Málfríður - 15.03.2008, Blaðsíða 16

1 MÁLFRÍÐUR
out yourself plus activities, background and author
information. An added plus is all the photo­copiable
materials on this site. A treasure trove of goodies.
www.macmillenglish.com/readers – Macmillan
Readers Resource Site has just been updated and
is superb. Every title has all the resources free to
download, and there is also a most informative
teacher’s guide for those who want to learn more
about FVR. Check out the on projects, the perfect
read (book recommendations for boys and girls etc),
author information and background, your thoughts
with articles and ideas from teachers around the
world and a readers­movie tie­in section.
www.cambridge.org/elt/storybooks – a wonder­
ful site for teachers of young learners – plenty
of free resources, book information on Cambridge
Storybooks as on all other reader sites plus down­
loadable reading certificates and masks! Super!
Tips and activities
• Have a chat with the school librarian – perhaps
he/she is willing to invest some of the library
book budget in English readers but needs a little
help choosing relevant titles.
• Appoint Class Librarians to organise borrowing
and return of books. Make sure books are clearly
marked by you as regards level. I use coloured
stickers – different colours for different levels.
Don’t worry about the level on the book (some­
times level 1 is more like level 2 – and is level one
the same as elementary). Decide yourself, but be
open to change your decision if learners find the
book too hard or too easy.
• Your job is to ensure that learners have chosen a
book at the right level for them – rather too easy
than too difficult. If they don’t like the book, they
should be encouraged to choose another one.
They should enjoy reading…and want to carry on
when they get home. This is your goal.
• DEAR time – drop everything and read! Don’t
think of FVR as a waste of time. Spend more time
encouraging reading in class­time – show you
value it and explain why it is so important and the
learners will be more likely to try it.
• Don’t give up – keep encouraging and motivating
reading, and after a while, you will succeed – but
all change takes time…and it is no different in the
English speaking classroom.
If you have any comments regarding this article,
you are welcome to mail me at: Lise@sprogkron.
dk. It’s always great to receive feedback!
Sources:
Extensive Reading Activities for Reading Languages – Bamford & Day
– CUP 2004
Krashen, Stephen D 1981 Principles and Practice in 2nd Language
Acquisition
Krashen, Stephen 1993 – The Power of Reading