Implementing basal reading program in EFL upper secondary school settings

Basal readers have been selected by the school to cope with students’ lack of vocabulary size. With some positively perceived learning outcomes, the readers continued to be used from year to year and were decided as a school program, in addition to ELT national curriculum. The research is aimed at exploring the following aspects: (1) the teacher’s use of basal readers in the classrooms, (2) the classroom procedures developed by the teacher understudy, and (3) the students’ response to the implementation of the basal reading program. A descriptive case study with classroom observation as a main data collection technique was employed to explore the phenomena. The research brings several points to consider. First, basal readers have been extensively used by the school for different purposes: 1) for vocabulary enrichment, (2) for intensive reading materials, (3) as resource making classroom tests, and (4) a basis for writing phonetic symbols, and (5) for promoting speaking skills. Second, the school has developed its own strategies to use the readers with specific procedures. Third, the use of basal readers was positively responded to by the students with some suggestions for better implementation. HIGHLIGHTS: Basal reading program was implemented with a specific procedure developed by the local school English teachers. Basal readers selected for the reading program were utilized to develop reading skills in which vocabulary memorization and pronunciation drills were used to support the skills. The program was positively responded by the students with some suggestions for a better implementation.

Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction

This paper reports the results of a two-year project designed to reorganize basal reading instruction to stress fluent reading and automatic word recognition. The reorganized reading program had three components: a redesigned basal reading lesson that included repeated reading and partner reading, a choice reading period during the day, and a home reading program. Over two years of program implementation, students made significantly greater than expected growth in reading achievement in all 14 classes. All but two children who entered second grade reading at a primer level or higher (and half of those who did not) were reading at grade level or higher by the end of the year. Growth in fluency and accuracy appeared to be consistent over the whole year. Students' and teachers' attitudes toward the program were positive. In evaluating individual components, we found that self-selected partnerings seemed to work best and that children chose partners primarily out of friendship. Children tended to choose books that were at or slightly below their instructional level. In addition, children seemed to benefit instructionally from more difficult materials than generally assumed, with the greater amount of scaffolding provided in this program.

Analyzing Beginning Reading Programs

This article bridges the gap between research and practice in beginning reading instruction by applying research-based evaluation criteria in a systematic analysis of recently published curriculum materials. Through a review of research on beginning reading instruction, the authors derived two instructional features characteristic of effective reading programs: explicit phonics instruction and a strong relationship between that phonics instruction and the words of the text selections in student reading materials. This article describes a curriculum analysis of several commercially published first-grade basal reading programs, which reveals significant discrepancies between the instructional strategies supported by the literature and the strategies endorsed by many basal reading programs; cautions are included. The authors conclude with recommendations for educators involved in evaluating, selecting, and modifying beginning reading curriculum materials.

Literacy Instruction for Mainstreamed Students

In this study we investigated six widely used basal reading programs for suggestions for literacy instruction for mainstreamed special education students (MSE). The kindergarten, first-, third-, and fifth-grade materials were analyzed for each of the six basal reading programs selected. A basal analysis instrument, based on a literature review and focus-group interviews, was designed to record teaching suggestions for mse students. Only two of the basal reading programs included suggestions directed to the needs of mse students, and their suggestions were few. Discussion focuses on the need to provide general education teachers with teachers' manuals and professional development opportunities that offer explicit suggestions for meeting the needs of mse students in general education classrooms.