Skills: Reading

Strategic Reading 2

Prolifically varied is a term that could be used to describe Jack Richard’s writing output in the last 30 or so years, as he has authored or co-authored numerous professional books for English language teachers as well as many widely used textbooks for English language students. Samuela Eckstut-Didier has also authored or co-authored many textbooks for English language students ranging from grammar-based books to integrated skills books to reading and vocabulary building books. Here, the two have collaborated to produce a useful and enjoyable reading textbook that can be used for self-study or incorporated into the classroom.

Strategic Reading 2 is aimed at high-intermediate young adult and adult learners of English. It is designed to develop reading fluency through the use of a variety of authentic texts including newspapers, magazines, books and websites. The book is divided into 12 units with three readings per unit
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Bringing Extensive Reading into the Classroom

Bringing Extensive Reading into the Classroom is a gentle polemic on the virtues and common sense practicalities of allowing students access to the benefits of a well-executed extensive reading program. Most of the book concerns itself with just that, how to set up and run an extensive reading program: the cost, the administration, and the pedagogical considerations. However, there are also examples of well-thought-out lesson plans and activities to engage students inside the classroom. A more fitting title might have been “Bringing Extensive Reading into the School”, but that in itself can be a challenging thing to do well. This book could certainly help avoid wasted time and money in setting up an effective library and program.

The first chapter outlines the authors’ strong belief in the advantages of extensive over intensive reading. For those teachers not sure of how “just reading” can be beneficial, this chapter lays out some convincing arguments for the adoption, in part at least, of extensive reading as a viable classroom activity. It stresses that a teacher’s role in such an extensive reading program is both to enthuse over the benefits of extensive readings and Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in the classroom, and to orient and guide students through the levels of graded readers, all so that they gain the most benefit from a program.
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Oxford Bookworms Readers for iPad

Oxford are the first, but probably won’t be the last, to start moving their readers series to the iPhone and iPad (but no Android versions yet). In February this year, these faithful adaptations of the original books topped the iTunes charts in Japan (a chart typically dominated by TOIEC and Brain Training). It’s easy to see why. With many on sale now for as little as 85 yen (one dollar) they represent great value for money. They are easy to navigate, beautifully presented, and wonderfully illustrated. If students are looking for a convenient, digital alternative then these come highly recommended. All levels and tastes are catered for, with 55 books from levels 1 to 6 of the series available.

The app versions come with some nice extra features. Complete audio is included. This can either be listened to as you read or played like an audio book. Another addition to the app is a glossary of new keywords, which can be highlighted in the text and tapped on to
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The Big Bag Mistake

Each of the books in this collection has a very bright and colourful cover illustration or photo, including the classics, which was a welcome change to the old style classics sadly accumulating dust in my school. The photo of David Beckham on one of the books was particularly popular with some of my female students!

Some of my students were kind enough to read a few of the books and their comments have been included in my review. I also asked them to make an additional comment about the activities included.

The Big Bag Mistake by John Escott
Two young students Ricardo and Gisela are travelling from London to their homes in Rio de Janeiro and they meet on the plane. They have very different personalities and Ricardo´s attempts to chat to Gisela en route are not successful. When a thief steals Gisela´s bag, Ricardo and Gisela cross paths again.

Between Two Worlds by Stephen Rabley
Joanna is an Australian nurse living in Woomara. A very ill baby has to be taken to Sydney for treatment, but the mother is unable to leave behind her other children so Joanna offers to accompany the baby. After some time in the big city Joanna has to make an important decision.
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Connecting Reading and Writing

Critical thinking is in vogue in the EFL/ESL field at the moment, and at a recent conference I saw myriad materials touting the development of students’ critical thinking skills. The question, however, is whether these materials actually follow through on their claims or are simply roses by other names with very little innovation. I can say that the Weaving It Together series from Cengage blends actual development of critical thinking skills, on multiple levels, with reading and writing development. The format across the four levels is similar, with increased difficulty coming in the length of readings (one page in level 1 and 2 up to three pages in level 4), writing products (paragraphs in level 1, paragraphs to basic essays in level 2, full length essays in levels 3 and 4), and level of analysis required in the tasks (level 4 ends with analysis and interpretation of fictional work). Levels 1 and 2 are appropriate for low intermediate (high school EFL) while level 3 would be appropriate for mid to high intermediate (university level EFL). Level 4 is solidly for high intermediate to advanced level learners, because the combination of analytical and linguistic demands will be more than lower level students can likely handle. These are also good texts for adult students, or for those in a university ESL classroom in which they are learning to write.
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Here I will review three Graded Readers from the ever-popular Penguin Series. All published last year, these new additions to the collection span a range of levels from pre-intermediate to advanced. For the first two, I shall review them with additional comments by students from my reading classes; and for the third one, one of my students has contributed a review.
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The growing interest in graded readers for language learners, driven in part by academic work (e.g. Edinburgh Project of Extensive Reading) and the burgeoning Language Learner Literature campaign which promotes the development of quality literature for language learners, is also a reflection of the improved quality of
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