Interview

Beatrice Mikulecky

Page 1 | Page 2

In your books you have used reading rate tables and reading progress charts which allow students to plot their reading development. How did you come up with the standards?
In a sense, the charts and tables do not represent standards. Each student's rate is different, and the idea behind the charts and tables is to allow each student to work at steadily increasing their reading rate. Consequently, we included a wide range of possible reading rates.

There is some agreement among specialists that students should strive for a reading rate of at least 250 words per minute for non-technical expository text at their level of comprehension. At that rate, the student is reading ideas, not individual words, and they are successful in comprehending what they are reading. When I teach EFL reading, I encourage students to work toward the goal of doubling their initial reading rate by the end of the semester.

Audio-visual technology has developed to the point where music, radio, movies and TV are as portable as books, often even more so. And they are obviously more compelling. How can reading for pleasure hope to compete? Isn't the kind of reading that we usually teach increasingly becoming something that younger people will do only out of obligation, at work or in the classroom? What have you found to be the most effective way of motivating the students who are less enthusiastic about reading in English to read more?
These are difficult questions! Yet the number of books sold, at least in the United States, continues to increase, and most of the books are bought to read for pleasure. So there must be something special about pleasure reading. In fact, pleasure reading is a habit, and once students are hooked on books, they will choose to read for pleasure on their own.

How do you hook students on books? First of all, and most importantly, they must read books that they really want to read, books that speak to their own inner feelings and concerns. Obviously that will vary from one student to the next. The teacher's most important job in this case is to expose students to the widest possible collection of books, and to get to know each student and help them identify a book that will "hook" them.

Second, students need to be given time during class to reading silently. This is called "sustained silent reading."

Third, students need to learn how to express their response to the books that they choose to read. However, this should not be done in the form of a traditional written book report. It's best to plan class time for students to tell the class or to tell the teacher about their book and their reaction to it. In this way, teachers can instill in their students the meaning of "pleasure" in pleasure reading.

How would you respond to the often-quoted fear in Japan that early English education (from elementary school) has a negative effect on first language development.
Most studies show that children who grow up speaking two languages are more successful in school. Rather than interfering with their mastery of their native language, the ability to use a second language actually increases children's awareness of language processes.

Linda Jeffries, co-author of the Reading Power books and a native speaker of English, lives in Italy with her Italian husband and their two children. The children, born in Italy, are completely bilingual. They consider Italian their native language, but they are just as fluent in all aspects of English. In fact, they spent a school year in the United States, learning only in English. On their return to Italy, they easily moved ahead in their school work in Italian. They're in high school now and getting ready to apply to college. Their options are greater because they are bilingual.

What journals and books, other than your own, would you recommend to those who want to improve their own teaching skills in this area?
Journals:
The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (International Reading Association)
Reading in a Foreign Language

Books:
I do want to mention one of my own books that teachers of reading often find very helpful.
Mikulecky, B. 1991. A Short Course in Teaching Reading Skills. Addison-Wesley Longman.

Birch, Barbara M. 2002. English L2 Reading: Getting to the Bottom. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Carrell, P., J. Devine, & D. Eskey. 1988. Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge University Press.

Day, R. R. and J. Bamford. 1998. Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press.

National Institute for Literacy, U.S. Department of Education 2001. Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read.

Articles:
Prowse, Philip. Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading: A Response. Reading in a Foreign Language, Volume 14, Number 2, October 2002 (available online)

Sharp, A. 2002. Chinese L1 schoolchildren reading in English: The effects of rhetorical patterns. Reading in a Foreign Language, 14(2), 111-135 (available online

Uehara, K. (1994) The effect of global strategy training on comprehension and metacognitivie awareness in the Japanese lower secondary EFL reading classroom. Unpublished thesis. Gunma University, Japan.

What can teachers hope to learn during your upcoming 4-city Skills Tour of Japan this month?
Teachers will hear more about the reading comprehension process and the challenges that Japanese students face when they read in English. They will be introduced to an approach to teaching reading that is student-centered and includes variety, fun and results. They'll have a chance to work on several key comprehension skills and find out how their students can learn to think in English and explain their thinking. They'll hear about techniques for encouraging pleasure reading in English. Teachers will come away with ideas for developing richer lessons for their students.

Page 1 | Page 2

Top