Modes of reading

I shall include under this heading anything which affects the ¶GHOLYHU\RIWKHUHDGLQJ H[SHULHQFH·DQGWKHUHIRUHLWPD\LQFOXGHDUHDVZKLFKVWULFWO\VSHDNLQJDUHQRW reading at all. According to the teachers, the physical form the text took was a concern, because they perceived it as having an important impact on the motivation to read.

Ke, S, E and A DJUHHGWKDW¶VRPHNLGVGRQ·WUHDGLQDQ\ODQJXDJH·EXWZKHQWKH\ said this, they were talking about reading conventional books, for S went on to observe that learners read the translated manga [Japanese cartoons] available in the college library, and of course they read untranslated manga as well. It was thought that most low-­proficiency learners respond to pictures, and a natural concomitant of WKDWZDVWKHSRSXODULW\RI¶WKHERRNRIWKHILOP·6RPHWHDFKHUVIHlt that the

popularity of pictures was also related to the preferred mode of learning. Although some students are visual learners, some learn better aurally or kinaesthetically, and it was speculated that learners favouring the latter two orientations may demand more pictures than a visual learner might, for the very reason that they are unable or unused to seeing pictures in their imagination.

4.4.2.1 Form and delivery

Certain teachers were interested in the form and delivery of the texts, which could be related to the preferred learning mode. A, a graphic designer as well as a teacher, was highly critical of some GRs which used small, unattractive fonts and cheap paper, and a poor balance of illustrations to text, but agreed that this aspect of GRs had improved recently.

The possibility of GRs in traditional form being replaced by GRs online was mooted. +VXJJHVWHG¶\RXFRXOGKDYHPXOWL-­PHGLDJUDGHGUHDGHUV$WKRPH,·YHJRWDVHPL-­

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literate adult and an 11-­year old, and I was surprised at the level and amount of ODQJXDJHWKDW·VDWWDFKHGWRWKHFRPSXWHUJDPHVWKH\SOD\<RXKDYHMXVWVLJKWHGD 1LFRUDWDQGLWPLJKWHYROYHLQWRD%HUIOXPS«ZKDWZLOO\RXGR"3HRSOHDUHULYHWHG IRUKRXUV·7KHLPSOLFDWLRQZDVWKDWJUDGHGUHDGHUVFRXOGEHUH-­worked into

computer game format. Another suggestion was that they could be recorded onto i-­ pods and learners could listen to them while travelling or doing sport. Clearly, this is removing them from the realms of reading per se.

Whatever the mode of delivery of text, it was evident that the teachers perceived technology as a possible aid to increasing motivation, and they thought that readability itself could be enhanced by technology, whether by a straight link to a movie, or by an electronic re-­working of some kind. Visual support was considered to be very important.

4.4.3 Content

This section covers the plots and characters that make up a story, thus the

different genres, the fiction/ non-­fiction divide, whether originals or adaptations were thought most suitable, and the issue of film tie-­ins.

4.4.3.1 Suitability

7KLVFDWHJRU\LQFOXGHVWKHFULWHULRQIRUUHDGLQJWKDW1XWWDOOWHUPV¶VXLWDELOLW\·(1996, p. 170)6KHUHPDUNVWKDW¶LQWHUHVWLQJFRQWHQWPDNHVWKHOHDUQHUV·WDVNIDUPRUH UHZDUGLQJ·DQGDOVRVD\V¶WKDWLVZK\SXEOLVKHUVRI()/UHDGHUVDUHLQFUHDVLQJO\ offering well-­ZULWWHQJULSSLQJVWRULHV·7KHVHFRPPHQWVXQGHUSLQKHUMXGJHPHQW WKDW¶VXLWDELOLW\·LQWH[WVWKHTXDOLW\WKDW¶LQWHUHsts and preferably enthrals and delights WKHUHDGHU·VKRXOGEHSDUDPRXQWLQWKHFKRLFHRIWH[WVIRUVHFRQGODQJXDJHOHDUQHUV But which qualities in a text will achieve this enthralment and delight? Jennifer Bassett (Bassett, 2005b), editor of the Oxford Bookworms Graded Reader series, says: ¶7KHXQGHUO\LQJSHGDJRJLFDODLPLVWRWHOODVWRU\VRIDVFLQDWLQJVREHJXLOLQJVR unputdownable, that it draws reluctant readers into its fictional universe and holds them there, willy-­QLOO\XQWLOWKHHQG·,VXJJHVWWKDWWKLV¶XQSXWGRZQDELOLW\·LVDQ extreme form of what Nuttall means by suitability. According to this notion, content,

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and its subsets in fiction, of story, genre characters and setting, and in non-­fiction, interest and possibly usefulness, will determine the suitability of the text for a

SDUWLFXODUOHDUQHUDQGZLOOJRYHUQWKHPRWLYDWLRQWR¶UHDGRQ·1DWXUDOO\LQRrder to find suitable content, the learner needs a wide choice of texts from which to select, DQGWKHVXLWDELOLW\RIWH[WVZLOODOVRGHSHQGRQWKHLQGLYLGXDOOHDUQHU·VFXOWXUHDQG FRQWH[WEXWIRU1XWWDOODQG%DVVHWWWKHPRVWLPSRUWDQWHOHPHQWRI¶VXLWDELOLW\·RID text is its potential to seize and hold the attention of the reader. Our teachers, too, certainly agreed that interest was important.

4.4.3.2 Choice and genre

One of the librarians commented that, from the list of the most borrowed GRs in the college library (see Appendix 3g) the most notable feature was the variety. The most popular author, however, was not a well-­known author of gripping tales, but a FHUWDLQ-HQQLIHU&KLSSHUZKRZULWHVILFWLRQDODFFRXQWVRI¶KRZWRGR·WRSLFVVXFKDV how to get takeaways. These texts are at the elementary level, and the teachers suggested that their popularity indicated that low level learners are engaged mostly by content which is useful in helping them to function in the L2 environment. A comment related to preferred genre was usefulness in content. It was suggested that UHDGLQJDERXWVRPHWDUJHWODQJXDJHFXOWXUHZRXOGEHJRRGIRUWKHOHDUQHUV¶LW·V crucial for them to know things from Western culture like Mother Teresa so that they can blend in and know what peoSOHDUHWDONLQJDERXW·

One of the teachers, L, commented on reading several books in the same genre: ¶7KHUHLVDZKROHVHULHVRI+RZWRDQGLIWKH\>WKHOHDUQHUV@NHHSUHDGLQJWKH\ZLOO NQRZWKHVWUXFWXUHDQGZKDWWRH[SHFW·7KHLPSRUWDQFHRIXQGHUVWanding genre in DFWXDOO\FKRRVLQJDERRNZDVFRPPHQWHGRQE\-ZKRVDLG¶:KHQ,JRWRDOLEUDU\, think, what interests me? Which genre do I like? Which authors do I like? But the VWXGHQWVGRQ·WKDYHWKLVUHVRXUFH·6KHZDVUHIHUULQJ, both to the learnHUV·ODFNRI experience in English literary genres, and to the fact that their choice can be curtailed by limited familiarity not only with the culture exemplified in the texts, but also with the culture of the library itself. Students tell us that in Japan, for instance, the idea of

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borrowing books handled by numerous unknown people from a public library is distasteful.

4.4.3.3 The fiction/ non-­fiction divide

This comment introduced the fiction/non-­fiction divide. H commented that far more people world-­wide read non-­fiction than fiction, and therefore this split might be expected among second language learners in English. Indeed, most teachers dealing with the lower-­proficiency levels thought that their learners preferred to read non-­ ILFWLRQ.VDLG¶0\JX\VRIten choose junior non-­ILFWLRQLQVWHDGRIJUDGHGUHDGHUV· As junior non-­fiction is not specifically written for non-­native speakers of English, the texts are likely to contain a higher percentage of unknown words than the recommended GRs for that level, but they are also likely to have more illustrations DQGGLDJUDPVWKDQ*5V7KHFRPPHQWVZHUHUHODWHGWRWKHVXEMHFWRIWKH¶KRZWR"· books for low level learners, and the notion that usefulness was motivational. The question of whether non-­fiction reading was extensive or intensive was raised. L said she thought it could be both, implying that she herself could become as engaged with a non-­fiction text as with one of fiction.

4.4.3.4 Classics

The younger teachers especially tended to be disparaging about European classics in GR form. With regard to Oliver Twist6DQG7ZHUHDGDPDQWWKDW¶\HDUROG

Japanese students do not relate to little boys from 19th _{FHQWXU\/RQGRQ·DQGWKH\} found the idea of Jane Austen for 18 year old boys laughable. They were somewhat surprised when E pointed out that Anne of Green Gables in translation is very popular LQ-DSDQZKHUHLWLVUHJDUGHGDVDQLFRQLF¶ULWHVRISDVVDJH·ERRNDQGWKLVKDVKDG the effect of making the GR version popular among Japanese students of English. Another classic which has achieved popularity in GR form is Gone with the Wind, although E admitted that the film may have had something to do with this. A more modern book which has gained the status of a classic is The Diary of Anne Frank, another popular GR according to the library list of most popular borrowings (Appendix 1). Its popularity surprised N, who considered Anne Frank too simple

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DQG¶SULPLWLYH·DQGKDGHUURQHRXVO\WKRXJKWKHUPRUHDGYDQFHGVWXGHQWVZRXOG prefer Airport.

4.4.3.5 The film tie-­in

Discussion of films of the book led to a number of teachers saying that they often chose class readers with a movie tie-­LQ7KHLUSHUFHSWLRQWKDWWKLVLQFUHDVHGOHDUQHUV· engagement with texts led to a discussion of the suitability of reading itself, for learners ZKRPRVWO\QRZFRPHIURPD¶WHOHYLVLRQ·JHQHUDWLRQDQGIRUZKRP motivation to read was low in any language.

4.4.3.6 Summary

,QVXPWKHWHDFKHUV·SULQFLSDOWKRXJKWVDERXWWKHFRQWHQWRIWH[WVUHYROYHGDURXQG the idea that, for low level learners at least, practical survival information books ZHUHPRVWVXLWDEOHDQGRIPRVWLQWHUHVW,QWHDFKHUV·GLVFXVVLRQVWKHUHZDVPRUH focus on subject areas and a marked bias against the classics, even when it was acknowledged that some classics were popular with learners. The suitability of reading itself in certain cultures was questioned.

4.4.4 Purpose

,WZDVJHQHUDOO\DFNQRZOHGJHGWKDWOHDUQHUV·PRWLYDWLRQWRUHDGZDVQRWYHU\KLJK and that to instil into them a desire for reading was a major task. It seemed to be assumed that OHDUQHUV·UHDVRQVIRUUHDGLQJZHUHODUJHO\LQVWUXPHQWDODQGWKDWWKH\ either read because they had to, in order to fulfil an assigned task, or they read to find out facts. There was not much discussion about reading for the joy of reading.