Using “Noticing” of Book Content Links with the Real World to Improve EFL Reader Engagement

‘Noticing’ is a term often applied in Second Language Acquisition research to drawing learners’ attention to aspects of the language they are reading. This presentation refers mainly to a study carried out in a third-year university class in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) reading. The main focus was to examine the effectiveness of introducing the strategy of overtly ‘noticing’ connections between content in student-selected reading material and current events or real-life experiences. In practice, this meant raising awareness of any such links through their book reviews and group discussions. The intention of this was to increase student engagement with readings by connecting content with real life, and improve satisfaction with or enjoyment of the course. They read books at their individually appropriate levels through the Xreading virtual library, took quizzes and posted comments on each book. They were directed to use these comments to discuss any real-life connections. In the twice weekly classes, one session was devoted to silent reading and one-on-one reviews of progress and their comments with the teacher, or group discussions of their readings. Qualitative, measures were employed to examine how the new strategy affected learner perceptions and behaviours. Reading comprehension was measured at the beginning and end of the course to enable comparison of this group of subjects with a very similar cohort of students from the previous year, to assess any effect for this ‘noticing’ strategy.