ESL Teacher Reference Desk

Extensive Reading

Instructor: Dr. Algirdas Makarevicius
Contact hours per week: 4
Duration of the semester: 14 weeks

Objectives

• enable students to achieve fluency in the areas of vocabulary recognition and reading comprehension skills;
• equip students with effective extensive reading strategies;
• make reading a positive, encouraging experience for all students;
• develop the culture of reading and critical thinking skills;
• encourage students to take charge of their own reading development;
• produce independent readers who value reading as a life-long pursuit. 

Course Content

Self-selection and extensive reading of texts, using various strategies for comprehension and vocabulary recognition; maintaining a log with details of reading accomplished each week; summarizing weekly reading; establishing personally relevant reading goals. Interacting with a variety of texts for different purposes; using critical thinking skills; deducing meaning from context; understanding author’s purpose; using inference; guessing and predicting content; interpreting a variety of question types. Students should read 35 pages per week.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course the students will be able to
• use effectively extensive reading strategies;
• develop an ever-expanding fund of recognized words and their meanings;
• read not just for information or to perform a task, but also for pleasure;
• establish personally relevant reading goals.
 

Delivery

In-class lectures
Group discussions
Face-to-face interviews with the instructor.
 
Learning Materials

Handouts, provided by the instructor
College library: books, magazines, newspapers and/or other reading materials selected by students
Websites, recommended by the instructor.

Course Requirements

Each student must fulfill the following requirements of the Extensive Reading Skills course.

1. Self-study (average 6 hours per week) includes preparation for extensive reading classes. For extensive reading purposes students read chosen books, magazines or journals on preferred topics. Students should read about 35 pages per week.
2. Every student must keep a log which shows how much the student read every week and must demonstrate that s/he understood what s/he read. The log must be kept in the prescribed format.
3. Students must be prepared to discuss what they have read with the tutor. These meetings will take place every second week. The class will be divided into two groups of approximately 10 students each, and each group will meet the tutor on alternate weeks for a face-to-face discussion.
4. Students must show the teacher the book/article they are currently reading. If it is online, they need to print and show the hard copy.
5. Attend all classes regularly. Students should be mindful that if they are not in class, for any reason, they miss important schoolwork and are not able to participate in their class's ongoing educational activities. This may be reflected in students' grades. If a student misses more than three classes without a clear reason she/he will not be allowed to continue the course without a special permission from the Dean.
6. Students are not allowed to walk or chat loudly with each other during the lesson without a tutor’s permission. If a student ignores the tutor’s remarks, uses offensive words or offensive body language, leaves the classroom early and without the teacher’s permission, is late for classes or insults other students and the teacher, behaves in an arrogant manner or in any other inappropriate way, the student will be severely punished including expulsion from the College. Expulsion implies that the student should not consider the College for further education.
7. The course outline is the main document of the course.
8. Any questions or suggestions related to the above can be answered or discussed personally by your instructor during the tutorial, after the tutorial or by email. Each student who approaches the instructor by email must write his/her student number, name and the class number on the subject line. Anonymous emails will be considered as spam and will not be replied.
 

Assessment

The course will be assessed for a total of 100 marks based on continuous assessment. The table below outlines the grading system for extensive reading. Approximately 150 - 200 words in Times New Roman, font size 12 will be considered as one page. Adjustments will need to be made for books/magazines/journals in larger or smaller font sizes. Students are required to read 35 pages per week (5 pages per day).

Tell your friends