How to Become an Engaged Reader?
Findings from German Biographical and
Developmental Reading Research
Prof. Dr. Christine Garbe,
University of Cologne
Amsterdam, 21 November 2014
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Table of Contents
1. Why reading engagement matters
2. How to become an engaged reader? Findings from
reading biographies and research on reading
socialization – one example
3. The prototypical positive development of reading
socialization
4. The acquisition model of reading competence: reading
acquisition tasks in early childhood, childhood and
adolescence
5. Measures / methods of a development- and gender-
sensitive reading / literacy promotion
1. Why reading engagement matters?
A new definition of reading literacy in PISA 2009
PISA 2009:
Reading literacy is „understanding, using, reflecting on and
engaging with written texts in order to achieve one´s goals, to
develop one´s knowledge and potential, and to participate in
society.“
(OECD 2009: 40)
PISA 2000:
"Reading literacy is understanding, using, and reflecting on
written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s
knowledge and potential, and to participate in society."
(OECD 2002: 25)
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1. Why reading engagement matters? A new
definition of reading literacy in PISA 2009
Some findings from the PISA Study 2009:
“In all countries – except Kazakhstan – students who enjoy
reading the most perform significantly better than students
who enjoy reading the least.” (OECD 2010b, S. 24)
“Students who are familiar with several written codes and
practice reading a variety of styles appear to master
reading better than students who are more restricted in their
reading habits.” (OEDC 2010b, S. 39)
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1. What is reading engagement?
The American researchers John Guthrie & Allan Wigfield emphasized in
their basic article „Engagement and Motivation in Reading“ (in: Handbook
of Reading, 2000) the central role of motivation:
„because motivation is what activates behaviour. A less motivated
reader spends less time reading, exerts lower cognitive effort, and is less
dedicated to full comprehension than a more highly motivated reader“
(Guthrie / Wigfield 2000, p. 406)
”As students become engaged readers, they provide themselves with
self-generated learning opportunities that may be equivalent for several
years of school education.” (Ibid.)
„Engaged readers [...] coordinate their strategies and knowledge
(cognition) within a community of literacy (social) in order to fulfill their
personal goals, desires, and intentions (motivation).“ (Ibid., p. 404)
2. How to become an engaged reader?
Dutch model: de doorgaande leeslijn 0–18 jaar (2005)
What is wanted from me: Overview of German research in this area related to practical consequences
Outline: a) Example – b) theory (models) – c) guidelines for practice of reading promotion
Relax! It will be dense, and you will hopefully learn something which is important for you! But you don´t need to understand everything – there will be no test at the end ;-))!
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2. Preconditions of success or failure in literacy growth – reading biographies of adolescents and young adults
• Etymology: Bio[s] (Greek) = the life; graphein (Greek) = writing biography = description of a person‘s life story; description of a life;
“Writing a life” = construction of meaning of (a person‘s) life, interpretation of one´s own life
• A reading biography (media biography) answers to the question: What is the meaning of reading (of media) in my life? This question aims at the subjective meaning and subjectively meaningful functions of reading.
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2. From the single biography to a
developmental scheme
• Development of reading autobiography corpora: Stimulus with appealing text, afterwards 90 min of writing the individual reading autobiographies during academic courses.
• Sample: Mostly students therefore „prototypical positive developmental scheme“
• Qualitative, reconstructive analysis of the texts
• “If for example in a great corpus of autobiographies independent from each other specific statements continuously appear, this has a stronger effect on generalizations than statements appearing in single autobiographies only, where it is to be questioned whether the described fact is typical for a greater group or not” (transl. from Graf & Schön 2001: 621)
2. The basic structure of reading / media
experiences / reading biographies
The Context Personal interactions, social
situations, institutional
contexts
(family, kindergarten, school,
friends, peer groups…)
The Text Cultural system
of meaning, text
genres, text
complexity…
The Reader Individual aptitudes,
needs,desires,
competencies… Inspired by: Charlton &
Neumann 1992
“I had my first contact with books when I was a toddler. My father used to look at the same picture book with me every single night over a longer period. I enjoyed it every time and I didn’t care that the book only had four pages. A little later it was rather my mother, who read fairy tales as bedtime stories to me. As soon as I could read myself, I turned into a real “bookworm”. I vividly imaged the stories and often I was lost in reverie. Every children’s book I found was devoured immediately…
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
The most pleasure I experienced in reading books by Astrid Lindgren, like Madita, Michel and Pippi Longstocking. I daydreamed of the protagonists’ worlds and played with the stories in my mind. I believe that I have read the Pippi Longstocking books more than ten times because they fascinated me and I couldn’t turn my attention from reading. I even took it that far that I chose Pippi to be my role model. I wanted to be as strong, as sassy and as fair-minded as she was and I truly adored her. After this period of time that was dominated by Astrid Lindgren’s books, I had a phase where I mainly read Enid Blyton’s books…
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
Besides detective stories for adolescents like “The Famous Five”, I liked reading boarding school stories with great pleasure, like the “St. Claire’s” or the “Mallory Towers” series. While reading, I always pictured real scenes with my inner eye, almost like in a movie! I was such a devoted reader that I started reading to my little sister, who was carried away by the stories just like me. Then there was later a time, where I started to read novels for adults. Love and detective stories belonged to the top of my hit list, f. e. Ken Follett.
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
Then, I reached puberty and I rarely read anymore. The reading that was assigned by school was completely enough. However, these books often bored me and didn’t really make me have fun reading. During the upper form at grammar school I finally got a new German teacher who really seemed to be competent… The texts we read were interesting for the most part and I didn’t feel as if the additional information and interpretation were an uncomfortable duty only; in contrast, I even felt pleasure in approaching the deeper contents of a text…
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
I felt like this especially with “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka. After reading it for the first time, I used to talk to my friends about the book, still laughing: “This Kafka guy must have taken psychedelic drugs we don’t even know anymore today. Why else does he get the idea to write about a guy, who wakes up and feels as if he were transformed into a bug…?” However, the more often I read “The Metamorphosis”, and dealt with the plot, the more genius I believed Kafka to be…
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
I felt this way later with many books I read at school; nevertheless, I mostly read the compulsory reading only. I continued to read only little in my personal life, actually just sometimes during bus rides to school or in the holidays. And this is how my reading habits can still be described. In the majority of cases, I don’t feel like reading texts in spare time besides the ones that are relevant for my studies at the University, and that’s why I read in the train mostly. In these situations, I mostly read detective stories or humorous love stories because they help me relax in a special way.”
A reading autobiography of a
female student (19)
3. Results of biographical reading research: A prototypical
developmental scheme of literary and reading socialization
Primary
literary
initiation
Acqui-
sition of
literacy
skills
Reading
children‘s
literature
for
pleasure
Rea-
ding
crisis
Non-
fictional
reading ♂
Secondary
literary
initiation ♀
Compulsory reading
Instrumental reading
Concept reading
Reading for
(world and self)
comprehension
Participatory reading
Aesthetic reading
Intimate reading
Early
childhood/
preschool
Beginning of
school
attendance
Childhood (6
-12 yrs.)
Puberty (12-
15 yrs.) Adolescence
(15-18 yrs.)
Adulthood (from 18
yrs.)
No/little
reading
Family,
mothers
mostly
School
School,
peers/peer
groups, media
Friends, peer
groups,
teachers
Libraries Vocat. traning,
studies, job …
Social environment: dominant stimuli
Ontogenetic developmental stages: biography
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3. Background: seven modes of reading
according to Graf (2004)
Compulsory
reading Instrumental
reading
Concept
oriented
reading
Reading for
(world) com-
prehension
Intimate
reading
Participa-
tory reading Aesthetic
reading
Transfer Social-
communicative
Important publications by Werner Graf: Reading Genesis in Childhood and Adolescence (2007);
The Meaning of Reading (2004)
Graf, Werner (2007): Lesegenese Graf, Werner (2004): in Kindheit und Jugend. Einführung Der Sinn des Lesens. in die literarische Sozialisation. Münster: LItVerlag. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider-Verlag.
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19 The concept of reading socialization
• In the 1970s/1980s the theory of socialization became the leading paradigm in educational and social sciences: exploration of all intentional influences and non-intentional conditions which transform a new born child into a “human being capable of acting in its social environment” (= “gesellschaftlich handlungsfähiges Subjekt”), making him/her a competent member of society (B. Hurrelmann 1999, 2002)
• The previously prevalent concepts of “reading development” (suggesting a “natural” inner process of growth) and “reading education / literary education” (suggesting that only intentional intervention counts) were replaced by the broader concept of “reading socialization”.
20 Research on reading socialization
1. Socialization for reading (i.e. becoming a reader): How does a
child, an adolescent or an adult become a habitual reader? Which factors, which influences by persons, authorities, institutions of reading education, which offers of reading materials and media are of special importance for a successful reading career?
2. Socialization by reading: How does reading influence the
process of socialization or personal development of a reader? What particular functions and individual meanings does reading have for the social competences and personal growth of a human being in the present society? (Eggert/Garbe 2003, 2nd ed.)
Hartmut Eggert / Christine Garbe
(1995/2003): Literary Socialization 21
• Eggert, Hartmut; Garbe,
Christine (1995): Literarische
Sozialisation. Stuttgart: Metzler
• Focus on literary socialization of
German children and
adolescents in the media society
• 2nd ed. (2003): an additional
chapter on the PISA survey is
included
1998 – 2006 Research Focus Programme „Reading
Socialization in a Media Society“, funded by the
German Research Foundation
Hartmut Eggert
Christine Garbe
Norbert Groeben
Bettina Hurrelmann
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Groeben/Hurrelmann (2004): Reading Socialization in
the Media Scoiety. Current State of Research
Groeben, Norbert; Hurrelmann,
Bettina (2004): Lesesozialisation
in der Mediengesellschaft. Ein
Forschungsüberblick. Weinheim:
Juventa
Collection of essays: the process
of reading socialization is recon-
structed according to dynamics
of co-construction
The current state of research in
the field of reading socialization
is outlined
Model of “reading competence in the
context of socialization” (Hurrelmann)
the human being in society: agency, en-gagement, citizenship
normative justification normative feedback
effects social
personal
conditions Social /personal /
media environment
normative aspects dimensions of reading competence
cognitions motivations emotions reflections communication about texts
descriptive aspects
Fig.: B. Hurrelmann 2002 (Reading competence in the context of socialization)
Dimensions and subscales of reading
competence according to PISA
Reflect on
and evaluate
form of
text
Reflect on
and evaluate
content of
text
Develop
an
interpretation
Retrieve
information
Form a
broad
understanding
Subscale of
retrieving
information
Subscale of
interpreting
texts
Subscale of
reflection and
evaluation
Overall scale of reading
Reading competence in PISA and as cultural
practice – two approaches to reading
cognition reflection
Socialization Model PISA Model
cognition
emotion
motivation
reflection
Communi-cation
4. An acquisition model of reading competence
(Garbe, Holle & von Salisch 2006)
Adolescence Adulthood
Family
Kindergarten
Primary
School
Secondary School Job /
Studies
Early Childhood Childhood
Plateau of emergent literacy and interpersonal literary practices
Plateau of heuristic literacy and
autonomous literary practices
Plateau of functional literacy and
literary discourse
CHILD
perspective:
„WE read
together
and I
participate“
„We“
CHILD perspective:
“I can read
autonomously what I
want to read”
“Me”
ADOLESCENT perspective
„I read myself and my world in
the mirror of the others“
„The Others“
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 years
4. The idea of plateaus instead of
stages
KG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
supported reading
independent reading
fluent / strategic reading
adaptive / reflective reading
Basic ideas of the acquisition model of
reading (Garbe, Holle 2006)
Developmental perspective: stage of life (e.g. early childhood; 0-6 years)
Acquisition task (from the point of view of the child), e.g.:
I want to express my experiences and feelings by means of visual (body) and
oral language in order to communicate with my „significant others“…
I want to know how reading and writing activities of adults (elder brothers or
sisters…) work.
Expected competence profiles on the respective plateau, e.g..
Emergent literacy / interpersonal literary practices
emotions / motivation cognition communication/
reflection
Plateau 1: „WE read together and I participate“
(Emergent Literacy / Interpersonal Literary Practices)
Acquisition Tasks Family, Pre-Primary, Elementary School up to Grade 2 Making the transition from orality to literacy – the role of talking about literature („(para-) literary communication“) and supported reading:
Emergent Literacy: Oral story-telling detached from the situational context;
exploring the alphabetic principle Interpersonal Literary Practices: Literacy as a means to play, to access
the realm of phantasy, to symbolize emotions
The children themselves are not able to read yet as they only learn to read in school contexts. However, many come in contact with written texts when they are being read to by adults, for example. On this plateau, children can only experience reading with the help of ´competent others´ in a situation of play: „WE read together and I participate.“
Plateau 2: „I can read autonomously whatever I like. “
(Heuristic Literacy / Autonomous Literary Practices)
Acquisition Tasks Family, Peers, Primary School from Grade 1 through 6 Making the transition from decoding to reading fluency – The role of extensive and autonomous reading for pleasure during childhood: Heuristic Literacy (Exploring Literacy): Learning conventions of written language,
independent reading of texts; automatisation of basic reading processes (reading speed and accuracy), transition from learning to read to reading to learn
Autonomous Literary Practices: Reading for pleasure let the reader indulgence
their phantasies with a true immersion experience. It helps to develop personal reading perferences and genre preferences as well as the abilty to generate mental images with texts through projection and empathy.
On this plateau, reading for pleasure lays the foundation to a stable reader identity.
Plateau 3: „I Read Myself and My World in the
Mirror of Others“ (Functional Literacy / Literary Discourse)
Acquisition Tasks Secondary School from Grade 7 through 13
Making the transition from fluent decoding to adaptive and strategic reading – reading to get to know the world and to build an identity; reading to stimulate reflection and communication about texts.
Functional Literacy: Acquiring and consolidating cognitive and meta-cognitive reading strategies in private, school and professional contexts. Reading should be a matter of all school subjects.
Literary Discourse: Texts can be a means to make sense of the world and to build identity. Students learn to appreciate to be a part of literary culture and a cultural community.
5. How to promote reading for pleasure and
literacy growth on the different plateaus?
Rosebrock, Cornelia; Nix,
Daniel (2008, 7. Aufl.
2014): Basics of Reading
Instruction and
systematic Reading
Promotion in Schools,
Baltmannsweiler:
Schneider Hohengehren
The „didactic“ model of reading
competence (Rosebrock & Nix, 2008)
A Set of Methods for Systematic Reading Promotion in
(and outside of) Schools acc. to Rosebrock & Nix (2008)
• Aquisition of literacy / learning to read and write / alphabetisation
• Aquisition of reading fluency / reading aloud approaches
• Aquisition of stable reading habits / motivation: sustained / scaffolded silent reading approaches
• Comprehension instruction: teaching cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies
• Content area literacy: supporting domain-specific reading competences for reading fictional and non-fictional texts
• Reading animation: Organizing all kinds of reading events to stimulate motivation and engagement.
5.1. Measures and methods for development- and gender-
sensitive reading and literacy promotion on plateau 1
Giving children of both sexes access to symbolic worlds
constituted by language
Exercising to communicate detached from the specific
situation: Story-Telling
(Pre-/para-) Literary Discourse: nursery rhymes, poems,
songs, tongue twisters, puns and riddles
Joint Reading of Picture Books
Reading stories out loud and talking about it
Making fathers and male teachers part of education
Selecting stories that are also attractive to boys
1. Developing reading fluency is the main focus of grades 3
to 6. Children need to practice basic reading processes so
that they can read longer texts without struggling to
decode the text.
Reading „aloud“ programmes (paired reading,
repeated reading exercises)
2. Indulging in autonomous reading for pleasure is the
objective of grades 3 to 6 to stimulate motivation.
Reading „a lot“ programmes: Stimulating reading
through Guided Independent Reading Programmes
and Reading Animation Programmes
5.2. Measures and methods for development- and gender-
sensitive reading and literacy promotion on plateau 2
Practicing strategies to read and to learn: functional reading in all subjects
Supporting to read non-fictional texts: building vocabulary, knowledge about text structures and world knowledge
Supporting literary reading: Knowledge about texts and genres, deepening the understanding of texts, dialogic learning and communicating about literature in a creative way.
5.3. Measures and methods for development- and gender-
sensitive reading and literacy promotion on plateau 3
Universität zu Köln
Thank you very much for your attention!
Prof. Dr. Christine Garbe
Institut für deutsche Sprache und Literatur II
Universität zu Köln