[MUSIC] Hello, and welcome back to Teach English Now! In our last module, we discussed three non-readers and ways in which to engage them with information, involvement, or intrigue. We call those the three I's of reading proficiency, but now we will discuss two different kinds of language coaches and their contrasting philosophies about language instruction. These language coaches, teachers really, will both give you excellent, although sometimes opposing, strategies for teaching reading. This should you to construct your lesson plan. As you listen, make sure you note some of the similarities these teachers have with the teachers you learned about in course two. Also these two teachers will bring up again some of the dichotomies we have shown you in course one, such as acquisition versus learning as well as the diffused and focused approaches. All right, please put on your thinking caps, and let's begin our second journey. This time into the world of fables. Dear Diary, strategies, strategies, strategies, my. There are so many different strategies to talk about. How do I share them all? And the debate, there is always a debate. Some teachers want to teach in the micro, some in the macro, some want to go big, some want to go small. So sleepy. [MUSIC] >> Hello. This is Joe Axel reporting from the World Championship of Reading. We have our two all-time champions, truly legends of the field with us today, Coach Hare and Coach Tortoise. While these two are now Hall of Fame coaches, back in their day, they were fierce competitors with each other, and some of their battles are legendary. We are here to interview both of these quality coaches and get some of the tips from the very best. >> I'll go first. Beat you again, Tortoise! [LAUGH] That guy is so slow. All right, what would you like to know? >> You have taught literally thousands of students how to read proficiently, and students tend to love your teaching approach. Tell us, how would you describe, in general, your philosophy for reading? >> My philosophy can be summarized in three words, good readers read. My readers are the best in the world at reading a lot. Volume is the answer. In order to read well, you need to put in the mileage. [SOUND] You need to get lost in books. The people who become fluent are those that are able to let go and enjoy the journey of the book. The people who read well are those that find information that they want to find, go exploring, and get the information they want and need. >> So what you are saying is that students need to read for pleasure. >> That is exactly it, reading for pleasure, reading for passion. Reading because you love what you are reading, without being told by your teacher what you have to read. It's precisely what makes learners fall in love with reading. If you never love reading, you're never going to want to do it correctly. >> And how do you get your learners to read for pleasure? >> One thing I love to do is to provide a library full of possibilities for all learners. In this library are literally hundreds of books to choose from, and books that other learners in the past have loved. I ask students questions about there interests, and I think about where students want to go, and what adventures I can take them on. I will often read the first chapter of certain novels that I love, get them hooked, and then invite them to finish that novel. The whole point is to start a fire in the students, so that they want to start reading. If they get addicted to reading, I know I have been a successful coach. >> Sounds exciting! And just a couple more questions. How do you evaluate students who simply choose to read whatever they want? You can't have an individualized test for each learner, can you? >> Another great question, Joe. I like to help students share their adventures with me using book reports, reading logs, picture books, and outlines. They can do character maps and skits, discussions and debates. They can bring objects to class that relate to the book, and give a presentation about what they learned and loved about the book. There are so many ways we can get students to rev up their motors and go. I don't need to give multiple choice tests to evaluate reading comprehension, because I am assessing student success based on the amount they read, the pleasure they have reading, and their ability to share their ideas about what they read. My students leave my class bragging, I read three whole books! I'd like to see Coach Tortoise do that with his learners. He is so green with envy. >> I can still see that you feel some healthy competition between your philosophy and Coach Tortoise's. Speaking of Coach Tortoise and his advocates, they often state that your style presents certain, well, weaknesses. >> Yeah, like what? >> Well, some opponents of yours state that you tend to under coach learners, that you actually don't teach reading skills in any detail, and that you tend to focus only on those that already read well. What do you think of the critique that you under coach your learners, and especially your poor learners. Are you, in fact, a lazy coach? So lazy in fact that you fell asleep once while you were coaching and that you lost an entire competition? >> Look, that was just once. Obviously, I put a lot of trust in my readers. I believe that the key for success for them is to find books they like and to read those books. My approach is a student-centered approach, so it is true that they do a lot of the work, not me. And the work is enjoyable, so sue me! My learners like my class. They read for pleasure, and they will always read more than those who decide to hang out with Coach Tortoise. I want you to remember this, passion fuels proficiency, and you can take that to the bank. >> Well, there you have it, an intriguing viewpoint from a legendary coach. His views have certainly influenced hundreds of other coaches and inspired thousands of students to read for passion. I myself got lost in the Harry Potter novels, read the seventh book all night long. It was exhilarating! [MUSIC]
