Notes on Extensive Reading : Japanese University Classes and Graded Readers
摘要
University English classes in Japan often use Intensive Reading (IR) to maximise the students’ exposure to new language; however this can have the unintended effect of allowing students to believe that IR is reading in English. In order to develop learners’ ability to read fluently, without the need to decode texts with the help of a dictionary, an Extensive Reading (ER) program could be created that forms a practice-focussed course component. This paper introduces and discusses some of the influential research which has been undertaken on ER, reflects on the context of Japanese ESL classes, and ends with a discussion of Graded Readers. The University Workload Japanese university ESL students often study English in “4-skills” classes, which might meet once or twice a week. Students are often studying a total of 14 or more classes per week, which can include TOEIC preparation and a variety of non-ESL related classes taught in Japanese; some students may also be studying an L3, typically Chinese or Korean. Thus some 3 hours per week are spent doing work directly related to the requirements of their English study program. In addition to these mandatory classes, university students are encouraged to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities which can be anything from a music workshop held once a week, to daily sports practice, sometimes held twice in a day. The result of this heavily-scheduled week is that voluntary out-of-class English practice usually has to make way for the homework associated with the scheduled classes, and preparation for regular testing, including end-of-semester examinations. It is not uncommon for professors to hold mini-tests every two weeks, mid-semester tests and, beyond these, require students to submit reports for regular summative assessment. This means that, since ER is a very time consuming activity, it may be difficult to persuade students to keep to * 非常勤講師/English Language Teaching