novels as learning tool?

[machiruda]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, and to the world of English teaching but am in the middle of preparing for my first one-on-one lessons for the weekend (this site has already helped me a lot!) .
And, I have a question that I hope the expertise out here can help with...

I wonder to what extent using novels or non-fiction books (but other than purely textbooks) is a good way to motivate adults to study English. My teaching will be mostly conversational, and I will probably use newspaper clippings, handouts etc. But, in my own experience (in learning Japanese, but more generally in learning any language) reading novels in that particular language has been really helpful to improve vocabulary and to get a better insight into sentence structure. Of course, it's not really a 'conversational' tool, but do you encourage your students to read in English? Do you use books in your classes? And, most importantly maybe, what are good recommendations for books for intermediate learners to start with?

Thanks!

[edit: just noticed that there's a whole seperate forum/branch dedicated to literature and related stuff.... hadn't seen that! Will check it out when I have time later this week, but am also still interested in your thoughts!]

[Lorikeet]

I have a library in my school closet, consisting of a lot of history and biographies written for teens, some adapted books (These are classics that have been made easier--ostensibly for kids, but I never wanted my kids to read the dumbed down version of great literature. My students, however, some of whom have read the books translated into their native language, found them very interesting.), some children's books that I found particularly clever, and so on (including some written specifically for ESL students). I bought them at garage sales, library book sales, and accepted them from my kids when they decided their reading tastes had moved on. I used it as a library, allowing my students to borrow the books and keep them for as long as they wanted (until the end of the semester). Some students read a huge number of books. Some didn't read any. Some took all the kids' books I had and read them to their children. I always thought it was a success if even one student learned to enjoy reading in English.

I told them the purpose of the reading was enjoyment, and that they should get a book they could read without poking their heads into a dictionary all the time.

[Roger]

I am glad others see the benefits of reading too.
First thing: yes, it reinforces the familiarity of the learner with the sentence structures of the target language as the language becomes virtually "visible". The reader can pause, reflect and continue at his lesiure. He can check any reference materials for guidance.

It affords the learner a great way of getting grounded in the target language. He "communicates" far more effeiciently with the author than he would in oral discussions with a teacher or his peers in the classroom. He develops a feel for the language, intuition that native speakers develop over a far longer period.

The challenge is to find a suitable novel for your student, and a further challenge might be his motivation. I seem to notice that reading activities have dramatically decreased, owing to new flife styles and the temptations of modern electronic entertainment equipment.

[Glenski]

machiruda,
What is the goal for your students -- to read better or to speak better?

I teach in a Japanese high school. Despite what you might hear about the reading ability of J students being high, many are low. I teach a special class of higher level students with a reading focus.

We use Oxford and Penguin graded readers a lot, and they are perfect because they are geared towards several levels of difficulty. You will find some rather stuffy classics in the lot, but there are also plenty of contemporary novels, movie screenplays, and non-fiction titles.

If it's reading skills you want to improve, the key is reading a lot of material at OR BELOW their fluency level.

[machiruda]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Glenski, my students (ahem, so far have had no lessons yet... they're already bailing out on me!) want to improve conversational skills/fluency in speaking. However, I would think that reading books that uses everyday English will be good to get a better understanding of sentences and usage.
I guess books that have a lot of dialogues would be best?

[mrandmrsjohnqsmith]

Are you in Japan? If so, you might want to find out a little more of what your prospective students want from you. A good number of conversation students in Japan really only want the chance to have a verbal exchange with a native speaker, and little more than that. You mentioned that your students are bailing on you. Is it possible that you're scaring them off with the idea of getting them to read novels? I wouldn't reccomend it to any but the most motivated students who are aggressive about expanding their abilities. Many Japanese students who sign up for private lessons don't want that. They just want a native speaker to practice their chatting skills on, for the purpose of building their confidence and getting their mouths used to saying all of the things they were made to read and write during their compulsory education.

[Roger]

I am surprised to read that someone suspects a FT to "scare" their Japanese English students with their too-serious approach...
How come? How can an FT "scare" their students this way?

Japanese students are very comparable to Chinese ones; diffident, fickle, bookishly dedicated to study but not endowed with a hands-on approach, nor is the latter a goal on the local schools' agenda. Why not???

Students need to learn how to solve their own problems without forever relying on preconceived solutions to preconceived and foreseen problems; they must learn to taylor-make them to suit their own circumstances. That's especially true of an organic subject such as a foreign language.

My students nag me all the time with non sequiturs such as "we want to talk with YOU" because I am, in their flattering opinion, an "ideal" partner for that. I do reserve for me the right to disagree!

Learning - or getting grounded in - a second language requires of the learners that they do in a few years what the native speaker has been doing all his or her life. Do Japanese students have the time to catch up with an adult English speaker?

What's more, learning always is an endeavour with the goal to achieve something that others have defined; proper and correct English might be one of those objectives that our students should pursue. Under their own teachers accuracy is totally neglected, as is fluency. When these young learners are faced with native speakers they think they have learnt enough, can relax and just spout forth what comes spontaneously to their minds. They fail to realise that what they would like to discuss they had better discuss among themselves. Nobody has told me yet why our students cannot talk in English among themselves or under their own teachers. Yet, this is a questioln that should be taken seriously.
I hold that students must learn to relate to the person that is their discussion partner, and to the topics both of them can develop. I don't go for Chinese chit-chat that smacks of direct translations from their textbooks. These dialogues are asinine in most cases. They don't prepare students for the real life out there. If they want to discuss things, they should learn to focus on something their FT defines for them. They need to hone more than their mere English skills - they also need to learn to think laterally, and beyond their national box.
This is why grounding them in literature would be much more helpful. It's really a pity that literature isn't high on the national agenda of most countries.