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Eötvös Loránd TudományegyetemTanító- és Óvóképző Főiskolai Kar

Olasz Líviatanító, angol műveltségterület

The integration of contemporary children’s literature into

Teaching Englisgh to Young Learners

Témavezető/consultant teacher: Kovács Judit PhD, MEd,főiskolai docens

Budapest, 2010

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Contents

Abbreviations 4Acknowledgement 4I. Introduction 5

1. The designation of the topic, aims, the confirmation of the essay 52. Hypothesis, problem definition 5

II. Children and literacy 6

1. The foreign language in the Hungarian National Curriculum 6

2. Reading Processes 7

2.1 Skills 8

2.2 Strategies 8

3. The children and second language 10

4. Literature and Children 12

5. Reading comprehension exercises 15

6. The Harry Potter Phenomenon 24

7. Assessment 25

8.Find material with limited access, copyright and other issues to consider 27

9.Examine the chosen book/text/material 28

III.Conclusion 29

References 31

Appendices 33

1. European Language Passport Evaluating System

2. Roald Dahl: Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

3. Cat in the Hat CD

4. Me and My Cat

5. Me and My Cat

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Acknowledgement

I owe special thanks to Kovács Judit PhD, Med for her insightful comments and encouragement.

It has been invaluable that she shared her deep knowledge of language and methodology with

me, and showed an interest in my work. I would also like to thank all my teachers at the

Department of English Language, ELTE-TÓK for the inspiring courses. Finally, thanks are dueto employees of the Library of ELTE-TÓK. It is a great privilege to be part of the stimulating

research environment, which undoubtedly contributed to this thesis.

Abbreviations:

ESL: English as a Second Language

TPR: Total Physical ResponseCHL: Children's Literature

L2: Second Language

L1: First Language

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I. Introduction

1.The designation of the topic, aims, the confirmation of the essay

I have chosen this topic according to my wide experiences about reading. I observed my sisters

how they used the literature in their development and I could compare it to mine. Children need a

lot of tales to understand and give meaning to the world around them. They understand the tales

with a little help even if it is written in a foreign language. The closer is the represented world to

their real world the more enthusiastic they are. My main aim is to reveal the advantages of the

integrated literature on an ESL lesson. First I examined the Hungarian Curriculum in the view of

second language teaching and later the presence of the reading requirements. In the following

chapter I have a look into the world of reading processes and the connection between the child

and second language learning. Then I will reach the main field of my study. I study the literature

in generally. Then I focus on the contemporary literature, and how it can be used by a teacher

who has limited possibility to access such material. At the end I used a book to show how these

studies can be embedded into the practical side of teaching. These examples are closely related to

the read literature and my experiences in my own teaching. These activities and influenced my

teaching ideas deeply and my attitude to activities in the ESL lesson.

2. Hypothesis, problem definition

In every lesson to make the children understand us (or the text) is a very challenging thing. If we

present the topic on a very high standard or if we expect the child he/she is not yet capable their

global interest may be harmed or they loose interest in the subject. In my opinion we should

show entire works, because it will improve the child's global understanding and cognitive skills.

The main problem is the next: If the child doesn't know the story, the words in the story, how can

we help in a direct or indirect way the young learner. We do not want our learners to confidence

or lose interest in studying English but we should bear in mind the holistic principle of teaching.

Also we have to take into consideration that it is rare to have a class with equal abilities. I agreewith those who state that literature enables the teacher to differentiate with less and enjoyable

effort. I also suggest that literature referring to the child's interest and world makes them more

motivated. Therefore becomes important the contemporary literature, and it is the teachers

responsibility to chose an adequate piece of work to the learners. For choosing the proper text I

will also give some detailed information.

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II. Children and literacy

1. The foreign language in the Hungarian National Curriculum

The National Curriculum is separated into eight main sections. In the third it discusses the key

competencies relevant in the Hungarian education and one of these is the foreign languagecommunication competence. The foreign language communication can be described with the

elements of the first language communication (e.g.: heard and written text, creating texts). It also

states that knowing an other language also requires to understand its culture.

To be able to communicate in a foreign language the subject needs to know the vocabulary,

grammar and main types of interactions and linguistic types. Also it is important to know the

cultural heritage and traditions of a nation if we want to communicate in a language. According

to personal demands the subject should be able to read, understand and create texts orally anduse the facilities to maintain the idea of lifelong learning as well as cultural diversity. The

citizens should be able to orient themselves in the European multicultural. social, economical

environments, also to understand the connection of the national and European identity. The

pupils should gather information about European Union but this knowledge should help them to

take advantage of the new facilities in the EU. Moreover the educational system should prepare

the pupils/students for the integration into the open communities of the European countries. Each

school and student should take apart directly in the cultivation of the international connections

and relations.

In the second part of the curriculum it is divided into several subjects (mathematics, literature,

second language). The foreign language learning is obligatory in each and every school from the

fourth grade until the end of school-age (18 years). In the first five years of learning a second

language it should support the child to become familiar with the language in a playful way. The

pupils needs define the aims of the learning and the teaching of a foreign language. It is also a

principle the create a knowledge which is adaptive, and can be developed from time to time.

Therefore the main aim is to form a communicative language competence which equals with the

practically usable knowledge. The pupils are supposed to use a language proper for the situation,

and which language should be measured and evaluated by the four basic language competences.

These are: speaking, listening, reading and writing.

The main aspect for the teachers to teach the pupils to use a language in an adaptive,flexible,

sustainable knowledge which leads to a common knowledge in the child. They should realize

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and take advantage of being a part of a wider society. The Council of Europe has created a

common language evaluating system1. Using this the Curriculum determines the expected levels

for each stage in the Hungarian education. This is also used in the new Europass system and the

aims of the Curriculum are harmonized with these aspects as well. By the end of the sixth garde

each student should have a knowledge of A1- or A1 level of the chosen foreign language.The Curriculum also describes the language as a tool in the everyday life. Namely it states that

children are supposed to read and understand easier subscripts, advertisements, catalogues,

therefore understand authentic written language. While in the teaching of the Hungarian

language the reading, grammar and literacy is one of the most important subject there is no such

rule in the English language. As we saw only the levels are given and the Local Curriculum of

the school is supposed to provide information about the requirements and the attainable

knowledge.In the next chapter I will focus on the second language reading attributes, abilities, and facilities.

2. Reading Processes

There are many theories about how reading is processed, but in general it is to turn the signs on a

page into meaning. As teachers we always have to take into consideration that reading is an

essential ability that creates connection with the reader and the surrounding world 2.

We can not forget that reading does not start when we start teaching the second language. By

examining these aspect we can help our learners to develop not only their reading ability in

second language but their first language reading ability as well. If the reader has a concept how

to read she/he may transfer this experience in second language reading as well3. Also the children

just learnt to read in their first language, some of them may not have enough experience to rely

on while reading in a foreign language. This article suggests that first language reading starts

when they already have a lot of schemata about the first language system and they have very

limited knowledge about the second language (L2) system, vocabulary. When a child has poor

reading abilities in L2 we have to consider that his/her mistake may not be a language knowledge

one but a reading ability related. Also background knowledge is an important factor to examine.

It clearly influences the success of a task given in a foreign language. Take the example of

creating stories with children 4. If we wish to recall knowledge about Little Red Riding Hood and

1 See appendix 1.2 Hudson, Thom (2007): Teaching Second Language Reading. First Edition. Oxford, Oxford University Press 57.

3 Ibid. 60.

4 Kovács, Judit (2009): A gyermek és az idegen nyelv. First Edition. Budapest. Eötvös Kiadó 136.

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we let them know the story's Hungarian title it clearly helps them. But it only works if they know

the story in Hungarian.

2.1 Skills

Generally we think that skills are the following: reading,speaking, writing, listening. If we have closer look on

this topic we will see that it is not so easy to separate

skills, if we want to separate them at all. There have been

many studies around this topic. I accepted the one which

states that skills are gained while practising or training.5

The reader has to learn these skills, has to improve them if

there is a need in his language development. When thelearner's reading behaviour is integrated it builds up a

coherent pattern (e.g. not vocabulary but meaning will be

more important). The experienced reader can free his/her

mental resources from the cognitive demands of the reading (look for information, coherency,

inconsistency in the text). Knowing these skills we can help to develop them. In general we can

state that all of the reading skills can embedded into the following four categories:

1. decoding skills

2. comprehension skills

3. fluency skills

4. critical reading skills

While assimilating a text it is hard to set up a hierarchy within the skills but this may be helpful

when we create a curriculum for our learners. If a child makes a mistake frequently we can find

the weak skill and strengthen it, and this is the reason for knowing these skills as a teacher . If

the decoding skills are not well developed we can give a task focusing on the given skill.

2.2 Strategies

While using skills we are not conscious but when we use strategies we are rather conscious. The

reader creates and maintains the meaning of the acquired text. The subject uses the skills to

generate strategies. These strategy can be predicting, confirming, reflecting, etc., and the reader

usually use them to facilitate the work of the conscious mind and rather focus on comprehension.

Here a good teacher also have to remember that if he/she knows the possible causes it is easier to

correct them.

5 Hudson, Thom(2007): Teaching Second Language Reading. First Edition. Oxford, Oxford University Press 78.

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Figure 1: Example for helping decoding skills (analyse graphic symbols), Picture

Grammar for Children — Starte. David Vale, Macmillan Heinemann, 1999



Here I will examine the three main types of reading strategies, namely pre-reading, while-

reading, post-reading strategies6. Though the classifying strategies might be as complex as it was

with the skills)

Most of these strategies are involved in the methodology of teaching reading in a foreign

language. But some are unfortunately ignored such as some factors about reading strategies. The pre-reading activities are relevant because here we can calm the children, focus their mind onto

the text, raise their interests. (e.g. check the lighting in the classroom, provide the text to each

child). The children who just started to

learn a foreign language are not provided

with these strategies (maybe not even in

their L1) but if we wish to comprehend a

text successfully we still can do a lot for it. A good reader checks the

comprehension during the whole reading

activity. The teacher should not forget

that text factors are as important as

strategies and skills. If we wish to call

forth the main idea of a text it is better to

have the main idea early in the text.

Setting the reading purpose may not be

relevant if we assimilating a tale but

when we read it second time we still can

set a purpose (e.g. evaluating readers or

characters). To make an inference may

sound too difficult for a child but just think about questions while comprehending a text with

your class (e.g. Why went the wolf to the grandmother?). If someone does not or hardly

understands a text it is very difficult to answer to such inferential comprehension questions. But

an ideal teacher still can help. Building up routines (e.g. the W-s, who, where, what) and use

them wherever and whenever possible brings confidence to the child. The proper preparation is

also vital because unknown vocabulary may confuse the child. They are looking for a sense in

the text using their background knowledge and if they find something new they try to find it out

by guessing the general meaning, finding similar words. If they give wrong meaning to a word

in this way it may be harder to overwrite this first impression later . If we give a comprehension

6 Hudson, Thom(2007): Teaching Second Language Reading. First Edition. Oxford, Oxford University Press 108.

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Figure 2: Reading strategies, Thom Hudson (2007): Teaching Second Language Reading. First Edition. Oxford, Oxford

University Press



task about the text we can easily develop each student according to strategy or skill we wish to

develop.

Also the teacher can help his/her students if he/she knows the appropriate and inappropriate

strategies while reading in L2. For instance saying the main idea over and over is not a good

strategy, while imaging or picturing the story mentally is a proper one. The teacher should notforget that if the student uses a strategy not proper for successful comprehension, it is not a

reason for being a poor reader, moreover being a poor reader results the usage of negative

strategies.

3. The children and second language

In the Hungarian education system the teacher meets the children at their age of 6-7. Maybe

language teaching does not start in the first grade. There has been lots of arguments about whento start teaching L2. One of the most known theories is the theory of critical period. This

hypothesis suggests that children are more capable to acquire a language in their early childhood

and this method is rather similar to the way their acquired their first language 7. Some research

suggest that children learn language in a holistic way and later this becomes into an analysing

method, when the subject concentrates only on one level of the language at a time. For example

adults learn a language separated into topics, like present simple, and they focus on one topic

each time. This study refers to a sensitive period in L2 learning. We have to bear in mind that

early L2 learning does not mean grammar teaching, we do not want the children to speak like

Shakespeare at the age of 8. According to the Hungarian Curriculum we wish to introduce the

English language in a holistic way, with games and the learning is not at all like in maths lessons

but rather than a game lesson in English. If we do a good job later on our learners will be able to

build upon that knowledge, when they are expected to become a professional user of the L2.

Here at this stage the teaching is qualitative and not quantitative. And here Hungarian teachers

has a lot to develop because it is very common that children go home and start conning the given

words. Although we teach the language most children do not learn it. They use their experiences

with their first language. They acquire the language and the success depends on the teacher. The

language input determines the whole process. In her study Kovács (Kovács 2009) states that the

input should be: rich, told in the target language and processed in small steps. With small

children we shall consider the thinking methods of the children. It is much related to actions, it

develops in interaction, related to the world perceptible with sense-organs and relies on schemata

children use in their everyday life. Other main characteristics to be considered while planning


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activities for young children are the followings (Wendy A. Scott, Lisbeth H. Ytreberg 1999)::

they can express the surrounding world with words, interpret their actions into words. Explain

the events around them supported with their logic, and they follow this in a simple way. “What

you say first happens first”. (Wendy A. Scott, Lisbeth H. Ytreberg 1999) They know and follow

rules as one main component of their lives. They extrapolate and use their imagination. Theymay not be able to separate fact and fiction. Until the age of 5-6 they are self-centred therefore

are hardly able to cooperate. They like playing. They can play as seriously as a teenager studies.

They like when they have a product after their hard 'work'.

Later on at the age of 8-10 years they change a bit. They keep asking questions maybe more

than ten at a time. It may seem they know nothing while they are still forming their schemata

about the world. They became conscious about their studies and can divide the things they like or

do not like. This list is not full and each and every child differs from the others, therefore some

of them are more matured than others. By harmonising their needs and abilities we can help them

to develop on the most appropriate level.Bearing these things in mind we see that oral language input is the main source for learning is the

oral language spoken by the teacher. The second most important source is the printed world of

English. They continuously develop their oral language the printed world becomes more and

more important.

Hungarian language uses Latin letters so the learners should be familiar with them, but the

teacher should bear in mind that this similarity can confuse the children. There are several

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Figure 3: Read and do activity, Picture Grammar for Children - Starter. David Vale, Macmillan Heinemann, 1999



methods to choose from. We can decide which one is the best for our class. Even if we bound

ourselves to one it does not mean we can not use approaches from an other one.

According to Wendy A. Scott 8 the main types are:

1. Phonics: In this method first we teach the alphabet as letters are pronounced. This method

should be used carefully as it can confuse children learning reading in their ownlanguage.

2. Look and say: This method uses flashcards and operates with words. The children can

learn quickly and have the experience of the language at the very beginning of their

study. This approach also enables a lot of joyful activities.

3. Whole sentence reading: Here the teacher uses whole sentences. They have meaning andit requires a lot from the teacher (choose sentences properly).

4. Language experience approach: this method is similar to the sentence reading one but

here all the sentences are in connection with the children.

We must not forget that these methods are adaptive and we may use them variably, depending on

the level our learners have already reached.

4. Literature and Children

The step-by-step principle should be kept in mind when we introduce the literature to our

learners. Just think about the small, lick-resist, plastic books, with one word on each page with a

colourful picture. This might be the first step into literacy in English as well. Books with pictures

and short, clear sentences might come next. It is not enough to show the pictures and repeat the

words. The children learn better when they have to use these words. And it is the teacher's

responsibility to create situations where they can use the words. Here remember to the principle

of TPR. Total Physical R esponse means that if the children answer with their whole body it

helps them to remember and memorize the task. Here children do not have to use the target

language but makes a physical response to the teacher's instruction. The best example on TPR is

Simon says game. I call out a word they do something in response.

Definition of children's literature

8 Scott A., Wendy and Ytreberg H. Lisbeth (1999): Teaching English to Children. Eleventh Edition. New Your – London.

Longman 49-51.

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In my thesis I accept the following definition 9 whereas children's literature means the literature

“that has appeal for young readers”. Here note that young means the age from pre-school age

until the end of teenage. This may lead the reader to some scientific knowledge or pleasant in

arts. It is also a main feature that the illustrations are more important that in adult-literature. The

number of the pictures is in inverse proportion to the readers age. The older is the reader thefewer pictures the text has. The books for young learners can be imaginative or has a message

that remembers the reader to his/her own memories and/or observations. In the far past there

were a few books written intentionally for young readers. If there was any it had mainly

educational aims. Only in the 1800's appeared the first books written for children (Charles

Perrault and the most known Grimm Brothers, although there are still many arguments whether

these stories were written for children or not). I would also note that the original edition of the

Grimm tales has the age limit of 6.The definition on Wikipedia is also remarkable it distinguishes 6 different categories:

1. Picture Books

2. Traditional literature

3. Fiction

4.Non-fiction

5. Biography, autobiography

6. Poetry and verse

There is also a categorization by age but as many editor as many categorization exist. According

to the aforementioned Encyclopedia there are 5 main categories of CHL. Even if we think about

contemporary or classic literature. I will try to bring a contemporary example on each category.

These are:

1. Poetry: It is the genre which has humour, action, and the most important thing: musical

language. This musicality can make a real help in learning such thing like names of the

months, days and counting. Main favourite example on this is the Little Red Riding Hood

and the Wolf by Roald Dahl. Just by listening to it makes me smile and as soon as one

understands the meaning you can not resist the laugh10.

9 Zeleny O., Robert O. (1990): Literature for Children. In: The World Book Encyclopedia, 1990, Volume 12. “L” 358-373.

10 See appendix 2.

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2. Folk literature: its most precious value is its simplicity. The main character is easy to

identify with. And here I must note a very interesting type of folk tales. These are the so-

called urban legends from the recent past. Every city and place has its own legends (e.g.

strange neighbours) and we also

can use them in our teaching. Oldtales usually have a moral and

one of the best of these (which is

not very popular) is The

Stonecutter 11.

3. Fiction: This is the widest genre.

It has such components like

fantasies, adventure stories,animal stories, historical fiction,

mystery and detective stories (I

recently read one of these,

namely Jack Slater - Monster Investigator by John Dougherty. It was fun to read and it

can involve any kid in the age of 9-12. It has modern gadgets like cell-phone and big

torches, badge for children monster investigators. Here it is also easy to identify with the

main character. Also it has a special content the larger-than-life situations. This category

the teacher should be careful with. We wish to introduce the valuable literature for the

children. Maybe you read some of the new, modern, sparkling and shining books. (e.g.

Winx or Hannah Montana, and I could not even decide if it is literature or something else.

But the teacher should note, that these popular icons may motivate Ls better than old, well-

known stories) There is a category true for each genre and this is picture books. These are easier

to comprehend and the pictures can help the reader to understand in inferring whether he got the

right meaning or not. Only a few are written for older reader. Books for beginner readers are in

the youngest type of books. They only became popular in the mid-1900's. These had a rather

recreational aim than teaching for purpose aim. These tell simple stories, have carefully

restricted vocabulary, and it is very easy to understand their main concept. Here I have to

mention Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel)12 a very well-known writer, because he was the first

writer who kept in mind the children's special need while writing a book. His works helps learn

11 Taylor K., Eric (2000): Using Folktales, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

12 Seuss Geisel, Theodor (1954): Cat in the Hat, www.childrenssoftwareonline.com (10.03.2010)

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Figure 4: An example on picture book can be used in ESL lesson



to read. And his works are closely related to the children's world of imagination. Just think about

Horton Hears a Who. Of this I have a very good authentic tape read by Dustin Hoffman

especially for kids13. The language is easy to understand and closely related to the children's

everyday life and imagination. Uses situations that can happen with them as well as it can be

heard in the Cat in Hat where it starts on very rainy, boring day. This also can be used in afollow-up activity in ESL lessons after processing the picture book.

5. Reading comprehension exercises

I have already made an excursion to the field of methods but now I wish to present some

practical ideas. I wish to show a global point of view. These exercises can be grouped by

different aspects. We can do it as we saw it in Hudson's book (Hudson 2007):

Pre-Reading Task While-Reading task Post-Reading task Previewing: make a word web aroundthe main picture of the text.

Completing: Write thewords that may occur and

belong to the picture

Grouping the words by the parts of the speech— grammar teaching

Present, grandmother, give, travel,luggage, green

Present, grandmother, give,travel, luggage, green

special, vacation

Nouns: Present,grandmother, luggage,vacation

Verbs: give, travel

Adjectives: green, special

Figure 5: Ideas for reading comprehension exercises based on Thom Hudson (2007): Teaching Second Language

Reading. First Edition. Oxford, Oxford University Press

Colour codes can be used here to develop the children's awareness on grammar. If we do not

wish to introduce these groups we can group them with questions: Who? When? How? What?

What doest it look like?

As we saw being successful reader requires several circumstances. Organization and preparation

issues may occur. The materials for young learners often focus on the words and sentences built

up from these words. The comprehension was to translate and understand these using the

separate words as a basis. 14 This method may lead that the child only has confidence when

13 See appendix 3.14 Grellet, Francoise (1981): Developing Reading Skills – A practical guide to reading comprehension exercises,, Cambridge

University Press, U.S.A. 6-7.

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he/she understands every single word and is familiar with the structures in the text. Ms Grellet

also suggests that the method 'from global to individual' is better than contrariwise. It reinforces

the idea that looking up single words in the dictionary makes a negative effect on the reading

achievement. It does not mean to present the text without prepare the children for it. Ms Grellet

also refers to the importance of authentic materials. Shall you not think about articles from theInternational Herald Tribune. There are books for young readers. Books with pictures and easy

sentences, and still they are authentic, while the pictures are intended especially for the text.

Although many literateurs suggest Disney books as not quality pieces, but we can use them to

create the interest in our learners. Look at Picture 4 and ideas for comprehension task comes

easily into mind. Here you can do a read-and-draw activity or read-and-count.

Note the holistic and interdisciplinary features of the ESL teaching, therefore we cannot separate

clearly one activity from an other. Moreover when we read we also can make this activity toforce the other basic-skills (e.g. listening, writing, speaking) and on the contrary.

Find it! In these kinds of exercises Ls have to find something in the text This can be a specific

word, or expression (Find the expression somebody said) Also can be a description (What does

somebody look like?) At a higher level they are able to find synonyms as well.

Fill out! We may think this is a hard task for young learners but we can do things to ease their

work. If we group the words by colour-codes (e.g. all the verbs are red) and their place is also

red, this way they have to choose from these colour-coded words.

Here the task may be:

One _____ she left for a _____ vacation.

But before she ____, she _____ me a special _______.

day long went gave present

The variation of this task can be, that the children have to find out words and put into the gaps.

This can raise their grammatical awareness without knowing grammatical definitions. Thus the

teacher has to be consequent with the colour code. This also can be used as a pre-reading

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Figure 6: from A cool kid - like me! by Hans Wilhelm, 1990, Random House

Company



activity. For example we create a list of words in a box. First they tick the ones that remind them

of the topic. Then they colour these words with the colour code. At the end they can circle the

ones that were read in the text.

Continuing with this box they also can find words in the text that express the same thing. In her

book Ms Kovács15

(2009)suggests to use the classroom decoration as a teaching material. In the previously mentioned book Teaching English to Children there is also a good idea of creating the

English Corner in the classroom. If we can not afford such big place to dismiss we still can

create an English wall where these words can be put on.

Match it! Matching activities can be used from the very beginning of L2 teaching. Match the

words and pictures, sentences and characters, nouns and adjectives about a picture. (e.g. red-ball)

Be a detective! Personally I really like detective or mystery stories. So do children. If we can

make them motivated in a mystery they will be likely to help us. Think about a text that hasmissing words (though the colour code can be given). They have to find out about a letter, note,

anything that can give them a clue. In the story Monster Investigator, Jack finds a letter under his

bed by a monster who tries to warn him. This is a great possibility to embed such a task.

Moreover we can use the modern technology to make it more living (photocopy a soaked paper

where not every word can be read).

Underline! By underlining the unknown words may seem hazardous (the children may focus on

what they do not know instead of what they know). We can prevent it, if we give a task (clue)

that find the words that have similar meaning and by using it, they can try to guess the meaning

without concentrating on their lack of knowledge. Vocabulary can be taught directly and

indirectly. Direct instruction includes giving word definitions and pre-teaching of vocabulary

before reading a text. Indirect methods refer to incidental vocabulary learning, e.g. mentioning,

extensive reading and exposure to language-rich contexts. Repetition and multiple exposures to

vocabulary items (e.g. through speaking, listening and writing) are important. This should ideally

be done in connection with authentic learning tasks. Vocabulary learning should involve active

engagement in tasks, e.g. learning new vocabulary by doing a class project. Word definitions in

texts aid vocabulary development. Multiple methods, not dependence on a single method, will

result in better vocabulary learning.

Who? When? What? I often used the following technique to make my students to recognize the

relations within or between the sentences. Draw a triangle or any polygon. Write the question

words there, as many as we wish to answer, as it is shown in picture 3.


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Reading speed

Optimal reading speed is also an important component of

sufficient reading (although it becomes more and more

important later) We can improve this with such exercises asin the first language lesson. The teacher shows up a word for

a second and the learners have to read it. The next one is a

variation of this but may be better in the view that we can

give a sheet to each child and every pupil will work. The

other task may result that there will be some pupils who will give up and not working at all. Here

we make a list of similar words and a main word. The task is to find the similar one as fast as

possible. The variation of this is when there are expressions that are almost the same and theyhave to find where there are the same structures.

early bird – early birth

my coat – my coach

never mind – never mind

green land – green lamp

sunny day – sunny day

This kind of exercise also increases reading awareness. It is also a funny idea to write sentences

with non-sense words in them. (e.g. My mother cooked my favourite foot today.) The reader has

to find the wrong word and replace it with the proper one. Teachers can develop students’

phonological skills through a wide variety of activities. Rhymes, alliteration (words which start

with the same sounds) and poetry can be used to draw children’s attention to individual sounds in

the language. Teachers can focus on individual syllables and sounds in language in the context of

book reading. It does not have to be taught in total separation from other reading activities.

Teaching word recognition skills is an important first step. The second step is to ensure that

students can develop speed and ease in recognizing words and reading connected text. To assess

fluency, teachers need to listen to their students reading aloud. They should provide feedback to

the students about their reading. They also need to determine how much is understood. The

reading of texts with high frequency words will encourage fluency if the texts are interesting and

meaningful to the reader. For non-native speakers of a language, word recognition ability must

18

Figure 7: Recognize ralations in a text



match their oral language development. Repeated reading and paired reading (also called buddy

reading) are examples of activities that promote fluency through practice.16

In this section I wish to use the book by Satoshi Kitamura.17 . I chose this book because it has

several features I mentioned. Firstly it is contemporary. Secondly it is about a boy almost in the

same age as the readers. He has the everyday duties, problems and thoughts. The book has a

unique humour. I, personally, laughed on every page. And on the top of all it has nice pictures.

These contemporary books are good for teaching the inter-cultural approach as well. 18

In this books also there is a lot to see from this point of view. E.g. the whole house is a typical

English one, with the small yard at the back of the house. One of the biggest advantage of this

authentic book is that it requires a lot non-linguistic from the children's side, such as background

knowledge about the house, his/her school habits, family daily routines. We also can use our

English corner here19. Where they can find authentic material to look for information, when it isnecessary. The purpose for reading is closely connected to a person’s motivation for reading. It

will also affect the way a book is read. We read a dictionary in a different way from the way we

read a novel. In the classroom, teachers need to be aware of their students’ learning needs,

including their motivation for reading and the purpose that reading has in their lives. By talking

to the students about the different purposes for reading, they will become more conscious of

what to focus on as they read.

The usage of different types of texts (stories, news articles, information text, and literature) promotes different purposes and forms of reading. The use of authentic texts and tasks will

promote purposeful reading. Books and reading materials that are interesting and relevant to

students will motivate them to read more. Make connections between the reading material and

the students’ lives is great motivation source. Advantages of developing love for reading,

extends beyond academic success. Texts of the right reading level are neither too easy nor too

hard for a particular reader. Choosing texts of the right difficulty and interest levels will

encourage children to read and to enjoy what they are reading. Vocabulary, word length,

grammatical complexity and sentence length are traditionally used to indicate the difficulty level

of a text. The subject matter of a book is also an important factor. For instance, readers with

substantial prior knowledge of a subject will be able to use their knowledge to read more difficult

16 S. Pang, Elizabeth; Muaka, Angaluki; B. Bernhardt, Elizabeth; and Kamil; Michael L.: Teaching Reading

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac12e.pdf (10.03.2010)

17 Kitamura, Satoshi (1999): Me and my Cat? First Edition. London, Andersen Press


19 Ibid. 131.

19

http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac12e.pdf




texts. Cultural factors are important when choosing books for non-native speakers. Some

children’s books may contain references to situations, objects and experiences that are unfamiliar

to non-native speakers.

For both children and adults, native and non-native speakers, it is important to use authentic

texts. This means materials written with readers in mind, not texts constructed to illustratespecific vocabulary or word forms. It is also important to use a variety of authentic texts,

including both information texts and narrative or story texts. Students often have an easier time

reading information texts when they can use their knowledge of the topic. When assessing the

difficulty level of a text, it is important to consider the language used, as well as its subject

matter, interest level and assumed cultural knowledge. Apart from text difficulty, choose books

that are well-written in terms of style and language. Choose reading materials that utilize

students’ local context. For instance, books about what students enjoy doing would be a goodstarting point. Use information texts that contain topics with which the students are familiar. This

will allow them to use their prior knowledge and to learn more about the topic. Introduce reading

materials of different types (genres) and topics. A lack of variety of materials leads to a limited

reading and language experience.

If we use the topic-based method in our classroom Kitamura's 20 book can be very useful. For

example to teach the part of the house, the utensils in it, the daily routine (Nicholas's and the cat's

daily routine, mum's daily routine) They can be asked to fill out a table about the book and then

an other one with their family. Some teachers are afraid of using authentic (non-coursebook)

materials in his/her lessons21. Some may think it is not possible to adopt these sources into an

ESL lesson. For this I can recommend the following technique.

20 Kitamura, Satoshi (1999): Me and my Cat? First Edition. London, Andersen Press


20



Book Evaluation

Title of the book Me and My Cat? Muzzy and the KingsBirthday

Jack Slater, Monster Investigator

Author(s) Satoshi Kitamura Hazel Imbert John Dougherty

Publisher Andersen Press,London

BBC English, London Random House

Children's Books Level Beginner + Beginner + Lower Intermediate

Overall aims/approach To show how Nicholas' life haschanged for one day

How the King of Gondoland hascelebrated his birthday

How Jack and hisfriends save the worldfrom monsters

Types of text used Narrative, with shortdialogues

Narrative with longer dialogues

Narrative with funnyconversations

Skill/language areawhich book will help

to improve

Vocabulary, adverb of place, simple past,

daily routine, pets

Vocabulary, presentcontinuous

Vocabulary, timeseqence, predicting

Strengths of material Vivid pictures, goodconversations

Good sentences on present continuous(negative as well)

For a semester as areading diary

Weaknesses of material

More than lesson isnecessary for the

process

Some other sentencesmay be too difficult,needs proper

preparation

Needs proper material by the teacher. Followthe story, keep up thechildren's interests.

Suitable for my

students? (Y/N)

Yes, teach home

vocabulary.

Yes, for teaching

present continuous.

No, may be too

difficult, too mucheffort and may not besuccessful

Figure 8: Book evaluation: Lazar Gillian, 1993, Cambridge University Press, 58.

While doing this I kept in mind a class, that learnt English for two semesters (they are already

familiar with present simple). If we have time, or after school activity in English we can ask the

students to make some other materials which can be used in our English lessons. These materials

can be variable e.g. a puzzle with glassy surface so we can re-write on it22. In these cases

vocabulary connected to background or prior knowledge seems to be more important. A reader’s

interest in a subject matter will also influence the level of prior knowledge. All of these factors

are important to different degrees, depending on the reading task. A reader’s knowledge of the

world depends on lived experience. This is different in different countries, regions and cultures

(just think about Buddhism or Jewish culture). Reading tasks and reading instructions should be

sensitive to the types of prior knowledge that are needed from the reader to understand a text. As

I mentioned earlier books wherein the children meet objects they use and know can motivate


21



them more than anything else. For example one of my small pupils is a big fan of Xbox. When I

asked the class to write sentences with “like” he always used Xbox in these sentences. Also

when you get to know your pupils, you can group them and give different texts to each group.

Recently a book has become very popular among the school where I spent my practical training.

It is for children in the age of 9-12. This is Geronimo Stilton. He is a mouse, a journalist23

. This book has a lot of popular features (that may not occurred in classic juvenile literature). He is the

James Bond for kids. He is always off the hook some way. He is clever and keen on cheese. The

story fully imaginative but the author presents the adventures with so nice style you can not put

down the book until you have finished it. As modern mouse Geronimo uses the internet, cell-

phone, microwave, etc. But my favourite feature is the wide variation of letter types. They are

dancing, whirling, spinning, changing colour, and despite of my expectations (it confuses the

child, draws their attention from the meaning to the outlook) it entertains the children.

Although we have to be careful because if those

fictional words which may entertain them in their first

language may confuse them in L2. But still, if there is

a possibility to connect the children's interests and our

teaching we can do it. When choosing books, it is

important to consider the students’ interests, as well as

the subject matter of the text. In the classroom,

teachers can focus on words and concepts that may be

unfamiliar. This is especially important for non-native

speakers. Discussing new words and concepts with

students before reading a text is generally helpful. It helps to activate prior knowledge and

improve comprehension. After reading, they should summarize what they have learned about the

topic. Let me turn back to Kitamura's book, I will show some technique how to use with certain

pages. These ideas can be generalized and used with other materials as well.

Activity 1 (appendix 4.)

Level: Beginner

Time: 10 minutes

Materials: picture

Procedure:

known vocabulary: brandish, broom

23Stilton, Geronimo: Lost Treasure of Emerald Eye (2004 February) Edizioni Piemme. Milan, Italy

22

Picture 9: Geronimo and his whirling letters. Lost Treasure of Emerald Eye (2004 February)

Edizioni Piemme. Milan, Italy



The children look at the picture and count the things in the room they also have at home. (robot,

skates, skipping rope) they name them.

Than they can draw their bedroom and write the objects name into their own sheet. . They

construct an understanding of the text by assembling and making sense of the words in context.

Vocabulary knowledge is difficult to measure. It is, however, very important in learning to readand in future reading development. Words that are recognized in print have to match a reader’s

oral vocabulary in order to be understood. This is important for children who are developing oral

proficiency, as well as for non-native speakers of a language. In later reading development, when

students read to learn, they need to learn new vocabulary in order to gain new knowledge of

specific subject matter.

Activity 2:

We already know the plot. We can play a bit with the title.Me and My Cat?

Level: Beginner+

Time: 20 minutes

Materials: sheet, pen

Procedure: After selecting groups they have to write questions about the story.

Then the groups exchange their sheet and try to answer to each other questions.

We can put these predictions on the English wall and later we can if they were right or not.

Instruction can improve comprehension by focusing on concepts and the vocabulary used to

express them. Comprehension can also be enhanced by building on students’ background

knowledge, e.g. by having a group discussion before reading. Teachers can guide students by

modelling the actions they can take to improve comprehension. These actions include: asking

questions about the text while reading; identifying main ideas; using prior knowledge to make

predictions. Teaching a combination of different strategies is better than focusing on one.

Different methods have been found to be effective in teaching text comprehension. Teachers can

use combinations of the following: Co-operative or group learning; graphic organizers (e.g. flow

charts, word webs); asking and answering questions; story structure; summarizing; focusing on

vocabulary.

Activity 3. (appendix.5)

Level: Beginner+

Time: 25 minutes

Materials: picture, paper, pen

Procedure:

23



We can use this to teach can/can't structure.

What can you do if you are a child/cat?

To use TPR here, you can make them to write one sentence about this. They read out and none of

them should be the same. They they all stand up. They read out the sentence act out and sit

down. (I can jump. - and the kid jumps, then sits down).According to the publication of International Academy of Education see 12 teachers can provide

opportunities for children to develop their oral language through show-and-tell activities and

later story telling. Young children should be encouraged to use oral language to express

themselves while learning about print and books both at home and in school. It is well known

that how important the social background is.

This means having opportunities to speak and use the language heartily. For a young child it is

important to hear words in context, and connect the meaning with the sound form. They willunderstand the read text if they can connect with a word in their oral vocabulary.

6. The Harry Potter Phenomenon

If we consider recent reading habit surveys we can have more proper picture about what to teach

and how to teach. We may be disappointed about the children’s reading habits. If we consider

their social background we may see that they have to fit in with their family. They may not have

books at home, not even in their first language. A survey made24 in 2003 shows us how reading

was pushed into the background. Also we have to admit that having books do not evidentially

means reading. My grandparents had all of the classics at home (Jókai, Petőfi) but when I asked

them they told they didn’t like them, didn’t read them at all. This survey revealed a rankling

picture about reading in Hungary. The 14 % percent of the population never reads, 7% reads only

once a month and 29 % reads not even once a month. Therefore we can say that 50% of the

population has not got reading in their everyday life. How we can expect children to read in L2 if

they hardly read in their L1? If we broaden this survey to such media like internet and newspaper

we get a brighter picture. These data become important in our teaching when we wish our

children to read in their free time and if we keep them in our mind when we integrate popular

literature into our L2 teaching. The most debated piece in this question is Harry Potter. I agree

that25 this is no more a single piece of art. We can not even decide if it is for children or adults,

because both group can read it. Also the reader can be a well-educated or hardly educated. When

see 1224 Gyenes Erika (2005): Olvasási Szokások. In: Találkozások a kultúrával, első kiadás. Budapest, MTA

Szociológiai Kutató Intézet, 1786-1047; 5.)

25 György, Fenyő D./ Mariann Schiller(2006): A Harry Potter – egy jelenség és egy regény. In: Fenyő D. György: Kiből leszaz olvasó? Első Kiadás. Budapest, Animus Kiadó

24



we may think that the era of the printed literature is over, suddenly comes a story, and changes

everything. Also it is not only literature but a lot else. Secondary products and services (t-shirts,

small gifts, fan-clubs and summer camps) a whole Harry Potter market. As it has spread around

the world there was (and still is) an intellectual debate. Some says it is a symptom of the

commercialism of the literature. I agree with that opinion which says it was for those who gotused to the thickness of information in video games, TV programmes. They enjoyed this easy-to-

follow story. Well it is not a masterpiece in the classical way but not even a crap. We have to

consider the usage of it. Ms Kovács also refers to it as a cultural mediator between Hungarian

and British culture. We can use its cultural elements to compare it to our culture. One of the

greatest task is to to create Harry’s schedule in his school.

Personally when I’ve read it in English I enjoyed it and its language and structure was easy to

read and follow and my reading process was full with joy. Some critics see it as a negativefeature but this also can help us in raising children’s interest in reading. The children of the

present era got used to such a vivid, quick, colourful information flood they almost not able to

calm down for reading. If you watch a TV programme for kids, you may see an unreal, shining

world. I think we can use it with creativity or ignore it but then we ignore the children’s interest.

7. Assessment:

There are two forms of reading assessment. The first is to find out how well children are reading

in order to help them improve (diagnosis). Diagnostic assessment is about giving feedback and

assistance to learners. The second is to measure how much progress has been made. Both forms

of assessment are needed for effective reading instruction. In beginning reading, assessment is

normally done by listening to students reading aloud. Teachers assess word recognition and

fluency in this way. Beyond this stage, assessment should focus primarily on text

comprehension. Text comprehension is usually assessed through questions.

Questions should focus on main ideas and viewpoints, not minor details. These are called higher

order questions. Methods of assessment vary with the types of responses students make to the

questions. The students’ responses can be spoken or written. Written responses can be in the

form of a multiple-choice response, short answers or extended pieces of writing. Materials used

for assessing reading should ideally be authentic. They should reflect the type of reading

normally encountered in daily life. Use assessment to find out how well students are reading, and

also how to help them read better. Choose a method of assessment appropriate for the level and

type of student. Higher order questions take the form of ‘how’ and ‘why’, rather than ‘what’.

25



When choosing materials for assessing non-native speakers, be mindful of words and concepts

that might be unfamiliar.

While thinking about assessment it is a good thing to know the possible reasons for the child's

mistakes. It may be a reading problem which occurs in L1 lessons as well and it is not a language

problem. For instance if our learner thinks about something else while reading this may not be

cause of being a poor reader but may result from being a poor reader. Therefore if we know the

cause we can help. I think it is very important for the teacher and for the child as well to be able

to follow his/her development in reading. In a course-book 26 there is a self evaluation page at the

end of each unit. Here the child can see how much she/he reached acquire during the unit. Here

again comes the idea of English corner where we can put the names of the children in a table:

Name You are good at You should practice Well done ....

J.J. Simple present Adjectives Reading diary

H.B.Figure 10: Reference to the children about their development

In lower classes we can use symbols instead of writing words in the table:

Name You are good at:

You can practice: Well done:

J.J. Fruits Numbers

H.B.Figure 11: Reference to the children about their development in lower classes

Use assessment to find out how well students are reading, and also how to help them to read

better. Choose a method of assessment appropriate for the level and type of student. Higher order

questions take the form of ‘how’ and ‘why’, rather than ‘what’. When choosing materials for assessing non-native speakers, be mindful of words and concepts that might be unfamiliar.

Sensitivity to cultural factors also means taking time to discuss and explain unfamiliar concepts

and vocabulary. In foreign-language teaching, it is helpful to present cultural information in the

students’ native language. This serves as background knowledge before the students attempt to

read in the foreign language. . The more children read, the more vocabulary and knowledge they

acquire, and the more fluent they become in reading. Having opportunities to write will also

26Skinner, Carol and Bogucka Mariola (2008): New Friends 1. Hungarian version: Kuti Zsuzsa. Harlow, Pearson Longman

26



improve reading ability. Students should have access to plenty of books and reading materials at

home and at school. Sustained silent reading programmes can be used to promote reading

practice. Encourage students to read independently and extensively. Encourage students to read

different types of texts. Teach students how to choose books of the appropriate reading level.

Develop students’ interest in reading by connecting reading with their interests, hobbies and lifegoals.

8.Find mat erial with limited access, copyright and other issues to consider

The first thing a teacher can do is browsing on the internet. But here always note the copyright

issue. The teacher may break the law if he/she uses a copied material in the classroom, and here

we may not use the term 'the end justifies the mean'. Especially in that cases when with a little

effort the teacher can reach free materials. If the school has not got a strict financial limitationthe teacher shall use the amount according his/her syllabus in a flexible way. In the library you

can have a look on the following book: Best Books for Children 27. I found this book extremely

useful because it has a grouping by age and within age by topic. The book consists more that

25,000 titles. If you may need a book for specific purpose you can definitely find some in this

book. In case of you are not able to find a book at your local book store you can try in libraries

and in second-hand bookshops. On-line catalogues can ease your efforts as well. On-line

shopping is also available and it is more easier than one may think. You do not have to pay on-

line (although you can do it) there are several possibilities (e.g. order the book and when it

arrives to the nearest shop you can go in and purchase it).

If you are familiar with the possibilities provided by the internet you can register on-line pages

and there are several where there is only one criteria: you can download as many teaching

materials (e.g. lesson plans written by other teachers) as many you uploaded.

Also an important thing that if you use the copy machine in the library the copyright is paid to

the library. If you need a rare book you can ask your library to order it from somewhere else.

This option is not for free (e.g. in the Metropolitan Ervin Szabo Library). Ian if it seems

impossible to find a book you can contact the publisher company but if you can not decide if the

material is free of charge or not, you can do it.

There is a wide variety of books to choose from, and teachers often are confused what to choose.Here is also recommended to make a table containing our expectations and features we need in a

book. Here you only have to put a tick, if you think the book meets your expectations.

27 Gillespie T., John and Naden J., Corinne (1990): Best Books for Children (Preschool through Grade 6) Fourth Edition. New

York, R. R. Bowker

27



Title

Starts from phoneme-graphemecorrespondence

Pictures are related to

the tasksThe publisher providessyllabus

Has stories in it(continuing from unitto unit)

Can be used in topic- based teaching

Provides enough

possibility to practiceHas wide variation of exercises

Figure 12: Table for choosing a (course)book

Although in many school it is not only the language teacher who decides about the course-book.

Therefore they not only have to examine the book by itself but consider the fact that our aims

and attitudes can be inserted or not. Almost every course-book has a CD or cassette with

listening tasks. This also should be examined before we decide.

In my opinion it also very important to know how good are our learners at different subjects. If

he/she hardly can read in his/her first language we may start the developing from a lower level.

In many school in Hungary the language teacher is not the one who teaches the class all the other

subjects. Therefore it may useful to attend some of their mother language lessons to make a

survey about their abilities.

9.Examine the chosen book/text/material

Every teacher has been in a situation where she/he could not decide whether the chosen material

would be proper for a specific class or not. The following technique can give some help in it.You can use the Fry-method if you wish to check the readability of a text. This may seem very

complicated but it is not at all. Edward Fry worked out this method and it is still used with

publications in the U.K. (to make sure that everyone understands it). The steps are the following:

1.You have to choose three 100 word sections.

2.The you count the sentences in them. (you will get three different numbers you have estimate

them to the nearest tenth).

3.Now count the syllables in each section.

28



4.Place it to the graph.

This may be very useful when we do not really know our students and we are afraid of under-or

overestimating their abilities.

Picture 13: Fry Graph,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry_readability_formula, 10.03.2010.

To teach from a course book is the easiest way. Therefore if the children can not acquire

something, we may say it is not our fault. This is the biggest mistake. If we can not find the way

to the child's mind, heart, if we can not make him/her to be interested enough to learn that is not

his/her fault. There is always a method, a trick we can use to make them believe they are just playing not learning. And I found these tricks extremely useful when I had a child who simply

didn't like learning (I think these kids only wish to find an excuse, a reason to their lack of

experience).

III. Conclusion

In the view of the previous chapters I can highly recommend to use literature in TEYL. Not only

because it improves the children's abilities, but it also can be integrated into other subjects as

well. The modern technology provides the wide range of authentic teaching materials and the

teacher should be prepared to use them and to teach the children to use them. It is also the

teacher's role to be conscious about cultural values that a piece of text can contain. Literature is

not the only tool to help us in our teaching. Materials for other three basic skills can not be

clearly divided from reading. When we write – we also read, when we speak we also listen, etc.

So we can use these to force each other and the development should be holistic. Still the oral

language is the main source when a child learns a L2 but print is the second one. And as the child

29



is getting older and older printed material will become the main source for educating himself/

herself. Our task is to prepare them to be able to face these challenges. Our colleagues may give

valuable help as well if we wish to integrate our subject to the topics children are learning at

other teachers (e.g. physics or history). Unfortunately at the college we are not able to see whole

curricular processes and how the children are developing from monolingual to bilingual. Thecomparison of different teaching methods (as I mentioned on page 7.) should worth further

examination. But here also note every method is adoptable. If we like something in one, we

should not be embarrassed to use it.

30



References:

Skinner, Carol and Bogucka Mariola (2008): New Friends 1. Hungarian version: Kuti

Zsuzsa. Harlow, Pearson Longman

Vale, David (1999): Picture Grammar for Children – Starter. First Edition. Oxford,

Macmillan Education Vale, David (1999) Picture Grammar for Children – Starter. First Edition. Oxford,

Macmillan Education

S. Pang, Elizabeth; Muaka, Angaluki; B. Bernhardt, Elizabeth; and Kamil; Michael

L.: Teaching Readinghttp://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac12e.pdf (10.03.2010)

Taylor, K. Eric (2000): Using Folktales, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Grellet, Francoise (1981): Developing Reading Skills – A practical guide to reading

comprehension exercises. First Edition. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

Wilhelm, Hans (1990): A cool kid like me! London, Random House Children's Books

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/(10.03.2010)

Fry Readability Fromula: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry_readability_formula,

(10.03.2010.)

Stilton, Geronimo: Lost Treasure of Emerald Eye (2004 February) Edizioni Piemme.

Milan, Italy

Dougherty, John (2006): Jack Slater Monster Investigator, London, Random House

Children's Books

Gillespie T., John and Naden J., Corinne (1990): Best Books for Children (Preschool

through Grade 6) Fourth Edition. New York, R. R. Bowker

Kovács, Judit (2009): A gyermek és az idegen nyelv. First Edition. Budapest. Eötvös

Kiadó

Gillian, Lazar (1993): Literature and language teaching. Cambridge, Cambridge

University Press Kitamura, Satoshi (1999): Me and my Cat? First Edition. London, Andersen Press Seuss Geisel, Theodor (1954): Cat in the Hat, www.childrenssoftwareonline.com

(10.03.2010)

Hudson, Thom (2007): Teaching Second Language Reading. First Edition. Oxford,

Oxford University Press

Scott A., Wendy and Ytreberg H. Lisbeth (1999): Teaching English to Children.

Eleventh Edition. New Your – London. Longman

31


http://en.childrenslibrary.org/


http://en.childrenslibrary.org/



Zeleny O. Robert (1990): Literature for Children. In: The World Book Encyclopedia,

1990, xxxkiadásxxx Volume 12. “L”

György, Fenyő D. and Schiller, Mariann(2006): A Harry Potter – egy jelenség és egy

regény. In: Fenyő D. György: Kiből lesz az olvasó? Első Kiadás. Budapest, Animus

Kiadó

32



Appendices

Appendix 1.

The Europass Language Passport is a document in which you can record your skills and competence

in Languages. It was developed by the Council of Europe as one of the three parts of its EuropeanLanguage Portfolio (see www.coe.int/portfolio), in which you can document and illustrate your experiences and achievements in more detail.

The Language Passport provides a review of all the languages you can use to a greater or lesser extent. This may include partial competences in some languages: you may, for example, be able toread in a language but not speak it very well. The Language Passport can include competence gained

both inside or outside formal education. Thanks to the levels of the Common European Framework

of Reference, you can present your language proficiency in a comprehensible way, which is alsointernationally comparable.

Understanding

ListeningA 1: I can understand familiar words and very basic phrases concerning myself, my family and

immediate surroundings when people speak slowly and clearly.

A 2: I can understand phrases and the highest frequency vocabulary related to areas of mostimmediate personal relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, localarea, employment). I can catch the main points in short, clear, simple messages andannouncements.

B 1: I can understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularlyencountered in work, school, leisure, etc. I can understand the main points of many radio or TV

programmes on current affairs or topics of personal or professional interest when the delivery isrelatively slow and clear.

B 2: I can understand extended speech and lectures and follow even complex lines of argument provided the topic is reasonably familiar. I can understand most TV news and current affairs programmes. I can understand the majority of films in standard dialect.

C 1: I can understand extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationshipsare only implied and not signalled explicitly. I can understand television programmes and filmswithout too much effort.

C 2: I have no difficulty in understanding any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast,even when delivered at fast native speed, provided I have some time to get familiar with theaccent.

Reading

A 1: I can understand familiar names, words and very simple sentences, for example on notices and posters or in catalogues.

A 2: I can read very short, simple texts. I can find specific, predictable information in simpleeveryday material such as advertisements, prospectuses, menus and timetables and I canunderstand short simple personal letters.

B 1: I can understand texts that consist mainly of high frequency everyday or job-related language. Ican understand the description of events, feelings and wishes in personal letters.

B 2: I can read articles and reports concerned with contemporary problems in which the writers adopt particular attitudes or viewpoints. I can understand contemporary literary prose.

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C 1: I can understand long and complex factual and literary texts, appreciating distinctions of style. Ican understand specialised articles and longer technical instructions, even when they do notrelate to my field.

C 2: I can read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurallyor linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialised articles and literary works.

Speaking

Spoken interaction

A 1: I can interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase thingsat a slower rate of speech and help me formulate what I'm trying to say. I can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics.

A 2: I can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. I can handle very short social exchanges, eventhough I can't usually understand enough to keep the conversation going myself.

B 1: I can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language isspoken. I can enter unprepared into conversation on topics that are familiar, of personal interestor pertinent to everyday life (e.g. family, hobbies, work, travel and current events).

B 2: I can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with nativespeakers quite possible. I can take an active part in discussion in familiar contexts, accountingfor and sustaining my views.

C 1: I can express myself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. I can use language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes. Ican formulate ideas and opinions with precision and relate my contribution skilfully to those of other speakers.

C 2: I can take part effortlessly in any conversation or discussion and have a good familiarity withidiomatic expressions and colloquialisms. I can express myself fluently and convey finer shadesof meaning precisely. If I do have a problem I can backtrack and restructure around thedifficulty so smoothly that other people are hardly aware of it.

Spoken production

A 1: I can use simple phrases and sentences to describe where I live and people I know.A 2: I can use a series of phrases and sentences to describe, in simple terms, my family and other

people, living conditions, my educational background and my present or most recent job.

B 1: I can connect phrases in a simple way in order to describe experiences and events, my dreams,hopes and ambitions. I can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. I cannarrate a story or relate the plot of a book or film and describe my reactions.

B 2: I can present clear, detailed descriptions on a wide range of subjects related to my field of interest. I can explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of

various options.C 1: I can present clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects integrating sub-themes, developing particular points and rounding off with an appropriate conclusion.

C 2: I can present a clear, smoothly-flowing description or argument in a style appropriate to thecontext and with an effective logical structure which helps the recipient to notice and remember significant points.

Writing

A 1: I can write a short, simple postcard, for example sending holiday greetings. I can fill in formswith personal details, for example entering my name, nationality and address on a hotelregistration form.

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A 2: I can write short, simple notes and messages. I can write a very simple personal letter, for example thanking someone for something.

B 1: I can write simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. I can write personal letters describing experiences and impressions.B 2: I can write clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects related to my interests. I can write an

essay or report, passing on information or giving reasons in support of or against a particular point of view. I can write letters highlighting the personal significance of events and experiences.C 1: I can express myself in clear, well-structured text, expressing points of view at some length. I

can write about complex subjects in a letter, an essay or a report, underlining what I consider to be the salient issues. I can select a style appropriate to the reader in mind.

C 2: I can write clear, smoothly-flowing text in an appropriate style. I can write complex letters,reports or articles which present a case with an effective logical structure which helps therecipient to notice and remember significant points. I can write summaries and reviews of

professional or literary works.

The self-assessment grid can be consulted on the website of the Council of Europe(www.coe.int/portfolio).

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Appendix 2.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

As soon as Wolf began to feelThat he would like a decent meal,He went and knocked on Grandma's

door.When Grandma opened it, she sawThe sharp white teeth, the horridgrin,And Wolfie said, ``May I come in?''Poor Grandmamma was terrified,``He's going to eat me up!'' shecried.

And she was absolutely right.He ate her up in one big bite.

But Grandmamma was small andtough,And Wolfie wailed, ̀ `That's notenough!I haven't yet begun to feelThat I have had a decent meal!''He ran around the kitchen yelping,`Ì've got to have a second helping!''Then added with a frightful leer,`Ì'm therefore going to wait righthere

Till Little Miss Red Riding HoodComes home from walking in thewood.''He quickly put on Grandma'sclothes,(Of course he hadn't eaten those).He dressed himself in coat and hat.He put on shoes, and after thatHe even brushed and curled his hair,Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.In came the little girl in red.

She stopped. She stared. And thenshe said,

``What great big ears you have,Grandma.''

`Àll the better to hear you with,''the Wolf replied.``What great big eyes you have,Grandma.''said Little Red Riding Hood.

`Àll the better to see you with,'' theWolf replied.

He sat there watching her andsmiled.He thought, I'm going to eat thischild.Compared with her oldGrandmammaShe's going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said,``But Grandma,what a lovely great big furry coatyou have on.''

``That's wrong!'' cried Wolf. ̀ `Haveyou forgotTo tell me what BIG TEETH I'vegot?Ah well, no matter what you say,

I'm going to eat you anyway.''The small girl smiles. One eyelidflickers.She whips a pistol from her knickers.She aims it at the creature's headAnd bang bang bang , she shootshim dead.A few weeks later, in the wood,I came across Miss Riding Hood.But what a change! No cloak of red,

No silly hood upon her head.She said, ``Hello, and do please noteMy lovely furry wolfskin coat.''Roald Dahl, Revolting Rhymes

(http://www.xs4all.nl/~ace/Literaria/Txt-Dahl.html 10.03.2010)

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http://www.xs4all.nl/~ace/Literaria/Txt-Dahl.html

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ace/Literaria/Txt-Dahl.html



Appendix 3.

The Cat in the Hat read by Kelsey Grammer Horton Hears a Who read by Dustin HoffmanHow the Grinch Stole Christmas read by Walter MatthauDid I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? r ead by John CleeseThe Lorax r ead by Ted DansonYertle the Turtle, Gertrude McFuzz , and The Big Brag r ead by John LithgowThidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose read by Mercedes McCambridgeHorton Hatches the Egg read by Billy CrystalThe Cat in the Hat Comes Back r ead by Kelsey Grammer

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Appendix 4.

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Appendix 5.

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