Page 30 - ELG2402 Feb Issue 488

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RESOURCES

Top grades for graded readers!

Some are turning their nose up at graded readers, but teachers

Willy Renandya and George Jacobs argue that the books are
a valuable tool to improve the reading skill.

s language educators, we constantly
seek effective ways to support and
enhance our students’ language
A learning experiences. One powerful
yet often neglected strategy is the use of
graded readers.
Graded readers are widely acknowledged
to be highly beneficial for many areas of
language proficiency. They are specially
written or revised reading materials tailored
for various proficiency levels and designed
to meet the varied interests of our students.
Students can experience the joy of reading
a fiction or non-fiction graded reader on
practically any topics that pique their interest
at any proficiency level. Graded readers
provide beginning students with an excellent
bridge to gradually move to reading non-
graded, unabridged texts.
Here are some of the key language learning
benefits of graded readers:

1. Immersive language learning
In the classroom setting, teachers typically
use short and linguistically difficult passages
to introduce new language items and to
teach comprehension skills. This is a good
thing, but there are two problems here:
firstly, the reading passages are often hard
to comprehend and the quantity is hardly
sufficient to activate students’ internal
language learning mechanism; secondly, the
contents of the reading materials may not
always be of interest to the students, thus
doing little in boosting their motivation to confidence and enthusiasm. The cycle of such as the below examples from the
read more in the target language. growth can be contrasted with the cycle Cambridge Learners’ Dictionary:
Research shows that to learn a new of stagnation that beginning readers often • Have you read any good novels lately?
language well, students need to read a lot experience: they pick up a book, find it hard (Interesting, enjoyable)
and often. Graded readers can serve as an to read, so they read slowly and laboriously • She speaks good French. (Of a high
excellent means for beginning students with little understanding. As a result, their quality or level)
to be joyfully immersed in interesting and reading ability becomes stagnant or may • When would be a good time to call you.
meaningful language. even decline. (Suitable)
• A holiday will do you good. (To be useful
2. Building confidence and a love 3. Contextualized learning of or helpful)
for reading vocabulary and grammar • Good heavens! It’s already 11 p.m. (Used
Students often find classroom reading The classroom is an excellent place to to express surprise)
materials too challenging and uninspiring. introduce important language features • When he was 20, he left home for good.
While a small minority of the students may to beginning learners of English. Indeed, (Forever)
manage to handle demanding texts, others vocabulary and grammar can be systematically
might disengage and develop negative taught and practiced, providing beginning Graded readers provide meaningful and rich
feelings about reading. The fear of reading students with a good foundation of the contexts where students can experience words
is particularly prevalent among beginning workings of the target language. But the and grammatical structures in captivating
readers, potentially depriving them of the classroom may not be the best place for stories rather than discreet vocabulary lists
opportunity to experience the benefits of the students to experience the full range of and grammar rules. This contextualized
cycle of growth in reading. contexts in which new words and grammar learning not only improves comprehension
The cycle of growth begins when they points are used. For example, to fully but also helps students appreciate the varied
pick up a graded reader, find it to be understand the full range of meanings of a meanings and usages of vocabulary and
comprehensible and enjoyable; they then pick simple word such as ‘good’, students need grammar. Multiple exposure to language
up another reader and read it with greater to see how it is used in a variety of contexts, features in meaningful contexts is believed to
30 February 2024