Comments on: “Tadoku” Means Extensive Reading http://www.talktotheclouds.com/2008/06/07/tadoku-means-extensive-reading/ Teaching, speaking, reading, pondering, eating, drinking, & breathing English Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:57:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Learning Diary: Tadoku For Me at Talk to the Clouds http://www.talktotheclouds.com/2008/06/07/tadoku-means-extensive-reading/#comment-195 Learning Diary: Tadoku For Me at Talk to the Clouds Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:51:06 +0000 http://www.talktotheclouds.com/?p=32#comment-195 [...] A basic principle of any form of teaching is that a teacher should avoid asking students to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. Dr. Sarah Nielsen, the head of my MATESOL program, always put this into practice by joining us during in-class reflective essays. Most models for extensive reading programs similarly encourage the facilitator of the ER session to sit down and read too. With that in mind, and being fairly well convinced of ER’s claims, I set out to find some graded readers for my current target language, Japanese. (See my previous post on tadoku, or extensive reading, in Japan.) [...] [...] A basic principle of any form of teaching is that a teacher should avoid asking students to do anything she wouldn’t do herself. Dr. Sarah Nielsen, the head of my MATESOL program, always put this into practice by joining us during in-class reflective essays. Most models for extensive reading programs similarly encourage the facilitator of the ER session to sit down and read too. With that in mind, and being fairly well convinced of ER’s claims, I set out to find some graded readers for my current target language, Japanese. (See my previous post on tadoku, or extensive reading, in Japan.) [...]

]]> By: sachiko tamanaha http://www.talktotheclouds.com/2008/06/07/tadoku-means-extensive-reading/#comment-33 sachiko tamanaha Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:43:29 +0000 http://www.talktotheclouds.com/?p=32#comment-33 Greetings all you Language Learning & Teaching fans! Check out this huge World CALL Directory and Virtual Encyclopedia of language learning and teaching links: www.CALL4ALL.us. Especially for Extensive Reading fans as well as those Intensive ones, see its R-Reading page at http://www.call4all.us///home/_all.php?fi=r. Much to be learned and shared here! Greetings all you Language Learning & Teaching fans! Check out this huge World CALL Directory and Virtual Encyclopedia of language learning and teaching links:
http://www.CALL4ALL.us. Especially for Extensive Reading fans as well as those Intensive ones, see its R-Reading page at http://www.call4all.us///home/_all.php?fi=r. Much to be learned and shared here!

]]> By: Chris Cotter http://www.talktotheclouds.com/2008/06/07/tadoku-means-extensive-reading/#comment-32 Chris Cotter Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:47:08 +0000 http://www.talktotheclouds.com/?p=32#comment-32 I completely agree that extensive reading is essential to build vocabulary and grammar, and promote better recognition of collocations, commonly used phrases, etc. I often require my students to read, and to read a lot. I'm curious to hear your opinion on the following: Given that Japanese have such poor fluency in general after years and years of grammar translation, do you think that extensive reading is enough to improve their communicative ability? Look forward to hearing your opinion. Chris I completely agree that extensive reading is essential to build vocabulary and grammar, and promote better recognition of collocations, commonly used phrases, etc. I often require my students to read, and to read a lot. I’m curious to hear your opinion on the following: Given that Japanese have such poor fluency in general after years and years of grammar translation, do you think that extensive reading is enough to improve their communicative ability?

Look forward to hearing your opinion.

Chris

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