Curriculum Coordinator Phoebe Chiang
Have you ever heard of the Input Hypothesis? Presented by Dr. Steven Krashen, an expert in the field of second language acquisition, the Input Hypothesis explains how a language learner acquires the target language. According to this hypothesis, a language learner can only acquire the language well when s/he is exposed to the language input that is one stage beyond the learner’s current language level. It is the so-called “i+1.” “i” stands for the current level and “+1” means the comprehensive input that is given to the language learner. To put it simple, if a student wants to improve English, first of all, s/he has to know clearly what his/her current English level is (i). Next, the student has to be given the learning materials that are a bit challenging for him/her (+1). With i+1, a student can acquire English naturally and effectively.
So, what is this Input Hypothesis to do with our myReading program? myReading program aims to help our students enlarge their vocabulary banks in various topics, broaden their knowledge about the topics they are interested in, and most importantly, develop their habit of reading independently. However, all these goals will never be achieved if our students don’t know what they should read. Therefore, in the beginning of this semester, students from grade 1 to 6 took the STAR test to assess their current English reading ability. After the STAR test, students know what their reading level is, and then, they can start to find a book that is in their reading level to read. When students are reading the book that suits their reading level, their English reading ability can advance significantly.
myReading program has been implemented into our curriculum since last year. Last year, only grade 5 and 6 students had myReading class once a week and their reading performance took a part of their academic scores. From this year’s 6th graders’ STAR results, we can see how myReading program last year has helped them improve their English ability. Most of them are keeping up with the other international 6th graders who use the same myReading program to advance or evaluate their English ability. Seeing how effective this program is for our students, this year from grade 3 to 6, students have the myReading class once a week. With a little push, our students must benefit a lot from this program.
Reading is one of the best ways to learn a new language. When reading the content that is interesting and gets students’ attention, they can grab the vocabulary and grammar rules so easily and spontaneously. In this learning approach, students are the masters of their own learning. They can choose the books that they are interested in, and they can have their own pace of when to finish reading a book. So, why not encourage our kids to start reading today?