TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Fielding and Pearson (1994, p. 62) highlight four instructional components that research suggests are strongly related to reading comprehension outcomes: 802 Cummins and Man
- Large amounts of time for actual text reading; Teacher-directed instruction in comprehension strategies; Opportunities for peer and collaborative learning; and Occasions for students to talk to a teacher and one another about their responses to reading.
- Extensive reading is crucial for academic language development because less frequent vocabulary, most of which derives from Greek and Latin sources, is found primarily in written text. According to Corson:
Printed texts provided much more exposure to [Graeco-Latin] words than oral ones. For example, even children’s books contained 50% more rare words than either adult prime- time television or the conversations of university graduates; popular magazines had three times as many rare words as television and informal conversation. (1997, p. 677)
The research is unequivocal is showing strong relationships for both L1 and L2 learners between opportunities to read and development of vocabulary and reading comprehension abilities (e.g. Elley, 1991; Krashen, 2004; Postheltwaite & Ross, 1992). Research also supports the importance of explicit instruction in comprehension strategies and explanation of word meanings (Pressley, Duke, & Boling, 2004; Rand Reading Study Group, 2002).
With specific reference to second language learners, Wong Fillmore (1997, p. 4) has articulated the role that teachers should play in making texts work as input for language learning:
- Provide the support learners need to make sense of the text; Call attention to the way language is used in the text; Discuss with learners the meaning and interpretation of sentences and phrases within the text; Point out that words in one text may have been encountered or used in other places; Help learners discover the grammatical cues that indicate relationships such as cause and effect, antecedence and consequence, comparison and contrast, and so on.
Wong Fillmore points out that teachers transform written texts into usable input not only by helping children make sense of the text but by drawing their attention to how language is used in the materials they read. When students are reading extensively and when teachers are consistently focusing their attention on the intersections of meanings and linguistic features, the learners themselves will soon come to notice the way language is used in the texts they are reading. At this stage, everything they read becomes input for learning.
Printed texts provided much more exposure to [Graeco-Latin] words than oral ones. For example, even children’s books contained 50% more rare words than either adult prime- time television or the conversations of university graduates; popular magazines had three times as many rare words as television and informal conversation. (1997, p. 677)
The research is unequivocal is showing strong relationships for both L1 and L2 learners between opportunities to read and development of vocabulary and reading comprehension abilities (e.g. Elley, 1991; Krashen, 2004; Postheltwaite & Ross, 1992). Research also supports the importance of explicit instruction in comprehension strategies and explanation of word meanings (Pressley, Duke, & Boling, 2004; Rand Reading Study Group, 2002).
With specific reference to second language learners, Wong Fillmore (1997, p. 4) has articulated the role that teachers should play in making texts work as input for language learning:
- Provide the support learners need to make sense of the text; Call attention to the way language is used in the text; Discuss with learners the meaning and interpretation of sentences and phrases within the text; Point out that words in one text may have been encountered or used in other places; Help learners discover the grammatical cues that indicate relationships such as cause and effect, antecedence and consequence, comparison and contrast, and so on.
Wong Fillmore points out that teachers transform written texts into usable input not only by helping children make sense of the text but by drawing their attention to how language is used in the materials they read. When students are reading extensively and when teachers are consistently focusing their attention on the intersections of meanings and linguistic features, the learners themselves will soon come to notice the way language is used in the texts they are reading. At this stage, everything they read becomes input for learning.