主体的・対話的で深い学びにつながる「読むこと」の指導コロラド州のミドルスクールでの事例

抄録

A major purpose of this article is to provide a brief review of effective teaching strategies for reading comprehension used in an English language arts class in a middle school in the state of Colorado in the U.S. The characteristics, practical teaching procedures, and benefits of independent reading and literature circles used in this class promote a rich integration of the four language skills for the learners. These reading enhancing strategies help learners hone their abilities in reading comprehension and communication. Also they are crucial for learners to be independent and autonomous. Literature circles have long been regarded as a valuable language activity for developing learners’ communication abilities. We discuss characteristics of independent reading and literature circles which dovetail with the objectives of the new course of study for junior high school English classes announced in 2017. The discussion also touches on the possibility of introducing these teaching strategies in Japanese EFL classrooms.