Reading 2012: Curriculum revision project

READING 2012: CURRICULUM REVISION PROJECT

Committee: Professor Yamanouchi, Chair M. Tamai-Allen, J. Dias, P. Robinson, G. Strong, M. Wakabayashi, T. Yokotani, T. Tomiyama

RATIONALE FOR THE PROJECT:1) Part of a series of measures to improve

English Dept programs to coincide with the move to the Shibuya campus

2) More coordination between Reading teachers in terms of their texts, activities, and grading

3) Differentiating Reading I from Reading II

RATIONALE FOR THE PROJECT:

4) A broader view of reading instruction incorporating new methodology, reading strategies, and vocabulary instruction, in addition to teaching translation

5) Implementing tasks and activities in the classroom and utilizing new media for reading

6) Encouraging students of different abilities and strengths, including returnees, to work cooperatively on several tasks

7) Incorporating input from teachers, faculty, and students to better meet the needs, interests and desires of students

THE REVISION PROCESS: A NEEDS ANALYSIS

Note existing texts and syllabuses

Speaking to Reading teachers

Survey of freshmen and sophomores

Create profiles of Reading I

and II students

Survey of English Dept

Faculty 　Review the European Common

Framework

Review the survey results

Review the literature on

reading pedagogy

Survey of Reading I and II

teachers

READING 2012: NEW FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORE COURSES

Recommendations of texts Suggested tasks and activities (e.g., introducing a vocabulary

component) More guidance on student assessment

1• Feedback on the surveys

2• Distribution of survey results

and profiles of Reading I and II students

3• Preparation of key readings in

the area

4• Presentations on reading

pedagogy at the Faculty Orientation

5• Introduction of possible

classroom tasks

6• Piloting sample reading tasks with

teacher volunteers in the Spring and Fall terms, 2011.

7• Presentation of results of the

piloted tasks to faculty for feedback

8 • Draft curriculum presented

9 • Revision of curricula and piloted classroom tasks

2011: PILOTING SAMPLE CLASSROOM TASKS AND ACTIVITIES E.g., a translation task by a group of students

of mixed ability E.g., reading and commenting on an online

or PDF document

READING I & II

9 Reading I classes (For Freshmen) 9 Reading II classes (For Sophomores) All but one of these classes are taught by PT

Japanese instructors. 15 teachers are responsible for these classes,

including one full-time faculty member. Nearly half of the Reading teachers are veterans,

having taught these courses for 8 years or more. Half of the teachers either have taught in, or are

currently teaching in, the IE Program—most of them responsible for IE Active Listening.

STUDENT READING SURVEY: SOME RESULTS 396 students participated:

* 70% freshmen / 30% sophomores * 75% female / 25% male * 15% have spent more than 3 years abroad

* 61% were currently enrolled in Reading I 36% were currently enrolled in Reading II

3% were either taking both or neither of them

STUDENT READING SURVEY: SOME RESULTS

A Houshiki

Shiteiko Suisen

B Houshiki

Naibu Suisen

Kikoku Shijo

Center Exam

Zengakubu Nittei

Transfer Students

A & B Houshiki

UNHCR Nanmin Suisen

0 50 100 150 200 250

204

76

63

17

11

4

4

2

2

1

Method of entering the university (of the 354 students who answered the question).


Self-assessment of ability according to the Common European Framework of Reference for

Languages

* 90% of students (N=340) considered themselves to be, at least, at the B1 level—roughly equivalent to 550 - 785 points on the TOEIC.

They agreed with the statement: 自分の専門分野や興味のあるテーマについて、簡単な読み物であれば、十分に理解できる。* Nearly 40% of students (N=148) felt that they were, at

least, at the B2 level—roughly equivalent to 785 - 945 points on the TOEIC.

They agreed with the statement: 様々なジャンルの読み物を、独力で読みことができる。語彙力はある程度あるが、使用頻度の低い慣用句はまだ習得していない。

STUDENT READING SURVEY: SOME RESULTS Self-assessment of ability according to

the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

* About 5% of students (N=18) assessed their level to be, at least, at the C1 level—roughly equivalent to 945+ points on the TOEIC

They agreed with the statement: 自分の専門外の長くて複雑な読み物でも中身を詳細に理解できる。 * About 5% of students (N=21) thought that they

were at the highest level, C2, which is native-like ability.

They agreed with the statement: 意味や文体の微妙な違いを味わい、幅広い分野にわたって、長くて複雑な読み物が理解できる。


Percentages of time spent reading ONLINE – in English and Japanese. Over half of the students are doing more than 35% of their reading online—both in English and in Japanese.

under 15%

15 - 35%

35 - 55%

55 - 75%

75 - 95%

nearly 100%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

36

17

15

15

11

6

34

11

14

17

14

10

in Japanesein English


newspapers/ magazines

literature (novels, poetry, etc.)

non-fiction

comics/ manga

brochures (travel)/ catalogs

instructions (e.g., manuals)

academic articles

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

60

66

60

75

56

28

30

50

50

44

36

23

27

41

...want to use in Reading courses?

...enjoy reading?

Data showing percentages of students who enjoy reading certain genres vs. wanting to use those genres in their reading class (out of N=376 responding).What students enjoy reading, is not necessarily what they want to study in their reading course, and vice versa.


Wikipedia, email, blogs, social networking sites, and online news were themost popular aspects of the Web/ Internet for our students. Onlinenews was the only one that was accessed (marginally) more in English.

Wikipedia

social networking sites

email

blogs

online news

e-books

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

67

39

42

30

62

15

76

66

75

68

58

28

in Japanese?in English?

What are students reading ONLINE….

Data in percentages,out of 379 respondents


392 respondents

Do you use some type of MOBILE DEVICE (e.g., iPad, iPhone, e-book reader, etc.) for reading e-books, long documents, or PDFs?

Percentages of all respondents who say they use some type of MOBILE DEVICE (e.g., iPad, e-book reader, etc.) for reading e-books, long documents, or PDFs.

PT teachers Full-time Ts Students0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0.00%

21.10%31.90%

41.70%

31.60%

43.40%

58.30%47.40%

23.50%

No, and I don't want to use one.No, but I would like to get one.Yes


121 respondents

How much time do you spend each week reading e-books (or other long documents) on your mobile device?


375 respondents

What sorts of activities and tasks have you done in your Reading class?

Two respondents said: •a variety of activity, like IE core•dictation with a partner


371 respondents

Materials that students are using in class and percentages of students who would like to use those items in class.

non-simplified book

graded reader

reading anthology

academic journal articles

newspaper articles

web pages

poems

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

29

31

56

33

49

27

25

26

23

31

28

35

28

28

desired materialsmaterials teacher uses in class


How do you feel about the level of difficulty of the materials?

371 respondents

READING SURVEY: COMPARING TS & SS

How do you feel about the level of difficulty of the materials?

very easy

easy

neither difficult nor easy

difficult

very difficult

1.60%

7.50%

53.60%

30.20%

7.00%

0%

0%

75%

17%

8%

Reading TsStudents


Some general findings: Although reading is often regarded as our

students’ strongest skill, 80% were either not at all confident about their reading ability or only a bit confident.

53% like reading in English and 72% in Japanese; 39% like reading in both languages, and 15% don’t like reading in either language.

When reading in Japanese, 57% spend less than an hour per week on pleasure reading, with about 42% of those students spending less than 30 minutes.

When reading in English, more than 75% spend less than an hour per week on pleasure reading, with about 52% of them spending less than 30 minutes.

EXPECTATIONS OF FULL-TIME FACULTY FOR STUDENT TIME SPENT READING IN ENGLISH EACH WEEK

For the courses that require the most and least reading. (N=21)


Do you feel that your reading class helps you to be a better reader?

371 respondents

62% of students feel thattheir reading class eitherhelps them or “helps greatly.”


Comments offered by students when asked about how much the course helped them:

Positive or neutral comments

Negative comments

I can change my way of reading.

It taught me how to read newspaper articles.

I could read "real" English.

It maintains my English at a certain level.

We can know answers of others.

The class is too quiet.

Translates into Japanese every time for everything.

The teacher's voice is not clear so that I cannot understand what (s)he said.

We just translate the texts which is boring and not helpful.

A minority of the students (43%) are either “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with the course. 22% of the students are either “dissatisfied” or “extremely dissatisfied” with it, and the remainder are “neither satisfied or dissatisfied.”

However…

STUDENT READING SURVEY: SOME RESULTSAbout 65% of students feel that it prepares them well (or very well) for English reading in other courses.


When asked about the greatest difficulties they have when reading,students brought up the following…

•Vocabulary (79 out of 170 respondents mentioned this)

•Grammar

•Long sentences

•Slang and idioms

•Slow reading speed

•Lack of sufficient background knowledge (e.g., “Historical or scientific articles I'm not familiar with.”

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS : SOME RESULTS

Numbers of respondents teaching each of the courses

Between Jan. 13th and 25th 2011, 12 of the 15 reading instructors responded to an online survey that we asked them to fill out.

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS : SOME RESULTSThe Use of English in the Reading Courses

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS : SOME RESULTSAverage ratings for time spent doing various activities in the reading classes (out of 6; with 6 being the most time spent and 1 the least).

teacher-led explanation/discussion about the meaning of the text

having students read a translation aloud to the class

teacher-led explanation/discussion of the grammar in a text

discussion of a text in small groups

oral question & answer

(students) giving presentations

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

4.83

4.27

4

3.11

3.1

3

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS : READING MATERIAL

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

5

1

6

1

3

2

0

2

7

1

5

6

3

1

...have you used in the past?

...currently use in your reading class?

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS : READING MATERIAL

a bo

ok th

at h

as N

OT b

een

...

a gr

aded

read

er (i

.e.,

simp.

..

a re

adin

g an

thol

ogy.

..

artic

les f

rom

aca

dem

ic j..

.

news

pape

r arti

cles

web

page

s

poem

s

play

s0

5

10

15

20

25

30

11

2

10 8 6 6 5 6

13

1

613

6 85 5

...do you currently use?

...have you used in the past?

What full-timers are using in their classes


371 respondents

Materials that students are using in class and percentages of students who would like to use those items in class.

non-simplified book

graded reader

reading anthology

academic journal articles

newspaper articles

web pages

poems

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

29

31

56

33

49

27

25

26

23

31

28

35

28

28

desired materialsmaterials teacher uses in class

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS

IDENTIFYING AND SHARING CURRENT GOOD PRACTICE What techniques do you introduce to students in your reading course to help them read more easily?• Explain, in English, special or difficult words in the

text (using information from the internet and reference books).

• Create a family tree of the characters in a story.

• Show the passage of time in a story using a flow chart.

• Use study guides in English and giving brief information about the background of reading texts.

• Demonstrate how to use dictionaries—English-Japanese and English-English, including O.E.D.

• Have students read other works by the same authors; teacher gives hints about the meaning and students try to paraphrase.

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS: VOCABULARY

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS AGREE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT. SOME TEACHERS ARE ALREADY DOING THE FOLLOWING…

• Giving vocabulary quizzes in each class (3).

• Utilizing English-English dictionaries as often as possible.

• Encouraging the students to read more and more.

• Having students guess the meaning of words from the context.

• Relating new words to familiar ones (telling them the origin and structure of new words).

SURVEY OF READING INSTRUCTORS: PERCEPTIONS

IMPRESSIONS THAT TEACHERS HAVE ABOUT WHAT STUDENTS ENJOY ABOUT THE READING CLASS

• Discussion of a text in small groups• Reading newspaper articles which deal with popular or hot topics (2)• Hardly ever doing English-Japanese translation• Reading how society works and what human nature is really like• When they find materials which are interesting or when presentations are good, they seem to be enjoying themselves.

• English grammar• Listening to English songs and translating them

STUDENT READING SURVEY: DREAMING

What students said they would do if THEY were teaching the reading course:• I wouldn't let students do what can be done out of class during class. Students should search meaning of words and phrases before class.• I'd try to use more than one author. I wouldn't use a collection of stories by one author, in case students didn't like that author.• I would give the students an interesting book and make them read a lot.• If I were to teach a reading course, I would not assign students to translate from English into Japanese.• I would rather use set a theme at the start of the class and use materials that are related to the selected theme. Not random.• I would teach skills that help students when they read books. (like skimming, scanning, and so on).• I would use a projector.


What students said they would do if THEY were teaching the reading course:

“Instead of having a passive learning style, I would have a discussion-based class where students could exchange opinions and go deeper into the text. I would at least make the classes a little more creative.”

TEACHING STYLE

TEACHING CONTENT

“Since we already have other classes that use English-American literatures, the reading class should use academic materials, newspapers or news magazines. In this way, students can learn more technical terms. Also students will show more interest in what happens in the world.”


How ONE student said (s)he would teach the course…

I would not spend more than half the class translating text books to Japanese because English terms and sentences cannot be accurately translated and doing that changes the meaning slightly. It might be better for students whose English level is not top notch, but they have to be pressured more to keep up rather than the course itself being soft for them. As for exams, all my teachers in the 1st and 2nd grade has given us questions that we cannot do unless we memorize the passages from the textbook we use in class. I think this is the most ridiculous part of the course. Memorizing an English passage does not improve your English, and it should be done more like a iBT TOEFL exam where we are given a long difficult passage that we've never read in class and answer questions about that passage in a certain amount of time. The level of vocal used in that passage and the skills to take tests should be covered in class. At least that's how a TOEFL preparation school teaches a Reading class. (182 words)Demonstrates the strong interest some students have in making improve-

ments to the course and their willingness to offer constructive criticism.

Documents

Reading 2012: Curriculum revision project