PROBLEM: PROBLEM: PROBLEM: Exam culture causes English Immersion through Online these feelings: Extensive Reading “I hate English. It’s too hard.” • The traditional approach has NOT been successful. • Many students can’t use English to • Japan needs people who communicate. can use English. • They find it hard to read in English • Students want to improve for pleasure because they lack Douglas E. Forster, Japan Women’s University their communication skills. high frequency vocabulary. Joseph Poulshock, Senshu University • But classes often focus on reading and grammar translation. SOLUTION: Why ER? What is extensive reading (ER)? Great things happen when you read! • Immerse students in • Students choose what they want to read from a variety graded English stories of topics and stories. • Stories use a “top word concentrate.” with online extensive • Top priority words. • The reading is *easy and enjoyable, which promotes reading (ER). • Your vocabulary grows. • The top 2,000 words cover 80% of English. fluency and speed. • Your listening comprehension *We define easy when learners know 95% of the • The top 5,000 words cover 95%! improves. words in a text. • Your speaking ability improves. • They get the words they need first in stories. • Good writers are good readers! • Students don’t need to translate or use their dictionaries. Dr. Richard Day University of Hawaii ER can Equal or Beat Study Abroad Why do extensive reading? • “Adding an extensive reading program to a language course is the most important Great for learning vocabulary! improvement” that we can make. – Paul Nation • Dr. Hitoshi Nishizawa, National Institute of Technology • Toyota College • Because it works! • Students become able to • Compared ER versus study aboad • Students learn USEFUL words without • 3 million words = 1 Year abroad guess what happens next being distracted by hard words. • 6 million words > 1 year abroad and this speeds up their • Students are exposed to the same • As measured on TOEIC scores. words in different contexts and acquire reading and vocabulary naturally. understanding. Dr. Paul Nation Dr. Thomas Robb Kyoto Sangyo University University of Wellington Why Online ER? • Students can do ER anywhere smartphones. Xreading (online books) • We advocate graded readers. Er-central (online stories) • But not all schools can buy and manage a library. • We encourage students to use their phones for extensive reading and for tracking analog books in an online system.
• Arts • Business Stories, stories, stories • Ideas Audio Word Quizzes 5 Levels Word count tracking • Story (Fiction) AWL Book tracking • Sciences Reading speed tracking NGSL • Styles Vocabulary quizzes Teacher tools • Technology • Times (History) How-To Click the “Start Timer.” Videos Easy Login Book Tracking Easy-to-use LMS • Keep track of each Click: student’s word count. • Including stories and “I read this books read, date of last story visit, and reading speed. Students honestly.” • Data is downloadable can listen to into Excel files. audio. Story at the Center Doing Linked Activities Printable Hybrid Content • Cloze Listening • Mini-Presentation • See class or individual • Speed reading • Story Gap + Shadowing reading data. • Paired speed read aloud • Picture gap • Intensive reading • Story Retelling • Stories lift language learning into the world of pleasure and play. • Stories make for meaning and motivation.
Story at the Center Thank you! We welcome your comments and feedback! Goal: Immerse students in English stories through online extensive reading (ER). Douglas Forster: forster@readoasis.com Joseph Poulshock: editor@readoasis.com
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