The book reviewed here is the third edition of a book first written in 2002. The writers are based at Northern Arizona University and for some years they have been considered leading scholars in the field of teaching second language reading.
The book is divided into three major parts. The first looks at the nature of L1 and L2 reading, the second gets into implications for teaching, while the third part examines the idea of action research on the part of teachers.
I would say that the first part of the book is the strongest. The writers lay out in a clear and detailed manner the importance of reading and the processes involved in reading, in particular aspects such as the priority of reading a lot of easily understood texts, the vital role of vocabulary and grammar knowledge and the relationship between L1 knowledge and L2 reading ability. The traditional distinction between low-level processes (bottom-up) and high level processes (top down) is explained, along with the view that for too long it was thought that a focus on the latter was the most important. Grabe and Stoller argue that reading needs to be taught (modelled), not just tested. Useful quotations from scholars are clearly highlighted along the way.
When it comes to the practical instructional implications of the research the second part is stronger on principles than actual teaching procedures. Principles are important, but teachers might enjoy more detailed descriptions of lesson ideas. At one point, the writers acknowledge that lack of space prevented them from doing this. Perhaps they could have just decided to make it a higher priority?
In this respect the book reminds me of John Field’s book Teaching Listening in the Languages Classroom, which was one inspiration for our book Breaking the Sound Barrier. Issues raised in that book are blogged here. Field’s book was better on information and principles than classroom activities. Like John Field, Grabe and Stoller, argue that to model the process of reading you need to identify the sub-skills and strategies involved, then attempt to teach them. This means, for example, teaching vocabulary explicitly to make lexical retrieval instant and less taxing on working memory. It also means making sound-spelling correspondences explicit to learners so that they have a clear phonological representation of words in long-term memory. It also means specifically teaching students about discourse structure (text structure) and reading strategies.
One underlying principle to emphasise is that Grabe and Stoller are in the emergentist camp when it comes to reading acquisition. This means that, like writers such as Nick Ellis whom they quote more than once, they believe acquiring linguistic skills is akin to the acquisition of any cognitive skill and happens partly through a statistical learning process - the more you encounter a pattern, the more likely you are to acquire it. They do not attribute language acquisition to a specific language acquisition faculty.
The third part of the book about classroom research is above all, I would say, a plea to teachers to engage with their classes to see what works, using theoretical knowledge as a support. Elsewhere they make the point that textbook texts and exercises are often insufficient. With a better knowledge of theory you are better placed for adapting or rejecting the texts and exercises you are given. I blogged about ways you can adapt text books here.
So, as I mentioned, when it comes to specific classroom activities the book is thinner, and where activities are described, these are generally most appropriate for learners at intermediate level and above. A section about building reading fluency is useful, including a sequence of exercises involving repeat reading, reminiscent of task-repetition as advocated by Paul Nation. The key point Grabe and Stoller make in this context is that you can’t assume fluency of reading will develop on its own. You need to build fluency training into the reading curriculum, along with a planned approach to vocabulary.
The book is rich in up to date research references, including descriptions of key studies from L1 and L2 reading literature. I would say that I was anticipating a greater emphasis on chunking. Although the writers refer to the role of chunking for efficient use of working memory, as well as the role of collocations, they don’t place huge emphasis on the advantages of chunks over isolated words when designing lesson resources and plans.
One key takeaway from the book is that to develop reading skill over time you need to read a lot, preferably in every lesson, with the emphasis on interesting texts at the right maturity and linguistic level. It's a reminder to me that MFL teachers are in dire need of graded readers which students can read quietly. Grabe and Stoller are keen on the idea of Sustained Reading, supported by the teacher (as opposed to what Krashen calls Sustained Silent Reading, which is unaided).
They remind us of research carried out by Nation and others which suggests that for comprehension to be adequate, texts need to contain 98% known words. They do not claim that ALL texts need to be this comprehensible, but the principle is clear enough. They also argue that reading needs to be integrated with the other skills, with a particular focus in the book being on the principle of “read-to-write” activities. The key role of vocabulary knowledge is consistently referenced.
All in all, this is probably a book which will be of most benefit to those wanting to improve their knowledge of theory and principles rather than day to day practice. On that basis it is very good indeed, what you might call a standard work on reading. The relative lack of practical application and fine-grained description of lessons is not unusual for a book written by academics whose prime focus is rarely the classroom, especially the beginners’ classroom.
Find the book here for around £26.
https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-and-Researching-Reading/Grabe-Stoller/p/book/9781138847941
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