Professor Emerita of English at Northern Arizona University (NAU), USA
Title: Good News about L2 Reading-Skills Development
The ability to read well in English is certainly one of the most important skills needed by students who have academic aspirations. In academic contexts, reading provides a major source of input for learning language and course content. Furthermore, reading typically generates increased interest and motivates students to explore topics further through additional reading. Yet, skilled reading is not a simple endeavour. The good news is that we can all help our students develop their reading skills, whether we teach reading directly or indirectly in language and/or content classes.
In this presentation, I’ll focus on principles of L2 reading-curriculum design that can be adapted for a range of instructional contexts, different classroom types, and diverse student groups (including young, adolescent, and adult learners). I’ll divide the principles into three groups: core reading-curriculum principles, reading-skills development principles, and instructional-design principles with the hopes that those who attend the keynote address can identify principles that can be adapted for their current teaching, curriculum revitalization efforts, and/or research.
Bio
Fredricka L. Stoller is Professor Emerita of English at Northern Arizona University (NAU), where she taught in the MA-TESL and Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics programs for 35 years. Despite retiring from NAU in July 2020, she remains involved in her professional areas of interest, including L2 reading, disciplinary writing, and project-based learning. She is co-author of Teaching and Researching Reading (with W. Grabe, 3rd ed., 2020, Routledge); co-author of Teaching English to Second Language Learners in Academic Contexts: Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking (with J. Newton et al., 2018, Routledge); co-editor of A Handbook for Language Program Administrators (2nd ed., 2012, Alta English Publishers); and co-author of Write Like a Chemist (2008, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition in progress). She has published in English for Specific Purposes, English Teaching Forum, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, and Reading in a Foreign Language. She was a Fulbright scholar in Turkey (2002-03), Timor Leste (2014), and Vietnam (Spring 2018), and has trained EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and language program administrators in 30 other countries.