TABLE LIST 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Foreign Language Teaching In Turkey 3

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TABLE LIST ii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 3 2.1. Foreign Language Teaching In Turkey 3 2.1.1 Historical Background To Foreign Language Teaching In Turkey 4 2.1.2. Foreign Language Teaching In The Republican Period 5 2.2. Reading Ability 7 2.3. Definition of Intensive Reading 8 2.4. Theory behind Intensive Reading 9 2.5. The Importance Of Reading 11 2.5.1. The Use Of Reading Strategies By Effective Readers 12 2.6. Benefits of Intensive Reading 13 REFERENCES 16 i

TABLE LIST Table 1. The Languages Taught in Turkey between 1924-1960... 5 ii

1. INTRODUCTION No matter from which country or nation they are, people pay more and more attention to learning English day by day. The rationale behind this is the increasing trend in globalization all around the world. With the foundation of the European Union, people have been trying to unify most of the countries in Europe with the same language, with the same monetary unit and with the same way of life. The most important and easiest way of uniting many different nations can be achieved by means of using the same language. This language may be considered to be English most of the time. That is, why there is an increasing demand for teachers of English. When education is regarded as a whole, if the physical conditions of schools, the curriculum and course materials are left aside, the most important factor is the "teacher". For this reason, the education of teachers of English is of crucial importance in the formation of young generation's future. Even though some people expect that the attitudes of the students coming to the department of English Language Teaching should be positive towards "English" and towards "Being a teacher of English" the real situation may be different due to some underlying reasons. It has become so obvious that reading abilities are important for academic learning and for life itself in today s modern world (Grabe, 2009). Reading is the basic satisfying concept of human s intellectual world and it has gained more importance since the last two decades. People enjoy themselves by reading a magazine, a novel or a brochure; they read a course book to pass classes and to be able to survive in their daily lives (Wallace, 2011). In this way, reading provides knowledge, enjoyment and survival for human beings whether it is done in the first language or foreign language. Wallace (2011) emphasizes that the crucial element that a reader has is consciousness of the language that is used and there are two key factors that is widely known for reading: the first one is that reading is done for a purpose and secondly, it is comprehended only if it is a part of a context. Çamlıbel (2007) point out that reading is the main path for foreign language learners to learn by themselves outside classes; 1

however, it is a complex skill and a challenging process for learners to develop reading ability. 2

2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 2.1. Foreign Language Teaching In Turkey It is impossible to indicate the exact figure of the languages spoken by different societies. However, Dilacar states that this figure is on an average of 3000. It is also claimed that this figure is more than 5000 (Demirel, 1993). Though there are a great variety of languages in the world of today, it is difficult for nations to communicate only in their mother tongues due to the increasing demand in international communication. However, the number of common second languages used in the whole world is very limited (Demirel, 1993). The political and economic conditions of a country are the most significant factors for a language to be learned by other nations. Military agreements, historical, cultural and commercial relationships are also effective elements. In 1923 Turkey was proclaimed a "Republic" and accepted a democratic regime. For this reason, it had relationships with the countries which were ruled by this regime. Due to its geo-political importance, Turkey has political agreements with various countries and gives importance to economic and cultural relationships (Demirel, 1993). It is obvious that being a member of United Nations, Council of Europe, NATO and OECD etc. is very important in the development of language teaching in Turkey. In these international organizations, more than one language is used as a common language in addition to the native language. For instance, Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish are the formal languages of the United Nations. Another important organization for Turkey is NATO, the official language of which is English (Demircan, 1988). Not only has Turkey been developing technologically but also economically as time goes by. Therefore, there is an increasing need to communicate with the other nations and the ubiquity of internet all over the world has required a common means of international communication. There are lots of people such as businessmen, scientists, educators, and artists who have to be in contact with their colleagues from other nations 3

due to their professions and they need to understand all kinds of oral and written documents related to their fields. All of these factors signify the importance and necessity of learning a foreign language. At this point, it is essential to evaluate the historical background of foreign language teaching in Turkey. 2.1.1 Historical Background To Foreign Language Teaching In Turkey When the foreign language choice of the Ottoman Empire is considered, it is found that 1. Persian is taught as a result of close cultural relations with Pers and Iran 2. Arabic is taught since it was the language of religion and science 3. Western languages, starting with French and then German and ending with English are taught in order to gain an access to military and industrial technology. (Altan, 1996: 83) According to Cem, with the declaration of "Tanzimat" teaching French was given priority. During the constitutional era, German became important. After World War II, English started to be more dominant than French and German (Demirel, 1993). In the Tanzimat Period, Arabic was the language of education in Muslim Schools of Education called "Medrese". Whereas, in primary schools, which were called "mektep" Turkish was used as the language of education. Moreover, new schools whose language of education was French or another foreign language were founded. Sometimes, due to the lack of course books written in Turkish, they had to continue their education in French. As Kocer states, after 1910, in the last year of high schools, there were biology and mathematics lessons in French and the teachers of these lessons were generally French (cited in Demircan, 1993). Since 1916 in the faculties of arts, Arabic, German, English, French, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Persian had been taught. A student of a college of political science had to know at least one foreign language; German, French or English. In the Ottoman Empire, students had to learn several foreign languages at the same time. Though, on the surface, students had an education based on learning foreign languages, they were successful in none of them as they could not focus on one foreign language. 4

2.1.2. Foreign Language Teaching In The Republican Period In the first years of the Republican Period the emphasis was on reading and writing and foreign language teaching was ignored because "Turkish", which is an element of national identity, was given priority. Foreign language was seen only as an instrument to achieve technical and cultural knowledge (Demircan, 1988). The laws and other changes made for the sake of strengthening Turkish national independence had some directly or indirectly positive effects on foreign language teaching. These changes can be summarized under three headings: 1. Unity of education 2. Secularism 3. Change in alphabet In 1924 all of the Muslim Schools of Education (Medrese) were closed and Arabic, as well as Persian was no longer the language of education in schools. What is more, at least one of the Western languages was made compulsory and another one optional in all Turkish schools. These foreign languages were generally German, French, English, Italian and Latin (Demircan, 1988). Table 1. The Languages Taught in Turkey between 1924-1960 1924 1927 1935 1941 1950 1960 German + + + + + French + + + + + + English + + + + + Italian + + + + + Latin - - + - Arabic + + - - + + Persian + - - - + 5

With the legislation of secularism, religious education was forbidden; Protestant and Catholic Schools were closed and other foreign schools started secularized education and ultimately, there were both a positive and a negative effect of this in that the opportunities to learn a foreign language were restricted by means of the closure of those schools. On the other hand, those students who want to learn a foreign language were directed to Turkish schools and they did not have to stand on a religious education for the sake of learning a foreign language. Another important reform in Turkey was made about the alphabet. In 1928, Arabic alphabet, which was very difficult for Turkish people, was replaced by the Latin alphabet. Formerly, the first handicap one had encountered while learning a Western language, was the difference between the writing systems. Latin and Arabic alphabets were different when letter shapes, letter-phoneme relationships and writing direction were considered. Thus, the new Turkish alphabet helped foreign language learners with its similarity to most of the Western languages' alphabets. In order to save Turkish children from going to foreign schools just for the sake of learning a foreign language, Turkish Education Association, which was founded in 1928, opened some private schools. The first one of these schools was Yenişehir High School (later it is called TED Ankara Collage). In this school English was taught ten hours per week until 1951, and after this date it became the language of education (Demircan, 1988). Universities were also renovated with the help of foreign researchers. During World War II, Jewish scientists were forbidden to work in Germany, and Turkey employed some of them as university teachers. These scientists were to educate new researchers and would write course books in a five-year-period. At first, the lessons were conducted with the help of assistants' translations, which had been a suffering for everybody. According to Malche, higher education was impossible without knowing a foreign language. Thus, students had to know at least one foreign language before entering a university. However, the majority of students, except the graduates of Galatasaray High School and other foreign high schools, did not know any foreign languages. In order to solve this probem a "School of Foreign Languages" was founded in Istanbul University. In 1938, the Council of Education agreed on a one-year-long foreign language teaching after high school. However, at that period there was no department to educate teachers of foreign languages who would work in this programme. As a result, after 1938 foreign language 6

teaching departments were founded in Gazi and Çapa Universities in order to educate teachers of English, German and French. After the end of World War II, as Altan (1996) states, Turkey needed foreign languages more than ever because of such factors as the communication explosion, the growing Turkish industry, large-scale work migration and the access of Turkey to international institutions. "At the same time. The balance of foreign languages has moved steadily in favour of English and German with diminishing demand for French"(Altan, 1996:84). With the increasing number of students who want to learn a foreign language, in the 1965s new foreign language teaching departments were founded. After 1970 foreign language higher schools were opened either bound to Turkish Ministry of Education or Universities. In Anadolu University's distant learning programme, summer schools were opened for foreign language education. After 1975 student contingents and number of students in each foreign language class were increased. 2.2. Reading Ability Reading has been defined simply as the processes of understanding a written material. By a wide range of researchers (e.g. Nuttall, 1996; Grabe, 2009); the key words that describe reading can be put into a sentence like this: Reading is the job of decoding written signals, turning them into comprehensible units and understanding the message that has been embedded in the signals (Grabe, 2009). Our modern world has made reading skill a very important one. Although being able to read does not mean that a person will be successful, to be successful reading has become an indispensable skill. Since modern world has made people focus on individualized life style, it is important for us to develop basic skills to be able to sustain our day-to-day survival (Mackay, et. al 1979:5). Grabe (2009) emphasizes that reading is in fact a comprehension process, and that is what we mean most of the time by reading. When a person says he/she wants to read one of the number one bestseller novels, it is understood that the person wants to read the novel, comprehend it and satisfy the motive for his or her reading. Grabe (2009, p. 14) also defines reading by a series of concepts called functional components of reading ; 7

he says that reading is a rapid and efficient, a comprehending, an interactive, a strategic, a flexible, a purposeful, an evaluative, a learning and a linguistic process and it is after with the understanding of these concepts that a definition of reading becomes apparent. As for reading comprehension, Koda (2005, p. 4) gives the following definition: Comprehension occurs when reader extracts and integrates various information from the text and combines it with what is already known. It is clear that Koda points out the existence of background knowledge in his definition and points out the importance of combining background knowledge with obtained information. Therefore, it is important that reading materials are interesting for learners and they have background knowledge on the materials they are going to read. Burns (2003) brings forward that reading necessitates upper-level thinking skills and social awareness. When readers read they face with new concepts and ideas. Then, they activate their background knowledge and experiences they have had so far to derive meaning out of the texts and make sure that they reach the goal of reading. Graves, Juel and Graves (2000, p. 24) state this fact with these words: It requires attaining a deep understanding of what is read, remembering important information, linking newly learned information to existing schemata, knowing when and where to use that information, using it appropriately in varied contexts in and out of school, and communicating effectively with others. What is more; if learners read more, they will become more competent learners and they will get more pleasure out of it and with enjoying reading, learners will read more and will become more competent in the language (Gee, 1999). 2.3. Definition of Intensive Reading Reading is a complex skill and intensive reading is a way of developing reading abilities both in first language and foreign language. Grabe (2009, p. 13) introduces readers purpose concept and states that different reading purposes and reading texts may necessitate readers to alter their attitude and make them use different strategies and a different atmosphere to reading. He concludes this discussion by asserting that there are several distinct skills that we refer to as reading when we think of different purposes and skills that readers use. Therefore, the concept of reading becomes like a tree all roots of which cannot be traced although there may seem many. For the stated reason, it is 8

pointed out most of the time that reading is developed, not taught. İntensive reading is also a different reading situation in which readers get into that particular reading form. Readers read the suitable material for their level in intensive reading and there are usually not many unknown words in the text. It is on the behalf of the readers not to look a lot of unknown words in the material up so as not to lose the taste of reading which will result in reading less and less. For this reason, intensive reading is named as reading for pleasure most of the time. Day (Day et al; 2011, p. 10) clearly states that intensive reading is an approach to teaching reading the aim of which is to get learners read in English and have pleasure in it. In the language education literature, there are three other terms related to intensive reading which are Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) and Narrow Reading. In various studies and resources, SSR (sometimes used as USSR which stands for Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading) and FVR are used as similar terms and sometimes interchangeably. Sustained silent reading is defined as a kind of classroom activity during which students enjoy silent reading in their classroom by reading the materials of their own choice. The students are not interrupted at these times so that they will get pleasure from reading. Free voluntary reading means reading because you want to ; it is not part of the assessment procedure and not followed by questions or reports (Krashen, 2003). In FVR, if a student does not like the book, he does not have to finish it. As it seems, SSR is a classroom activity while FVR can be in or outside the classroom. And these are two useful tools to encourage intensive reading which will lead to developed vocabulary knowledge and a comprehension skill. Narrow Reading is focusing your attention to the reading texts that are interesting for your taste (Krashen, 2004). Readers narrow the materials they want to read to their own taste and they get immersed into reading in this way. Narrow reading leads to continuance of the reading process and that is why it is helpful in intensive reading. 2.4. Theory behind Intensive Reading The concept of intensive reading is based on the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 2004) that brings forward the idea of being exposed to large amounts of comprehensible input. In the comprehensible input hypothesis, it is pointed out that acquisition only happens when learners understand meaningful bits of messages. In intensive reading, a general understanding of the text is aimed. The reader does not focus on every 9

grammatical, thematic, and discourse element in text which is the case in intensive reading. Thanks to intensive reading, readers are able to have pleasure and joy in reading as well as obtaining a general idea on the text, develop strategies for multireading purposes, learn new vocabulary and improve language proficiency. Long and Richards (1987) describe intensive reading as reading large amounts of interesting material, most of the time outside the classroom, focusing on a general understanding of the text and skipping the unknown words. Another explanation for intensive reading is that we acquire vocabulary and spelling which are essential for mastery of a language by reading. In his Input Hypothesis, Krashen (2004) points out that comprehensible and meaningful input is the key to develop a mass knowledge of vocabulary and for a sophisticated cognition; and for a wide amount of comprehensible input, it is believed that intensive reading should be encouraged and it should be based on a system to provide learners with a prolific cycle of reading. Ellis (2005), as Krashen (2004), approves the importance of large amounts of input for language acquisition and finds intensive reading useful in this sense. Elley and Mangubhai (1983, p. 3) state that they brought forward a practical instructional strategy which assumes that repeated exposure to high-interest illustrated story books in the target language will produce rapid L2 learning. This definition complies with the definition of intensive reading as well. The researchers continue that there are some differences between L1 and L2 learning environments and situations. First, a child has strong intrinsic motivation to understand and convey messages; for this reason he/she depends on her/his ability to communicate. However, an L2 learner already has a language to communicate; so, an L2 learner relies mostly on extrinsic motivation factors which causes short term durations in motivation. Secondly, an L1 learner focuses on getting and conveying messages and uses language as a communication tool. However, an L2 learner is made to focus on the form and usage as well and that spoils the nature of communication. Thirdly, the amount of exposure to L2 is different from L1. An L1 learner is exposed to language many more times than an L2 learner. Krashen (2004) also states that the finding that intensive reading does good is mainly seen in long term studies as it takes some time for learners to reach the taste to read material of interest. 10

Fourthly, the type of language exposure is different between L1 and L2 learner. Whereas the exposure that an L1 learner has is a natural, unlimited and versatile one, an L2 learner usually has to go through unnatural, artificial, limited communication situations that make it hard to understand and convey messages. Natural learning situations promote learning as they enable learners to comprehend the messages better. Donaldson (1978) also emphasizes that the ability of the learner is important for understanding the messages and reaching at knowledge of language. Fifthly, an L1 learner gets into communication with native speakers, whereas L2 learners usually have non-native teachers who are bound to make mistakes and not to be a perfect model for the learners. As a conclusion, Elley and Mangubhai (1983) point out that a language teacher should keep the effects of these negative factors to minimum and create an L1-like learning environment and atmosphere. They assert that intensive reading will close the gaps between L1 and L2 from these perspectives. Natural Approach gives importance to the comprehension of messages and asserts that acquisition is the natural way of learning a language (Richards and Rodgers, 2002). İntensive reading complies with Natural Approach in the sense that it helps the learner develop language skills consciously and subconsciously. Since exposure to spoken language is scarce and not enough for the development of the language, reading becomes the only source of input that provides acquisition (which is the unconscious learning) of the language. Krashen (1993) even claims that when intensive reading - reading for pleasure- takes place, learners can go on their way of improving their second language without classes, teachers, studying and even without a person to talk the language to. 2.5. The Importance Of Reading According to Sternbergn (1987) and West and Stanovich (1991), reading is one of the main ways of learning new words, and that people who read a lot can know more words. Krashen (1989) and Wodinsky and Nation (1988) suggest that not only is reading important for first language development but also it appears to be significant for second language development too. Then second language acqusition researchers have decided that reading is an important source of learning new words (Horst, Cobb and Meara, 1998). 11

2.5.1. The Use Of Reading Strategies By Effective Readers According to Cohen (1990), the following are some of the strategies that good second language readers tend to use in an extend variety. 1) clarify their purpose for reading the material at hand 2) jump around in order to get a good sense of where the piece is going 3) read for meaning using as fully as possible their world knowledge, their knowledge of the particular subject matter, and their knowledge of linguistics 4) read in broad phrases 5) rely on contextual clues, vocabulay analysis and grammar to interpret unknown words, rather than referring all the time to the dictionary or a glossary 6) keep the previous material in mind while moving on to new material 7) make predictions regarding what the next portion of the text will be about 8) look for markers of cohesion (Cohen,1990, p.117). Hossenfeld s (1977) states that reading seems to have been effective in modifying a word-based approach to reading, and inculcating the habit of clause, sentence and even paragraph based processing strategies (Skehan, 1989: p. 95). According to Graham (1997) effective learners use some different kinds of strategies. These are; double check monitoring, comprehension looking up an unknown word, guessing and reading the passage loudly. However there are some strategies that are tended to use by ineffective readers. These are; selective attention, strategy monitoring, translation, transfer, word analysis, narrow focus, sentence analysis, omission, skipping the parts that they can not understand. Graham (1997) gives some advice for efficient reading. Learners should be activated before reading. This can be done by looking at the picture, title and comprehension questions of the text. Hulstijin (1993: p.142) adds that we should ask them how they exhibit a critical inferring behaviour rather than a wild guessing behavior. As a reading skill, what makes the difference between good and poor readers is the knowledge of learning strategies. Good readers know how to approach a text then 12

they read the text by thinking the suitable reading strategies. Thus, it is necessary that students should be taught how to use the appropriate reading strategies. However, one difficult point is that, acquiring the reading strategies requires a long period of time And according to Chomat and O Malley (1994: p.18) they can be gradually acquired and used automatically when students repeatedly use them with various learning materials. (cited Bedir, 2000: p.30 ). 2.6. Benefits of Intensive Reading Most studies about intensive reading focus on the correlation between vocabulary level development and intensive reading. Pigada and Schmitt (2006) carried out a study and they found out that intensive reading improves knowledge of spelling, grammatical structures and vocabulary. Also, Bell (2001) points out that ER improves reading pace and reading comprehension. The way that vocabulary is learned in intensive reading is named as incidental ; this is because the learner learns new vocabulary although he/she is not paying attention consciously (Gass, 1999). Nation (1997) states that to remember a word, a learner has to keep meeting the word by doing reading in large amounts and/or engage in languagefocused activity, such as keeping vocabulary notes. While reading, it is essential to decipher words automatically for fluency and words that a reader can distinguish swiftly, correctly and automatically are known as sight vocabulary (Sarı, 2013). Sight vocabulary process happen if the reader encounters with the same word several times (Day & Bamford, 1998; Ehri, 1995; Grabe& Stoller 2002; LaBerge & Samuels, 1974). Having a vast amount of sight vocabulary is indispensable for a sophisticated reading fluency since reader can decipher more words thanks to sight vocabulary. Thus; by a number of researchers (Renandya & Jacobs, 2002; Samuels, 2006), intensive reading is recommended to increase the amount of sight vocabulary. Samuels (2006) also concludes that automatic word-decoding skills and prior knowledge of a text s content may interact and strongly affect success in comprehension (p. 831) After carrying out some studies on intensive reading, Elley (1991, p. 375) reaches to the conclusion that in contrast to students learning by means of structured audiolingual programs, those children who are exposed to an intensive range of highinterest illustrated story books, and encouraged to read and share them are consistently found to 13

learn the target language more quickly. Guthrie, Schafer and Huang (1991) state that they found in their study that the amount of reading that learners were engaged in determined the success on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and learners who spent more time on reading had relatively higher achievement. Robb and Susser (1989) and Mason and Krashen (1997) investigated the effects of reading books chosen on free-will on comprehension. In the both of the studies, it was concluded that intensive reading activities resulted in better achievements to foreign reading instruction than traditional methods. Davis (1995) carried out an İntensive Reading Project (ERP) in Singapore which aimed to encourage students to read at least 50 books during a year. At the end of the study, apart from high test results for the participants, some positive developments were observed in students. It was observed that the general comprehension skills of the learners improved and the participants became more positive about reading different subjects and reading types. Students active and passive vocabulary size developed and they were better at realizing different structures. Moreover, improvements in writing and speaking were observed. Students improved their general studying skills and became more mature as a person. Test results of the students improved. İntensive reading has been in the literature for quite a while. However, it has been neglected and has not gotten the attention that it deserves for several reasons. By looking its implementation in schools, we may argue that for our country that it is an activity that has been left to the hands of individuals. Materials used in intensive reading are of various kinds. They can be graded readers of fiction or non-fiction books. Graded readers are organized into levels by means of grammatical structures, vocabulary level, level of comprehension etc. There are also authentic materials such as brochures, magazines, handouts, newspapers, letters, mail etc. Materials have to be of various kinds as the interests of the readers are not the same. Yamashita (2008) emphasizes that there is not a set criterion about how much reading can be regarded as intensive reading and although there is not a certain limit, a book once a week is thought to be necessary to reach expected intensive reading aims Eskey (2005) also draws attention to the importance of reading by emphasizing that the best way to obtain a large amount of vocabulary is reading in large amounts in 14

that language and to read intensively in a language one has to have a well amount of vocabulary size which brings us to a classic chicken and egg situation (p. 567) Stanovich et al (1996) have a claim that being exposed to something written is very effective and there is no importance of the comprehension level and cognitive skills of the students. They point out that even learners who have comprehension abilities to some extent will benefit from these kinds of reading activities in respect to vocabulary and comprehension. All in all, intensive reading give ways to improve reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary level and it develops positive attitudes toward reading as Asraf and Ahmad (2003) affirm. On considering the importance that is given upon intensive reading, it can be driven out that there is not a systematic approach to it among teachers, administrators, school curriculums, national education systems etc. Why do we not put emphasis on İntensive Reading as an educational tool and put it into practice at an immense degree? Grabe (2009) states several reasons for this being so and enumerates these reasons; There are exams to be prepared. A different perspective by educators to İntensive reading is viewed, it is thought that focusing on vocabulary, grammar and intensive reading will result in development of comprehension. The notion of teachers do and should teach in the minds of administrators and teachers. Curriculums to be fulfilled etc. For these reasons; although it is believed that reading is good, it is advised to read or reading is given as homework. However, students give importance most of the time to the things that are given importance to in the lessons and what is more, if something will be graded is only when they tend to pay attention to it. As it is believed that students learn different structures and vocabulary from the reading texts that they read, intensive reading also helps them to develop their writing skill. Therefore, this study also focuses on the development of writing skill along with reading. 15

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