DIGITAL LIBRARY
FROM BOOK REPORTS TO READING FOR PLEASURE
The American University in Dubai (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2011 Proceedings
Publication year: 2011
Pages: 3502-3511
ISBN: 978-84-614-7423-3
ISSN: 2340-1079
Conference name: 5th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 7-9 March, 2011
Location: Valencia, Spain
Abstract:
This paper explores how book reports can contribute to major changes in low-intermediate students’ leisure reading habits. The study discusses (1) how to change aliteracy attitudes and (2) how to foster students’ interest in reading for pleasure starting from graded class activities. A number of 32 low-intermediate EFL students of both genders were surveyed in an effort to understand how their attitudes towards reading for pleasure change after having to write two different book reports for grades. Comparative data showed that there is an intrinsic connection between how the book reports were organized as graded class activity and the number of students who started borrowing fiction books from the library after the book reports were graded. The study also revealed that a lack of reading habits at home or in their previous educational background was identified as the main cause of aliteracy in the study group.
Keywords:
Reading for pleasure, reading skills, book reports.