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“Now I Learned to Love the Books”: ESL Book Clubs

“Now I Learned to Love the Books”: ESL Book Clubs. Ramona Lucius Outreach Coordinator San Antonio Public Library ramona.lucius@sanantonio.gov. Recommended Reading.

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“Now I Learned to Love the Books”: ESL Book Clubs

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  1. “Now I Learned to Love the Books”: ESL Book Clubs Ramona Lucius Outreach Coordinator San Antonio Public Library ramona.lucius@sanantonio.gov

  2. Recommended Reading • Dali, Keren. Immigrant Readers: Feeling ‘At Home’ in Library Reading Programs. Readers Advisor News, July 2010. http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/ranews/jul2010/dali.html. • Ashton, Rick and Danielle Milam. Welcome, Stranger: Public Libraries Build the Global Village. http://www.urbanlibraries.org/associations/9851/files/ULC_WS.pdf • Cohen, Hsin-Yi. How to Lead Book Club Meetings. http:// www.thereadingclub.co.uk/HowToLeadBookClubMeetings.html. • Wizner, Stacy and Laura Zurio. Using Book Clubs in the ESL Classroom. AZ-TESOL News. Vol. 31, issue 3, pp. 1-3.

  3. San Antonio: An International Community 12.5% born outside US 43% speak language other than English at home (2010 Census)

  4. United States: An International Community 12.7% born outside US 20.1% speak language other than English at home (2010 Census) A great opportunity to create new library users!

  5. Recruiting New Users • “[D]isadvantaged groups, including. . .new immigrants. . .were less likely to use public libraries.” • Sei-Ching Joanna Sin and Kyung-Sun Kim, “Use and Non-Use of Public Libraries in the Information Age,” Library & Information Science Research 30(3), 207-215.

  6. ESL Book Clubs In the US: In Canada: • Douglas County (CO) • Yuma County (AZ) • San Jose (CA) • Centreville (VA) • Paramus (NJ) • Chicago • Tulsa City-County (OK) • Regina • Brooks • Vancouver • Masonville • Vaughan • Richmond • Toronto

  7. Origin of Book Clubs “The book club has a distinguished role in American culture. The clubs were formed in the 19th century, primarily as a way to help immigrants learn the language of their new country.” —David C. Kupfer, “Should the American Canon Be Discussed in a Public Library? The Selection of Classic American Authors in One Book Reading Projects.” http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/kupfer.pdf.

  8. Benefits of Book Clubs “This environment, so valuable and important for many readers, is doubly valuable for immigrants who may not feel quite ‘at home’ no matter how many years they have lived in the host country. . . .The beauty of a book club, and other reading programs, is the fact that they capitalize not on differences (par distance) but similarities (par closeness) — the same favorite authors, genres, and titles.” —Keren Dali

  9. Benefits of Book Clubs “The result has been increased levels of reading for pleasure, wider vocabularies, and the practice of higher-order thinking skills. . . .” --Barbara Vaille and Jennifer Quinn Williams

  10. Different Strokes Some clubs *meet once a month *meet for 90-120 minutes *use children’s books or standard adult fiction and nonfiction *limit club size *gives the books as gifts

  11. Dare to Read • Weekly 1-hour book club for adult ESL learners • 8 meetings per semester • Two weeks per title • Partnership with Dept. of Human Services • Completion rate: 67%

  12. Why Does Dare to Read Work? • Marketing: classroom visits, flyers, bookmarks, website, Twitter, newsletters • Convenience • Group diversity • Non-judgmental, no-pressure environment

  13. Why Does Dare to Read Work? THE BOOKS Oxford Bookworms series Leveled readers (Stage 1: 400 headwords through Stage 6: 2500 words) Revised versions of classic literature in variety of genres

  14. Stage 1

  15. Stage 2

  16. Stage 3

  17. Plays

  18. Additional Formats • Oxford has some Bookworms titles with CDs • Wizard of Oz, Les Miserables, Romeo & Juliet et al • Cambridge offers some leveled-reader ebooks • On Kindle • Can adjust font size and spacing between words/lines • With text-to-speech capability • Murder mysteries

  19. Registration Day • Complete registration form and survey • Hand out meeting schedule • Issue library cards and library maps • Explain circulation policies • Renewals, fines, fees for lost items • Check out copies of the first title

  20. Pre-Program Survey • I enjoy reading in my own language. TRUE PARTLY TRUE FALSE • I enjoy reading in English. • I can read well in English. 4. I visit a library MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH ONCE A MONTH LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH NOT AT ALL

  21. What Happens at a Meeting? • Attendance, registration of new members, library card sign-up

  22. What Happens at a Meeting? Discussion • Background: brief author bio, interesting facts about the book • Although Dracula is set in Eastern Europe, Stoker never visited there. • In versions published in India, the Tin Man is instead a snake.

  23. What Happens at a Meeting? Discussion • Read aloud • visual aids • discussion

  24. What Happens at a Meeting? • Check in and check out books • Librarian carefully checks all members’ records for overdue materials, fines, etc.

  25. Book Sample • “Tom came out of his house with a brush and a big bucket of white paint in his hand. He looked at the fence; it was nine feet high and ninety feet long. He put his brush in the paint and painted some of the fence. He did it again. Then he stopped and looked at the fence, put down his brush, and sat down.” • Adventures of Tom Sawyer

  26. Great Books=Great Discussions • Call of the Wild: freedom vs. security • Robinson Crusoe: skills a new immigrant needs to succeed • Christmas Carol: what does an individual owe to society? • Frankenstein: scientific discovery vs. ethics

  27. Post-Program Survey • I enjoyed this book club. TRUE PARTLY TRUE FALSE • This book club helped me to read better in English. TRUE PARTLY TRUE FALSE • This club helped me to enjoy reading. TRUE PARTLY TRUE FALSE • I visit a library MORE THAN ONCE A MONTH ONCE A MONTH LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH NOT AT ALL

  28. Successes • 100% of the participants indicated improvement in their reading skills, enjoyment of reading, and library use • Comments: • “I learned more day by day. My teacher Diana is very nice. We love you.” • “Now I am a better reader and I also improved my pronunciation. Diana rocks!” • “Now I learned to love the books.”

  29. Ready to Start? • Find a partner agency • Determine interest • Plan a schedule • Determine the format (books, ebooks, books-on-CD) • Plan a schedule • Promote the program • Hold the meetings • Evaluate the program

  30. Ready to Start? Find the right facilitators • Book-loving • Respectful of other cultures • Patient • Enthusiastic • Diplomatic • Attentive to body language • Articulate • Good recordkeeping skills

  31. Enjoy your club!

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