Using Adult/ESL Reading Research to Facilitate EFL Reading Instruction by Tom Adam Frederic Anderson | Papers by Tom Adam Frederic

Using Adult/ESL Reading Research to Facilitate EFL Reading Instruction Tom Anderson Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology National Central University of Taiwan ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw http://home.cl.ncu.edu.tw/~ta Abstract: A wide spectrum of materials, designed for use in ESL teaching or for the teaching of adults with limited literacy, has been made freely available, much on the Internet. Although created for other purposes than teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), materials prepared by educational institutions, governmental organizations, media outlets or language teachers among others can often provide a myriad of rich resources for use in the TEFL setting. In many cases, they can be adapted to TEFL without requiring an undue investment of time and effort. One such provider of free materials is the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), a research and development center located in the United States. Their function is improving practice in educational programs that serve adults with limited literacy and English language skills. This presentation draws from the NCSALL's ResearchBased Principles for Adult Education Reading Instruction to present research-based reading instruction, as well as presenting the idea of forming reading sharing circles for TEFL, a vehicle whereby a small group of teachers may explore research in the context of adult reading instruction. This presentation is to be one in which I present some areas of research about English as a Second Language (ESL) that has been helpful to me in my teaching of reading to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Taiwan, illustrate from where the material about reading may be obtained, and how that material might be useful to a teacher in Taiwan. For the purposes of this presentation, ESL refers to English taught to students in an English speaking country, while EFL refers to the learning of English in a country in which English is not the native language. I believe that the results of ESL research provide, for several reasons, good information that readily lends itself to an EFL curriculum. I hope that this information can be useful to other EFL teachers who are thinking of using reading as the core of a curriculum. And perhaps one day we might see a presentation like mine, differing in the regard that it informs ESL teachers how to adapt EFL research to suit their classrooms. Such a scenario would be more unlikely. ESL research is abundant, and while EFL is studied extensively by excellent researchers, it is not studied to nearly the same extent as ESL. If search engine results are any measure, a google of the acronym ESL results in excess of 21 million results, while our friend EFL gets only about 4 million hits. Further complicating the matter is that ESL takes place in one of the few countries in which English is spoken extensively, while EFL research is conducted many different countries. What I mean to say is that when we are looking at ESL research, we can compare different studies more easily, since it is all conducted within a country that requires ability to negotiate meanings in English for nearly every matter of concern. EFL, on the other hand, is considered Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 1 important around the world as a language of commerce and government, but the needs of learners are often not pressing. Teaching English to a student in the United States, an important area to cover is that of food [6] Such advice guides the teacher or curriculum designer to certain practices which are useful for the classroom. The guide to which I refer was the written results of a five year collaborative study that ―defines authentic and collaborative learning and presents clear evidence of and arguments for benefits to students–especially when outcomes demonstrate increased use of literacy outside the classroom.‖ [9] The reason I have included this advice is twofold. Firstly, I felt that the information that ESL students regard food as a pressing concern would also benefit any EFL teacher who was in need of a theme. Any student who wishes to learn English will generally accept that learning survival English is of educational worth. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, I wanted to make the point that in an ESL environment, the purpose of study is much more focused. ESL researchers associated with a nationally funded program such as NCSALL publish research is readily usable by other ESL practitioners with little or no modification or hesitation by design. Therefore, such ESL research can be fairly coherent and interrelated, and furthermore, well suited for adoption. In the field of EFL research, while the quality is as high, if not higher, than ESL research, the results must be carefully considered before they can be put into practice. What holds true for students who are learning English in one country might hold true for students in another, but it still might not be valid for students in Asia. Though an EFL practitioner shares commonality with an EFL researcher, the results of a research study from abroad must be viewed as alien to a certain extent, since those results are from a foreign country. Perhaps results of neither EFL nor ESL studies conducted abroad can be taken at face value, since differences in cultures and standard teaching practices. On the other hand, since most adult ESL research shares many commonalities, if the differences between ESL and EFL research are known, it should be simpler to keep in mind the differences in the two. Thus, as the supply of ESL research is high, it covers many subject areas that are valid for anyone who wants to travel to an English speaking country, and it is created with high levels of communication between researchers and teachers, making it well suited for practice. Finally, a great deal of ESL research is available, free of charge, on the Internet, thus we can say that it is easily accessible. Please see the Internet references section in the Appendix for a list of some examples. Note that the focus of this list is on national level organizations with large amounts of research or resource materials freely available, excludes many more regional and local programs, and is by no means comprehensive. What are the differences between ESL and EFL? In the United States, there are many classes geared toward Adult Basic Education (ABE), in which adult learners are taught basic skills such as literacy and math. Despite the threat of budget cuts, ABE continues to be a vehicle by which adults in the US can learn necessary abilities. There is a great deal of research on ABE available which can be interesting when considering. ESL for adults is an important part of ABE. Especially in the southern states, immigration has increased the number of households living in linguistic isolation, as well as Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 2 high levels of dropout from high school. [4] It is the goal of many educators to better prepare these non-native speakers for life in an English speaking country. Although the mother tongue of neither ESL nor EFL learners is English, differences in the needs of the students abound. Important differences include the level of education, needs and goals of the students. Please refer to Figure 1 for an overview of important differences between adult basic education, ESL, and EFL. Why Reading? Reading is an important skill for the EFL learner. EFL research in Taiwan that has demonstrated that reading is an effective method of increasing the English ability of students in Taiwan. Reading stands as one of what are widely considered to be the four facets of learning a language: reading, speaking, listening and writing. I heard these four terms together so many times in Taiwan it became somewhat of a mantra. In preparing for a comprehensive lesson that was to cover all the important aspects of English I realized I was reviewing a mental checklist of the four, thinking to myself, ―Does my lesson plan cover reading? How about writing? Listening? Speaking?‖ mentally checking whether each activity in the lesson plan covered these skills. In this way, I felt I was doing the students a service, enabling them to learn most efficiently, because I planned my lessons such that I covered each of these four areas evenly, devoting approximately an equal amount of time to each. Assessment Strategies and Reading One of the major studies conducted under the NCSALL was the Interactive Website for Adult Education Practitioners [1], a website that which allows teachers to go beyond a single test of reading assessment to develop a reading profile for each of their ABE students. The website is based on a study of 955 adult learners. Eleven skills associated with reading were tested, and correlated with eleven reading profiles. Five factors were identified as most significant determine reading strengths and weaknesses. The five factors most highly correlated with reading for ABE learners are word recognition, spelling, word meaning, silent reading, and the oral reading rate. The two major components of the Interactive Website are ―Take the Mini Course‖ and ―Match a Profile‖. For an ESL reading teacher, this site is interesting because it provides information about how to use the results of reading assessments to improve instruction. The website stresses that a silent reading test is not the only way to measure the reading ability, informs the teacher of other assessment methods and provides a mechanism by which the teacher may determine the areas in which a student may need emphasis. A teacher can go to the Interactive Website, enter the scores for one of their students on the five factors, and the website will give the teacher a ―Reading Profile‖ that provides analysis of each of the five scores. This kind of analytical tool enables practitioners to target the needs of their students. The information is presented in a clear way, and the reminder that improvement in one area generally leads to improvements in the other areas is a helpful reminder that teachers don’t need to teach like they are reading a cookbook, but can use their own strategies, and that progress will be made in all areas no matter the strategy. Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 3 Adult Basic Education Learners Adult English as a Second Language Learners in the US often need to concentrate on speaking and listening skills, especially in beginning level classes may be familiar with Standard English or a variety of English spoken in homeland, but not be familiar with elliptical forms, idioms, or U.S. cultural patterns may have a vocabulary in English of 2,000-7,000 when beginning academic studies may need to learn informal spoken English to understand some written material (e.g. Like soccer? rather than Do you like to play _____?) level of education varies widely from no formal education to graduate or professional degrees. may focus on learning basic conversational English first before working to obtain the GED credential or going on to or continuing higher education. Some may also focus on passing the U.S. citizenship test Adult English Learners (EFL) in Taiwan for EFL vocabulary building, the main source of input should be an extensive reading program [10] typically have strong speaking and listening skills understand one or more varieties of spoken English including non-standard, elliptical forms, (e.g., paper or plastic?) idioms, (e.g., give me a break) and patterns used in U.S. culture (e.g., Americans say ma'am, but not madam) may have a vocabulary in English of 10,000-100,000 words (Hadley, 1993) may feel comfortable when books, Web sites, and class materials are written in language similar to spoken language may have studied English in high school and one year in a university setting. May not be familiar with elliptical forms, idioms, or U.S. cultural patterns vocabulary in English varies widely, but is often low (~2nd grade reading level) may need to learn informal spoken English to understand some written material (e.g. Like soccer? rather than Do you like to play _____?) may be continuing studies or returning to studies. Generally a high level of education, with nearly 100% of students attending college or above. [8] may focus on learning basic conversational English before focusing on business English. Some may also focus on passing the U.S. graduate school exams. most likely did not finish secondary level education may focus on obtaining GED (General Educational Development) credential or transitioning to higher education (although learners have many other goals as well) Figure 1. Adapted from a chart from CAELA [2] that was constructed with reference to [5] Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 4 Getting Adult Students to Read My classes in Taiwan were conducted at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) and Fu Jen Catholic University (FJCU) Extension Program. The students at NTUST were primarily graduate students working on Master’s degrees, while the FJCU students were adults who had already left school and were taking an English class at night or on the weekends after work. The ages of the students ranged from 22 to 50 years old, they might be considered as adults, as they are largely responsible for their own independent work. Although, strictly speaking, university students are often considered differently than adults, I will speak of my students as adults here. It is my experience that adults in Taiwan are generally reluctant to read. They may not read books in their mother tongue, may have never read books in English, and generally do not read just because I tell them to do so. Perhaps they are guided by the belief that the best improvement in English will come as a result of a conversation class. But I have found that reading is an excellent way for students to improve their abilities, so I suggest that every one of them should read. To induce adults to read, I have used a variety of methods, some of which I will describe briefly in this section. At one university, from which I draw most of my examples, graduate students from various departments and institutes were placed into classes according to their score on a lexile testing suite offered by Scholastic [12]. I was assigned classes in the middle reading ability group, with student scores falling in at approximately 2nd grade reading ability. After two months, a post-test was given, and only one or two students from a twenty student class did not gain at least two grade levels on the same test. Over the course of one week, we’d read about one or two novelettes (short novels approximately 10,000 words in length). We’d begin reading in class and then I would ask the students to read about the same amount we had read in class on their own time. Then we would begin the next class with a quick discussion of the events that had transpired in the chapters they had read on their own. As a means to discuss meta-concepts like daily life and cultural issues, books in English provide a window into foreign worlds. The feeling that results from using such a means of instruction in class is pleasant and warm. During each class, we devoted class time to reading together. Each student had a copy of the book. The book would be read aloud by me or by a student, but I would pause every one to five sentences to ask a comprehension question. This was done to verify general understanding, and to get the students to read actively, putting the pieces together. There is a positive correlation between time spent reading and reading achievement. People learn to read by reading and that, "we must use all our creativity and all our influence to get every student, especially the remedial reader, to read real books every day." [3] Sometimes graduate level students may be given a time each day during which they were relieved of lab duties, enabling them to read alongside their peers. The students kept a reading log of their progress, enabling both the students and me to monitor the reading that was being done. From time to time, each student brought a book they had read to the class Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 5 and presented it to the class. This enabled other students to get an idea of the book, from which they could decide whether they would like to read that book. The reading log also allowed suggestions to be made about which other books the students might enjoy reading. Making books available to the students is a key to getting them to read [7]. As for my classes, I took students to the library, both the on-campus library and to the Taipei Main Public Library, which has a fairly sizable collection of English books, for adults on the 5th floor, and for young adults on B2. A number of books were made available to the students in their lab. I taught them methods by which they could choose books that were decodable. The students were given some suggestions about how they could measure their improvement: they could return to old books and see how well they had improved; or they could measure their reading speed and see the improvement over time. I additionally gave the students suggestions about some websites that they could go to read online, although this is an avenue that requires more exploration on my part. I made it part of my regular practice to inform the students about the results of research on reading. I told them about my personal observations of students who read books, and discussed with them some of the different things that they could learn from reading. Some students initially regarded reading as an unnecessary activity, but over time, many in the class became convinced that they should read to improve their English even after our class had ceased. Keeping in contact with many of the students, allows me to make the informal observation that at least a few of them have continued reading. One such former student of mine has developed a keen interest in comic books in English—Spiderman being his favorite—and he continues to regularly read it still, two years after our class ended. For the Future There are many reasons for improving the English of adults in Taiwan. Yet it has been my experience that many adults, even those who need to read English on a daily basis, are at low reading levels. If students are to realize that reading is a method that really works, there should be more ways for the students to measure their own progress over time. Going back to books that have already been read gives the students an informal measure of their own improvement. If students were given more firsthand methods by which they could see their own improvement, this would enable them to see that reading, even reading that is done outside of a class without recourse to tools such as a dictionary, is a good way to improve English ability. NCSALL’s Interactive Website for Adult Education Practitioners [11] provides a research-tested means for a teacher to identify the areas in which instruction can be better targeted to students unique abilities. Unfortunately, though the scope of the research was wide, it was not conducted in Taiwan, so can never truly give us suggestions for instruction that are well tailored to our students. In my experience, the vast majority of adults in Taiwan fall into category 11, which is the profile: "Non-Native Speakers of English" Beginners Group - Silent Reading GE 0-2. The website suggests that such learners require intensive vocabulary acquisition, which may be delivered through reading programs. While this is nice to know, it only confirms my hypothesis. It would be nicer to have such a tool that was targeted at Taiwanese learners of English, into which a teacher could enter test scores in a variety of different areas and receive a profile for each their students along with suggestions for how to improve the abilities of the students. Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 6 Teaching reading to students of English has its challenges and its rewards. Students are reluctant to read, don’t realize the rewards of reading, and don’t put the time aside for reading. However, the benefit of using reading in a class is clearly evidenced by the positive atmosphere and the accelerated learning that results. Despite the difficulties that are involved in using reading as a vehicle for improving the English of adult students in Taiwan, I recommend that it should be used extensively in the curriculum. References [1] Assessment Strategies and Reading Profiles, National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) ASRP Website, http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles [2] Center for Adult English Language Acquisition, ESL Resources, FAQs www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/faqs.html#Fourteen [3] Earl, D. (1997) Learning to Love Reading, Focus on Basics: Connecting Research & Practice Volume 2, Issue A, http://www.ncsall.net/?id=462 [4] Edmondson, B. (2006) Demographic Change and Low Literacy, Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, A Project of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 6: Chapter Two, http://www.ncsall.net/?id=856 [5] Hadley, A.O. (1993). Teaching language in context. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. tlc.heinle.com [6] Jacobson, E., Degener, S., and Purcell-Gates, V. (2003) Creating Authentic Materials and Activities for the Adult Literacy Classroom: A handbook for practitioners. Cambridge, MA: NCSALL, www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/teach/jacobson.pdf. [7] Krashen, S. (2007) Literacy Campaigns: Access to Books is the First Step, Literacy Network News, Spring 2007, page 7, Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles, http://sdkrashen.com/articles/literacy_campaigns/index.html [8] Ministry of Education (2006) Key Education Statistics (Chinese website) 大 聯 學招 (指 考)錄 率 http://140.111.34.69/edu_web/edu_mgt/statistics/edu7220001/overview/brief取, htm/index.htm [9] Monti, M. (2006) ―Integration of learner roles and authentic materials in the adult education context‖ Fieldnotes for ABLE Staff, 2006 Ed., Harrisburg, PA, www.able.state.pa.us/fieldnotes06 [10] Nation, P (2004) Evaluating your vocabulary program. Selected papers from the Sixteenth International Symposium of English Teaching. (pp. 91 – 97) English Teachers Association/ROC. Taipei: Crane Publishing Company. http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/staff/paul-nation/nation.aspx [11] National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, http://www.ncsall.net Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 7 [12] Scholastic Reading Inventory http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/readingcounts/pdfs/LexileFramework.pdf Appendix Annenberg Media, The Annenberg Foundation, Teacher resources and teacher professional development programming across the curriculum, http://www.learner.org Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Education Research and Evaluation, http://www.gatesfoundation.org/UnitedStates/Education/ResearchAndEvaluation Center for Adult English Language Acquisition http://www.cal.org/caela/ (see also the Center for Applied Linguistics, http://www.cal.org) Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) http://www.free.ed.gov George Lucas Educational Foundation’s Edutopia, http://www.edutopia.org The Internet TESL Journal http://iteslj.org/Articles/ The LINGUIST List http://linguistlist.org/ Literacyworks http://literacyworks.org National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition & Language Instruction Educational Programs (NCELA) http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/ National Council of Teachers of English http://www.ncte.org/ National Institute for Literacy http://www.nifl.gov/ The Reading Matrix http://www.readingmatrix.com/ System for Adult Basic Education Support http://www.sabes.org The National Center for Family Literacy http://www.famlit.org Thinkfinity Literacy Network (TLN) http://www.Thinkfinity.org. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs http://exchanges.state.gov/education/engteaching/pubs Voice of America News http://author.voanews.com/english/portal.cfm Tom Anderson ta@cl.ncu.edu.tw English Teachers Association–Republic of China Sixteenth Annual Symposium, 11/25/2008 8