Tales from the Desh

On Oct. 21, 2009, Senior English Language Fellow John Mark King gave a workshop entitled, “Judging a Book by Its Cover: The First Step in Becoming an Effective Reader” to a group of 29 current teachers at the Academy of Pedagogical Mastery in St. Petersburg, Russia. Most of the teachers work at secondary schools and often teach reading. However, they admitted to rarely using authentic materials, primarily because they are too difficult for their students. In addition, they admitted to relying almost entirely on simple translation and text analysis. The Fellow suggested that materials written for native speakers can be used creatively in all classes, the only difference being that lower-level students will be asked to read less of the material than higher-level students.

To demonstrate this, the Fellow divided the teachers into groups and gave each of them a different book. The material included historical and suspense fiction, travel writing and historical non-fiction, all written for native speakers of English. The Fellow asked teachers to learn as much as they could from each book without looking inside. The teachers were then asked to evaluate each and share with their classmates whether or not (and why) their book is one they would choose to read themselves.

This, the teachers learned, is one of the qualities of an effective reader. All too often, learners select material to read and find later that it is either too difficult or uninteresting. The result is a loss of confidence and interest in reading as a whole. Practicing such skills not only generates interest in reading and allows low-level students to participate in reading activities with authentic materials, but it also helps students to develop the necessary skills of an effective reader.

This workshop is part of a series of bi-weekly events the Fellow is hosting in addition to his regular work at the Academy of Pedagogical Mastery. The goal is to provide a wide variety of teachers from all districts in St. Petersburg with innovative and creative approaches to English language education.

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