A Multi-Level Course in Reading Skills

Author(s): Phyllis B. Nimmons

Source: The French Review, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Mar., 1982), pp. 520-526
Published by: American Association of Teachers of French
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/392005 .
Accessed: 06/03/2014 07:23

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Association of Teachers of French is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The French Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE FRENCHREVIEW,Vol. LV, No. 4, March 1982 Printed in U.S.A.

A Multi-level Course in Reading Skills

by Phyllis B. Nimmons

T1 ODAY'SSTUDENTS ARE INTERESTED in one-semester special skills language courses

that can promise them competency upon completion. They are attracted by the
concentration in just one of the four skills and the short duration of the course.
A course in reading is especially popular because expertise in many fields is
enhanced by the reading knowledge of foreign languages. With these criteria in
mind, we began teaching the Introduction to Reading French at Houston Baptist
University in 1973 as a multi-level course open to beginners as well as students
with experience in the language. Its 3000 catalogue number indicates that students
completing the course read with a third year or better competency and that the
course may be used as partial fulfillment of the 6-hour language requirement for
persons pursuing a B.A. We have offered the course on an annual basis, and its
enrollment has always been satisfactory.
The course is multi-level: absolute beginners with no previous experience in
any second language master the material, and students with as much as two years
previous experience with the language significantly improve their reading skills
and increase their understanding of structure and their vocabulary. Students of all
academic levels, freshman to graduate status, and with a wide range of cumulative
grade point averages-2.0 (C) to 4.0 (A)-successfully complete the course,
although the time needed to master the material varies and is usually related to
the student's general level of academic ability, so that above-average students
generally read better than average students, who in turn generally read better than
below-average students. This is in keeping with research that indicates that
"literacy skills may be influenced by the student's intellectual level"' and that
students already "proficient in their native language have the essential skills to
recognize the important linguistic factors necessary to derive meaning from the
reading selection in the target language."2
Students who have just finished the two-semester elementary course are
encouraged to take the reading course before continuing with the two-semester
intermediate course and one-semester conversation course, and one-fourth of the
elementary class (about seven or eight students) enrolls regularly. Seven or eight
absolute beginners and four to six students who have had approximately four

1Fred Genesee, "Acquisition of Reading Skills in Immersion Programs," Foreign LanguageAnnals,

12 (1979), 77.
2Jacqueline Krause Neufeld and Marion R. Webb, "Strategies for Developing Reading Fluency,"
TESOL, Detroit, 7 Mar. 1981, p. 7.
520

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
A COURSE IN READING SKILLS 521

college semesters of French usually compose the rest of the enrollment. The high
enrollment, resulting from the course's being open to majors and non-majors
alike and to persons with different backgrounds, makes this type of course
advantageous to small schools with limited offerings.
Students contract for grades on the basis of the amount of work they wish to
complete and the degree of competency (third-year level minimum for a C) they
wish to attain. They complete the required chapters at different rates according to
the total number of chapters each has elected to complete. In order to allow for so
many different entry levels and to maintain a well-ordered classroom conducive
to learning, we designed a highly structured course.
We also seriously considered what material was necessary in a reading course.
While no theory of reading has won general acceptance, research suggests that
proficient reading is an active problem-solving process where the reader relies on
semantic and syntactic clues to make hypotheses that are then confirmed or
rejected and that this process is more rapid when the reader's oral competence is
greater: "It seems quite likely that there are certain processes which are basic to
reading, and that once learned can be applied to reading any or almost any
language" (Genessee, p. 74). In our program, therefore, students work to develop
expertise in the three areas of pronunciation, language, and reading strategies. We
designed materials to, as Mark Clarke puts it, "provide students with a 'global'
view of the task-by emphasizing the inexact nature of reading, and need for
guessing, taking chances, etc.-while at the same time helping them to acquire
the fundamental language skills to facilitate the process."3
The students drill in the pronunciation of French,although all class explanations
and discussions are conducted in English. At the same time, the students learn the
syntax and structure of French. They do not practice all four language skills, but
rather study only the elements necessary for the skill of reading. Stack points out
in Reading French in the Arts and Sciences that the grammatical information may
be very selective; only what is needed to accomplish the goal need be presented.
According to Stack, students face three main tasks: "(1) learning a vocabulary, (2)
learning the structural organization of French, i.e., word order and (3) learning to
discriminate between verb tenses."4 In all three areas they may differentiate
between that which needs to be mastered for active use and that which needs only
passive recognition.5
Learning syntax and structure is not enough for all students to become fluent
readers. Students must also practice reading strategies that research has shown to
be characteristic of good readers and that, as Neufeld and Webb state, "can
provide a bridge that can serve as a transition between the productive and
3 Mark A. Clarke, "The Short Circuit
Hypothesis of ESLReading-or When LanguageCompetence
Interferes with Reading Performance," Modern LanguageJournal, 64 (1980), 206.
4 Edward M.
Stack, Reading French in the Arts and Sciences, 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Co., 1979), p. xv.
5Simon Belasco, "The Relation of Linguistic Analysis to Foreign Language Teaching," in Gaylord
Todd, ed., Current Issues in Teaching French (Philadelphia: Center for Curriculum Development,
1972).

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
522 FRENCH REVIEW

receptive skills" (p. 8). They increase their understanding of the syntax and
structure by practicing recognition of parts of speech and by finding the subject
and predicate of the sentence. They practice reading a paragraphfor comprehen-
sion rather than for syntactic accuracy. By practicing these strategies the students
become aware of the skills involved and are willing to formulate hypotheses about
the text before reading, to tolerate inexactness and to make mistakes.
We divide the class time into two parts: 1) instructor-directed time where the
students and instructorwork together on learning activities and 2) student-directed
time where students work individually or in small groups with the learning
modules available in the classroom. It is important for the class to work together
30%to 50%of each meeting so that the students develop a willingness to cooperate
with each other in the learning experience.
During both the instructor-directed time and the student-directed time we use
activities that meet the criteria suggested by Neufeld and Webb (p. 9). The
exercises enhance the students' understanding of grammar and structure and
develop their ability to use that grammar and structure to predict meaning. They
also help increase the students' general knowledge. Since students do not always
immediately recognize the benefits of regular and frequent reading exercises, we
require attendance, and students who are absent must write out and hand in all
exercises done orally in class.
During the instructor-directed time we present the structural organization of
Frenchand the ways to discriminate among verb tenses. We systematically present
the material covered in each lesson of the textbook with short explanations
accompanied by transparencies and posters available in the classroom for easy
access and review. These brief presentations are, of course, necessary explanations
for absolute beginners and a useful review for those who already have some
exposure to the language, since the approach taken-discrimination of tenses and
recognition of vocabularly-is different from that taken in the speaking and
writing courses. The presentations are always brief, since the essential goal is to
get on with the reading. Following these explanations the class does exercises on
the structures and verb tenses.
We also use the instructor-directed time to develop behavior characteristic of
good readers. We encourage the students to read for comprehension in several
ways: (1) by directing them to a sentence in the textbook and asking them to read
it and give the key words; (2) by directing them to a sentence or a paragraphand
asking them to read it and then give a summary or state the main idea; (3) by
asking them to read a passage and answer a set of true/false or multiple choice
questions on it. We help the students increase their speed by (1) judiciously
reducing the time allotted for each comprehension exercise: (2) discouraging lip
movements; (3) reading aloud for them, slowly at the beginning of the semester,
always more quickly as the semester progresses; and (4) giving them a definite
purpose for reading-finding the main idea, answering a question-before they
begin a reading exercise. The amount of time spent on translatingin the instructor-
directed time is discretionary, but we always emphasize reading for comprehen-
sion.

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
A COURSE IN READING SKILLS 523

During the student-directed time-approximately 50% to 70% of each class

meeting-students work individually or in groups and choose among the many
learning modules available in the classroom. It is a rare class that does not have
diversity of language proficiency. For example, the student repeating the course,
the student who has already studied the language for several years but "it was a
long time ago" or "I didn't learn very much," and the language veteran anticipating
an easy grade all enroll in Elementary French, ostensibly a course solely for
absolute beginners. Since Reading French is a multi-level course, the students
begin with different competencies, and the student-directed time enables them to
concentrate more directly on individual needs.
The students use modules to reinforce vocabulary acquisition and verb tense
discrimination and do self-correcting exercises to practice the structures presented
in each chapter. Students are especially fond of quizzing each other and select
from among many sets of flash cards drilling frequently used vocabulary: the
"false friends," prepositions, conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, numbers, com-
mon idiomatic expressions, common adverbs, and interrogative and negative
words. They drill each verb tense and the irregular verbs in each tense, using sets
of flash cards containing complete sentences in French and in English. Students
sometimes help prepare flash cards, as this is a learning experience for them.
We have also introduced other textbooks as learning modules. Since we have
several copies of Reading French by Mary Borelli and comprehension questions
and translations of the passages, these are available for classroom use. French for
Reading by Karl C. Sandberg and Eddison C. Tatham is another fine text
containing many self-correcting exercises the students use to practice their rec-
ognition of grammar and vocabulary.
Many students are not prepared for the complex process of learning a second
language. Although they may have mastered the material in a chapter and
performed well on corresponding exercises, they very probably will forget a
portion of this material by the time they have completed the next chapter. Thus,
they are always faced with the double challenge of completing the syllabus while
reviewing the work of preceding weeks. As facilitators, we must explain this
process and introduce methods that enable them to continue to review materials.
It is only in the constant reviewing that they learn the importance of repetition
over an extended period of time and realize the relative futility of last-minute
cramming.
We must carefully supervise the student-directed time, particularly at the
beginning of the course, because students tend to want to spend it doing the
assigned readings, their homework; in fact, the only aspect of the assignments
that is acceptable as class work is their correction. Students do not, initially at
least, realize the necessity of repetition and drill. However, as they use the
materials provided, they gradually realize their purpose and they learn the value
of peer cooperation. Our continuing to stimulate and guide them helps them
realize and accept the responsibility for their progress and for the progress of
their peers. No one can learn to read for them. They must do this for themselves,
and helping another student is possibly the best learning experience.

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
524 FRENCH REVIEW

Our current textbook, Reading French in the Arts and Sciences by Edward M.
Stack, offers reading exercises consisting of phrases and sentences in the first
three chapters and in the rest of its seventeen chapters extended connected
passages of French of one to three pages in length that are intentionally hetero-
geneous. The diversity of subject matter-literature, music and art, science,
history, education, political science, psychology, geometry, statistics, and proba-
bility-enables the students to become acquainted with an extensive vocabulary
and a variety of styles. At the same time, they select many passages from their
fields of interest where their knowledge and experience of the subject will increase
their comprehension and enjoyment.
We feel that the way we utilize a text is as important as its selection. The
students are responsible for reading one of the three or four texts in each chapter
and doing the corresponding written assignment. For half the assignments the
students write answers to a set of questions to show comprehension of the passage
while for the other assignments they do a written rendition in English. We assign
a certain number of texts in order to ensure that all students read material in each
subject area but allow students to pursue their own interests by selecting for
themselves the other texts they wish to read.
In these assignments, as in class time, we emphasize reading for comprehension
ratherthan translating. For one thing, genuine translating is a specialized skill that
is more appropriate in an advanced course. For another, translation is time-
consuming and laborious for those whose goal is comprehension rather than a
polished translation.
We use translation exercises judiciously, however; since half the students
enrolled in the course are anticipating graduate reading examinations in the
second language, they find the regular discipline of writing to be invaluable.
We explain the criteria for the English translations early in the course, discour-
aging literal translations and expecting idiomatic English that respects the meaning
of the original text. Students check their translations against the keys kept in the
classroom and also in the Language Center and on reserve in the library. Since
different wordings can often accurately convey the meaning of the original text,
students compare variations and accept all versions that express the meaning of
the text. They ask any specific questions regarding phrasing or word choice during
class time.
For each lesson in the text there is at least one test at the back of the book, and
we assign these tests as homework. The students consult the answer keys in the
classroom and present the corrected tests to the instructor for verification that the
work has been completed.
All students take two kinds of tests in class: three translation passages of
increasing levels of difficulty done with a dictionary and five tests closely based
on vocabulary and structures presented in the textbook and including reading
comprehension passages. Instructors might wish to introduce a third kind of test,
similar to the Graduate School Foreign Language Testing Program, requiring the
students to select the correct word or structure when presented with a choice
within a specific context.

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
A COURSE IN READING SKILLS 525

Students successfully complete the course when they have satisfactorily com-
pleted all the requirements in the grade contract elected. Students contracting for
an A complete all seventeen chapters in the book, one assignment per chapter, all
tests at the end of the textbook, and the three translation passages and the five
tests. Each translation passage and test must be done with 90%accuracy or better.
Students wishing a B complete all the textbook requirements for the first fourteen
chapters and do the three translation passages and four tests with 80% accuracy
or better. Similarly, students electing a C or a Pass complete all requirements for
the first twelve chapters and do the three translation passages and three tests with
70% accuracy or better. They may take each translation passage and each test a
maximum of three times in order to earn the desired percentage of accuracy.
Naturally, they use different passages and tests for each effort.
We give enrolling students the course objectives, the contract, and a student
personal history where each student answers questions about his experience with
foreign languages, his course load, the number of hours he is employed, and any
other commitments on his time. We use this information to counsel with the
students about the probable amount of study time each one will have to devote
in order to achieve his stated goal, a precautionary measure to ensure that students
with no previous experience with foreign languages realize that a 90%accuracy or
better on tests is not achieved without study. We urge students to commit
themselves to goals, but they may change them as they progress in the course.
For the first two weeks the students work at the same pace. Then they follow
a calendar indicating the lessons each of the three contract groups (A, B, C/pass)
needs to cover on a daily basis. While class lectures and exercises follow the
calendar of those wishing an A, each class presentation is self-contained, and
students have no problem doing work in chapters that they have not previously
covered. Generally, all the students elect to take the first test together after
approximately two weeks of class. From then on testing is an acceptable activity
of the student-directed portion of the class, and students request tests as they are
ready for them. Three sets of tests and translations at each level have been
sufficient to ensure reliability in testing.
In this program, students are actively responsible for their own learning: for
remaining faithful to their calendars, judging for themselves when they have
mastered the material, requesting tests as they are ready for them. They have the
option of finishing the course before the scheduled final day, and those having
finished all requirements no longer attend class. An average of one student per
semester does actually finish one or possibly two weeks early. The instructor must
be alert to any procrastinators,as many are not used to these responsibilities, and
occasionally a few words of encouragement are necessary. However, as Dr. Maria
Montessori so often explained, "no human being is educated by another person.
He must do it himself or it will never be done" (No. 1 The Purpose of Montessori
Education, Montessori Learning Center). The organization of this course gives
students a determining role in their studies and helps them develop the natural
tools for learning and a greater confidence in their abilities to learn, probably as
important as the subject matter itself.

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
526 FRENCH REVIEW

Approximately one student in twenty withdraws or fails the course. The subject
matter of the materials read in the course indicates the proficiency of completing
students. Those who have completed the entire book for an A read at an extremely
advanced level; they can pick up material in the arts or sciences and read for
comprehension with 90%accuracy or better. Majors, who usually take the course
after Elementary French or at the latest after Intermediate French, find it excellent
preparation for literature and civilization courses, where all reading is in the target
language. One faculty member who attended was able, upon completion, to pass
the language requirements in French for a Ph.D. in his field by translating an
entire short story for the French department of his university. Other graduating
seniors who have taken the course have then fulfilled graduate school language
requirements by taking translation tests or the Graduate School Foreign Language
Test. The students themselves evaluate the course very highly in anonymous
questionnaires distributed at the end of the semester.
For many, the positive experience of a multi-level grade contract course where
students and instructor work in partnership is sufficient encouragement to elect
more courses in French or to decide to major in French. The Introduction to
Reading is one of the success stories in our course offerings.

HOUSTON BAPTIST UNIVERSITY

This content downloaded from 202.45.132.22 on Thu, 6 Mar 2014 07:23:46 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions