[ELTWeekly Volume 8, Issue 7 | March 14, 2016 | ISSN 0975-3036]
What is extensive reading and how can it transform learning? The short answer is reading by choice and for pleasure but what does this mean in practice?
The two comments above, reflecting on last year’s participation in OUP Italy’s Read On! class library project, show that reading extensively makes a real difference – to individual students’ growth and to effective teaching and learning in the classroom. But it does require an investment of energy and time. This post will look briefly at what it takes to invest in extensive reading and how it enriches students, like Maria, who have enjoyed learning in this way.
INVESTING YOUR ENERGIES IN A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Extensive reading works well alongside traditional language learning methods but this kind of reading is not about comprehension exercises, book reports and spot quizzes. It is about motivating students by giving them choice, responsibility and the opportunity to enjoy reading free of the usual classroom obligations.
INVESTING TIME IN THE CLASS LIBRARY
The Class Library is the heart of extensive reading. For the OUP Read On! project in Italy, teachers use a mobile trolley suitcase library filled with around 90 OUP graded readers, four for each class member, so that borrowing works smoothly.