Paper # 2 Becoming well-read or reading well ?
Academic Reading Circles as an innovative and inclusive practice Title :
Becoming well-read or reading well ? Academic Reading Circles as an innovative and inclusive practice
Authors :
Milena Marinkova , School of Languages , University of Leeds
Alison Leslie , School of Languages , Cultures and Societies , University of Leeds
Abstract
Academic Reading Circles are an innovative strategy for supporting students ’ academic reading practices . Based on reading circles used in general contexts to develop students ’ engagement with reading extensively , Academic
Reading Circles have been adapted to the academic context
to help students engage with more complex texts in their discipline . This paper will consider how Academic Reading Circles can play a strategic role in students becoming well read or in their learning process of reading well . The authors will use their experiences of embedding Academic Reading Circles in their teaching within different disciplines
( in the Arts / Humanities and Social Sciences ) to explore how
Academic Reading Circles can guide learners to develop a critical lens through which to examine denser academic texts , and encourage them to recognise and make the most of the multidimensionality of the reading experience .
Keywords :
Reading circles , academic reading , inclusive practice , criticality
DOI :
What are Academic Reading Circles ?
Academic Reading Circles emerged in the 2010s ( Seburn , 2015 ) from collaborative reading practices such as book clubs and literature circles ( Daniels 2002 ), which have been adapted to English language teaching ( Furr , 2004 ; Shelton- Strong , 2012 ) and content-based teaching ( Williams , 2007 ). In essence , what these approaches have in common is that they aim to develop a range of reading skills , i . e ., decoding , fluency , comprehension and monitoring , by 1 ) encouraging learner autonomy and 2 ) providing carefully scaffolded reading support . The autonomy is achieved by tutors creating the right learning environment for small , freeflowing , peer-led discussion groups of learners to read a ( section of a ) text and share their interpretations .
Learner autonomy and collaboration are central to reading circles , and these are prominent in the 11 principles underpinning the original practice of literature circles , outlined by Daniels ( 2002 , p . 18 ):
1 . Students choose their own reading materials .
2 . Small temporary groups are formed based on book choice .
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