ESSENTIAL READING


WHY READING IS VITAL FOR LANGUAGE SKILLS


Literary texts give learners a springboard for discussion and insights, as well as sparking their creativity, says Professor Janice Bland.


W


hy is reading literary texts so helpful for learning language skills? First, there is a wealth of appealing formats to choose from – no need to choose a dusty canonical novel when students can learn just as many skills from more accessible


and cleverly composed graphic novels, verse novels or even picture books for teenagers. Second, there’s the opportunity for oral interaction when talking


around the texts. For instance, discussing how graphics, colour, headings and different fonts, with bold or italics, are important for setting the tone, changing the mood, and adding emphasis while the images, layout and captions are right there in front of the students to ponder over as they share their thoughts. Your students can learn about irony and how to read between the lines (and between pictures), while learning how the presentational features influence the reader, and create yet more meanings. Third, literary texts offer opportunities for motivating and collaborative creative writing activities – the best way for students to learn about alliteration, metaphors, similes, rhetorical questions and the rule of three is for them to try it for themselves. Here is an example of a younger student’s descriptive writing,


inspired by the fairy tale, The Magic Porridge Pot: “The dense porridge developed enormous strengths. It was as strong as a torrent. Windows were shattering with an ear-piercing sound. The house began to move, to tremble, to shake. It got bigger and bigger, rounder and rounder. It looked like a giant ball leaking everywhere, shaking and shivering. The porridge was now filling up the chimney and then… BOOOOOOOM. With an explosion the porridge burst out of the chimney, shooting into the sky like fireworks.” I often use the wonderfully crafted first pages of Ted Hughes’ The Iron


Man to illustrate how great writers employ repetition of sounds (such as alliteration) and meanings (such as the rule of three). Equally helpful for this purpose are contemporary poetic writers, such as David Almond, Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman, who all have written shorter, illustrated books and graphic novels that work fine for encouraging collaborative writing with teenagers or those studying English at lower levels. The secret is to start with the briefest possible tasks, such as the description of a terrifying dragon, werewolf or vampire in no more than two sentences – challenges that are short are also fun.


'BOOKS UNLOCKED' OPENS THE DOOR FOR PRISONERS TO ENJOY READING


By Rebecca Perry The National Literacy Trust’s Books Unlocked programme, now in its sixth year, is funded by the Booker Prize Foundation and encourages those in prison and young offender institutions to read for enjoyment more often. More than half of people (54 per cent) in prison have a


reading age at or below the expected level of an 11-year- old. Reading for enjoyment can often be the first step in re-engaging prisoners in education. Participants report that the reading they do through


the programme helps them expand their minds beyond their reality and improves their well-being. Our evaluation has shown that nearly half of participants read more often for enjoyment after taking part in Books Unlocked. The programme is delivered through three


key activities: •We work with publishing partners to provide prison reading groups with copies of books that have been longlisted and shortlisted for The Booker Prize – the UK’s most prestigious annual literary award


• National Prison Radio serialises audiobook versions of the Booker Prize titles, which enables prisoners who aren’t in the reading groups or who have a lower reading level to engage with high-quality literature


•We organise up to 12 author visits a year where prisoners get the chance to learn more about an author’s career, what motivated them to write the book that the prison group have been reading, and participate in discussions. Our evaluations have also shown that prisoners find these visits extremely valuable. We are very fortunate to have several authors who support our work, such as Stephen Kelman, Patrick deWitt, Yann Martel, Monica Ali and Rachel Seiffert, who have all either visited a prison group or been interviewed on National Prison Radio this year.


Many prisoners are sceptical about the programme at first, as they may not have read a book for a long time and might struggle with their reading, but we try to provide a variety of books that will appeal to a broad range of interests. The most popular books include: A.D. Miller’s Snowdrops and Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English. In its first year, the programme was piloted in three prisons. Today we are working with over 70. This year we have already donated more than 1,500 books to participating prison reading groups, supporting around 700 prisoners, and we hope to reach more next year. To find out more, visit: literacytrust.org.uk/programmes/ books-unlocked


Janice Bland is professor of English education at Nord University, Norway. Her books include Children and Teenagers in English Language Education (2013) and Using Literature in English Language Education: Challenging Reading for 8-18 Year Olds (2018).


12 AUTUMN 2019 • InTUITIONENGLISH


Rebecca Perry is policy and programme manager, criminal justice, at the National Literacy Trust.


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