can be used to motivate learners to do this and keep a record of learner’s reading. Fourth, make a test about how well learners comprehend texts. There are various graded readers and we – both a teacher and learners – can choose the best ones.
(4) Create a mini-lesson plan for intensive ESL reading
1. Greeting
2. Review – Check student’s learning with comprehensive questions about the previous text.
- Check students’ vocabulary learned in the previous class ( -use fresh card )
3. Presentation of objectives – introduce today’s specific objectives
1) to understand new words and expressions
2) to understand how the text organizes
3) to use the target expressions for making a cheer-up card ( associated activity )
4. Pre-reading
– Motivate students with playing guessing game with new words and expressions by given English meanings and pictures.
- Scan & skim the first page to find out what Seho thought about himself at first.
- Scan & skim the second page to understand how his thoughts about himself change.
( Individual Work )
5. While-reading
- Complete a mind map: arranging accidents by the change of Seho’s thinking ( group work )
- Check the linguistic structure with group members: ‘In addition’, ‘~no matter how ordinary one might feel,~’
6. Post-reading
- Watch the video clip in which three students from other class are talking about their problem
- Write a cheer-up card for one of the three students with a partner. ( pair work )
- Present what students write in their card.
7. Formative Test & Wrap-up
- Do formative test for today’s class: short quiz
(5) Create a mini-lesson plan for extensive ESL reading
1. On March, at the beginning month of a semester, a teacher makes an announcement about the contest ‘Let’s read books in English’ and provides a list of books which are differently graded.
- Students are supposed to read at least 5 books among them.
( Subtracting the months for two mid terms and two final terms, we are supposed to read a book a month )
- Students have to make a list of new words, phrases and a sentence hard to understand once a week and hand in the list to their teacher.
- The teacher will post the meaning or explanation of students’ lists on the English Information board of our school homepage under the category of respective book titles. ( It will be included in student’s performance assessment – 10% attendance )
2. On October, we will have the reading contest and
- Two books are chosen for the contest and the two books are made public one month ahead of the test.
- New words, phrases and linguistic structures are posted on online homepage.
- The test consists of short answer questions and multiple choices which can be answered only through reading the books in English, not in Korean version.
- The result will be included in student’s performance assessment – 10%.
- Prominent 10 students will be awarded under the name of principal in our school and recorded in student’s report card.
(6) Summary of my mini-lesson plans
My mini lesson plan for intensive reading is what I am doing in my lesson. I usually adopt grammar-translation approach and it is effective especially in preliminary high school for a university because it is considered fastest way to learn linguistic features being dealt with in the CSAT. But, it is also true that I am being pressed into using a practical approach in order to serve communicative purpose of language. The plan above is that I have adopted in my class. Because we have to deal with the given text book and satisfy the expectation of both learners and their parents – how to obtain the best result in KSAT – I choose this plan that mainly consists of studying vocabulary and structures but using visual materials such as pictures, and video clips while improving reading skills. By increasing activities in group, pair and individual and letting a student make presentation about their work, students take part in reading the text more actively and try to speak English in class, keeping interested in what they are reading. At least, students who are sleeping during class decrease.
I tried to extensive reading for the first time in my teacher’s career. Timely, I finished this plan last week. The plan didn’t work as I expected. Rather than participating this extensive reading eagerly, they gave up the points of performance assessment fully. In calculating all the labors that I select books which I think was appropriate, buy all the books and arrange them in school library, and upload all the words and explanation on school homepage in time, the result was disastrous. Even it is impossible to make up 10 students for the awards. Most students(540 students in all) showed no interest in this extensive reading plan, and only 100 students barely read two books – I chose as the books for reading contest ‘River boy’ and ‘The kite runner’- some of which read in Korean, and less than 10 students completed 5 books. I don’t know exactly what was wrong and what the real problem was. The striking reason I have found out until now is that the books selected was not appropriate for our students. They said they are too difficult ( Animal Farm ), too ambiguous ( River boy ), too thick ( The Kite runner ) to keep reading. I think more well-organized plan is needed.
Comment: Your 'summary' part is so powerful as you are relating your knowledge with your real life application. Thank you for sharing your story with me. You mentioned, "I think more well-organized plan is needed," and I am asking, "What do you think? In which way do you think you can improve the lesson planning in your classroom setting?"
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기