Can Learners Make the Jump from
the Highest Graded Readers to
Ungraded Novels?:
Four Case Studies
Diane Schmitt
Jez Uden
Nottingham Trent University
Norbert Schmitt
University of Nottingham
Lexical Coverage
and Reading Comprehension

For most learners to gain adequate
comprehension when reading fiction for
pleasure 98% coverage is generally
agreed to be the coverage required
(Nation, 2009, Laufer & RavenhorstKalovski, 2010, Schmitt, Jiang, & Grabe,
2011).
Lexical Coverage
and Reading Comprehension

For extensive reading to be effective, it
must be comprehensible and meaningful.

Unless learners are at an advanced stage
of their language development, the
vocabulary load of unsimplified reading
material (e.g. newspapers, novels) will
probably be too high for the input to be
comprehensible (Schmitt, 2008).
Lexical Coverage
and Reading Comprehension

‘In order to meet the conditions needed
for learning from extensive reading at a
variety of levels of proficiency, it is
essential to make use of simplified texts’
(Nation, 2009:49).
Graded Readers
http://www.xreading.com/extensive/levels
A Bridge to Ungraded Reading?

Philip Prowse, Series Editor of the
Cambridge Readers (CER), states that the
CER series was intended as a bridge to
ungraded reading (personal
communication).
Key Question

Does the use of graded readers ‘really
promote learning by providing for a
smooth and orderly progression to ‘full’
English, as it is supposed to?’ (Honeyfield,
1977:431)
Differing Views

Nation has repeatedly claimed that graded
reader schemes need to go much higher
(Hirsh & Nation, 1992, Nation & Wang,
1999, Hu & Nation, 2000, Iatefl, 2011).

8,000 – 9,000 words are needed to obtain
98% coverage of the running words in an
unsimplified text (Nation, 2009:99-10).
Differing Views

From my experience learners at this
[highest graded reader] level usually want
to wean themselves off [graded readers]
and try native texts even if they are
actually hard and even if the coverage
rate isn't perfect for fluent reading.
(Waring, 2008)
The Study
1.
What is the gap between the highest level of graded
readers and ungraded fiction in terms of vocabulary load?
2.
Do learners have the requisite vocabulary knowledge to
meet this gap?
3.
What happens to learners’ comprehension as they make
the jump from the highest level of graded reader to
ungraded fiction?
4.
What happens to learners’ reading speed as they make the
jump from the highest level of graded reader to ungraded
fiction?
5.
What happens to learners’ perceptions of reading pleasure
and ease as they make the jump from the highest level of
graded reader to ungraded fiction?
Participants

a. Measured before starting Level 6 readers
b. Measured after reading Level 6 readers and before ungraded novels
Research Design

10 weeks - Preliminary Reading


participants read:
 10 Level 5 Cambridge Readers
18 weeks - Main Study


participants read:
 10 Level 6 Cambridge Readers (last 2 focus of study)
 2 ungraded novels
participants were tested on:
 Known words in each of the 4 books
 Reading Comprehension
 Reading Speed
 Perception of Reading Ease/Pleasure
Research Design
Data Collection Instruments
Yes/No Vocabulary Tests
Book Title
Murder Maker
This Time it’s Personal
Way of the Peaceful Warrior
The Innocent
Size of Test (No of Words)
134
138
573
633
1 in 4 sampling rate
Data Collection Instruments

Multiple choice reading comprehension
One test for each book
 15 M/C items per test

Data Collection Instruments
Data Collection Instruments
Data Collection Instruments

Reading Speed Measurements

Assessed on reading speed for all four books

Read at a comfortable pace and timed for fifteen
minutes (3 x 5 minutes) at the beginning of
each book. At the end of each five minute set
the participants were asked to underline the last
word they reached. The reading speed for each
set was measured, recorded in words per minute
and combined to produce an overall average.
Data Collection Instruments

Perception of Reading Ease/Pleasure Questionnaire
Data Collection Timeline
Results
What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms
of vocabulary load?

Graded Reader Jumps
What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms
of vocabulary load?

Do learners have the requisite
knowledge to meet this gap?
What happens to learners’ comprehension
as they make the jump from the high level
of graded reader to ungraded fiction?
What happens to learners’ reading
speed as they make the jump?
What happens to learners’ perceptions
of reading pleasure and ease as they
make the jump?
Further Points

Overall, 3 learners were able to make the
jump to unsimplified novels successfully

The jump was not much different than a
progression between Graded Reader levels

Marta quit Peaceful Warrior because of the
content, not linguistic difficulty
Further Points

One learner (Deimante) found the jump
difficult, and preferred to stay with the
graded readers

The learners’ reading pleasure seemed to
have more to do with the books
themselves than whether
graded/unsimplfied
Further Points

In real terms, the small decrease in
reading speed may not make a much of a
difference

Rose reading The Innocent



204 WPM = 7 hours (graded reader speed)
163 WPM = 8 hours 48 minutes (actual speed)
Any real difference for pleasure reading?
Further Points

These results are for highly motivated
learners

Would the results be the same for learners
with less motivation?
Q&A

Slides and handout available at:
www.norbertschmitt.co.uk
What is the gap between the highest level of
graded readers and ungraded fiction in terms
of vocabulary load?

What happens to learners’ comprehension
as they make the jump from the high level
of graded reader to ungraded fiction?
What happens to learners’ reading
speed as they make the jump?