How We Do It At Tsurumi University
Kevin Miller - Extensive Reading in Japan, Vol. 5.2, 2012
ERJ is the newsletter of the Extensive Reading SIG of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Like many teachers who read the ER SIG’s journal, Extensive Reading in Japan, I have long believed in the effectiveness of reading for pleasure as a means to develop English skills among second language learners. Unfortunately, I am not currently in a position to incorporate extensive reading in a significant way into my own university classes, as my teaching load is heavily weighted towards Oral Communication. At the 2010 JALT Conference in Nagoya, I first became aware of the Moodlereader.org system, and brought the information back to my department with the hope of encouraging our reading teachers to use it in their designated reading classes. I was fortunate to have a veteran colleague, Prof. Hiroshi Takubo, who worked with me to promote the idea in our department meetings, and with the cooperation of my department members, we began the “English Reader Marathon,” now in its second year, to encourage extensive reading and to make use of the free Moodlereader.org resource.
The English Reader Marathon is a contest open to all English majors at our university that rewards those who read as many graded readers as possible and then take the designated quizzes on Moodlereader.org. With this format, we have successfully introduced graded readers into all Reading classes in a fairly nonintrusive manner. Reading teachers, many of whom favor intensive reading in their courses, were not forced to change their methodology or grading systems, and were able to introduce the contest on fairly short notice. The results have been modest, but significant.
Setting
Tsurumi University is a small, private university in Kangawa Prefecture near Kawasaki on the border of Tokyo. While some of our English majors have hope of becoming teachers or working in service industries where they can use English, many see themselves on a path to working as office workers in nearby companies. Incoming freshmen display a range of proficiency in English, but their average TOEIC score is below 350 for those first and second year students who voluntarily take the TOEIC institutional test.
Reading is a required course only for freshman students. There are four sections, divided by reading proficiency as determined by the English department’s own reading placement test. Reading teachers, who are either full- or part-time staff, are free to teach reading as they choose. Based on their syllabi, most teachers favor an intensive reading approach, while one teacher appears to favor a reading skills approach with an extensive reading component. There is no department-wide consensus that extensive reading should be emphasized, so from my personal point of view, any attention placed on extensive reading in general or graded readers in particular is a positive development.
Materials
Through 2010, the graded reader library at Tsurumi University consisted of the Oxford Bookworms series. This was certainly an excellent start to a graded reader library, but it was underused as a resource and had some limitations. Many of the Oxford Bookworms series were at a level too high for our students to comfortably read without constant reference to a glossary or dictionary. In preparation for the first English Reader Marathon in 2011, we requested that the library add more readers at the Moodlereader 0, 1 and 2 levels. Most of these were found in the graded reader catalogs of Cambridge, Macmillan, Penguin, and Cengage Foundations. I went through the Moodlereader.org book database and ordered only books at levels 0, 1, 2 and 3 that already had Moodlereader quizzes available. The library was very positive about adding the graded readers we ordered, and they added five copies of each requested title. They also devoted their own time to labeling all graded readers according to the Moodlereader.org leveling system, which does not always match the levels printed on the spine of books due to each publisher having their own system. The library also created an easily accessible space dedicated to extensive reading conveniently located on the first floor of the library.
Computer access to Moodlereader.org can be at home or at school. At Tsurumi University, we have computer classrooms that are open during lunchtime and when not being used for classes. Computers are also available in the library, but the Internet access there is sometimes slow, so the computer classrooms and home computers are the recommended access points to Moodlereader.org. Students have also tried to take quizzes with their smart phones, but results have not been promising.
Funding
The Tsurumi University Library views the acquisition of graded readers in a positive light, so the library administration has always been cooperative about adding titles. The cost of graded readers is low, but the circulation rate is high, leading to dramatically increased circulation statistics. Higher circulation rates are a point of pride for both the library and for the English Department, with the English majors showing a significant increase in the number of check-outs. The Moodlereader.org system, is of course, free to the public, thanks to the dedication of Thomas Robb and the Moodlereader.org volunteers.
“English Reader Marathon” Contest Implementation
Moodlereader.org registration
Assuming an adequate graded reader library is in place, the first step in having a graded reader contest is to make sure all potential participants are registered on Moodlereader.org. It has now become one of my beginning-of-the-year duties to register all incoming freshmen. At Tsurumi University, I have to wait until they are placed in their Reading class groups, and then I re-type all freshman names from their furigana name lists. Fortunately, once I have the name lists in roman letters and in their proper classes, I can register them as a batch on Moodlereader using an excel file. The purpose of putting them in class groups is so their Reading teachers can monitor their progress. Registration of all incoming freshmen takes me about 2 hours, including typing time. Students are typically registered on Moodlereader by their first Reading class in April. Second year students are already registered from the previous year, but their names have to be re-organized to correspond to their enrollment in a required sophomore class called Comprehensive English, which nominally includes a reading component. Third and fourth year students, who typically don’t participate in the contest, are advised to self-register if they want to join.
Informing Students of the Contest
Students are first told of the contest rules, prizes and procedure in Japanese during Orientation, which takes place in early April. All information is distributed as a handout at Orientation, and again as necessary in Reading and Comprehensive English classes. Information is also available on our department’s webpage. Students are welcome to start reading graded readers immediately from the start of school, with a final deadline for all quizzes to be completed by the first week of December. If a December date seems early, note that results need to be tabulated from the Moodlereader.org data, plus winning certificates printed, and certificates and prizes awarded at a small ceremony before school closes for spring break.
In addition to the dates and rules of the contest, Moodlereader log on procedures and book selection advice are included in the handout. Students are advised to start with very easy books at first so they will likely be successful at taking their first Moodlereader quizzes. Once students have passed some quizzes, they are free to go up in level as they choose. They are also advised to read without stopping to use a dictionary, but if they want to look up words, they should note the words and then look them up later. Ultimately, though, students are free to choose whatever graded readers they want to, and follow any reading procedure they are comfortable with.
When it comes time to take a quiz, students are advised to have the graded reader with them as they take the quiz for quick reference. They are also advised to review the story before attempting the quiz, take note of the names of important characters, and review in their mind the sequence of events that happened in the book. Most of the Moodlereader quizzes include an ordering question, so remembering what happened in what sequence is important.
One contest rule that we struggled with, and which remained vague until the end of the contest, was the difference between scoring by number of books and by number of words. It sounds better to say that a student read 50+ books rather than a certain number of words. However, not all books are equal, so a fair contest would obviously require scoring by number of words. Fortunately for us in 2011, the number of books read by the winning students also corresponded to the number of words read, so there was no conflict in our first contest. However, this is a potential problem, so it’s advised to specify in the rules if scoring will be by number of words, even if most discussion of the contest will focus on the number of titles read. Contest administrators should note, however, that there is a possibility of a higher-level student winning the contest by reading one or two books that have a total number of words greater than the combined 10 books of lower level readers. If a student can win the contest by reading just a few high-value titles, some participants may find the result de-motivating. The PR issue may worsen if it turns out the student didn’t actually read one or more of the books, but got lucky on the quizzes, perhaps because the books were based on movies he or she had seen.
2011 English Reader Marathon Results
Participation in our 2011 English Reader Marathon can be described as modest. Out of roughly two hundred first and second year students, only 17 students made a serious effort at participating, i.e., they read more than 3 graded readers. The winning student, a freshman, read 64, and the second place student, also a freshman, read 54. Students at third place or lower read an average of 14 graded readers. However, a fair number of students (60) read from 1 to 3 graded readers, due mainly to teachers requiring them in classes to make that minimal effort.
2012, our second year for the contest, is shaping up to have better results. With one contest under our belt, students and teachers are now more aware of the event, and we anticipate greater numbers of books read this year by more students.
One of the most interesting results of the contest, though not apparent until several months later, was the positive correlation between active contest participation and comparatively high TOEIC scores. The highest TOEIC scores among our 2nd year students in spring of 2012 were achieved by the same students who performed highest in the Graded Reader Marathon as freshmen in winter of 2011. Obviously, correlation does not prove causality, but being able to show that students who read many graded readers also scored high on the TOEIC test may help motivate students to read more.
Pros & Cons of the Contest Format for Promoting ER
Pros of the Contest Format
Cons of the Contest Format
Cons related to the Moodlereader system
In my mind, the cons related to the Moodlereader system are not insurmountable, and use of this free resource is well worth it. At Tsurumi University, we will continue to promote extensive reading with an annual contest, and hopefully, extensive reading will gradually make inroads into our Reading courses as well.
ERJ is the newsletter of the Extensive Reading SIG of the Japan Association for Language Teaching
Like many teachers who read the ER SIG’s journal, Extensive Reading in Japan, I have long believed in the effectiveness of reading for pleasure as a means to develop English skills among second language learners. Unfortunately, I am not currently in a position to incorporate extensive reading in a significant way into my own university classes, as my teaching load is heavily weighted towards Oral Communication. At the 2010 JALT Conference in Nagoya, I first became aware of the Moodlereader.org system, and brought the information back to my department with the hope of encouraging our reading teachers to use it in their designated reading classes. I was fortunate to have a veteran colleague, Prof. Hiroshi Takubo, who worked with me to promote the idea in our department meetings, and with the cooperation of my department members, we began the “English Reader Marathon,” now in its second year, to encourage extensive reading and to make use of the free Moodlereader.org resource.
The English Reader Marathon is a contest open to all English majors at our university that rewards those who read as many graded readers as possible and then take the designated quizzes on Moodlereader.org. With this format, we have successfully introduced graded readers into all Reading classes in a fairly nonintrusive manner. Reading teachers, many of whom favor intensive reading in their courses, were not forced to change their methodology or grading systems, and were able to introduce the contest on fairly short notice. The results have been modest, but significant.
Setting
Tsurumi University is a small, private university in Kangawa Prefecture near Kawasaki on the border of Tokyo. While some of our English majors have hope of becoming teachers or working in service industries where they can use English, many see themselves on a path to working as office workers in nearby companies. Incoming freshmen display a range of proficiency in English, but their average TOEIC score is below 350 for those first and second year students who voluntarily take the TOEIC institutional test.
Reading is a required course only for freshman students. There are four sections, divided by reading proficiency as determined by the English department’s own reading placement test. Reading teachers, who are either full- or part-time staff, are free to teach reading as they choose. Based on their syllabi, most teachers favor an intensive reading approach, while one teacher appears to favor a reading skills approach with an extensive reading component. There is no department-wide consensus that extensive reading should be emphasized, so from my personal point of view, any attention placed on extensive reading in general or graded readers in particular is a positive development.
Materials
Through 2010, the graded reader library at Tsurumi University consisted of the Oxford Bookworms series. This was certainly an excellent start to a graded reader library, but it was underused as a resource and had some limitations. Many of the Oxford Bookworms series were at a level too high for our students to comfortably read without constant reference to a glossary or dictionary. In preparation for the first English Reader Marathon in 2011, we requested that the library add more readers at the Moodlereader 0, 1 and 2 levels. Most of these were found in the graded reader catalogs of Cambridge, Macmillan, Penguin, and Cengage Foundations. I went through the Moodlereader.org book database and ordered only books at levels 0, 1, 2 and 3 that already had Moodlereader quizzes available. The library was very positive about adding the graded readers we ordered, and they added five copies of each requested title. They also devoted their own time to labeling all graded readers according to the Moodlereader.org leveling system, which does not always match the levels printed on the spine of books due to each publisher having their own system. The library also created an easily accessible space dedicated to extensive reading conveniently located on the first floor of the library.
Computer access to Moodlereader.org can be at home or at school. At Tsurumi University, we have computer classrooms that are open during lunchtime and when not being used for classes. Computers are also available in the library, but the Internet access there is sometimes slow, so the computer classrooms and home computers are the recommended access points to Moodlereader.org. Students have also tried to take quizzes with their smart phones, but results have not been promising.
Funding
The Tsurumi University Library views the acquisition of graded readers in a positive light, so the library administration has always been cooperative about adding titles. The cost of graded readers is low, but the circulation rate is high, leading to dramatically increased circulation statistics. Higher circulation rates are a point of pride for both the library and for the English Department, with the English majors showing a significant increase in the number of check-outs. The Moodlereader.org system, is of course, free to the public, thanks to the dedication of Thomas Robb and the Moodlereader.org volunteers.
“English Reader Marathon” Contest Implementation
Moodlereader.org registration
Assuming an adequate graded reader library is in place, the first step in having a graded reader contest is to make sure all potential participants are registered on Moodlereader.org. It has now become one of my beginning-of-the-year duties to register all incoming freshmen. At Tsurumi University, I have to wait until they are placed in their Reading class groups, and then I re-type all freshman names from their furigana name lists. Fortunately, once I have the name lists in roman letters and in their proper classes, I can register them as a batch on Moodlereader using an excel file. The purpose of putting them in class groups is so their Reading teachers can monitor their progress. Registration of all incoming freshmen takes me about 2 hours, including typing time. Students are typically registered on Moodlereader by their first Reading class in April. Second year students are already registered from the previous year, but their names have to be re-organized to correspond to their enrollment in a required sophomore class called Comprehensive English, which nominally includes a reading component. Third and fourth year students, who typically don’t participate in the contest, are advised to self-register if they want to join.
Informing Students of the Contest
Students are first told of the contest rules, prizes and procedure in Japanese during Orientation, which takes place in early April. All information is distributed as a handout at Orientation, and again as necessary in Reading and Comprehensive English classes. Information is also available on our department’s webpage. Students are welcome to start reading graded readers immediately from the start of school, with a final deadline for all quizzes to be completed by the first week of December. If a December date seems early, note that results need to be tabulated from the Moodlereader.org data, plus winning certificates printed, and certificates and prizes awarded at a small ceremony before school closes for spring break.
In addition to the dates and rules of the contest, Moodlereader log on procedures and book selection advice are included in the handout. Students are advised to start with very easy books at first so they will likely be successful at taking their first Moodlereader quizzes. Once students have passed some quizzes, they are free to go up in level as they choose. They are also advised to read without stopping to use a dictionary, but if they want to look up words, they should note the words and then look them up later. Ultimately, though, students are free to choose whatever graded readers they want to, and follow any reading procedure they are comfortable with.
When it comes time to take a quiz, students are advised to have the graded reader with them as they take the quiz for quick reference. They are also advised to review the story before attempting the quiz, take note of the names of important characters, and review in their mind the sequence of events that happened in the book. Most of the Moodlereader quizzes include an ordering question, so remembering what happened in what sequence is important.
One contest rule that we struggled with, and which remained vague until the end of the contest, was the difference between scoring by number of books and by number of words. It sounds better to say that a student read 50+ books rather than a certain number of words. However, not all books are equal, so a fair contest would obviously require scoring by number of words. Fortunately for us in 2011, the number of books read by the winning students also corresponded to the number of words read, so there was no conflict in our first contest. However, this is a potential problem, so it’s advised to specify in the rules if scoring will be by number of words, even if most discussion of the contest will focus on the number of titles read. Contest administrators should note, however, that there is a possibility of a higher-level student winning the contest by reading one or two books that have a total number of words greater than the combined 10 books of lower level readers. If a student can win the contest by reading just a few high-value titles, some participants may find the result de-motivating. The PR issue may worsen if it turns out the student didn’t actually read one or more of the books, but got lucky on the quizzes, perhaps because the books were based on movies he or she had seen.
2011 English Reader Marathon Results
Participation in our 2011 English Reader Marathon can be described as modest. Out of roughly two hundred first and second year students, only 17 students made a serious effort at participating, i.e., they read more than 3 graded readers. The winning student, a freshman, read 64, and the second place student, also a freshman, read 54. Students at third place or lower read an average of 14 graded readers. However, a fair number of students (60) read from 1 to 3 graded readers, due mainly to teachers requiring them in classes to make that minimal effort.
2012, our second year for the contest, is shaping up to have better results. With one contest under our belt, students and teachers are now more aware of the event, and we anticipate greater numbers of books read this year by more students.
One of the most interesting results of the contest, though not apparent until several months later, was the positive correlation between active contest participation and comparatively high TOEIC scores. The highest TOEIC scores among our 2nd year students in spring of 2012 were achieved by the same students who performed highest in the Graded Reader Marathon as freshmen in winter of 2011. Obviously, correlation does not prove causality, but being able to show that students who read many graded readers also scored high on the TOEIC test may help motivate students to read more.
Pros & Cons of the Contest Format for Promoting ER
Pros of the Contest Format
- It promotes graded readers to all students, though on a voluntary basis.
- It allows for immediate promotion of ER in all reading classes; i.e., consensus re. curriculum or course content is not required.
- It is fairly non-intrusive for teachers who do not normally feature ER in their reading classes.
- It is extra reinforcement for teachers who already feature ER in their reading classes.
- It provides a means of giving positive recognition to those students who read many graded readers.
- Results can be easily monitored with Moodlereader.org, a free system.
- Library circulation statistics are boosted by students within the department.
Cons of the Contest Format
- It is a voluntary activity, and participation is primarily among the most self-motivated students.
- The number of students who actively participate may be fairly modest, as was the case with our students.
- A fair contest requires scoring by number of words read, which can present a PR problem if the winner has only read a few high-value titles.
Cons related to the Moodlereader system
- Someone must take the time to register all students with Moodlereader.org. Students can self-register, but having an administrator register students as a batch with Excel is much faster and eliminates student uncertainty.
- Moodlereader.org is primarily a quiz database for graded readers. Other forms of extensive reading are, for now, not included in significant numbers.
- Not every graded reader published has a Moodlereader.org quiz. However, teachers can assign points as they choose, and, of course, teachers are encouraged to write quizzes to submit to Moodlereader.org to further expand the database.
- It is possible to achieve inaccurate results on the Moodlereader.org quizzes, either by collusion between students or (as happened with us) by a student watching the movie associated with the book and then scoring well on a quiz. Moodlreader.org does have some safeguards against collusion, however.
- There is a certain amount of effort required by students just to take the first step in logging on to Moodlereader.org and taking a quiz. While the procedure is not difficult, some students are actually not up to the task.
- All reading teachers, regardless of whether they are fully behind Moodlereader as a resource or not, should be somewhat versed in the log on and monitoring procedures.
- An early Fail on a quiz may be discouraging to some students. Teachers can individually allow second chances, however, by deleting previous records.
In my mind, the cons related to the Moodlereader system are not insurmountable, and use of this free resource is well worth it. At Tsurumi University, we will continue to promote extensive reading with an annual contest, and hopefully, extensive reading will gradually make inroads into our Reading courses as well.