Motivating lower secondary pupils to

read

Gail Ellis This is a slightly adapted version of a plenary I gave at the 18th APPI Conference in Pvoa de Varzim in Portugal at the end of April 2004. The title of the conference was "Building a community of EFL learners" and it was attended by 650 participants. This paper looks at the challenges teachers face when selecting appropriate reading materials for lower secondary pupils (11 - 14 year olds) and when providing ideal motivational and learning conditions. It proposes the use of bridging books as an appropriate source of reading material, and the application of two models as a way of planning appropriate techniques to motivate pupils to read and as a way of integrating explicit and systematic metacognitive and cognitive strategy training. Challenges for pupils and teachers We are currently experiencing a world-wide growth in the teaching of foreign languages to primary-aged children, based very much on the assumption that 'earlier means better'. This is bringing new challenges to all involved and is having a knock-on effect especially at lower secondary level, where the teaching of foreign languages is, in most countries, already well-established. Reading in a foreign language can be challenging for many lower secondary pupils because of limitations in their L2 competency. In addition, some may be reluctant readers in their first language so tackling a novel in a foreign language with perhaps 200 or so pages of dense text, no illustrations and many unfamiliar words can be daunting. As teachers, looking at the development of reading as part of a pupil's global development, we are faced with challenges that go well beyond language: - coping with mixed levels of language skills and knowledge depending on the quality of input, quantity of input and content of pupils' language learning at primary whether in state or private systems - motivating young learners for an extended period of ten or more years - selecting age, content and level-appropriate reading materials for lower-level secondary pupils bearing in mind that they may have limited language in L2, but ideas, concepts and aspirations relevant to their developmental age. The content needs to be relevant to their age and interests but linguistically accessible. Materials also need to be methodologically-appropriate and offer opportunities for varied interpretations and responses and choices for pupils to begin planning their reading journeys. - developing reading strategies, positive attitudes and self-confidence - developing active citizens - to be active and informed citizens, our pupils need reading skills - a rapidly changing world - building a community of readers For learners of this age, it is also particularly important to offer opportunities for successful and motivating reading experiences, by allowing them to respond at their own linguistic level and develop reading for pleasure, reading for information and reading to learn. We can do this by promoting good reading habits, by setting up reader-centred activities to help pupils with their reading choices, and to create opportunities to talk or write to each other about their reading. This will raise the pupils' status as an important link in the creative chain by valuing personal interpretations of an author's work. Frank Smith (1991:18) described this as 'growing up in the company of authors'. I would like to supplement this quote by adding growing up in the company of authors and readers' in the spirit of building a community of readers. These challenges overlap to some extent but the key challenges seem to be: - selecting appropriate and motivating reading material - providing ideal motivational conditions and developing learning strategies. Selecting appropriate and motivating reading material In order to select appropriate materials for this age group, I would like to suggest the use of authentic bridging books. These are books at any level which take the reader a step further forward towards complete autonomy in the selection, reading and enjoyment of materials for extensive reading (Ellis and McRae, 1991:14). Bridging books, then, can be used to build on previously acquired language and

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skills and help cater for the different needs and levels of pupils now often found in lower secondary classes. I do not intend to make any value judgements about what is to be read; it could be classic or contemporary - literature with a lower case T. We also need to recognise the value of any media that enhances or encourages reading such as audio books, cartoons, videos, DVDs, websites, etc., as well as the role of performance from storytelling to slam poetry in bringing words to our learners. Appendix 1 provides suggestions for authentic bridging books for lower secondary pupils. The list consists of storybooks with substantial but manageable texts and illustrations which provide important visual support to meaning. The illustrations are sophisticated and of high quality by artist/illustrators such as Tony Ross, Quentin Blake, Babette Cole, Lauren Child, Michael Foreman and appeal to a range of generations. They help develop visual literacy as well as provide support for the words on the page. The stories usually contain humour and other useful literary devices such as repetition, rhyme, hyperbole and useful language which can be transferred to real life use. They cover a range of genres, styles, registers and text types and address universal themes of friendship and tolerance, love, family, fear of being alone, environmental issues, personal and cultural identity, gender, racism, which challenge pupils to play with ideas and feelings and think about and address important issues. They offer a variety of interpretations and can be exploited in different ways depending on the age and level of the pupils. Such materials also provide opportunities to work towards cross-curricular objectives, in particular citizenship, and to develop intercultural awareness and competence. They also allow pupils to explore their own personal and cultural identity, build tolerance, social empathy, mutual understanding and respect. Finally, stories like these develop a 'feel' for literary texts which live up to the expectations of our pupils. To summarise, bridging books such as those described above for lower secondary can bridge the gap between: - pupils moving from primary to secondary, or when they are introduced to extensive reading for the first time - pupils who are moving from storytelling (listening to stories aloud) to independent reading and increased reader involvement, but without a dependence on the words of a text - illustration-dominated stories and text-dominated novels - reading to learn English and reading in English for pleasure - graded, sequenced language and authentic 'real' present-day

language of young people which is presented in familiar and memorable contexts but without being patronizing - tightly controlled Yes/No type comprehension exercises typically found in many graded readers to opportunities for multiple interpretations and reader response - teacher controlled or led work to pupil led work - teacher selected books to pupil selected books and reading choices so pupils can plan their own reading journeys - the reality of the culture of the classroom and the culture of the reading materials as presented through the narrative and the illustrations. Providing ideal motivational and learning conditions Motivation is recognised as one of the key factors that determine the rate and success of F learning. It provides the incentive to L learn and helps a learner find the determination they need to persevere and sustain the long and often difficult language learning process. Adolescent learners come with their own interests and emotional and psychological baggage (teenagers are often searching for their own sense of identity, they often feel lonely, alienated and insecure), making the task of motivating them one of the greatest challenges for teachers. Using authentic literature like the bridging books suggested above to supplement core materials is one way of motivating our pupils. I have also found it useful to apply Dornyei's (2001) process model of motivation and the plan-do-review model as described in Brewster, Ellis and Girard (2002) in the development of reading. Dornyei's model consists of four components. The first component, creating the basic motivational conditions, includes establishing a positive classroom culture which is pleasant and supportive in which pupils can develop their full potential, establishing ground rules regarding behaviour and norms which everyone (including the teacher) agrees to, encouraging peer support or reading groups which recognise individual pupils' interests, levels, skills and strengths. The next components are generating initial motivation, maintaining and protecting motivation and encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation. These components fit in with the familiar pre, while

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and post reading stages and provide a framework in which we can incorporate opportunities for our pupils to plan, do and review through reflection, experimentation and further reflection. This allows the combination of metacognitive and cognitive strategy training. Research has shown that 'Students without metacognitive approaches are essentially learners without direction and ability to review their progress, accomplishments and future learning directions (O'Malley et al. 1985:24). In this way, pupils think about what they already know and what they need to plan and prepare before reading; they experiment, in this case read with while-reading tasks to focus their reading and develop cognitive strategies such as skimming or scanning; and they then engage in further reflection to consolidate, extend, respond to and review and reflect on what they have read and learnt. Here are some techniques for each component: Generating initial motivation incorporating pre-reading planning and reflection Inform pupils of what they are doing and why - explain what the benefits of reading authentic texts are. For example, they provide exposure to the richness of real English which will help with language development in general but especially passive vocabulary assimilation, they will develop global rather than discrete comprehension, they will expose them to the target culture. Explain the objectives, these will probably be different to close teacher-guided study of a short text in class - help pupils formulate realistic expectations in order to avoid frustration and disappointment. Tell them they can do it and they will enjoy it! Involve pupils in the selection and choice of materials - make it theirs and this will give them a sense of ownership and responsibility. Organise a class voting system or involve pupils in shadowing book awards (see www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing), encourage pupils to write books reviews and set up reading groups. The choice of appropriate texts is important as those which provide too low a level of challenge can result in apathy but too high a level can lead to over-anxiety or stress. Activate pupils prior knowledge - successful reading is affected by

the way the subject matter relates to the pupil's existing cultural and general knowledge or to subject-specific knowledge. Pupils will be helped in their reading if some of the information is already understood and this will help the learning of new vocabulary. Build up rhythms of reading and class interaction by explaining how a book is to be worked on. How much time spent in or out of class will of course depend on a number of different factors related to your context. Prepare your pupils - most pupils will need help in making the psychological leap from teacher-guided close study of graded short texts to authentic literature. Encourage pupils to think about their approaches to reading and how to build their confidence explain that 100 per cent comprehension is not necessary to understand the overall meaning. Help them recognise clues from the language, the context and from illustrations to work out meaning. We need to bear in mind that the 'training of pupils to be hopeful and robust in the face of a challenge, and to develop and use strategies to deal with difficulty is very much the teacher's responsibility' (Rixon 1995:83). Help pupils become aware of strategies they used in their LI such as previewing, skimming and scanning, inferring meaning etc., and how to transfer these to reading tasks in the L2. Provide pre-reading stimuli - such as previewing the title and the cover illustration, the back cover, information about the author etc. Pre-reading stimuli will also exploit various elements which lead into the story involving stimulating interest, eliciting vocabulary, introducing characters and setting, making predictions about content. Provide a point of entry - this could be a scene from a story, an illustration, a short paragraph - the main criterion is for the material to be accessible to the pupils and sufficiently stimulating to arouse interest and motivate and to give a flavour. It can provide a starting point and a future point of reference throughout the reading and for all subsequent reading involvement with the text. This could include media - a film tie in, an audio recording, etc. Inform pupils of a final outcome so they understand what they are doing and why, the purpose of what they are doing and where their hard work is leading to. Many stories lead naturally to a stimulating outcome such as producing a poster, creating a quiz, a role-play, writing a summary, a letter, a book review, a

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questionnaire, a project, a display, recording favourite passages. Knowing that all their work is leading towards something concrete and relevant can help pupils invest the necessary effort and persevere throughout the reading process. Maintaining and protecting motivation incorporating while-reading tasks and experimentation Support the reading process - present while-reading tasks with explicit objectives in a motivating way and diversify by providing different levels of support and allowing for different forms of response - this can help overcome the problem of mixed level and interest classes. Monitor reading and encourage interaction with the texts - in the first instance, this involves checking that a certain amount of reading has been done and that what has been read has been understood but, in particular, build upon that comprehension to motivate further readings. Ideally, this should become interaction with texts read, interpretation and discussion all of which can be encouraged by the teacher. Pupils have to be stimulated to recognise the value of bringing their own expectations and experiences to bear on what they read. Opinions and interpretations must vary, and their exchange and evaluation is a vital part of the interactive learning process, involving language development, cultural awareness and learner growth in overall educational terms. Very often there is no one correct answer to a question. The more open the text is to interpretation, the more rewarding it is likely to be for the pupil. Have pupils keep a reading diary - another form of monitoring which encourages pupil rather than teacher monitoring, is the keeping of a reading diary. This has the advantage of being an individual and personal record, while at the same time documenting, recording and reflecting on work done in or out of class. It can be written in the pupils' own language as well as partly in English, but as pupils' language level improves, they should be encouraged to use more and more English in their reading diaries. Negotiate with pupils and set ground rules to cater for mixed levels. Reading diaries can be arranged under several headings such as - Story: pupils highlight key moments in the plot and compare expectations before reading with what actually happens. Summary skills will often be useful here. - Vocabulary: pupils keep notes of new, unusual, attractive, useful or specialised words.

- Characters: pupils make brief notes on characters to establish their importance in the plot how they develop, and what happens to them in the end. Pupils can also record their own feelings or opinions about the characters, their expectations and results. - Setting: This can cover both time and place. Journeys and voyages can be traced; period details and descriptions jotted down and commented on. - Narration: pupils establish the narrative point of view. - Genre: pupils determine the genre. - Illustrations: Starting with the cover, any visual materials in the book can be commented on and it contribution to the understanding of the work and enjoyment value considered. - Style: this will cover features such as archaism, humour, colloquialism, dialect, specialised language used, register and chapter length. - Evaluation: an evaluation stage after reading can also be included in the diary (see below). This type of record keeping can form part of a pupil's portfolio. Integrate multimedia/ICT - we need to recognise any media that can enhance or encourage reading and there is no doubt that multimedia adds a motivational dimension. There are many film tie-ins or audio recordings that can be used in combination with a story. In addition, the Internet can be used to research authors, settings and locations, historical details or topic-related information. Software with authoring programmes such as Storyboard (www.wida.co.uk), a text reconstruction activity, can be used either by the teacher or groups of pupils on short, favourite passages or summaries, for example. Encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation incorporating postreading reviewing and further reflection Display or publish final outcomes - it can be very motivating for pupils to see their efforts displayed or published. Outcomes can be produced individually or by groups of pupils thereby catering for mixed levels. I f appropriate, involve parents. Encourage positive self-evaluation - as mentioned above, a reading diary can include an evaluation stage to encourage

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pupils to reflect on some or all of the following: Was the book enjoyable for you? Why or why not? What were your favourite or least favourite moments? Who were your favourite or least favourite characters? Was the book easy for you to read? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to your friends? Why or why not? What did you learn from the book? For example, useful language, factual, cultural, historical, geographical information, etc. Would you like to read another story by the same author? Why or why not? Give honest evaluation - let pupils know why they did or did not do well and what they can do to improve. We need to be aware of the dangers of an over-reliance on praise, and of the negative effects of punishments and reprimands. How can we evaluate our efforts? We can look at our pupils to see if they are exhibiting any of the following behavioural traits: Are they showing enthusiasm for their reading? Are they enthusing other readers by telling their friends/ classmates about good reads? Are they selecting their own reading materials? Are they talking about their reading choices? Are they planning their reading journeys? Are they reviewing their reading? And you? Do your pupils ever see you read? Do you tell your pupils about good books you have read? Do you involve your pupils in selecting books? Do you provide opportunities for your pupils to plan their own reading journeys? Do you encourage discussion in class about books your pupils have read? Do you encourage reviewing, whole class, group, individual? Appropriate selection of reading material, viewing motivation as a process and developing effective learning strategies can help our pupils develop good reading habits by becoming more selfaware, positive, competent and autonomous and, consequently, motivated to tackle the next authentic text. This can help build a community of readers initially at class level but with the potential of developing communities further afield with readers from other

classes and eventually with readers outside the immediate school environment. As one twelve-year-old said, 'It's hard but I like the reading we do and the class discussions we have. I feel that we are in the world of the characters and the author'. Gail Ellis is Head, Young Learners Centre, British Council Paris, and Special Lecturer, School of Education, University of Nottingham

Select bibliography Bettelheim, B. 1976. The Uses o Enchantment, Penguin f Blake, Q., Carey, J. 2002. Magic Pencil, Children's B o Illustration today The ok British Council/The British Library Brewster, J., Ellis, G., Cirard, D. 2002. The Primary English teacher's Guide. Nw Edition Penguin Longman e Cameron, L 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners, Cambridge University Press. - See chapter 7 Cameron, L 2003. 'Challenges for ET from the expansion in teaching children' . L ET V l 57/2 LJ o C T : Children and teenagers. The Y u g Learners SG Newsletter, Literature AS on I and the Young Learner, Spring 1999, Storytelling Issue 2/00, Summer 2000, I T F (International Association for Teachers of English as a Foreign A EL Language) www.countryschool.com/younglearners Dornyei, Z. 2001. Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom, Cambridge University Press Ellis, G., Brewster, J. 2002 Tell it Again! The N w Storytelling Handbook for e Primary Teachers + cassette; Penguin Longman Ellis, G. Motivating pupils to read www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/li.../motivate_readl.shtm Ellis, G., McRae, J. 1991. The Extensive Reading Handbook for Secondary Teachers, Penguin Fisher, R 1996. Stories for Thinking, Nash Pollock Publishing . Ghosn, IX 2002. 'Four good reasons to use literature in primary school E T L, E T, V l 56/2 LJ o Hunt, P. 1994. A Introduction to Children's Literature, Oxford UniversityPress n Kendall, D. 2004. T Books U Fiction for Teenage Readers. British Council K (downloadable from http://www2.britishcouncil.org/home/arts/artsliterature-bibliographies-tbooks.htm) Krashen, S. D. 1982. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Pergamon Lazar, G. 1994. 'Using literature at lower levels'ELTJ, V l 48/2 o O'Malley et al. 1985. 'Lerning Strategies Used by Beginning and Intermediate Students' Language Learning V l 35, N 1 o Paran, A., Watts, E. 2003. itonttt-e I.'. I T F A EL Rixon, S. 1995. 'What is 'Too Difficult' for young learners o English to understand f The Journal, T S L France, Vol., 2 N I EO Ronnqvist, L, Sell, R. D. 1994. "Fee; age books for teenagers: reflections oi literature in language education' E T, V l 48/2 LJ o Smith, F. 1991. 'In the Company o Authors' Times Educational Supplement, N f 3921 Tucker, N. 2002. The Rough Guide to Books for Teenagers, Penguin

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Appendix 1 Bridging books for lower secondary Some suggestions Environmental issues Dinosaurs and all that Rubbish, Puffin Five Little Fiends, Bloomsbury Love, Friendship and Tolerance Something Else, Puffin Long Neck and Thunder Foot, Puffin Fox, Cat's Whiskers M Bf the Boxer, Puffin r if Two Monsters, Red Fox Moose, Puffin Black Dog, Puffin Racism Mon ami Jim, Pastel Tusk Tusk Red Fox Gender Princess Smartypants, Puffin Tarzana, Puffin Prince Cinders, Puffin Piggy Book Walker Books The Paper Bag Princess, Little Hippo The Tough Princess, Walker Books Family 1 will not ever, N V R eat a tomato, Orchard EE Books Clarice Bean, That's Me, Orchard Books M Uncle in a Hunde says y ClariceBean, Orchard Books Eat your Peas, Red Fox Perseverance Tortoise's Dream, Puffin Fairy tales, fables and modem retellings Foxy Fables, Puffin The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, Walker Jim and the Beanstalk Puffin Revolting Rhymes, Puffin Lazy Jack Puffin The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! Puffin The Stinky Cheese Man, viking

Little Red Riding Hood, Puffin The Boy Who Cried W l, Red Fox of Mrs Goat and Her Seven Little Kids, Andersen Press Jamil's Clever Cat, Frances Lincoln Famous people/creatures Joan of Arc, Red Fox Hiawatha, Puffin Moby Dick Orchard Books Cartoon Fred, Puffin Identity Two Can Toucan, Andersen Press Daley B, Walker Books 1 want to be a Cowgirl, Andersen Press That Pesky Rat Orchard Books The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek Puffin Information books The Emperor's Egg, Walker Books Different view points Voices in the Park Picture Corgi Books Fourteen Rats and a Rat Catcher, Puffin A Walk in the Park, Hamish Hamilton Dear Diary, Walker Books Jealousy Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, Puffin Courage Muhamad's Desert Night, Puffin Poetry Poems by Benjamin Zephaniah - We are Britain! Frances Lincoln Spike Milligan, Silly Verse for Kids, Puffin Colin McNaughton, "there's an awful lot of Weirdos In our Neighbourhood, Walker Books Allan Ahlberg, Heard it in the Playground, Viking Jokes and Tongue Twisters The Christmas Stocking Joke Book Puffin The Crack-a-Joke Book - chosen by children in aid of Oxfam, Puffin The Puffin Book of Tongue Twisters

Novels Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson, Corgi Books Girls under Pressure, Jacqueline Wilson, Corgi Books Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan, The Chicken House The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson, Corgi Books Holes, Louis Sachar, Bloomsbury Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer, Puffin Northern Lights, Philip Pullman, Scholastic Coram Boy, Jamila Gavin, Egmont Books The Other Side of Truth, Beverly Naidoo, Puffin Wrtch Child, Celia Rees, Bloomsbury Seasons of Splendour, Madhur Jaffrey, Puffin Bad Dreams, Anne Fine, Corgi Yearling Books The Wreck of the Zanzibar, Michael Mophorgo Useful websites Stories fo the Wb : rittp://www5tories rm e fromtheweb.org/slwhomepage.htm Read and Respond series, Scholastic: www.scholasticco.uk Literature Units from Teacher Created Materials: www.teacheraeated.com BritLit http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download/ britlrt/britJitshtml Carnegie/Kate Greenaway Awards www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk www.ckg.org.uk/shadowing www.enCompassCulture.com Magic Pencil book illustration exhibition http://magicpencil.brrtishcouncil.org Unesco Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance http://www.unesco.org/culture/toleranceliterature/ Young Cultural Creators www.youngculturalcreators.com Puffin Books www.puffin.co.uk www.cool-reads.co.uk www.booktrusted.co.uk www.bookheads.org.uk

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