Yes, it's national storytelling week!
READING IN THE UK
We're trying to get more young people to read in the UK - because not many are reading: low literacy levels in Britain and education in the UK - high university intake - low literacy rates
Yes, it's quite a problem here: the decline in reading in the uk - and ways to reverse it
What are the literacy rates in your country? Are people reading books?
Reading is good for you: reading broadens the mind
Why should we be reading, then?
Here's something politically controversial: should immigrants be encouraged to use their mother tongue?
What's the policy in your country for teaching migrants to read?
Because, if you're good at reading in your own language...'first language literacy skills enhance second language learning'
Do you like reading in your own language - and in English?
Indeed, if you like reading, that's a good start: "children who read for pleasure are better at english"
Indeed, do you enjoy reading?!
Finally, a bit more politics from the English-speaking world: does wider literacy make for a wiser electorate? and Brexit, Trump and dumbing down
READING IN THE ESL/ESOL/TEFL CLASS
Reading is about communicating, not learning grammar rules or lists of words: the communicative approach in the esl/esol/tefl classroom
Is this how you were taught English?
It's about reading 'real' stuff: using authentic materials in the esl/esol/tefl classroom
Do you use only course books in your language classes?
There are some great places to go on the internet to do some reading: great online resources to improve your english
What are your favourite websites for reading?
There are very specific resources for language learners: the key language learning benefits of graded readers
Have you tried 'easy readers'? Have you read these together with listening to the text?
There is the AntiMoon website: pause and think: or, how to improve your language skills
Have you given much thought to how you should be reading?
There are specific methods and approaches: Krashen and the comprehensible input theory and from narrow reading and listening to fluency: part two
Have you tried focussing on just one author or genre?
And finally, there are different levels, different styles, different ways of saying the same thing: code-switching: jumping between different registers, different voices and different languages
Can you recognise different 'registers' when you read? And can you learn from this, to integrate them into your own active language?
WHAT TO READ
We read for the story, or not: what makes a good detective story - it's not the plot And we read the classics, or not: reading detective stories from the 1950s
What sort of things do you like to read?
Some things are better than others: banning books, the school curriculum and critical race theory in the United States
Are certain books not allowed in your country?
We see books in different ways: books, libraries and librarians
How many books do you have and where do you keep them?
We see bookshops in different ways: sections in a bookshop...
Do you like to spend time in a bookshop?
ENGLISH LITERATURE
We need a definition: English literature and English literature and reading in English: a summary
What do you understand to be the literature of your language and your country?
We need to be careful about how we see English - and 'the danger of a single story' about language and culture: what we think about the British empire - 70 years after the partition of India
What do you understand about the 'status' of your language?
There is certainly a sense of place in writing: English literature in the south west of England
Are different parts of your country famous for particular books or writers?
And there is a sense of time and place: Jay Doubleyou: english literature and english society
What different 'eras' and 'styles' of writing are there in your language?
READING AND PRONUCIATION
There are issues around 'phonics': how to teach/learn reading and a critique of phonics and
Do you have issues with pronouncing what you read?
There are different accents in written language: the English-speaking world: Devon in England and the English-speaking world: west Africa
Can you read in English and still hear the accents?!
Dictation can be a great way to work on both reading skills and pronunciation: practical dictation > online texts and audio and dictation can be fun
Do you really hate dictation?!
Finally, reading out loud is considered a bit of a no-no; using difficult texts in the esl classroom
Do you like to read out loud?!.
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