Can Learners Make the Jump from the Highest Graded Readers to Ungraded Novels?: Four Case Studies

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Can Learners Make the Jump from the Highest
Graded Readers to Ungraded Novels? Four Case
Studies

• Diane Schmitt
• Jez Uden
• Nottingham Trent University
• Norbert Schmitt
• University of Nottingham

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Lexical Coverage and Reading Comprehension

• For most learners to gain adequate comprehension
  when reading fiction for pleasure 98 coverage is
  generally agreed to be the coverage required
  (Nation, 2009, Laufer Ravenhorst-Kalovski,
  2010, Schmitt, Jiang, Grabe, 2011).

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Lexical Coverage and Reading Comprehension

• For extensive reading to be effective, it must be
  comprehensible and meaningful.
• Unless learners are at an advanced stage of their
  language development, the vocabulary load of
  unsimplified reading material (e.g. newspapers,
  novels) will probably be too high for the input
  to be comprehensible (Schmitt, 2008).

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Lexical Coverage and Reading Comprehension

• In order to meet the conditions needed for
  learning from extensive reading at a variety of
  levels of proficiency, it is essential to make
  use of simplified texts (Nation, 200949).

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Graded Readers
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http//www.xreading.com/extensive/levels
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A Bridge to Ungraded Reading?

• Philip Prowse, Series Editor of the Cambridge
  Readers (CER), states that the CER series was
  intended as a bridge to ungraded reading
  (personal communication).

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Key Question

• Does the use of graded readers really promote
  learning by providing for a smooth and orderly
  progression to full English, as it is supposed
  to? (Honeyfield, 1977431)

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Differing Views

• Nation has repeatedly claimed that graded reader
  schemes need to go much higher (Hirsh Nation,
  1992, Nation Wang, 1999, Hu Nation, 2000,
  Iatefl, 2011).
• 8,000 9,000 words are needed to obtain 98
  coverage of the running words in an unsimplified
  text (Nation, 200999-10).

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Differing Views

• From my experience learners at this highest
  graded reader level usually want to wean
  themselves off graded readers and try native
  texts even if they are actually hard and even if
  the coverage rate isn't perfect for fluent
  reading. (Waring, 2008)

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The Study

1. What is the gap between the highest level of
   graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms of
   vocabulary load?
2. Do learners have the requisite vocabulary
   knowledge to meet this gap?
3. What happens to learners comprehension as they
   make the jump from the highest level of graded
   reader to ungraded fiction?
4. What happens to learners reading speed as they
   make the jump from the highest level of graded
   reader to ungraded fiction?
5. What happens to learners perceptions of reading
   pleasure and ease as they make the jump from the
   highest level of graded reader to ungraded
   fiction?

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Participants

1. Measured before starting Level 6 readers
2. Measured after reading Level 6 readers and before
   ungraded novels

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Research Design

• 10 weeks - Preliminary Reading
• participants read
• 10 Level 5 Cambridge Readers
• 18 weeks - Main Study
• participants read
• 10 Level 6 Cambridge Readers (last 2 focus of
  study)
• 2 ungraded novels
• participants were tested on
• Known words in each of the 4 books
• Reading Comprehension
• Reading Speed
• Perception of Reading Ease/Pleasure

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Research Design

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Data Collection Instruments
Yes/No Vocabulary Tests Book Title
Size of Test (No of Words) Murder
Maker 134 This Time its Personal 138 Way
of the Peaceful Warrior 573 The
Innocent 633
1 in 4 sampling rate
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Data Collection Instruments

• Multiple choice reading comprehension
• One test for each book
• 15 M/C items per test

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Data Collection Instruments
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Data Collection Instruments
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Data Collection Instruments

• Reading Speed Measurements
• Assessed on reading speed for all four books
• Read at a comfortable pace and timed for fifteen
  minutes (3 x 5 minutes) at the beginning of each
  book. At the end of each five minute set the
  participants were asked to underline the last
  word they reached. The reading speed for each set
  was measured, recorded in words per minute and
  combined to produce an overall average.

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Data Collection Instruments

• Perception of Reading Ease/Pleasure Questionnaire

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Data Collection Timeline
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Results

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What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms of
vocabulary load?

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Graded Reader Jumps
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What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms of
vocabulary load?

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Do learners have the requisite knowledge to meet
this gap?

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What happens to learners comprehension as they
make the jump from the high level of graded
reader to ungraded fiction?
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What happens to learners reading speed as they
make the jump?

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What happens to learners perceptions of reading
pleasure and ease as they make the jump?

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Further Points

• Overall, 3 learners were able to make the jump to
  unsimplified novels successfully
• The jump was not much different than a
  progression between Graded Reader levels
• Marta quit Peaceful Warrior because of the
  content, not linguistic difficulty

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Further Points

• One learner (Deimante) found the jump difficult,
  and preferred to stay with the graded readers
• The learners reading pleasure seemed to have
  more to do with the books themselves than whether
  graded/unsimplfied

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Further Points

• In real terms, the small decrease in reading
  speed may not make a much of a difference
• Rose reading The Innocent
• 204 WPM 7 hours (graded reader speed)
• 163 WPM 8 hours 48 minutes (actual speed)
• Any real difference for pleasure reading?

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Further Points

• These results are for highly motivated learners
• Would the results be the same for learners with
  less motivation?

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Q A

• Slides and handout available at
• www.norbertschmitt.co.uk

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What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms of
vocabulary load?

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What happens to learners comprehension as they
make the jump from the high level of graded
reader to ungraded fiction?
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What happens to learners reading speed as they
make the jump?