"The Effects of Extensive Authentic Reading on First-Semester German Students' Reading Comprehension, Cultural Horizon, and Language Proficiency"
(University of Texas-Austin, 1999.  Janet Swaffar, Supervisor)

Recipient of the 2000 ACTFL-MLJ Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in Foreign Language Education
 

Click on the following links to learn more about this study:

• Dissertation Abstract
• Sample Chapter from Mit dem Sturm kam die Liebe, the 142-page novel used in the study
• Daily Lesson Plans
• Handouts Used to Guide In-Class Reading

Dissertation Abstract:

        This dissertation investigates the effects of reading a longer, authentic text on the language proficiency, reading comprehension, and cultural awareness of beginning foreign language students.  The introductory chapter places this project within the context of a profession that has witnessed a shift toward a student-centered approach that emphasizes verbal production over reading comprehension.  Reading, despite capitalizing on the cognitive abilities adult learners literate in their native language bring with them to the foreign language classroom, typically appears only on the periphery of beginning instruction.  Extensive reading, defined as the reading of unedited texts of several thousand words or more, is outcast to an even greater degree, barely even considered an option for the elementary level.
         Chapter 2 reviews the research on foreign language reading in order to identify the rationale for extensive reading.  Of central importance are the numerous text-extrinsic, reader-driven components of the foreign language reading process that allow adult students to overcome deficiencies in language proficiency.  In addition, the fact that almost all of the reading research that informs current foreign language reading pedagogy has been conducted using short texts indicates a need for the profession to assess the feasibility of reading longer texts.
         Chapter 3 presents the procedures for reading a longer, authentic text in the first-semester foreign language class.  Two central premises guide the methodology.  First, the majority of the extensive reading is done in class in pair and group work under the supervision of the instructor.  Second, the reading is guided by a series of tasks designed to draw on studentsâ existing cognitive skills for the purpose of (1) recognizing major events and the textual language used to convey these events, (2) reproducing textual language both orally and in writing, and (3) ultimately analyzing the events and textual language for cultural implications.
         Chapter 4 describes the research design.  During the course of the first semester, a treatment group (N = 27) followed the same grammatical syllabus as a comparison group (N = 32), but replaced all standard reading assignments in the textbook with daily readings of a 142-page German romance novel.  The effects of the treatment were measured by the two groupsâ results on three assessment tools:  1) two standardized departmental exams; 2) a pre- and post-test consisting of written recall protocols of four texts, questions about readersâ horizon of cultural expectations, and vocabulary-related questions; and 3) a pre- and post-treatment attitude survey.
        In Chapter 5 the results on these three measures were statistically analyzed for significant differences between the two groups.  Within-group recall scores and between-group attitude surveys were significant.  In other words, each groupâs treatment was effective in increasing their respective recall scores while the treatment group indicated a significant change in reading behavior over the course of the semester as compared with the comparison group.
        Chapter 6 presents conclusions and implications based on these data.  First, students who followed an in-class, guided approach to reading were able to read a longer, authentic text in the first semester, thus opening the possibilities for increasing readingâs role and broadening the options for instruction in the early semesters.  Second, the lack of statistical significance between the two groupsâ performance on the two department tests and the post-test suggests that recycling authentic language through reading an extended discourse about a single set of characters provides an alternative approach to developing language proficiency in beginning language students.  Moreover, such findings counter the argument that time spent in class reading will adversely affect beginning language learnersâ L2 development.  Finally, post-treatment attitude survey results that indicated the treatment group perceived a significant change in their reading behavior suggest that increasing readingâs role in beginning instruction potentially provides students with more appropriate skills for making the transition to upper-level language study.

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The lesson plans that were used to guide first-semester students through their in-class reading of the novel Mit dem Sturm kam die Liebe are divided into four categories:

1. Pre-treatment - covers the first 16 days of the semester before the treatment group began reading the novel
2. Initial Transition to Guided Global Recognition - covers the first 9 days of the experimental treatment (pp. 1-33 in the novel)
3. Transition from Recognition to Production - covers the next 13 days of treatment (pp. 34-76 in the novel)
4. Transition to Cultural Analysis - covers the final 26 days of treatment (pp. 77-142 in the novel)

Key to abbreviations used in lesson plans:
GK = Gelenkte Kommunkation = guided communicative textbook activities
FK = Freie Kommunikation = open-ended communicative questions
oB = indicates material written on the board
TPR= Total Physical Response activities
FCE = Free Communication Exercises = exercises in the course workbook to be completed as homework and turned in
PA = Partnerarbeit = activities to be completed as pair work

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