Assessing Independent Reading in World Language Classes
How can teachers hold students accountable for their reading, assess true comprehension, and discourage reliance on translators? These practices can help!
Assessing students’ reading comprehension is an age-old problem, as illustrated by Bart’s book report in this classic Simpson’s moment:
As Mrs. Krabappel so deftly illustrates, using book reports for reading assessment has significant drawbacks. I’m not a fan of the ‘stand in front of the class and present while all your classmates listen’ assessment format – it’s time consuming, results in long stretches of passive learning, and generates highly negative associations with speaking. (Click here to discover alternatives to this practice!)
“With a carefully selected classroom library and thoughtful implementation, independent reading can bring high achievement and joy to your language learners!”
In addition to speaking anxiety, it’s easy for some students to ‘bluff’ their way through a book report, and there’s no real way to keep students from reading and reporting on an online summary (or using a translator to read in their first language). In fact the translator problem is ubiquitous and could be an issue for most any assessment of reading that occurs outside of class.
Perhaps most importantly, assessments do tend to raise the stakes and detract from the joy of reading. Yet, as a teacher, I do need to hold students accountable and ensure their time spent reading results in meaningful comprehension. So, what to do?
Here are a few tips to assess independent reading:
Keep it fairly light. We want students to enjoy this process and to lean into the challenge, which is hard to do if grading is heavily focused on achievement. Make independent reading a small, low-stakes grade.
One and done. Consider doing 15-20 minutes of independent / choice reading in class and assessing it immediately afterward. Give students no or very limited access to electronics during this activity (the ability to look up a few words at the end of reading can be helpful). This will push students to build their own reading strategies rather than immediately jumping to a translator.
Use short, easy texts. Encourage the use of texts with lots of graphic support (like infographics, diagrams, flow charts) and texts that are a comfortable reading level with mostly known vocabulary. Of course, longer more challenging texts have their place in the curriculum as well, but these need to be accompanied by scaffolding and support from the instructor. Independent reading should be accessible and provide students with enjoyment and success. Click here for ideas about building your classroom independent reading library, and here for all my blog posts with practical ideas for reading instruction.
Completion grades for thoughtful reflection. In my class, thoughtfully completing the reflection worksheet linked here earns full credit. When reading independently I want to see that students were aware of their reading strategies (as described here), interpreted some new language, and were able to construct meaning from a new text. If they can articulate quality learning, they earn full credit.
Conferencing. Taking time to chat with a student about the text they’re reading can be a powerful tool in helping students further apply reading strategies. The realities of our class load can make this difficult, but I still try to build in some conferencing at least a couple of times each semester.
Self-selected vocabulary lists. I’ve had success using this technique with students who have passed introductory French. After completing several independent reading assignments, I ask students to use their prior reading to develop a personal list of 10-15 words they want to master. Kids give me a copy of their list, and they also make flashcards for these new words which we practice for a few minutes each day at the beginning of class. After a week or so, we complete a verbal check. Each student gives me their flashcards. I show them the English side and they must tell me the French word, which makes for a quick, objective assessment. Students love having voice and choice in their vocabulary development.
With a carefully selected classroom library and thoughtful implementation, independent reading can bring high achievement and joy to your language learners!
How have you used independent reading in your world language classes? Share in the comments!
