Brett Reynolds learned Japanese in the nine years he spent there teaching English as a foreign language but continues to struggle with reading. He has set up ER & EL components at Sakuragaoka Girls' High School in Tokyo and Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning where he is currently professor of English for Academic Purposes. He also started the Japanese Graded Readers Project. Brett holds a M.Ed. in TESOL from Temple University.
The only way to learn to so something well is to do it - not once but thousands, even millions, of times. This is equally true whether one is learning to play the piano, do crossword puzzles, or read and hear Japanese. Given this truism, it's a shame that few students of Japanese as a second or other language (JSOL) get much practice doing either.
In this paper I explain how extensive reading (ER) and extensive listening (EL) address this problem. I explain how ER and EL differ from the teaching of reading and listening using standard classroom materials or materials designed for native speakers of Japanese (NSJ) often citing research conducted and methods used with English language learners. Finally, since appropriate materials are few and far between, I provide teachers with some guidelines for filling these holes.
Unfortunately, it will be years before enough materials are available to do true ER and EL and it will probably be decades before ER and EL become widespread in the study and teaching of JSOL. But, unless teachers like you care a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. (With apologies to Dr. Seuss).
Brett sensei's paper is at http://mail.humber.ca/~reynoldb/jgr/twoholes.html
So read the paper above and go to TAPPED IN with the new interface. There, you will be able to discuss this topic with Brett sensei and others from around the world. TAPPED IN is open to everybody and the presentation will be done in English.
This event is open to anybody who is interested in the topic. It will be at After School Online Room at http://ti2.sri.com
Instructions to log in as a guest and get to the After School Online Room:
1. Go to http://ti2.sri.com
2. Click the "Guest Login" Button on the TAPPED IN home page
3. Fill in your name (up to 6 letters) and click on "Log in as a Guest"
4. When loading is done, you will be in the Reception area.
5. To talk, type in the message in the window next to the word SAY. Then press the SEND button or the ENTER key
6. In order to get to After School Online room, you can click on After School Online in the Featured Passageways.
You can view Introduction to the TI2 User Interface at http://ti2.sri.com/tappedin/web/help/ui.jsp
If you have problems connecting from a school computer, you may be behind firewall. Please read Firewall explanation in FAQ..
If you still need help, please mail TAPPED IN staff at ti2contactus@tappedin.org.
TAPPED IN™ is the online workplace of an international community of education professionals. K-12 teachers and librarians, professional development staff, teacher education faculty and students, and researchers engaged in professional development programs and informal collaboration with colleagues.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Manager of SenseiOnline at senseionline-owner@yahoogroups.com
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