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The Effectiveness of Reading and Listening to Children’s Literature on English L2 Reading Comprehension

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SAG with Specialisation in English Studies in Education

15 Credits, First Cycle

The Effectiveness of Reading and

Listening to Children’s Literature on

English L2 Reading Comprehension

Barnlitteraturens inverkan på läsförståelse genom läsning och

auditivt stöd i en engelsk andraspråkskontext

Vendela Grahm

Oscar Walldén

Bachelor/Master of Arts/Science in Primary

Education, 240 Credits English Studies in Education 13 January 2020

Examiner: Damon Tutunjian Supervisor: Chrysogonus Siddha Malilang

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, LANGUAGES AND MEDIA

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Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of children’s literature on English reading

comprehension in an L2 classroom context. Children’s literature has a major part in teaching L1 in Swedish primary schools, and although it is a trustworthy method in developing reading comprehension skills, it is not used to any great extent in the English education. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine to what extent reading comprehension is fostered by using children’s literature from a second language perspective. Previous experimental research has, however, shown positive results on children’s literature as a means for teaching L2 reading

comprehension. In this research synthesis, we will critically analyse, compare and discuss

published research based on empirical data to provide and present the reign believes in children’s literature on L2 reading comprehension enhancement. Based on the findings presented in this paper there is a correspondence between the usage of children's literature and positive results in L2 reading comprehension development. However, solely reading children’s literature might not be the most efficient method in enhancing L2 reading comprehension. Based on the findings presented in this study listening to the text whilst reading can to a greater extent improve on listening comprehension results, which can be connected to the theory of Dual Coding (Paivio, 1986). Furthermore, no research on this area has been done in a Swedish context, which indicates that further research needs to be done in order for the results to be more applicable to our future profession.

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Individual contributions

We hereby certify that all parts of this essay reflect the equal participation of both signatories below:

The parts we refer to are as follows: • Planning

• Research question selection

• Article searches and decisions pertaining to the outline of the essay • Presentation of findings, discussion, and conclusion

Authenticated by:

Vendela Grahm Oscar Walldén

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction... 4

2. Aim and research question ... 9

3. Method ... 10

3.1 Search delimitations... 10

3.2 Inclusion criteria ... 11

3.3 Exclusion criteria ... 11

4. Results ... 13

4.1 The effect of children’s literature ... 13

4.2 The effect of verbal support ... 16

4.3 Challenging readers ... 18

4.4 The role of the educator ... 19

5. Discussion ... 21

6. Conclusion ... 25

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1. Introduction

Reading is an essential part of Swedish L1 education. When teaching students reading

comprehension in year 1-3 the curriculum for compulsory school (Skolverket, 2011) states that students should be able to understand texts, adapt the reading to form a context, create

collaborative texts and be able to make clarifications about them. The curriculum also states that students should be introduced to different forms of literature, and be aware of “some authors and illustrators of fiction for children” (Skolverket, 2011). Reading is introduced from an early age, even before students reach school age, they interact with letters, words, and sentences daily. Listening to stories might be a daily routine before going to bed. Nonetheless, when leaving the house, a child might spot license plates on cars, street signs, commercials, names of different stores, food labels, bus, and train information tables. The list could go on forever.

Swedish is not the only language children are introduced to from an early age. In other European countries such as France and Germany, English movies and television shows are dubbed into the language spoken in that country. That is not the case in Sweden where most television programs and movies are viewed in its original language. The same applies to games where participants are exposed to both spoken and written English. Television, movies, and games are mediums

children are exposed to from an early age leading to them being introduced to English additionally.

The fact that students are exposed and familiar with the English language when starting primary school is not taken advantage of by the school system. When reading the section of the

curriculum for teaching English it focuses on teaching abilities already familiar to the students. The core content states that the teaching should, among other things, introduce “simple

instructions and descriptions”, and “words and phrases in the local surroundings, such as those used on signs and other simple texts” (Skolverket, 2011). Furthermore, there are no knowledge requirements when teaching English during years 1-3. This means that teachers can freely choose how much time they wish to spend on any specific ability, whether it is reading, writing or listening comprehension. In addition, English teaching during year 1-3 does not get as much

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educational time as other subjects, this despite the fact that teaching English as a foreign or second language has a clear advantage since students already are familiar with different reading strategies, such as recognizing spelling patterns, being able to compare the sound of letters, and trying to sound out words (Pinter, 2017).

When reading or listening to a story, a child gets to interact with the text. To be able to do so, there needs to be comprehension. Moore and Hall (2012) describes comprehension as the heart of reading and listening. From a schema theory point of view, comprehension is the result of interaction between what the learner already knows and how new information can be connected to previously saved information (Farangi & Kheradmand Saadi, 2017). Reading comprehension, more specifically, can be defined similarly; it is the process of obtaining information while at the same time construct meaning through interaction with the written language (Al Kahiyali, 2014). According to Paivio’s theory of Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986), one approach to improve reading comprehension is to have access to verbal and non-verbal input simultaneously (Tragant & Vallbona, 2018).

Due to the higher demands on students in secondary school, it is important that the primary school English lays a solid foundation to build on (Bland, 2013). Edelenbos et al (2006) suggest that a systematic introduction to reading from an early point of language learning can support young learners in acquiring new language skills.

This has been further investigated by Kolb (2013), who claims that English picture books can have a positive effect on reading competence for young EFL learners. When reading picture books students are able to experience authentic reading experiences and see the language as a means of communication. However, there seems to be a trend in primary education to exclude written language in the primary EFL classroom. Reading activities are often restricted to short sentences used for understanding tasks (Kolb 2013). Ghosn (2002) however argues that

children's stories should and can be used as a medium to motivate children’s language learning thus it stimulates the development of thinking skills needed for L2 academic English.

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Although children’s ability to acquire the native language within a few years has been of interest for centuries, it was not until the mid-twentieth century researchers systematically started to analyse the children’s ability to acquire a new language. Since then, many theories have been presented, both for particular language as well as universal aspects of language acquisition. The research on language acquisition has led teachers to correlate L1 and L2 acquisition, which according to Brown (2014) is legitimate, given a typical development environment. For this reason, the focus many primary school teachers in Sweden put on reading in their L1 classes should be implemented in their L2 classes as well.

When making the comparisons between L1 and L2, however, there are some pertinent

differences one needs to be aware of, especially in the case of the adult second language learners. The most decisive argument is that children and adults display differences in mental, emotional and physical developments (Brown, 2014). As Brown argues, the difference between the adult and child L2 learners has resulted in that learning theories on how the second language is

acquired necessarily cannot be exclusively applied to either group. As a result, many researchers have developed theories on how children acquire a new language.

One way to look into L2 language acquisition is through Krashen and Terrell’s (1983) input hypothesis. In their theory, Krashen and Terrell state that there are two ways of developing competence in second languages, either through language acquisition or through language learning. Language acquisition is a subconscious process in which languages are learned in a natural way, primarily by using the language for real communication. However, language learning is a conscious process that refers to the formal knowledge about a language, and its specific rules. Teaching languages to adults seem to focus more on the explicit rules of the language, thus they follow the method of language learning. Children, however, tend to not necessarily be aware that they are acquiring language, they are just aware that they are communicating (Krashen & Terrell, 1983).

Moreover, Krashen and Terrell (1983) states that listening comprehension and reading are the two most important abilities in language programs. Listening and reading comprehension precedes speaking or writing abilities, thus one of the implications for teaching language is to

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focus the communication on topics of interest for the students. Thus, it indicates that focus should be put into reading different, meaningful texts to acquire the new language. Reading should begin as soon as the student has enough knowledge of the language to obtain meaning from the text.

Furthermore, Krashen and Terrell (1983) argue that an appropriate text for a reader needs to meet two criteria. Firstly, it must be at a pertinent level of complexity. The text should for instance not contain too many unfamiliar words which will make the text incomprehensible. As should the text not have too much complex syntax, for instance, underlying messages. Secondly, the reader has to find the text interesting and related to the proximity of the interest of the child. The readability of a text is widely affected by how familiar the reader is to the text. The two criteria mentioned in the Input Hypothesis suggest that children’s literature might be an important effective tool for early learner L2 language acquisition (Krashen & Terrell, 1983). Although there does not seem to be a widely used definition of what children’s literature is, there are some definitions that meet these two criteria. McDowell (2006) defines children’s literature as a shorter book that favours an active rather than a passive treatment, with the stress put on dialogue rather than description. Children’s literature tends to be optimistic, the language is child-oriented and the plot often features magic, simplicity, fantasy, and adventure. Next to that, the Library of Congress (2008) defines children’s literature as material written or produced for the purpose of informing or entertaining children and adolescents. Furthermore, they conclude that all non-fiction, literary and artistic genres, and physical formats fall under the definition. Furthermore, Meek (2004) advocates that children's literature is not limited to any specific genre. The boundaries of genres within children’s literature are blurred, thus children with different interests can find a subject of interest within every possible genre.

Despite the agreement among researchers over the importance of children's literature, finding an established definition of this genre is proven problematic. There is no singular definition that everybody agrees on. The definition we have decided to use in this paper thus may differ from ones by other authors.

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Throughout this paper, when referring to English it will be from a second language perspective. In addition to this, the terms English as a foreign language and English as a second language will be used. English as a foreign language (EFL) will be referred to classrooms where English is not the native language. English as a second language (ESL) will be referred to classrooms where English is the primary national language. The mentioning of L2 will be in reference to this EFL or ESL definition.

2. Aim and research question

This study aims to examine to what extent reading comprehension is promoted by reading children’s literature from a second language perspective. To address this, we would review research to examine how, and if, there are any noteworthy similarities and differences for reading comprehension in English as a foreign language when using children’s literature/texts in the primary classroom. Furthermore, we would investigate how different approaches to children’s literature can influence L2 reading comprehension in a primary school setting. Thus, the research questions are as follows:

• To what extent is reading comprehension fostered by using children’s literature from a second language perspective?

• How will different approaches connected to using children’s literature affect reading comprehension from a second language perspective?

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3. Method

The primary tool during the research process has been searching through electronic educational databases, thus the majority of our sources have been retrieved electronically. The two electronic databases that have been used are Malmö University’s standard educational database Libsearch, and ERIC (through EBSCO). However, some secondary sources led us to printed material found in Malmö University’s library. Moreover, some of our secondary sources have been found through the reference sections of books that briefly covered our subject.

3.1 Search delimitations

Our search process began by searching ERIC for the key terms “children’s literature”, “English as a second language or ESL” and “reading comprehension”. The search returned 10 search results. We then replicated the process in Malmö University’s Libsearch. However, it became apparent that the search produced several results that were not of interest to the age group we aim to research. Moreover, it was difficult to find specific research about children’s literature and how it correlates with reading comprehension. Therefore, we used several of our key terms in different combinations in a systematic approach to find as many sources as possible relevant to our research question.

Furthermore, using Libsearch and ERIC gave us the possibility to include and exclude specific elements in order to optimize our search results. All empirical studies used in this study were published from 2010 to 2019. We justify using this as our data-range since we wanted results to be related to the most recent views on teaching and using literature in the classroom.

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In our searches we have used the following terms in different combinations: reading

comprehension, children’s literature, children’s books, English as a foreign language, English as a second language, primary school, primary education, second language learning, second

language acquisition.

3.2 Inclusion criteria

Our main target group for this paper was students at the age of 6-12 years old. However, we also decided to include research involving adolescents up to 16 years old. Due to the fact that students at this age still attend Swedish compulsory school. Moreover, they will still be working and learning according to the same curriculum that focuses on literature and reading comprehension, even though the aims of the teaching will be at a higher level. Literature is something used worldwide to develop students reading comprehension, and since this study aims to examine the extent of correlation between reading comprehension and children’s literature, we decided to have a worldwide inclusion. For this reason, we also include both English as a second language (ESL) as well as English as a foreign language (EFL). Furthermore, to limit the search results to trustworthy sources, we have only included research papers that have been peer-reviewed.

3.3 Exclusion criteria

When searching for empirical studies, the age of the participating students in the different results varied. Since the main target group for this paper is younger students, research involving adult second language learners were excluded. The most decisive argument to do so is that children and adults display differences in mental, emotional and physical developments (Brown, 2014). Since this paper focuses on the effect children’s literature has on reading comprehension, we have excluded research done specifically on other parts of language comprehension, such as writing comprehension.

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Search words: reading comprehension, children’s literature OR children’s books, books, primary school OR primary education, English teachers, English as a foreign language, English as a second language, second language learning.

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Area of interest Total number of references Number of references used Reading comprehension and

children’s literature

78 6

Primary school and English as a foreign language

275 7

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4. Results

In this section, we present and discuss the results of the studies found during the research of our area of interest. The studies will be summarized, and relevant topics connected to our research question will be presented. The components of the result section will be structured under the respective sub-heading.

Considering this study includes results from both qualitative and quantitative research, the results will be presented using the method of triangulation. Mackey and Gass (2005) describe

triangulation as a method used to provide results based on multiple perspectives. By gathering research based on more than one independent method can support the study and the conclusion further. We believe this approach will give a more comprehensive view of the area we have decided to research.

4.1 The effect of children’s literature

Several studies have established the importance of using children’s literature in the classroom to develop L2 language skills. Tragant and Vallbona (2018) investigated how young EFL learners’ language knowledge is affected by reading while simultaneously listening to the text. To

examine this, a program was assigned to a semi-private school in Barcelona, Spain. 73 students, age 10-11, were divided into three groups. Two of these groups were exposed to reading while listening and the other group was exposed to reading only. Both groups used the same reading material and spent two hours a week with their specific program lasting two semesters. In this section, we will only focus on the results from the reading only group. The results gathered from interviews and questionnaires reflect students’ perception of knowledge. In this section, we will only focus on the results from the reading only group. More than 80% of the students said that their L2 language ability developed during the program by reading. Not only did it have a

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positive effect on most students’ language ability, after the project finished, students were in favour of continuing with the program.

Tragant and Vallbona’s (2018) results can be further related to the study by Tavakoli and Esmae’li (2013), in which they investigated the effect of printed media on L2-learners reading. In their study, 30 Iranian EFL learners age 7-8 years old participated. They were divided into two groups; the first group was given traditional English classes focusing on vocabulary without focusing on phonemes. The second group was assigned to English classes where the focus was put into children’s books with different levels, teenage magazines, and newspapers. The results showed a significant difference with regards to reading comprehension, whereas the group using children’s literature outperformed the group that was given traditional classes. Based on these results, the authors concluded that children’s literature has a positive effect on EFL learners’ reading comprehension.

The claim that children’s literature positively affects EFL learner’s reading comprehension is further supported by a study conducted by Chou, Hsu, and Chen (2013). In their study they examined the effect of English comic books on EFL junior high school student’s vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension and learning motivation. 28 eighth graders were divided into two groups based on previous English examinations; a high-proficiency group (HG) and a low-proficiency group (LG). Students undertook a pretest that consisted of a vocabulary and a reading test. After the test students read comic books for eight weeks. At the end of the study, a posttest consisting of a vocabulary test and a reading test was conducted. The results of the study showed that both groups enhanced their reading comprehension abilities with a statistically significant difference. The results also state that both groups reacted positively to the use of comic books in the EFL classroom, claiming it was not only instructive but also fun. Thus, the authors argue that reading English comic books can improve reading comprehension as well as enhance the attitude towards learning EFL.

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Finally, Kim and Guryan (2010) conducted a study where they examined the efficiency of voluntary reading during summer recess for EFL students. 390 4th graders in California participated. They were divided into three groups. The participants were given 10 self-selected books to read throughout the summer. One group was also invited to join three two-hour literacy events together with their parents and the third group was given the 10 books at the end of the summer. In contrast to the study done by Tragant and Vallbona (2018), Kim and Guryan (2010) argue that there was no significant difference with regards to the reading comprehension between the three groups. However, their study was based on students’ voluntary reading which they had to do during their summer recess, and not in a school environment. The authors argue that opportunities to solely read books did not improve children’s reading comprehension.

The findings reported by Tragant and Vallbona (2018), Tavakoli and Esmae’li (2013) and Chou, Hsu and Chen (2013) all support the claim that children’s literature had positive effects on EFL learners reading comprehension. Tavakoli and Esmae’li (2013) argues that children’s literature had a positive effect on L2 reading comprehension development, thus the experimental group in their study went from reading simple children’s books to being able to read newspapers and magazines. Furthermore, the authors argue that text comprehension develops as the learner’s knowledge of the text increases. This indicates that reading comprehension might be strongly connected to familiarity with texts. In addition, this would indicate that children's stories could play an essential role in developing reading comprehension skills.

Similar results are presented by Tragant and Vallbona (2018), who argue that students found the children's literature fun and amusing, and that the development of reading comprehension increased using the literature. Moreover, the students in their study claimed that the children’s literature assigned made them learn something new, discounting their development of reading comprehension.

Chou, Hsu, and, Chen (2013) presents similar findings in their study, where they argue that reading English comic books resulted in a more positive attitude towards EFL reading. Moreover, the authors argue that reading comprehension was enhanced using English comic books. The results presented indicate that the simplicity of the text and proximity to the

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children's interests is one of the keys to why children’s literature fosters L2 reading

comprehension (Tavakoli & Esmae’li, 2013; Tragant & Vallbona, 2018). Furthermore, students tend to have more motivation to read children’s literature than other genres, which has a positive effect on reading comprehension (Kim & Guryan, 2010; Chou, Hsu & Chen, 2013). Chou, Hsu and Chen (2013) cite Morrison et al, who claims that the positive effect of comic books on reading comprehension is “because of their capacity to increase interest and motivation” (p. 673). In addition, the authors claim that children's comic books scaffold reading comprehension through the number of pictures within them, which is most important for the students with a lower proficiency of English. Although the authors speak specifically of pictures in comic books, children’s literature tends to include pictures within thus their claim could be applicable to children’s literature in general. The authors suggest that children's literature should be used to teach L2 reading skills, thereby reading comprehension, which is further endorsed by Tavakoli and Esmae’li (2013).

4.2 The effect of verbal support

Uchiyama (2011) examined the connection between listening and reading comprehension. This was examined on 120 students at a private school in Tokyo, Japan. The participating students, aged 10-12 years, were divided into two groups. One group read books only (simple reading) and the other group watched a dramatization of the same story (character imagery storytelling

technique). Before the story was introduced, students participated in a vocabulary test, and after the story, students participated in a follow-up vocabulary test and a comprehension test. The results showed that storytelling had a positive effect on student’s vocabulary learning. Both groups showed positive results in their post vocabulary tests. However, students exposed to the character imagery storytelling technique showed a higher level of comprehension.

Similar results as Uchiyama can be found in Tragant and Vallbona’s (2018) research. As previously described Tragant and Vallbona (2018) investigated how young EFL learners’ language knowledge is affected by reading while simultaneously listening to a text. In this

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research, the authors argue that having access to both verbal and non-verbal input can aid text comprehension, even though they are processed in different ways. The results of their study concluded that students that took part in the reading while listening group showed a slightly more positive result than the reading only group when it came to L2 language learning. Students in the reading while listening group pointed out that they had learned how to pronounce words that they did not know before the program started.

Finally, Alsamadani (2017) investigated the effect of talking storybooks on EFL reading comprehension in Saudi Arabia. The participants, 79 EFL students age 11-12 years old, were divided into two groups; the experimental group consisted of 40 students and the control group consisted of 39 students. The experimental group was assigned talking storybooks which they had to listen to once or twice a day. Following the talking storybooks, the experimental group was assigned some tasks based on the story, to evaluate the reading comprehension. Throughout the four weeks of the experiment, four talking storybooks were processed.

The control group, however, was only given traditional reading classes. After the teacher’s model reading, they had to read quietly for themselves for 10 minutes. Thereafter the teacher would assist students to answer reading comprehension question, to assess learners’

understanding of the text. The findings demonstrated that the use of talking storybooks gave a significantly higher result considering reading comprehension than traditional reading classes. The author concludes that talking storybooks had an enormous effect on reading comprehension skills, as well as other language skills.

Alsamadani (2017), Uchiyama (2011), and Tragant and Vallbona (2018) all claim that young L2 learners’ language ability increased by using verbal support to scaffold reading comprehension. Reading a story with verbal support creates a stronger connection between the form of the word and the meaning of it. Verbal support when reading storybooks connects to the auditory memory, which supports the reading comprehension better than traditional reading comprehension classes (Alsamadani, 2017).

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Alsamadani (2017) states that language is not something that is solely learned by focusing on one component of language learning, it is something that overlaps. According to the author, when reading is taught single-handedly through written texts students display poor performance in speaking and listening. Tragant and Vallbona (2018) share Alsamadani’s belief that there is more to the development of L2 reading comprehension other than just reading. By citing Paivio’s Dual Coding theory, Tragant and Vallbona (2018) argue that even though verbal and non-verbal input are processed differently, the information obtained complements each other aiding reading comprehension. Furthermore, Uchiyama (2011) argues that a combination of verbal and non-verbal input not only benefits L2 reading comprehension, it promotes comprehension in general. Uchiyama (2011) argues that pitch indicates tension which promotes understanding by being able to tell what the character might be feeling when the word is spoken. In the research made by Uchiyama (2011), one of the groups had the advantage of not only literary aid but also visual aid in the form of dramatization. The technique of storytelling with character imaginary uses both sounds and gestures to promote comprehension. Regardless of the expression of verbal listening aid, reading comprehension is developed (Alsamadani, 2017; Uchiyama, 2011; Tragant & Vallbona, 2018).

4.3 Challenging readers

Although Kim and Guryan (2010) did not find any coherence between the free voluntary reading of children’s literature and an increase in reading comprehension, their study points to the

importance of readability level on the reading material. A well-matched text with readability level at or below the students reading ability results in greater reading comprehension than for these students who received a book with readability levels above their reading level. In addition, Tragant and Vallbona (2018) argue that even though L2 learners might experience difficulties reading, they can still manage to understand the book if it is within their level of ability. In their study, 68% of the participants had read books not too easy, nor too hard. Thus, based on their study, the authors argue that children can develop L2 reading comprehension by reading children’s literature, given that they read books with an appropriate level of difficulty.

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Similar results are presented by Chou, Hsu and Chen (2013), who suggest that instructors need to be conscious when choosing reading materials from two aspects. First, the books need to capture the reader's interest. Secondly, the difficulty level of the books should be within the approximate level of the reader in order to enhance the learning aspects. This can be related to Kim and Guryan (2010) who suggest that up towards 67% of the participants in their study chose books that were too difficult for their reading level. This indicates that there is a pivot on which the child's interest in the topic and the readability of the text must be fine balanced and that the teacher has a significant role in this.

4.4 The role of the educator

Teachers need to be able to use the literature in a proper manner to make sure that students’ L2 language ability increases in a positive aspect. According to Al Kahiyali (2014), there has been an overall decline in reading comprehension achievements in many EFL and ESL classrooms. The author suggests that one of the underlying problems is the lack of teaching reading

comprehension instruction among teachers. Al Kahiyali designed research where two teachers and their respective students were given picture books with explicit comprehension strategy instructions, to investigate if teachers’ instructions to develop comprehension strategies would develop with the right material. The two participating classes in this study consisted of 22 ESL students from Denver, Colorado. The main focus of this research was on the instructions implemented by the teachers and not the reactions of the students. Findings show that both teachers and their students reacted positively to the use of picture books in the classroom. Both teachers stated that it was a fun and more interesting way than teaching with standardized English classroom materials.

Furthermore, this could indicate that the effect of children’s literature on reading comprehension is wider than just the literature itself. A key component might as well be how the teachers present the literature. The problem with teachers not having the right material or the proper language knowledge when educated is brought up by Uchiyama. Uchiyama (2011) writes about problems

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experienced by EFL teachers in Japan. Many teachers tend to use the same material for several years without adapting the material to the age group they currently teach. As previously

described, the author used dramatization and reading in the study and both presented positive results on students’ L2 comprehension. The conclusion of this study is that storytelling not only provides language development to the students but also works as scaffolding for teachers. The work of Uchiyama (2011) can be related to Chou, Hsu, and Chen (2013), who argue that teachers need to be aware of how they educate so that the students feel motivated to learn. The authors claim that teachers focus too much on reading skills and excessive drills, which causes students to feel bored and unmotivated to learn. For teachers, it is a convenient and fast teaching method, especially for teachers who might struggle with the L2 teaching on the count of it not being their native language. However, Uchiyama argues that teaching with the help of a storybook is a method manageable for teachers struggling.

Correspondingly to Uchiyama, Al Kahiyali (2014) argues that teaching through picture books is a method appreciated by both students and teachers. He concludes that the mission of the teacher is not to mechanically teach comprehension, rather create an understanding of the text. This can be related to Alsamadani (2017) who writes that storybooks can be a way of creating a more natural L2 environment, rather than a mechanical one. The aim of the teacher is to find a balance between “artificial instruction” and a “natural reading pleasure” (Chou, Hsu, & Chen, 2013, p. 677). Read-aloud materials is a recommended teaching method since it creates an environment on how to naturally use English in a way that also enhances enjoyment among students

(Alsamadani, 2017).

Although presented literature shows that children’s literature had a positive effect on the

development of L2 reading comprehension, the results indicates that the awareness and skills of the individual teachers have an important role in students development (Al Kahiyali, 2014; Uchiyama, 2011; Chou, Hsu & Chen, 2013; Alsamadani, 2017). The teachers need to be acquainted with strategies on how to make reading enjoyable to the L2 learner and be aware of the reading level of their students (Al Kahiyali, 2014; Kim & Guryan, 2010).

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5. Discussion

Lütge (2013) emphasizes the important role of children’s literature in the second language education and cite Janice Bland who claims that reading children’s literature in the EFL classroom not only provide advantages of extensive reading but also teaches important imperative skills such as reading between the lines. Many researchers claim that children’s literature has a fostering effect on L2 reading comprehension. The results of their studies have shown evidence that children’s literature should be used in L2 reading education (Chou, Hsu & Chen, 2013; Tavakoli & Esmae’li, 2013; Tragant & Vallbona, 2018).

One argument that motivates the use of children’s literature as a tool for teaching reading comprehension in the L2 classroom is the number of pictures within the literature. Chou, Hsu, and, Chen (2013) address the fact that many educators throughout the years have avoided using comics in their education since there have been a belief that the simplicity of the text in

combination with visual representation would interfere with the students’ development of reading abilities. However, in their study they present results that comic books enhances L2 reading comprehension.

Furthermore, many researchers, amongst them Stephen Krashen (2004), argues that the amount of pictures within the literature is beneficial to children’s understanding of the text. He argues that pictures can give a visual narrative to the text it is accompanying, thus give clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Moreover, Burwitz-Melzer (2013) argues that an EFL learner could benefit from visual representation within the text, thus foster the memory of words and concepts. This can also be related to Paivio’s (1986) concept of the Dual Coding Theory due to students’ use of more than one input in interpreting the text.

Another argument supporting the use of children’s literature in the L2 classroom is the themes and topics within the literature, which often features magic, simplicity, fantasy and adventure, subjects that attract many children (McDowell, 2013). Kolb (2012) cites Colin Davis who argues

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that children need to be given reading material that they can read with pleasure. Furthermore, children need to be encouraged to read more in order for them to develop reading skills such as reading comprehension. Further evidence that L2 reading comprehension develops through reading more literature can be found in the research by Kim and Guryan (2010). In their study, they argue that there is a correlation between the amount of children’s book read and the result of the post-test reading comprehension.

However, their study, as well as others presented studies in this paper suggest that there is more to L2 reading comprehension development than just children’s literature. Many researchers argue that L2 reading comprehension is not only fostered by children’s literature but how the literature is used in the classroom (Alsamadani, 2017; Uchiyama, 2011; Tragant & Vallbona, 2018; Al Kahiyali, 2014).

Alsamadani (2017), Uchiyama (2011) and, Tragant and Vallbona (2018) investigated how L2 reading comprehension is fostered when reading children's literature whilst listening and talking about it at the same time. Their results corresponded, all authors present evidence that students’ understanding of the literature increased. From a Dual Coding Theory point of view, all

cognitive skills are interconnected with each other. Verbal and nonverbal events can together guide the understanding of a certain event or activity (Paivio, 1986). This indicates that reading children’s literature solely might not be the most beneficial method in developing L2 reading comprehension.

In addition to the previous statement, Kim and Guryan’s (2010) study found that free voluntary reading during summer recess did not improve students reading comprehension. However, Krashen (2013) argues that students who are given time in class to read self-selected reading perform better on tests on reading comprehension. In contrast with Kim and Guryan, Krashen argues that free reading supports L2 reading comprehension for young children. However, he also addresses the fact that differences in reading comprehension between students who are given time for free reading increases in long time studies. This indicates that even though the method of extensive reading is a fruitful method of developing L2 reading comprehension skills,

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it is a method that takes time, thus teachers need to motivate young EFL learners to read on their own, and most importantly, make time in classes for this to happen.

Furthermore, teachers have to make sure that the reading material is appropriate to the level of the readers. As Tragant and Vallbona (2018) argue from the result of their study, reading comprehension is best enhanced when reading books within the readers’ ability. Additionally, Stephen Krashen (1987) argues that readers need to be challenged with texts on a slightly higher level than their actual level, in order for language to be acquired. In his theory of input

hypothesis, he calls this i+1. However, since we are not using the graded reader system in Swedish schools, the i+1 is very much a subjective interpretation from teacher to teacher, which might put an even bigger workload on the teachers.

Unfortunately, English teaching in primary school has very little educational time. According to Skolverket (2019), throughout primary school English educational time is limited to 60 hours. In addition to this, there are only two sentences that focus on reading comprehension within the core content of the curriculum. The limited hours along with the minimal focus on reading comprehension in the curriculum challenges teachers greatly to educate students using children’s literature.

The limited hours of L2 teaching is a problem that needs to be resolved on a higher level than what can be done within the classroom walls. However, teachers can make an adjustment to make sure that students gain reading comprehension in more effective ways. The research made by Al Kahiyali (2014) highlights the importance of teachers educating students on reading comprehension techniques. By having a well-planned lesson series around children’s literature that focuses not only on the reading itself but also on developing students reading comprehension techniques students can gain comprehension, in general, developing their L2 skills further. Another way to effectively use the time is by teaching listening and reading simultaneously. The curricula do state that students are to be taught dramatized narratives. As previously stated, Alsamadani (2017), Uchiyama (2011) and Tragant and Vallbona (2018) all investigated how listening whilst reading or watching the story dramatized effects L2 reading comprehension. The

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research made by Uchiyama can be in particular related to the dramatization goal of the core content in the curriculum. Uchiyama based her study on dramatized narrative versus simple reading with results stating that students that watched the dramatized narrative gained greater comprehension of the story. Pinter (2017) argues the importance of introducing the process of reading slowly to young EFL learners since there are many skills to be learned. However, listening to a text whilst simultaneously reading it on paper is a method that supports reading comprehension.

Similar ideas have been argued by Read (2007). In her book, she presents several suggestions for primary school teachers on how to create fun and meaningful reading situations for young EFL learners. Moreover, the findings presented in Uchiyama (2011), Pinter (2017), Alsamadani (2017) and, Tragant and Vallbona (2018), claiming that reading whilst listening is a method of which reading comprehension can be fostered, are in line with Read’s belief. Although Read concludes that there are no definitive ways to teach students how to read in a foreign language, several strategies have shown to be successful. By providing opportunities to read in meaningful ways, and encourage students to be motivated about reading, they will throughout primary school develop into competent readers (Read, 2007).

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6. Conclusion

The aim of this study is to explore how reading comprehension is fostered by using children’s literature in the EFL classroom. To summarize, using children’s literature in the second language classroom can be an effective way to teach L2. However, it is important to remember that

language learning is a process that intertwines with other aspects, such as verbal and listening input and the knowledge of the teacher. If these aspects are taken into consideration when tutoring, students may gain more than reading comprehension. The aim of second language learning is to be able to put the language in to use in meaningful situations. The Swedish

Curriculum states “Teaching of English should aim at helping the students to develop knowledge of the English language and of the areas and contexts where English is used” (p. 34).

In regard to the results of the presented studies, it is important to consider the limitations of the studies. One of them being that not all of the studies focused on reading comprehension solely, some focus more on comprehension in general. Another limitation being worldwide inclusion. Curriculums around the world stress different purposes demanding different comprehension levels of students, whilst having tutoring teachers with different knowledge bases. In addition to this, students participating in different studies came from different socioeconomic backgrounds, which might affect their proficiency in English.

Further research within this area that has a more specific focus on Sweden, or countries with school systems closely related to ours, can grant results more applicable to our future profession. Not to mention, further specific research from a Dual Coding Theory point of view, focusing on reading comprehension in primary school, can be a subject for future research. Literature

combined with electronic tools is a way of teaching becoming more and more common in Swedish classrooms as a result of the strategy towards digital competence presented by the Swedish government in 2017 (Utbildningsdepartementet, 2017). Skolverket (2018) claims that there is a difference in reading comprehension between traditional printed texts and digital texts, which puts different demands on the learners. There are several apps on the market today that

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offers verbal aid in combination with reading, from stories to word processing apps. Those apps are one way to continue researching what effect verbal aid has on students reading

comprehension, or comprehension in general, and how different strategies can result in higher reading comprehension for both printed and digital texts.

Children’s literature can be used for many different purposes. Burwitz-Melzer (2013) argues that children’s literature provides meaningful moments to learn a new language in a fun and exciting way. In addition, it is arguable that children’s literature educates second language knowledge whilst at the same time provides opportunities to teach the reader topics connected to cultural and intercultural issues. The Curriculum states: “Teaching should encourage students to develop an interest in languages and culture, and convey the benefits of language skills and knowledge.” (Skolverket, 2011, p. 34). Children’s literature is not only a way to develop competent readers, but it is also a way to develop curious and caring individuals.

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Figure

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria

References

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