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wordsmith · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 44

Great ideas here for persuading students to read! Thanks

seven seas · Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

There was something in the paper last week about how successful the Manga section was at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Dubai, especially with UAE nationals.

I imagine these kinds of books could be a great 'gateway drug' to hardcore stuff and hopefully an addiction to reading!!

Tom Le Seelleur · Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 242

Seven seas
Do you know which newspaper? Thanks for tip about Manga. Graphic novels are taking off again - very popular with Australian ESL students and so are comics, funnies and animated series.
Thanks again
Tom

15yearsinQ8 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 462 Location: kuwait

comic books - archies or some japanese comic series called MANGA there are also other spin offs (that is a fly away best seller in kuwait)
or the one girls will fight the boy students to get their hands on - World Wrestling Federation Smackdown magazine (just make sure the model in bikinis are blacked over)

007 · Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:18 am Post subject:

Manga and comics books to promote reading!

Well, I wonder why the characters/personalities in manga look white.
Do the Japanese consider themselves as white European more than Asians? Why?

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

Iedit

15yearsinQ8 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006 Posts: 462 Location: kuwait

the national curricullum of the gulf states are so strict that there is no 'pleasure reading'
therefore, educators must target reading to a specific pre-existing interest (eg sports cars, shopping, tv shows)
expat teachers are never going to get gulf students fired up on great literature

Splitting Hairs · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 99

Many of my students (UAE nationals) love reading and many of them choose the classics above everything else. Perhaps you did not emphasize pleasure reading enough - I know of many teachers (Read carlen) who are getting all students of all grades into reading and they are asking for it more and more.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Oh carlen... who do I write to in order to get you in charge of all English reading instruction for K-12 in the whole Gulf. Cool

Yes... I know... fat chance. And there are many teachers right now who are working for the same goal... and many of us who have been saying this to everyone who would listen for the last 20 years. But, I think that things are finally moving in the right direction.

As one who loved reading from the age of 5, I found it so frustrating that the students just hated every moment of it. In my many years in the Gulf at university level, I encountered exactly 2 readers... who read for the joy of reading. The rest ranked it with having root canals.

I salute you carlen... and the rest of you who are working on this project. They need a true bi-lingual system from primary school if they are going to require English as the language in tertiary. (and not keep having students in years and years of foundations courses... and lowered standards far beyond that level)

VS

carlen · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Posts: 172 Location: UAE

seven seas · Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Tom- I think it was The National. I don't even bother with the others.

Carlen, VS- good work. We mustn't forget that 30 years isn't really that long. A culture of reading required a culture of settlements. It must be so exciting to be part of a systemised effort to instill reading values in a society!!

007- Japan is in many respects much more similar to the developed west than it is to Asian countries generally. Economy, development, sports and civic life are very similar. Linguistically, Japanese is almost an isolate- most linguists are not 100% sure how to classify it.

But I don't think the drawings look very un-Japanese!!

Just saw your last post carlen- I hope things work out for you!!

Mine's a pint · Joined: 08 Feb 2007 Posts: 46 Location: Somewhere

I have got my students to read by giving them things that they want to read. Last week, one class requested a crime story. So I brought in a short crime story. The room was silent for about 30 minutes. The story was 8 pages long. At the end, we discussed about 15 items of vocabulary. Then I had them put events from the story in order. This generated some discussion as there was some disagreement. When it was over, the students told me how much they had enjoyed the class.

My own experience is that students want the opportunity to read without the pressure of assessment. They will take it if it is presented to them - perhaps not too often. I have sessions like the one above about two to three times a month.

In an earlier semester, I took students to our ILC with a simple task sheet to record name of book and author, page read, a brief synopsis of the pages they had read and 5 new words learnt. I did this once a week. Some students read several chapters; others read the same chapter over and over again.

I have experienced almost no resistance so long as there was a clear start and finish. I sit with the students and read as well.

MaP