Dr. Rob Waring

Notre Dame Seishin University

What is ER/EL?Aims to practice and deepen knowledge of already met

grammar and vocabularyAims to build reading speed / fluencyAims to build confidence and enjoymentIt’s reading practice, not reading study

What is ER/EL? IIMinimum requirements for ER/ EL

Easy - no dictionary needed

Fast - at a good speed and with minimum pauses

High comprehension - almost everything is understood

Fun – so they continue reading

What is ER? III

Extensive Reading Intensive reading

easy difficult

student–selected teacher selected

lots of reading very little

out of class reading in class reading

no assessment test / reports / exercises

no follow up lots of follow up

(discussion / language work)

ER Program types

Purist ER programLots of self-selected reading at home with no / little assessment or

follow up. Often is a stand-alone class.

Class reading - studyStudents read the same book and work through it slowly. Lots of

follow up / comprehension work and exercises.

ER as ‘literature’Students read the same book and discuss it as if it were a work of

literature.

Integrated ER programLots of self-selected reading at home and in class. Follow up

exercises / reports which aim to build the 4 skills.

ER / EL program types overviewPurist ER Integrated ER Class

ReadingER as literature

Style Individual Individual Lock-step Lock-step

Amount of reading

Lots Lots Little Little

Speed Fast Fast Slow Slow

Control Student Student Teacher Teacher

Language focus

No No Yes No

Follow up assessment

Little Little Lots Lots

Materials Library Library Class sets Class sets

Skill work Reading 3-4 skills 3-4 skills / language

1-3 skills

Class time needed

Little Little Lots Lots

ER program types - summaryMany different types of ER program

Different aims / needs for each program

Different levels of involvement for teachers / students

Some programs may adopt two or more types at the same time

Some programs can start more easily than others

Each type is scalable – from a single class to a whole school

No ‘best’ type for all programs

Language learning (focus on learning new things)

new vocab and grammar,

pronunciation, phonics work,

skills work etc.

Language use (focus on communication)

reading / listening and understanding texts for content

speaking and writing to convey your thoughts and ideas

What does a curriculum need?

A Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language(language study)

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

New grammar and vocabularyPhonicsLearning new reading / listening etc skillsPronunciation

TestsGap fill exercises, Multiple choice language questionsPronunciationMemorized drills / dialogs

Graded reading and listeningWatching moviesSurfing the internetListening to music

Chatting with friendsEssays, letters, poemsDebate, discussionGiving speeches

A Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

A

D

F

C B

E

G(a)

G(b)

A linear structure to our syllabuses

Each unit has something newLittle focus on the recycling of vocab, grammar and so onThe theory is “We’ve done that, they have learnt it, so we can

move on.” i.e. teaching causes learning

Unit 1

Be verb

Simple adjectives

Unit 2

Simple present

Daily routines

Unit 3

Present continuous

Sporting activities

Unit 4

can

Abilities

Unit 5

….

…..

What happens to things we learn?

We forget them over time unless they are recycled and memories of them strengthened

Our brains are designed to forget most of what we meet - not to remember it

Time

KnowledgeThe Forgetting Curve

What will naturally happen to the learning?

Unit 1

Be verb

Simple adjectives

Unit 2

Simple present

Daily routines

Unit 3

Present continuous

Sporting activities

Unit 4

can

Abilities

Unit 5

….

…..

What does this all imply?

A linear course structure is focused on introducing new words and grammatical

featuresdoes not fight against the forgetting curve by its very design cannot provide enough repetitions of

words and grammar features for long-term acquisition to take place

is not focused on deepening and consolidating older knowledge because the focus is always on new things

Course work and Graded Readers work together

Level 1 books Level 2 books Level 3 books …

Unit 1

Be verb

Simple adjectives

Unit 2

Simple present

Daily routines

Unit 3

Present continuous

Sporting activities

Unit 4

can

Abilities

Unit 5

….

…..

Does this mean course books are bad?This is NOT a criticism of course books.

There’s too much to actually teach.Thousands of words plus their collocations, multiple meaning

senses etc.Thousands of lexical phrasesThe grammar systems The pronunciation, reading skills, listening skills etc. etc. etc.

No course or course book can teach all this.

Course books are designed to introduce new language and give minimal practice with it not to deepen that knowledge.

So what needs to happen?

We have to ensure our curriculums and courses:build in recycling and repetition of words and grammar

structuresgive students chances to see how the grammar and

vocabulary are used together in real discoursegive students chances to deepen and consolidate the

language they learn in their course books (or they forget it)

allow students to develop their own ‘sense’ of how the language works

give students chances to use language rather than just study it

ER Types and the Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language(language study)

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

Purist ER

ER Types and the Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language (language study)

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

Class reading ER

ER Types and the Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language(language study)

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

ER as literature

ER Types and the Balanced Curriculum

Focus on the language(language study)

Focus on using language for communication

Receptive inputReading and

listening

Productive outputSpeaking and writing

Integrated ER

What’s the balance?

Language focus activities- learning the grammar and vocabulary, reading skills, pronunciation etc. (i.e coursework)

PLUS

Massive amounts of easy fluent reading with graded readers

Massive amounts of fluent listening

The focus should be on deepening and consolidating knowledge of things they learnt in their course books

FinallyThis presentation is available online along with other

presentations. Feel free to use and abuse as you wish.

http://www.robwaring.org/presentations/http://www.robwaring.org/er/

waring_robert@yahoo.com

Thank you for listening