Forming foreign language reading groups

Starting to read literature in a foreign language is often a scary and daunting thought. However, there are some practical tips and easy-to-follow recommendations that can make this challenge realistic for most learners. It could turn what may have been anticipated as too difficult into a rewarding and even delightful experience.

Having in recent years set up very successful reading clubs, I have found that you do not need to be fluent to read in a foreign language and appreciate literature. You just need some careful guidance.

Being part of a small group coached by a tutor will make sure that readers are guided throughout, able to interact, and share their opinions as a group, in a structured pattern.

Prior to creating a group of readers, it is advisable to decide on a manageable number of members. As a tutor, you will want to make sure every member gets the opportunity to speak and contribute to the discussion, so forming a group of four to six students usually works well. It is also preferable to choose a book that can be studied over a maximum of five or six sessions on a basis of one session a fortnight. A longer course of sessions may become tedious and can be difficult to organise in terms of attendance. Sessions can last up to ninety minutes.

The most difficult part would appear to be the choice of a book, one that the whole group will enjoy reading. It is realistically rare to find a book that will tick all the boxes. This should be no deterrent as it doesn't make the experience less interesting.  On the contrary, a successful reading group is one made of different literary tastes, feelings and opinions. If members react differently towards the characters, the storyline or the style, it means that your choice has triggered responses and this will invariably lead to exciting and sometimes passionate discussions!

This may seem obvious but it is paramount for tutors to have read their chosen books several times. You will have judged the grammatical difficulty, reviewed the lexical content and detailed the overall story before embarking on the study with your readers.

Your first session can be used to introduce the writer and the book. You can then start reading the first few pages together out loud in order to generate first impressions and comments. Establishing who are the characters, the place and time of the story will get the discussion going. You can then give a number of pages to read for the next session and so on.

Here are some recommendations for readers:

• Read once without checking vocabulary but noting down the main aspects of the story.
• Read a second time, close to the day of the session and check some key words or grammar that may hinder overall comprehension and make note of particular questions or remarks.
• Put down impressions you may want to share for the rest of the group
• Highlight significant passages that caught your attention and that you may want to discuss

You should then enjoy lively and enriching sessions that all will want to repeat in the future!