[etni] Silent Reading in Class
- From: James Backer <drjamesbacker@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2007 04:03:46 -0800 (PST)
Greetings, all!
Iris links us to some interesting material about the efficacy of SSR.
Unfortunately, upon close inspection, a number of problems arise with the
material's relevance for Israeli EFL instruction. Here are a few:
1. The Web site deals with American kids k-3 and puts a heavy stress on oral
reading, in various forms. Perhaps this has some relevance for our very
beginners, or even false beginners, but how important and effective is having
pupils in grades 7-12 doing choral reading and repeating written passages,
little-by-little, after the teacher's model? Is this how we are going to get
them to read independently?
2. To quote the Web page:
"Research, however, has not yet confirmed whether silent reading with minimal
guidance or feedback improves reading achievement and fluency. Neither has it
proven that more silent reading in the classroom cannot work; its effectiveness
with guidance or feedback is as yet unproven."
The Web site does not have any sort of Reference List, so we really don't know
how its authors came to this rather wishy-washy conclusion. Although I'm not a
dyed-in-the-wool Krashenist, we should note that he has provided a number of
solid references supporting SSR. The fact that the Web site doesn't give any
citations makes it a bit suspect.
3. The Web site has a .gov tag. Given what is happening with Federal
educational policies (e.g., No Child Left Behind, and support for "scripted
instruction"), I would be wary of Bushite statements made without solid
research supporting them.
Back in Israel, we are faced with at least two major problems vis-a-vis
independent reading in EFL:
1. Most kids don't read books, even Hebrew books, independently. They tell us
that endlessly.
2. A large number of kids copy their book tasks, either from other students or
from the back cover of the books.
(Yes, I know that this is anecdotal information, not backed by research - but
it seems to be the reality in our classes.)
In response to these two problems, I have had great success with SSR at the
beginning of each class and an in-class book task every few months. The SSR
tends to calm the kids down after the break and gets almost everyone on-task,
interacting with English. (This is more than I can say for most other
activities that follow.) For those who forgot their books, I have a pile of SRA
reading folders, which are easy to put in my bag and offer enough one-time
reading material for 10 to 20 minutes.
This is how I've dealt with problems and I think it helps the kids improve
their reading. One item in the Web page I will accept is the correlation
between the amount of time spent reading and the quality of the reading.
Jimmy
From: Iris Elish <granny@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: food for thought
Shalom
I am currently participating in an online course. In one of the articles on
reading I read the following:
No research evidence is available currently to confirm that instructional
time spent on silent, independent reading with minimal guidance and feedback
improves reading fluency and overall reading achievement.
One of the major differences between good and poor readers is the amount of
time they spend reading. Many studies have found a strong relationship
between reading ability and how much a student reads. On the basis of this
evidence, teachers have long been encouraged to promote voluntary reading in
the classroom. Teacher-education and reading-education literature often
recommends in-class procedures for encouraging students to read on their
own, such as Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) or Drop Everything and Read
(DEAR).
Research, however, has not yet confirmed whether independent silent reading
with minimal guidance or feedback improves reading achievement and fluency.
Neither has it proven that more silent reading in the classroom cannot work;
its effectiveness without guidance or feedback is as yet unproven. The
research suggests that there are more beneficial ways to spend reading
instructional time than to have students read independently in the classroom
without reading instruction.
The article can be found at:
Fluency instruction.
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1fluency.html
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1fluency.html
Really interested to hear what you all have to say.
Iris.
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