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Gabrielatos, C. (2002). Reading loud and clear: Reading aloud in ELT. ERIC, ED477572.
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Introduction By reading aloud (RA), I mean the learners' activity and not the reading out of texts by the teacher. RA is probably the single technique in ELT which is not explicitly associated with any of the ‘modern’ teaching methods - there is no reference to RA in Howatt (1984), which is the most recent historical account of ELT. I use 'modern' in quotation marks as it seems to me that a large number of principles and techniques associated with teaching methods developed in the last 50 years are rooted in older approaches and practices in ELT (e.g. see Howatt, 1984; Sweet, 1899)^1. Nevertheless, for a large number of teachers worldwide RA constitutes a staple of the classroom diet and takes up a fair amount of lesson time. I have come to this conclusion not only through my experience as a teacher educator, but also through the many instances where the use of RA is mentioned by researchers (e.g. Hosenfeld, 1984: 236) and writers on ELT methodology (e.g. Peck, 1989: 32), as well as the frequent appeals by writers of ELT textbooks (e.g. Lewis & Hill, 1992: 110; Nuttall, 1982: 3) against its overuse or misuse as a technique for developing reading skills. I would like here to draw your attention to an interesting controversy. For EFL teachers trained in modern teaching methods, and particularly for those trained in communicatively oriented courses, RA is one of the few outcast teaching techniques, because they seem to associate it with 'traditional' methods. I have encountered quite a few instances of teachers ascribing RA to Grammar-Translation. I am not sure how this misconception has been formed since there is no mention of this technique in accounts of Grammar Translation (e.g. Howatt, 1984, Ch.11; Richards & Rogers, 1986: 3-5). On the other hand, RA still remains one of the techniques most widely used by 'traditional'/untrained language teachers. 'Who is right, then', you may ask. The way I see it, teaching procedures themselves cannot be described in such absolute terms as 'right' or 'wrong' outside a specific teaching/learning context. Therefore, I would like to put the question more constructively: Is there a place for reading aloud in the modern language classroom, and if so when and how should it be used?
Key words Reading aloud, reading skills, speaking, pronunciation, English language teaching, language teaching methodology, EFL, ESL, ESOL, ELT, TESOL.
Relevant details First published in two parts as ‘Reading Allowed (?): Reading aloud in TEFL’ in Current Issues 8 (February 1996, pp. 7-9) and Current Issues 9 (May 1996, pp. 7-8). In this version (March 2002) I have incorporated most of the endnotes in the text, made some changes in phrasing, and added an argument in the section ‘Reading aloud as reading practice’. This version is available through ERIC (accession number ED477572).
Related articles by the same author
Gabrielatos, C. (1992). Teaching Communication and Interaction Strategies: An action research project with Greek teenagers at intermediate level. Project submitted in partial fulfilment of the RSA/Cambridge Diploma for Overseas Teachers of English.
Gabrielatos, C. (1993). Learning how to fish: Fostering fluency and independence. TESOL Greece Newsletter 38, 23-26.
If you know of any related publications or discussions freely available online, please contact me.