Tom Robb
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All Levels Breaking the Rules for Better Extensive Reading Implementation more
Most Extensive Reading Practitioners are familiar with the ten “principles” of extensive reading listed in Day & Bamford (2002) and elsewhere. This paper, however, will suggest that we can have our students read more by ignoring some of the principles. The only principle that cannot be violated is their #4, “Learners read as much as possible” since this is the very definition of Extensive Reading, but breaking some of the other nine may allow the students more practice. For example, one rule states that “The reading material is easy,” yet a vocabulary list provided along the text would allow students to understand more difficult material. This will expand what is available for them to read but adds more work for the teacher.. In the above manner, we will discuss the various “characteristics” and suggest reasons for not following them in order to provide more reading material for your students.
All Levels Celebrating the Forthcoming Marriage of MReader and Xreading more
MReader is a free website with an LMS and quizzes for over 8000 graded readers. This innovative system was launched in 2012, suddenly making it much easier for schools to manage their extensive reading program. However, it was not helpful for schools without sufficient reading materials. In 2014, the subscription based Xreading digital library was launched. This system, with currently over 2000 graded readers (including the audio narrations), suddenly allowing schools without sufficient books to have an extensive reading program. It’s not hyperbole to say that these two systems impacted the way extensive reading is practiced in academic institutions around the world. While students using Xreading can also take any of the quizzes from MReader, the two systems have remained independent… until now. From 2026, MReader and Xreading will be merged. Their URLs will remain distinct, and MReader will continue to be free, but the two systems will be two sides of the same platform. In this session, the creators of the two systems will explain the rationale for the merger and display screenshots of the new site which removes redundancy and combines the best features of both sites.