The Language Teacher
05 - 2003

Reading Diary--Wow, I Get It!

Reiko Tanabe

Keio High School

<rekotto@yahoo.co.jp>


QUICK GUIDE

Key Words:Reading, newspaper article, discussion
Learner English Level: From high beginner
Learner Maturity Level: High school and above
Preparation Time: Time needed to choose articles and make handouts
Activity Time: 10 to 15 minutes of every class
Materials: Photocopies of brief English newspaper articles


The purpose of this activity is to increase students' use of reading strategies, which will increase their reading speed and comprehension. The activity requires students to read for the main idea within a limited amount of time, thus eliminating time spent struggling with the analysis of unknown vocabulary and sentence structures. Ultimately, the activity will help students overcome their fear of reading authentic passages that often contain many unfamiliar words.

Preparation

Step 1: Choose a suitable reading text. For the purpose of this exercise, I have chosen reading material from the regular edition of The Japan Times. I do not use simplified versions as the relatively familiar vocabulary of those versions allows students to read word-by-word. Standard editions will also give students a greater sense of achievement in clearing a hurdle formerly considered beyond their ability. It is also crucial to select articles that will draw and hold their attention. Also, the time limits for each step will obviously need to be varied depending on the length of the article.

Step 2: Make a reading diary handout or ask the students to buy a notebook for the purpose of this activity. Keeping a diary is quite useful in tracking students' daily achievement. Students will be asked each class to find the general idea (what the article is about), the main idea (who did what), and the answer to one or two detailed questions each time they read an article. An example of how to record their answers and scores is provided at the end of Step 4 below. It is optimal to do this exercise three to four times a week so as to maximize the students' exposure to reading. Introducing this relatively quick reading activity every class also allows students to dive into their work without time spent in confusion over procedures.

Procedure

Step 1: Distribute the copied article to the students. Allow ten seconds for students to grasp the general idea of the article. Tell them to turn the articles upside down and write down the general idea of the article in their diary. Let students talk in groups and discuss their answers while the text is still turned over. Students usually form the same group every class. Request that they take turns in the role of discussion leader.

Step 2: Allow another ten seconds to read for the main idea. Students should already have the general idea of what the article is about through the first group discussion. Students then write the main idea in their diaries. Again, allow students to discuss their answers without looking at the text.

Step 3: Ask students one or two detailed questions, then allow them to read the article one more time for 30 seconds. In this case the article was about World Cup Soccer, and the questions asked were Who is Lennart Johansson? and What did English football fans show? They are then prompted to read the article while exchanging their answers with the same group as before. This time students review all the questions and answers from Steps 1 to 3 by reading the text several times together.

Step 4: After a few minutes or so, stop the group discussion and open a class discussion to compare and discuss the answers. Answers can be written on the board by either the teacher or the discussion leaders. Students can then score their answers. Here is an example of a format that works well as either a handout to accompany each article, or as a regular format used in the diaries:

Conclusion

The incorporation of this reading diary into my high school classroom was quite beneficial from the very beginning. In addition to facilitating group discussion, students also tried to get the answers by themselves, dropping the usual role of passive reader. As this activity is a time-constrained reading exercise, students concentrated their attention on retrieving information and eventually learned reading strategies such as skipping, scanning, and skimming. They also realized that it is not necessary to understand every word in order to understand a piece of text. Moreover, as they kept their own personal reading diaries, they were able to track how much their reading skills had improved since the beginning of the semester. Some students reported that they felt much more confident reading English because they had done a large amount of reading in our class. They also felt deeply satisfied that they had managed to read authentic reading materials from The Japan Times.


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