Teaching and Researching Reading. Grabe & Stoller. Routledge. 2011.pdf PDF

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Teaching and Researching Reading AP P LI ED LI NGU I STIC S I N AC TION General Editors: Christopher N. Candlin and David R. Hall Books published and forthcoming in this series include: Teaching and Researching Computer-Assisted Language Learning Ken Beatty Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Lang...

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Teaching and Researching Reading

AP P LI ED LI NGU I STIC S I N AC TION General Editors: Christopher N. Candlin and David R. Hall

Books published and forthcoming in this series include: Teaching and Researching Computer-Assisted Language Learning Ken Beatty Teaching and Researching Autonomy in Language Learning Philip Benson Teaching and Researching Motivation Zoltán Dörnyei and Ema Ushioda Teaching and Researching Reading William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller Teaching and Researching Lexicography R. K. K. Hartmann Teaching and Researching Translation Basil Hatim Teaching and Researching Speaking Rebecca Hughes Teaching and Researching Writing Ken Hyland Teaching and Researching Language and Culture Joan Kelly Hall Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies Rebecca Oxford Teaching and Researching Listening Michael Rost

Teaching and Researching Reading Second Edition

William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller

First edition published 2002 Second edition published in Great Britain in 20 II by Pearson Education Limited Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX 14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an in!orma business Copyright © 2002, 20 II Taylor & Francis. The rights ofWilliam Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller to be identified as authors ofthis work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical , or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system , without permission in writing from the publishers. Notices Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary. Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful oftheir own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility. To the fullest extent ofthe law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter ofproducts liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein. ßritish Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Grabe, William. Teaching and researching reading / William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller. - 2nd ed. p. cm. - (Applied Iinguistics in action) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4082-0503-7 (pbk.) I. Reading. 2. Second language acquisition. 3. Reading-Research. 1. Stoller, Fredricka L. 11. Title. LB1050.G6682011 428.407'2- dc22 2010047617 ISBN-13: 978-1-4082-0503-7 (pbk) Set in 10.5112pt Janson by 35

Contents

General editors’ preface Publisher’s acknowledgements Authors’ acknowledgements and dedication Introduction to the second edition

Section I: 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4

viii x xi xii

Understanding L2 reading

1

The nature of reading abilities

3

Purposes for reading Defining fluent reading comprehension Describing how reading works: Components of reading abilities Synthesising research perspectives: Models of reading Conclusion

5 11

Comparing L1 and L2 reading

34

Linguistic and processing differences between L1 and L2 readers Individual and experiential differences between L1 and L2 readers Socio-cultural and institutional differences influencing L1 and L2 reading development Conclusion

13 24 31

36 48 52 55

v

vi

CONTENTS

Section II: 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4 4.1 4.2 4.3

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

61

Research studies as stories: An extended example Ten more key research studies Seeing the story structure of research studies Conclusion

62 68 92 93

Key studies in L2 reading

95

Topics to explore in L2 reading research Ten good stories from L2 reading research Conclusion

6.1 6.2 7 7.1 7.2 7.3

Teaching reading using evidence-based practices

Teaching reading: Sound foundations and effective practices Implications from reading research Curricular principles for reading instruction Moving from curricular principles to instructional applications Conclusion

Section IV: 6

59

Key studies in L1 reading

Section III: 5

Exploring research in reading

Investigating reading through action research

96 99 124

127

129 130 131 134 157

161

The reading teacher as action researcher

163

Teachers investigating their own classrooms: ‘How to’ guidelines Conclusion

166 192

Vocabulary, fluency and motivation: Action research projects

194

Vocabulary action research projects Fluency action research projects Motivation action research projects

196 204 211

CONTENTS

7.4 7.5 8 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 9 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5

Additional action research questions Conclusion

216 218

Strategic reading, discourse organisation and main-idea comprehension: Action research projects

220

Strategic reading action research projects Discourse organisation action research projects Main-idea comprehension action research projects Additional action research questions Conclusion

221 229 237 243 245

Reading-lesson stages, reading materials and extensive reading: Action research projects

246

Reading-lesson stages action research projects Reading materials action research projects Extensive reading action research projects Additional action research questions Conclusion

247 256 265 269 271

Section V: Resources 10 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 10.10

273

Resources for exploring L2 reading

275

Journals dedicated to reading and related issues Journals that report studies related to reading and reading-related topics Journals that periodically have articles related to teaching (and researching) L2 reading L2 teacher resource books on reading and related topics L1 teacher resource books with good ideas for L2 reading teachers Teacher resources on action research Web sites on reading and vocabulary Web sites on graphic organisers Web sites on action research Professional organisations of interest to reading teachers

275

Glossary References Subject index Author index

284 296 317 320

276 276 277 279 280 281 282 282 283

vii

General editors’ preface

Applied Linguistics in Action, as its name suggests, is a series which focuses on the issues and challenges to teachers and researchers in a range of fields in Applied Linguistics and provides readers and users with the tools they need to carry out their own practice-related research. The books in the series provide the reader with clear, up-to-date, accessible and authoritative accounts of their chosen field within Applied Linguistics. Starting from a map of the landscape of the field, each book provides information on its main ideas and concepts, competing issues and unsolved questions. From there, readers can explore a range of practical applications of research into those issues and questions, and then take up the challenge of undertaking their own research, guided by the detailed and explicit research guides provided. Finally, each book has a section which provides a rich array of resources, information sources and further reading, as well as a key to the principal concepts of the field. Questions the books in this innovative series ask are those familiar to all teachers and researchers, whether very experienced, or new to the fields of Applied Linguistics. • What does research tell us, what doesn’t it tell us and what should it tell us about the field? How is the field mapped and landscaped? What is its geography? • How has research been applied and what interesting research possibilities does practice raise? What are the issues we need to explore and explain? • What are the key researchable topics that practitioners can undertake? How can the research be turned into practical action? • Where are the important resources that teachers and researchers need? Who has the information? How can it be accessed? viii

GE NE R A L E DI T O R S ’ P R E F A C E

Each book in the series has been carefully designed to be as accessible as possible, with built-in features to enable readers to find what they want quickly and to home in on the key issues and themes that concern them. The structure is to move from practice to theory and back to practice in a cycle of development of understanding of the field in question. Each of the authors of books in the series is an acknowledged authority, able to bring broad knowledge and experience to engage teachers and researchers in following up their own ideas, working with them to build further on their own experience. The first editions of books in this series have attracted widespread praise for their authorship, their design, and their content, and have been widely used to support practice and research. The success of the series, and the realisation that it needs to stay relevant in a world where new research is being conducted and published at a rapid rate, have prompted the commissioning of this second edition. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, with accounts of research that has appeared since the first edition and with the addition of other relevant additional material. We trust that students, teachers and researchers will continue to discover inspiration in these pages to underpin their own investigations. Chris Candlin & David Hall General Editors

ix

Publisher’s acknowledgements

We are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce copyright material: Quotes 1.12, 2.7 and 2.11 from Alderson, C., Assessing Reading (Cambridge University Press, 2000); Quotes 1.5, 1.6 and 1.8 from Pressley, M. Reading Instruction that Works, 3 (Guildford Press, 2006); Quotes 3.20, 3.21 and 3.22 from Guthrie, J.T., McRae, A. and Klauda, S., ‘Contributions of Concept-Orientated Reading Instruction to knowledge about interventions for motivations in reading’, in Educational Psychologist, 42, 237–50 (Taylor and Francis, 2007); Quotes 4.19 and 4.20 from Al-Homoud, F. and Schmitt, N., ‘Extensive reading and a challenging environment: A comparison and extensive and intensive reading approaches in Saudi Arabia’, in Language Teaching Research, 13, 383–401 (Sage Publications, 2009). In some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material, and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

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Authors’ acknowledgements and dedication

We’d like to thank Chris Candlin and David Hall, ALIA series editors, for their guidance and feedback. Their vision for this series, as a whole, helped us rethink a number of ideas and the volume is far better for their input. We thank them for giving us the opportunity to update the volume with this second edition. We’d also like to thank Michael Fitch, copy-editor, and Melanie Carter, Pearson Education Senior Editor. And, of course, we want to thank our MA TESL and PhD in Applied Linguistics students at Northern Arizona University who have helped us think through reading from various perspectives over the years.

We’d like to dedicate this volume to our teacher, mentor, and friend, who we miss so much: David E. Eskey.

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Introduction to the second edition

In this introduction to the second edition of Teaching and Researching Reading, we begin by identifying the changes we made in this edition. We then situate the contents of the book with introductory comments about contexts of L2 reading, connections between reading research and reading instruction, and first- and second-language reading abilities. Finally, we provide an overview of the volume and its five major sections.

Writing a second edition We are pleased to have been given the opportunity to write this second edition of Teaching and Researching Reading. In writing this new edition, we have thoroughly revised and updated the first edition. The first two chapters still provide the theoretical foundation for a description of reading abilities, but we have completely updated the research resources section and made some adjustments to our descriptions of reading. We are happy to say, however, that our explanation of reading theory provided in this second edition is essentially the same as that presented in the first edition. (It is good to know that our view of reading, articulated in our first edition ten years ago, continues to be firmly grounded in research in this second edition.) Our views on the relationship between first-language (L1) reading and second-language (L2) reading also remain essentially the same, although the notion that L2 reading involves a dual-language system has been sharpened. Chapters 3 and 4 are almost completely new: Chapter 3 comprises ten new exemplary L1 reading research studies; only the opening research ‘story’ remains from the first edition. Chapter 4 highlights exemplary L2 research studies and all ten studies are new to this second edition. It is worth noting that we still like the studies presented in the first edition xii

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

(and encourage readers to refer back to them), but the last decade has brought to light many new research studies that support our views on reading research and highlight important implications for instruction. Chapter 5, a description of how to move from research implications to instructional applications, is totally new to this edition. The chapter outlines numerous teaching options that draw on evidence-based teaching practices; the teaching ideas and resources presented in the chapter can be adopted and adapted by teachers to enhance their reading instruction. We have felt, for some time now, that a chapter directly focusing on teaching applications was sorely missing from the first edition of the book, and Chapter 5 fills that gap in this edition. Chapters 6–9 again introduce readers to action research and outline many reading-related action research projects that teachers can easily adapt for their own instructional contexts. We remain firmly committed to the idea that teachers benefit from examining their own teaching practices and their own students’ learning in order to become more effective reading teachers. At the same time, these four chapters are all considerably revised. Most of the action research projects are brand new and those that have carried over from the first edition have been modified in substantive ways. And we have reorganised the presentation of the projects by grouping them into more meaningful clusters. The resources provided throughout (in the form of charts, tables, sample materials, checklists and so forth) are either new to the volume or they have been updated and greatly expanded. These resources can be used as guides for action research and, importantly, as additional teaching ideas that can be adapted by teachers for immediate use in their classrooms, whether they are engaging in action research or not. We feel that our revisions have greatly strengthened these chapters and we believe that teachers will profit from them in many ways. Finally, Chapter 10 provides fully updated resources, including many books, journal listings and Web sites that are new to this second edition.

The contexts of L2 reading Ten years after the first edition, we can still report that approximately 80 per cent of the world’s population are thought to be able to read. While numbers on such a large scale can be misleading, it is safe to say that the majority of humans are able to read in their first language at some basic level. An unknown percentage of these readers are also able to read, at varying ability levels, in one or more additional languages. The extent of basic literacy around the world should not be surprising because literacy (reading and writing, but here the focus is on reading) is seen as necessary

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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

(but not sufficient) for improving earning potential and quality of life. At the same time, a bit of reflection reveals that reading, and literacy more generally, provides no special entry to a better standard of living. All we know is that without it, opportunities for improving one’s life are limited. As we begin a new decade in the 21st century, productive and educated citizens will require even stronger literacy abilities (including both reading and writing) in an increasingly broad range of societal settings. Likewise, the age of technology growth is likely to make greater, rather than lesser, demands on people’s reading abilities. The role of reading in society is quite complex, so a few comments are needed to situate the role of reading and student learning. A major goal for many educational institutions around the world is to promote literacy abilities, and we often hear of efforts to eliminate illiteracy altogether. Many of us take this perspective for granted and seldom consider critically the role of literacy in societies around the world. In fact, the universaleradication view is somewhat simplistic. Much as we would like to believe that all societies value the same educational goals, some people do not need literacy to function well in their societal contexts. Others achieve societal success with relatively minimal levels of literacy. Finally, literacy itself is not a singular notion that operates uniformly in all societies. There are many types of literacy abilities (e.g. reading, writing, reading and writing together, interpreting documents, integrating visual representations with prose text, working with multiple texts), much as there are many types of reading abilities and ways of reading. However, having made these comments, it is nevertheless true that the large majority of individuals need literacy to further their goals and better their lives. Within this larger context, reading in L2 settings continues to take on increasing importance. The overwhelming majority of societies and countries around the world are multilingual, and citizens are expected to function well in more than one language. L2 reading ability, particularly with English as the L2, is already in great demand as English continues to spread, not only as a global language but also as the language of science, technology and advanced research. Many people in multilingual settings need to read in an L2 (and not only English as the L2) at reasonably high levels of proficiency to achieve personal, occupational and professional goals. But reading proficiency in an L2 does not develop as completely or as ‘easily’ as it apparently does in one’s L1. Actually, the development of L1 reading also takes a considerable amount of time, and it is one of the primary goals of K– 6 (Kindergarten through grade 6) education. As adults, we often overlook the intense time and resource commitments made by educational systems to teach L1 reading. Seldom are L2 students given as much time to devel...