Reading and reading promotion in HLT differs from reading education in the regular classroom primarily in terms of the language of the texts and their cutural provenience, as described above. The work and training areas are largely identical, as are the goals of literary socialization and promotion in the first and second language, however. Consequently, the following sections a) and b) are not just HLT-specific, but rather accentuate two general points (which are important for HLT as well).
a) Text relief before reading
Vocabulary carries a great deal of importance in reading. Readers often fail to understand a text because it comprises too many words which they don’t know. This can lead to great problems, particularly with texts that are written in the standard version of the first language, because many children and adolescents speak the language at home exclusively in dialect.
For this reason, it is important that HLT instructors previously lighten the language burden of the texts and facilitate the access to them (see also Sträuli et al, pages 58 ff). A proven method is to discuss with the students a list of key words and potentially problematic words and phrases in order to clear up difficulties (“Look, we are going to read a text that contains words such as ‹masonry›, ‹was situated›, ‹creepy› and ‹knights‘ armor›. We want to clear them up first!”). This allows students not only to tune into the text content; it facilitates activating their prior knowledge, formulating hypotheses,and they understand already a large part of the form and terms that appear in the standard language text. Other things that facilitate comprehension are pictures that illustrate the events, show details, reflect moods or depict and explain specific content in pictures.
b) It is not necessary to always understand each and every word
Readers (and even teachers) often concentrate too much on what is not understood instead of concentrating first on that which has been understood. This deficit-oriented view can be demoralizing.
There is another solution: for instance, when students are asked to underline everything that they have understood when reading. By marking the passages where everything was immediately understood, they begin to realize that generally it was part of a sentence or a few words that they did not understand during the first reading. This tends to increase the motivation to continue reading. Moreover, with the context clues from what has been understood, the remaining comprehension problems can very often be solved.
With many texts, it is not at all necessary that the readers understand each and every word; depending on the educational goals and the type of text, a global understanding (see above) may be quite sufficient. The previous marking of key terms and central passages in the text may be helpful as well. This way, readers know what to pay attention to, and which parts are of special significance. Depending on the educational goals related to work with the text (e.g. a detailed analysis of the content and message), the readings must be followed up with enhanced vocabulary practice. That working with vocabulary in the context of real texts is particularly authentic should be obvious.
c) Cooperation with regular classroom education
When HLT and regular classroom instruction work together, this cooperation widens the horizon and deepens the sustainability of what has been learned. This pertains not just to content that was treated jointly (e.g. water or agriculture in the various countries), but includes also many learning techniques and strategies. Since these are almost always supra-linguistic, i. e. they can be applied in different languages, a cooperation between HLT and regular classroom instructors in this area is particularly valuable. This is equally true for the important area of literary-cultural education, where HLT and regular classroom instruction complement each other optimally and could jointly promote the joy of reading.
In places where institutional contacts between HLT and regular classroom instruction are not automatic as, for instance, in Sweden, it is sometimes up to the HLT instructors to initiate contact and to inform themselves about the possibilities of cooperating in the area of reading. For additional ideas and suggestions, see second part of this volume (also Sträuli et al. pages 116 ff.):
- Reading poems in various languages (and/ or creating poems); learning how to recite, recording of a CD with poetry, creating a multilingual booklet; translation into the school language. Possibly a parents‘ evening with recited poems in various languages.
- Common reading of a bilingual book or picture book.
- Establishing a book exposition with texts in various languages; each book provided with a brief description on a card.
- Usage of electronic and other sources in various languages for a common factual issue (e.g. Roman era in Germany and in Turkey, etc.).
- Common introduction and application of certain reading strategies or techniques (see part II of this volume and volume 5: Learning techniques and strategies).
- Joint work in establishing a multilingual library in the schoolhouse.
- Cooperation (workshops etc.) within the framework of a project week “Reading pleasure in various languages” or as part of a reading night.
Sometimes there are no possibilities of a cooperation, owing to overload issues. In such cases, we recommend as a minimal solution that HLT teachers request the textbooks from the regular school curriculum in order to apprise themselves of the local didactic approach in the areas of reading promotion, reading training, reading strategies and literary education. Undoubtedly, some pertinent good ideas could be implemented by HLT, and the students‘ explanations, suggestions and experiences could surely help in this effort as well.
d) Where to find texts in the language of origin
- Text collections for instructional use
That HLT instructors have their own text collections is clear. These may include literary works, collections of poems and fairy tales, picture books or school books in the language of origin, but also collections of articles, stories, etc., for certain factual topics. Increasingly important are the lists with links to appropriate websites.
Text collections can and should also be established together with the HLT students. An easy to implement, simple solution would be to ask the students and their parents and relatives to provide HLT with reading materials in their language for that purpose. This may include children’s books, other books, illustrated magazines, (children’s) magazines and comics. Native language text searches in the internet should also be conducted by and with the students. It is important that the instructors support the students in this endeavor and also hold them to a responsible handling of resources (adequate references to sources: assistance with citations, etc).
Important: depending on the region of origin and the political context, the instructor must remain strictly vigilant that no texts of a tendentious nature, national socialist or otherwise provocative character be integrated into these collections
- Text collection for borrowing
Text collections for immediate classroom use are important, buty they are not sufficiently large. For the purpose of active promotion of reading in the first language, these collections must be complemented with books and other texts which the students can borrow and read at home. In an ideal case, such titles can be obtained in an intercultural library (see below) or in the library of the school building, if it has multilingual collections. If this is not the case, it is up to the instructor to seek a solution. If s/he has a collection of texts, a simple list of available books will suffice (create a borrowing chart with the book titles and the names of the persons who check them out). Students then can ‹order› each week, what they would like to read and return the works they have read. Students should naturally be able to assist with this small library operation. An excellent time for this is summer vacation, where many children spend time in their country of origin and from where they can bring back reading materials. Perhaps a little money could be raised before their vacations (bazaar, parents‘ event, etc.) so that each child has a small budget. Of course, the choice of titles in terms of political and ideological neutrality must be controlled.
Maybe the school has an available cabinet for the storage of the acquired small library. Even better if the school library (if there is one) also has book selections in the various native languages of the students which are also available to HLT. In places where HLT is well integrated into the regular school system, this should not represent a problem. In any event, such an initiative by an HLT instructor can and wiil be well worth the effort.
- Public intercultural libraries
Many libraries, particularly in larger cities, have a selection of books (including picture books, and books for childen and adolescents) and sometimes also magazines in various languages that can be checked out.
In Switzerland there is an association of these intercultural libraries; see the website http://www.interbiblio. ch with an overview of the individual locations and book lending services.
For Sweden, comprehensive information is available on the website http:// modersmal.skolverket.se/sites/svenska/index.php/fer-sprakighet-i-forskolan/kop-lan
For pertinent library information in Germany, compare the website http://www.bibliotheksportal.de/themen/bibliothekskunden/interkulturelle-bibliothek/materialien-in-mehreren-sprachen.html
- Book lending and information about country-specific institutions (examples)
Germany:
The website of the German Library Association includes comprehensive information and also allows for specific searches. There are materials and information about the following topics: texts for library work, multilingual library glossaries and online dictionaries, listings of foreign language collections in German public libraries, collections of links about language and culture, links to foreign language wikipedia platforms, links to media, newspapers and magazines, text templates for methods of promoting language development and reading. Link: http://www.bibliotheksportal.de/ and http://www. bibliotheksportal.de/themen/bibliothekskunden/in-terkulturelle-bibliothek/materialien-in-mehreren-sprachen.html
The website of the Goethe institute offers valuable information about multilingual books, educational materials for the classroom and a very useful collection of links to other institutions: http:// www.goethe.de/ges/spa/prj/sog/fms/lit/deindex.htm
Recommendable information and suggestions about parental inclusion and engagement can be found on the website http:// www.mehrsprachigvorlesen.verband-binationaler.de/
Austria:
A lot of information and search options can be found through the link http://www.schule-mehrsprachig.at
For specific multilingual books for children and adolescents, see http://www.schule-mehrsprachig.at/in-dex.php?id=11
Among the wealth of materials, there is also a multilingual children’s magazine, which can also be ordered in Switzerland and in Germany. The subscription is free, only the shipping costs are billed. More useful information is also available at the Austrian website http://www.wirlesen.org
Switzerland:
The foundation Bibliomedia in Switzerland has compiled a varied selection of foreign language and multilingual books, which HLT instructors may check out over longer periods of time as well. Books are available in Albanian, Arabic (only children’s books), English, Croatian, Portuguese, Spanish, Serbian, Tamil, Turkish. A list on the website shows the selection of multilingual books. The costs of lending vary according to the school location. Instructors should inquire with the school management or contact Bibliomedia directly. Bibliomedia also offers educational materials, lists of books and a collection of current continuing links to the topic multilingualism; see bibliography, title “Bibliomedia, QUIMS”. Adress: Bibliomedia, Rosenweg 2, 4500 Solothurn, Tel.032/624 90 20. Link: www. bibliomedia.ch
JUKIBU (Intercultural library for children and adolescents): this special library in Basel has books and media available in 50 different languages. A current online catalog helps with the title search. JUKIBU also offers regularly the most diverse events. Adresse: JUKIBU; Elsässerstrasse 7, 4056 Basel, Tel. 061/322 63 19. See link: www.jukibu. ch
Baobab: the association Baobab is committed to intercultural themes focused on reading and also frequently publishes multilingual books. Link: http:// www.baobabbooks.ch
Network sims: this platform carries lists of books in various languages, which can be ordered. It also has many helpful downloadable teaching materials available for promoting the language development of students in the migration: http://www.netzwerk-sims.ch
Bischu – Handbook for the collaboration of library and school; published by the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich. This handbook offers varied and valuable suggestions. It shows the extent of their efforts and that collaboration goes beyond the mere lending of books. Link: http://www.bischu. zh.ch
Sweden:
Comprehensive information about publishers, libraries, book lending possibilities, etc. can be found on the above referenced website http://modersmal.skolver-ket.se/sites/svenska/index.php/fersprakighet-i-forsko-lan/kop-lan
General: the foundation of European National Libraries offers links to the various partners within Europe. Link: http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org