Teach English in Nieying Zhen - Xinzhou Shi

Summative task by Jane Garcia 09/07/2019 How can reading influence language acquisition? Does reading facilitate the acquisition of English vocabulary for the second language learner? Introduction As we have seen in Unit 11 of the ITTT 120-hour online TEFL/TESOL certificate course, reading is a receptive skill, along with listening (as opposed to the productive skills, writing and speaking). The teaching English as a second language course should contain all these skills for a balanced approach. I have chosen this topic for my summative task as I am a great believer in reading as an important aid to language acquisition, both for primary languages and secondary languages. If I may mention my personal experience, when I first came to France in 1987 and in spite of having a good level of academic French, I found myself unable to follow a conversation or communicate in French. I devoured newspapers, magazines, books, posters on the metro etc. I read everything I could and found that reading was a great help in understanding and thence speaking the language. I am very proud to say that the first book I read in French was Le ventre de Paris (The belly of Paris) by Emile Zola, a classic of French literature and by no means an “easy” book to read! Reading and vocabulary Vocabulary is the building block of learning a second language. The relationship between acquiring second language vocabulary knowledge and reading is both twofold and reciprocal. On the one hand, knowledge of vocabulary has a positive effect on reading comprehension, and on the other hand, reading influences the acquisition of vocabulary. Limited knowledge of vocabulary can thwart the successful acquisition of a second language. It is commonly agreed upon that reading evokes “incidental” learning of vocabulary i.e. learners develop their vocabulary inadvertently through exposure to words; this exposure is heightened by reading. We can identify two types of reading in the classroom: reading only and reading while listening. A study conducted by the Linköping University in Sweden in 2017(1) show that learners find reading only and reading while listening to be an effective method of learning vocabulary and these approaches also show good results in incidental vocabulary acquisition. Learners acquire new vocabulary incidentally through reading, however the number of words they learn varies greatly between the students. The study concludes that “there is a strong relationship between reading comprehension, vocabulary and vocabulary growth. They are mutually beneficial, and one does not grow without the other”. A study conducted by the Nanning University in the People’s Republic of China in 2016(2) compared the “effects of the reading-while-listening condition and the reading-only condition on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ acquisition of the four dimensions of vocabulary knowledge: form recognition, grammar recognition, meaning recall, and collocation recognition”. The results revealed that although new words were learned incidentally in both approaches, more words were acquired in the reading-while-listening condition. I believe that reading-while-listening is more effective for young learners of English as a second language. The teacher can help the learners identify the vocabulary and learn new words throughout the reading. Texts for young learners are often illustrated which helps the acquisition of new vocabulary. For adult and teenage learners, reading only should be adapted to their level and interests in order to capture their attention. They should be encouraged by the teacher to read in their free-time and it is part of the teacher’s role to advise reading material to his/her students. This can vary from authentic material such as newspapers, magazines etc to fictional novels (adapted to the student’s level, of course). Conclusion The research that I undertook to complete this summative task has confirmed my belief that reading English texts helps facilitate language acquisition for students learning English as a second language. The benefits of reading extend to the other skills used in the lesson as the learner will have an increased sense of confidence when writing, speaking and listening to English. By providing reading opportunities for the students, the teacher will create an atmosphere that will promote the acquisition of vocabulary and hence facilitate the learning of English as a second language. I am setting up private English lessons in France and am currently compiling my mini-library in order to loan books to my students. I hope first of all to impart my passion for reading, but also, to teach them the importance of reading in acquiring vocabulary and in the comprehension of English. I want them to feel the same pride and satisfaction that I did when I read the last word of Emile Zola’s book and had understood it! (1)Incidental vocabulary - Acquisition through Reading - A Literature Review Examining Vocabulary Acquisition, Reading Comprehension and their Connection - Linköping University | Department of Culture & Communication | English. (2) Incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading-only and reading-while-listening: a multi-dimensional approach – Feng Teng – Department of English, Nanning University, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China.