Reading Improvement Techniques Informing Collection Development

Bryan, S. (2011). Extensive reading, narrow reading and second language learners: Implications for libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 60(2), 113-122. 

This lit review by an English-teacher-turned-librarian (like me!) looks at the research behind Extensive Reading and Narrow Reading, and how library collections developed for second language learners can help them make the most of these techniques.   

The theory goes that repeated exposure to words and ideas through fun, not-too-difficult reading—lots of books on many topics in the case of Extensive Reading and lots of books by a particular author or on a particular topic in the case of Narrow Reading—will result in improved fluency and automaticity in reading, as well as a richer vocabulary in the target language.  The books must be not too difficult (she explains the 5 Finger Rule, which I’d never heard of, but sounds reasonable: no more than 2-3 new words per page, which you determine by counting on your fingers) and the reader must get to choose the books and topics or authors.  The research is pretty clear that these techniques work, but any of us who read all the Nancy Drew books, or the Harry Potters, or Series of Unfortunately Events, or the Discworld series as our method for learning to read know that already.   

In the library, collecting for multiple reading levels in the target language is important:  some libraries use children’s and YA books in the target language, like we do at my library, an academic library with students learning English, Chinese, French, Japanese, and Spanish.  There is a danger with certain older populations that juvenile content might not hold their interest, so graded readers are also suggested (no significant difference between “authentic” and graded readers to reading improvement was found in the lit).  Collecting foreign language texts on a variety of topics or by one author can be a challenge; this article cites another I read (Bissett, 2010) which describes how one library reached out to the community and to embassies and foreign consuls for donations to get more foreign language leisure texts for their academic library.  At my library, we’ve been adding translated copies of popular series—we have the Harry Potters in Chinese, French, and Spanish for instance—which aren’t as expensive since they’re common paperbacks we could order off of Amazon.  Other media types by which the books can be enjoyed are suggested too, such as audio books or read-a-loud books that come with CDs.

Since it’s important for the reader to choose his own books, the levels need to be indicated. The author mentions colored stickers, which is what we do for our books at my library: the children’s, YA, and graded readers are marked with a sticker on the spine so students can wander the shelves and identify what's probably in their reading-level range.  She also suggested putting the information in the bibliographic records for efficient online browsing as well.  For public libraries with English learner populations, the author suggests helping the patrons determine their own reading levels and showing them where to find the most appropriate texts.  To help all language learners,

 “The most important, and most easily implemented suggestion libraries can adopt, however, is to ‘inform the patron’, rather than improving the collection—that is, to provide patrons with the metaknowledge necessary to make better selections from the existing collection.  It is believed that students, particularly older students, are unlikely to remain motivated in a reading programme that may involve reading works they do not regard as age appropriate unless they know how and why it will benefit them (Dornyei, 2001; Hedgcock & Ferris, 2009). . . . Many language learners do not know how to learn a language (Jones, 1993) . . . . Providing a guide for these students which explains what resources are available to them, how they should use them, where they can find them and how they will help them with language acquisition could be one of the simplest, yet most effective forms of support libraries can offer” (p. 120). 

Sometimes we can’t add to a collection—because of the budget, because of the availability of appropriate materials in the target language, because of space considerations, and the like—but we can find ways to still help the students use the collection well: by understanding how and why we develop foreign language fiction collections for our language learning students, and by understanding how it benefits them.

One strategy not mentioned in the article but that could supplement a foreign language collection for students is a “connection” like Project Gutenberg for English second language learners (2016) or Livres Pour Tous for French language learners (2016).

References

Bissett, C. (2010). Developing a foreign language fiction collection on a limited budget. The Australian Library Journal, 59(1-2), 12-22. DOI: 10.1080/00049670.2010.10735961

Dornyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: University Press.

Hedgcock, J. S., & Ferris, D. R. (2009). Teaching readers of English: Students, texts, and contexts. New York: Routledge.

Jones, H. (1993). Beyond the fringe: A framework for assessing teach-yourself materials for ab initio English-speaking learners. System, 21(4), 453-469. 

H. A.