Announcing |
The 1st Annual Extensive Reading Symposium |
Co-hosted by Daejeon-Chungcheong KOTESOL at the 5th Annual SIG Symposium-Thanksgiving Dinner Event. |
The KOTESOL Extensive Reading Special Interest Group is proud to announce the first annual Extensive Reading Symposium, to be held November 22nd in the Korea Nazarene University in Cheonan. |
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Richard Day, Chairman and Professor Department of Second Language Studies. University of Hawaii. Plenary Speaker: Dr. Rob Waring, Notre Dame Seishin University, Japan |
Extensive reading, the practice of improving reading and general language skills through extensive exposure to comprehensible texts, has enjoyed very promising growth in Korea over the past few years. At the Extensive Reading Symposium we hope to further promote extensive reading in Korea through providing a forum to present research and share ideas on how to apply extensive reading in the language classrooms of Korea. We are fortunate enough to have two of the top scholars in extensive reading joining us for the Symposium. Dr. Richard Day from the University of Hawaii will give the keynote speech, and Dr. Rob Waring from Notre Dame Seishin University in Japan will give a plenary address. Additionally, we have an outstanding lineup of quality presentations covering some of the most recent research on extensive reading (and extensive listening!) as well as presentations giving practical advice on making extensive reading work in the Korean classroom. We welcome all English educators interested in improving the quality of their teaching to come and learn about a practice which a growing number of language scholars is claiming is essential for a complete language program. |
Cost |
Pre-registration: Click here to preregister Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner: |
Schedule |
The following schedule is indicative only and still subject to change: 9:30 Registration 10:00 Official welcome and opening addresses with an introduction to KOTESOL's extensive reading SIG 10:30 Keynote speech: Richard Day "The Learning Potential of Extensive Reading: Research Insights." 11:20 Extensive Reading Foundation's Language Literature Award presentation 11:30-11:40 Break 11:40 Concurrent sessions 12:30 Lunch break 1:30 Concurrent sessions 2:20-2:30 Break 2:30 Concurrent sessions 3:30-3:45 Break 3:45 Concurrent sessions (25-minute presentations) 4.10-4.15 Break 4:15 Concurrent sessions (25-minute presentations) 4:40-4:45 Break 4:45 Plenary presentation by Dr. Rob Waring "The Missing Piece of the Puzzle." 5:50 Big book raffle and closing ceremony 6:30 to 8:00 Thanksgiving dinner with entertainment (only 15,000won extra) |
| Presentation Abstracts |
The Learning Potential of Extensive Reading: Research Insights In this talk, I revisit the empirical literature on the instrumental role that extensive reading can have in the language learning experience of second and foreign language learners. I start by summarizing the theoretical underpinnings of extensive reading. I then summarize some of the main findings of the ER research, and discuss the implications that may derive from them in terms of instructional practices. Next, I suggest that the realization of the potential language learning outcomes of ER appears to be dependent on a variety of factors. These factors include learner-related variables, and careful and planned pedagogical decision-making in areas such as ER activities and implementation, the provision of feedback together with the instructional guidance, monitoring, and scaffolding provided to L2 readers while engaged in ER. I conclude by suggesting a number of crucial research questions that could be part of the research agenda in the field of ER. How Do Very Young Learners, YL's and Teens Become Extensive Readers? As Bob Dylan once howled "The times they are a changing"; indeed, from a positive point of view for educators who believe in Extensive Reading, there is at least movement in the right direction taking place in Korea in 2008. English book libraries have opened, and others are being planned. A number of private elementary schools, and a few public ones, are attempting literacy instruction, based around independent reading programs. However, such programs, still tend to be a sadly over-looked part of the teaching and acquisition of English as foreign language in public schools. Ironically, many of the private language institutes who make their business out of supposedly providing what regular schooling cannot, suffer from a similar deficiency. Using Moodle Reader Modules for Extensive Reading Quizzes The Moodle Reader Module is a freeware, open-source module that has been developed as a way for teachers to share a database of quiz material for graded readers and to make the quizzes easily accessible to their students. Research has shown that reading extensively is an effective way to improve students’ English, but until now there was no way of testing large numbers of students electronically. Several companies publish sets of graded readers, however all of them are divided into levels using different criteria and so it is difficult for a school or teacher to have tests which are standardised. Many publishers have their own websites with quizzes that are accessible to students, but they are not suitable for institutional use as they are not secure and are in a single, fixed format. The Moodle Reader Module solves these problems by allowing quizzes to be randomly generated from a larger set of items for each book. In the future, the module may be placed on teachers’ own Moodle systems and modified to fit their preferences. This presentation briefly describes how the Moodle Reader Module works, the effect it has had on the students and their progress in English. Introduction to Extensive Reading: Why we do it; how we do it This presentation will cover the basics of extensive reading. First it will cover what extensive reading is and how it is different from traditional reading practices. Next it will discuss why the research strongly supports using extensive reading in language programs, and finally I will discuss some of the common ways extensive reading is added to language programs. This session first reflects on struggling readers and how we can build up the reading skill to make reading enjoyable. We then look briefly at the theory behind practicing the reading skill and different procedures for practice through extensive reading. We'll also look at different tasks for students to practice their reading skills as well as a range of extensive reading activities. Finally, we will look at some more ideas to develop the reading skill through extensive reading and other resources which can be used, and reflect on how to develop our students' reading in the future. Using Extensive Listening in Class This is the second year that the presenters have used graded readers with CDs (GR-CDs) in their classes. The presenters will discuss the results of an extensive listening study using GR-CDs. Three experimental and three control classes were given surveys and listening tests at the beginning and the end of a semester. Surveys were given to collect information about students' attitudes towards reading GRs and listening to GR-CDs. The three experimental classes used GRs with their accompanying CDs. Students chose the GR-CDs that they were interested in reading and listening to. About 20 minutes of each 90-minute class was given to listening to and doing shadowing using these CDs. The remainder of the class was spent working with a standard textbook and teacher chosen activities. The three control classes used standard textbooks and teacher designed activities. The presenters will discuss the changes in the students' listening ability between the experimental and control groups. They will also report on how students' attitudes changed over the semester. Comparisons will be made between those whose skills increased significantly and those whose skills were relatively unchanged. Problems and insights will be discussed, and recommendations will be made based on the results of this study. This workshop will begin by addressing what ER is for the presenter. Next, an “activity” which is both consistent with these beliefs and a tangible way to raise awareness for those who are not familiar with ER, will be presented. A step by step process explaining how this “activity” was applied at the presenter’s college will follow. Those in attendance will then be asked to choose from a mix of the easiest of Graded Readers for a period of Sustained Silent Reading. Following this period of reading, a kit consisting of instructions and materials needed to produce a “book patch” for the book read during the SSR period will be provided. Each audience member should complete one patch and submit it. Near the end of the workshop, the designer of the best patch will be given a graded reader of their choice. The workshop will culminate in the unveiling of a completed “ER Book Quilt” done at Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in Taiwan. Those in attendance will be introduced to this “activity”, provided with a chance to experience it, then encouraged to apply the “activity” to their own settings. Teaching foreign language reading fluency In this practical, hands-on workshop, we focus on how foreign language instructors can incorporate reading fluency strategies into their reading classes. We begin with a brief discussion on the importance of fluency for effective and efficient reading. Next participants are introduced to and themselves use a variety of reading fluency strategies (in contrast to reading comprehension strategies). They also engage in activities that they may use to teach the reading fluency strategies, and activities designed to increase students' reading rates. Why Some ER Programs Fail and What to Do About It The presentation will start by outlining several reasons some ER programs fail and then put forward ways to notice if the program is in trouble. The presentation will then focus on the parameters of a successful ER program and give advice of pitfalls to watch for. Extensive Reading in Korean EFL: Circa 2008 David E. Shaffer, PhD The technique of extensive reading is not at present a widely practiced technique by autonomous or semi-autonomous language learners in Korea nor is it an extensively used teaching technique by EFL teachers in or out of the Korean classroom. This presentation will firstly report the results of a survey of tertiary students their knowledge of extensive reading, their impressions of it, and the extent of their use of it in learning English. The results of a second survey, this one a survey of elementary and tertiary EFL instructors, will show their knowledge of, impressions of, and use of extensive reading an English learning tool, as well as their reasons for using ER to the extent that they do or do not. Next the presentation will analyze and discuss the results of the ER survey, in particular the reasons why extensive is not used to a greater degree than it is. From the analysis and discussion, conclusions will be drawn, and from these conclusions, suggestions will be presented for making both student and instructor more aware of extensive reading and for encouraging them to use extensive reading techniques in their learning and teaching. Using Extensive Reading to Teach English in a Korean University Program The presenter will describe his approach to implementing an Extensive Reading at his university. Since reading for pleasure is practically unknown for Korean students, emphasis is given to making the course fun, motivating, and empowering. Teachers of this class respond individually every week to every student, thus each student has a "private tutor" for a full semester. Integrating 1 hour of Weekly SSR: Effects on Overall Proficiency and Spelling This study reports on the results found when one hour of weekly in-class sustained silent reading replaced one hour of instruction within a five hour per week English Reading and Writing course at a college in southern Taiwan. Two separate groups of 15-16 year old 2nd year junior college (high school aged) students from Taiwan were part of this two semester thirty-six week English language study. The control group (N = 51) was taught given a prescribed five hour per week syllabus of intensive reading and paragraph writing instruction. The experimental group (N = 45) followed the same syllabus with the exception that one hour per week was substituted with in-class sustained silent reading. Both groups were given pre-mid-post cloze as well as pre-mid-post spelling tests. Results will be discussed as to what effects weekly sessions of in-class sustained silent reading had on overall language proficiency and spelling. Extensive Reading: Some problems and solutions There has recently been an increase in interest in extensive reading (ER) among educators involved in higher education in Japan. This presentation describes the experiences of a college lecturer and students during a year-long Japanese university course in which ER was included as a component. First, the presenter will describe the course and students, and explain the goals for extensive reading in the course. This will be followed by a description of the implementation of the ER course component, and a discussion of issues which threatened its success. Student initiative and assuring the proper level of texts were identified as two key problems. Next, the presenter will discuss solutions to the problems, drawing on his notes and data from student interviews. Finally, participants will be asked to participate in a discussion of their own experiences implementing extensive reading course components or programs. Extensive Reading, Extensive Listening, Extensive Support: ELLs and Literary Fluency While it is vital that students approach texts with “about 98-99% coverage of the vocabulary…in the text” (Waring, 2003), it is also important that they fill that absent 1 -- 2% through Extensive Reading. Additionally, many ELLs first establish their vocabulary foundation through oral vocabulary. By merging oral vocabulary with written vocabulary through the combination of Extensive Reading and Extensive Listening, students will be more apt to secure and build upon their literacy skills. Many English Language Learners, however, tend to translate as they read, and stop frequently, instead of focusing on the act of reading for fluency or enjoyment. Extensive Reading, and Extensive Reading in combination with Extensive Listening in particular, can act to discourage word by word translation and encourage fluent reading and reading for enjoyment. Reading in conjunction with listening will keep the English learner on task and less likely to stop and translate; reading controlled by a computer program that cannot be stopped is least likely to allow the learner to independently pause and translate. While we should encourage the use of Extensive Reading/Extensive Listening programs, such as Rob Waring’s, we might also start considering using computer and internet programs that can also encourage more controlled, yet non-threatening, environments for Extensive Reading/Listening. The presenter will put forth a classroom scenario for Extensive Reading/Listening, a supplemental curriculum incorporating the two, and a suggestion for how to work the combination of Extensive Reading/Listening into a home assignment with an effective means of assessment while keeping ER/EL friendly and non-threatening. Hooked on reading: Starting an extensive reading program in your class Inspired by research about extensive reading, and looking for ways to get started? This presentation will give you some easy steps to follow, and also let you hear from the students themselves about how reading for pleasure is changing their lives. Book reviews and comments from university students in Korea will encourage you that extensive reading really works. Effects of In-text Gloss on the Extensive Reading Ability of Korean Camp Students In Korea, extensive reading is still a new phenomenon and as such there is still a gap between the cognitive and linguistic levels of the students and the materials, specifically graded readers, available for them. That is, stories of the appropriate linguistic level are too childish and books of the appropriate cognitive level, which desirably have longer stories, more characters, and more plot twists, are inaccessible linguistically. Therefore, books of higher cognitive and linguistic levels were selected for students to read. The texts were glossed by writing the Korean translation under the difficult English words, so the students would still be able to understand 96-99% of the vocabulary in the texts. This study took place at a two week immersion camp in Seoul. 5th and 6th grade students of the same level read and discussed one book per day for 12 days.The results of the study show that students who read books with in-text gloss had better textual comprehension and learned more vocabulary than a control group who read the same graded readers with no gloss. Extensive Reading Activities Across the Four Skills Participants will take part in engaging activities that draw upon students reading experience to further their language development across the four skills. These activities can be adapted for all language learners. Shared Stories is a follow-up task to extensive reading developed by the author. It has been used successfully with university freshmen, adult learners, and in-service teachers since 2003. In Shared Stories students retell stories they have read the previous week to their group members. Each student has approximately ten minutes to retell his or her stories. This ensures speakers have the floor to develop output skills and listeners receive at least thirty minutes of “interactive” and comprehensible input. Teachers have observed that students negotiate meaning and make clarification requests more during shared stories than other task. They observe a great deal of meaning making, increases in students’ automaticity, focus on form with self-correction, and confidence using English as well as a great deal of enthusiasm for sharing stories. Furthermore, teachers are able to assess students' comprehension of stories, their progress in reading, and their progress in communicative competence in the classroom during the Shared Stories period. Using Schema Theory to Facilitate Better ER In their book 'Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom', Richard Day and Julian Bamford argue that schema theory is a necessary element for effective reading. In order to read any given text, a language student needs a certain level of lexical and syntactic knowledge. In order to comprehend a text effectively, a language student additionally needs a sufficient level of background knowledge, context and cultural cues. In this presentation, the role of a person's schemata in the reading and comprehension of a text will be identified and examined through a series of example texts. Reading is not simply a passive act, but rather an interaction between the individual and the text. The level of interaction is dependent on several factors which can help as well as hinder effective comprehension. By understanding these factors and by seeing English through the eyes of a language learner, attendees will be able to appreciate the need for a more structured approach to reading exercises in order to get more from them. In addition, it will be seen that the process of reading is similar to the process of learning and it is therefore important that we understand how to motivate students to read more. The Missing Piece of the Puzzle This plenary will demonstrate how ER is the missing piece of the language learning puzzle because it provides the comprehensible massive input that helps consolidate and strengthen language learn in class and text books. Research evidence will be provided to support this conclusion. Arguments will then be put forward to show how to approach curriculum designers and program planners to ensure ER becomes an integral and not optional part of the language program. |
| Biographies |
Dr. Richard R. Day is the chairman of the Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawaii. Professor Day has numerous publications on second language reading. He is the co-author of a three-book series on teaching reading, Cover to Cover, published this year by Oxford University Press. This innovative series combines extensive and intensive reading. He is a co-founder and chair of the Extensive Reading Foundation (www.erfoundation.org). Dr. Day is the co-editor of the online scholarly journal, Reading in a Foreign Language (www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl). Joung-Hyun "April" Ham, Ed.D, is a Professor of Education at Hanseo University in South Korea and an Adjunct Professor at University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the U.S.A. She is the director of the Hanseo University Institute for Development of Talented and Gifted Education. Apart from these duties, she is also an educational consultant and curriculum developer, a textbook and resource book writer, and a professional speaker, presenting lectures and workshops internationally and domestically. She is recognized as one of the leading experts on literacy based English education for Young Learners, and Very Young Learners in Korea. The majority of her work has been on pratical methods for teaching English literacy, which incorporate multiple intelligence, critical thinking, and other "brain-based" instructional techniques. Sandra Healy is a lecturer at Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan. She has a Masters degree in TESOL and has been teaching English for 15 years. Scott Miles is a visiting professor and teacher trainer in the General English Education Department and Graduate Department of English Education in Sogang University in Seoul, Korea. Scott has an MA in TESOL and is currently working on a doctorate degree in Applied Linguistics in language acquisition. He has recently published a reading course book for Macmillan publishers (Essential Reading). His research interests include extensive reading, grammar and vocabulary acquisition. Sam Lee is a teacher trainer with experience working with students of all ages, from kindergarten to adults. For the past three years, he has been working in Seoul as a trainer and teacher, specializing in young learners ages 4-12. His primary interests are helping new teachers understand the EFL context and the special challenges of teaching English in Korea. He has also presented on topics such as classroom management, using debate in the classroom, and intercultural communication. He is currently pursuing his MA TESOL at Sookmyung University in Seoul. Sam Lee is a full time ELT Consultant for Pearson Longman Korea. Jean Ware is a Junior Associate Professor at Tokai University and teaches English and Computer-skills. She is interested in optimizing students’ learning through technology, multimedia, and via extensive reading and extensive listening. After a career in computer programming, she earned her MA in English: TESOL. She has been teaching English in Japan since 1999. She’s also an administrator of the Moodle English web server for Tokai University’s Foreign Language Center. Miyuki Yonezawa is a Professor at Tokai University. Her academic interests include language acquisition, extensive reading and extensive listening, American culture studies, race and ethnicity, and multiculturalism. She is one of the authors of the book, Race and Nation: Ethnic Systems in the Modern World, edited by Paul Spickard (Routledge, 2005). Her current research projects include multiculturalism in Japan, and extensive listening and its implementation in class. Ken Smith is a lecturer at the Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He teaches courses in reading, extensive reading and writing. His research interests are Second Language Acquisitino, appying and testing the Comprehension Hypothesis, and Extensive Reading. David Shaffer (PhD, Linguistics) has been an educator in Korea since the early 1970s. He teaches both cognitive linguistics and teaching methodology courses at Chosun University,and is currently Director of the Foreign Language Program at their language institute. He has years of experience as an elementary and secondary school teacher trainer, and has prepared teacher training, textbook, and testing materials. Dr. Shaffer is the author of several books for Korean English learners and has authored several EFL-related columns in Korean periodicals. He has taught Korean as a Second Language (KSL) courses at Chosun University and for the University of Maryland, Asia Division, as well as published a guide to spoken Korean. He is also an active member of numerous Korean academic associations in addition to Korea TESOL. Rocky Nelson, M-TESL, was invited to Korea in 1996 by Yeungnam University, where he taught for 3 years at the Department of English. He was the 1st VP of Taegu KoTesol in 1999. He moved to Andong National University, 1999 to 2001, and was their Academic Coordinator in 2001. Now teaching at Pusan University of Foreign Studies, he is the developer of several "intensive fluency" content courses now used on campus. His Extensive Reading course is a popular elective choice among the content courses given by the International Language Experts program/ILEC department and the Department of English. Steve Urick is a Lecturer at Tokoha Gakuen University in Shizuoka, Japan. His primary interest is classroom-based research. His has conducted research which deals with student investment/motivation and student attitudes about language learning. Robyn Shifrin, Director of Curriculum Training, Imagine Learning English. Robyn received her TEFLA from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK and her MA in Literary Theory from Case Western Reserve University. She has taught ESL for over ten years, in the United States and abroad, including such places as Jerusalem, Israel, and Prague, the Czech Republic. Prior to joining Imagine Learning, she was Lead Curriculum Developer with ELS Language Centers at Case Western Reserve University where she developed over fifteen new courses. Robyn has presented at TESOL and is one of the featured presenters at the upcoming Ohio TESOL conference in October. She is a member of national TESOL Material Writers’ Caucus. Robin Debacker has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Florida and an MA in Religious Education from Unification Theological Seminary, New York. She has taught full time for three years in Seokyeong University, and intensive summer and winter courses for Hanyang University and Ewha University. Currently she is a visiting professor at Kookmin University in the General Education Department. Mike Misner received his MATESOL & linguistics from Ball State University in 1999, and has been teaching EFL/ESL for over a decade. He is currently working in the Dept. of English Education at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. He developed curriculum and trained teachers for the HUFS immersion camps, and has lead multiple NEST and NNEST extensive reading teacher training sessions. His interests center around reading and writing methodology, most specifically, how new words can be learned from extensive reading without explicit study. Ann Flanagan is an EFL teacher, supervisor and course coordinator at Ritsumeikan Junior and Senior High School in Kyoto, Japan. Her research interests include curriculum development, extensive reading, material development, and teacher training. Shaun Miller holds a MSEd. in TESOL from Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA., USA. He began teaching EFL in Jeju, South Korea in 1994 as a visiting professor of English at Jeju Technical College. He currently teaches at Cheju National University Teachers College (formally Jeju National Univ. of Education) where he has worked since 2000. He has been using extensive reading with EFL students since 2003. He has been a member of KOTESOL since 1996 and a member of TESOL since 2002. Tim Dalby holds an M.A. (with distinction) in English Language Teaching from The University of Reading in the UK. Originally from Portsmouth, England, Tim has been teaching English since the summer of 2000. He has taught in Korea, New Zealand and the Czech Republic in a variety of contexts including business English, general English, EAP, FCE, CAE, IELTS, TOEIC and TOEFL. He has been a head teacher and a teacher trainer and is Korea TESOL’s 1st Vice-President and co-chair of its next National Conference in May 2009. He currently teaches at Jeonju University and is available to email at tim_dalby@yahoo.co.uk. Rob Waring is Associate Professor at Notre Dame Seishin University in Okayama, Japan. He is an acknowledged expert in Extensive Reading and second language vocabulary acquisition. He has published over 40 articles and has lectured in 17 countries on foreign and second language acquisition. He has just published a set of graded readers for teenagers and a set of non-fiction graded readers with Heinle Cengage. He is a board member of the Extensive Reading Foundation. He was Co-Chair of JALT 2005. |
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