Lin Lin, Dr. Li Min

Abstract

In recent years, Chinese language teachers in Singapore start to use picture story books to cultivate students' early reading abilities in Chinese reading classes under the influence of Chinese language teaching and learning from mainland China and Taiwan. Research studies on second-language reading show that picture book where words and illustrations work together to tell a story can motivate the reading interests of lower primary students, increase vocabulary and improve reading comprehension. This article explored the effects of using the picture story books in Primary One (P1) Chinese reading classes in Singapore accompanied with specific reading strategies. A class of P1students from one local school took part in the study. They read one picture book under the guidance of the teacher each week. The teacher motivated the reading interests of her students through activities before reading, provided sufficient time for them to do silent reading during reading and deepened their understandings about the story through relevant activities after reading, such as group discussion, role-play and etc. Researchers examined the improvements of Chinese reading proficiency of the students through the analysis of the scores from pre-and post reading tests so as to investigate the effects of using picture story books on the Chinese reading abilities of lower primary students. Meanwhile, they used questionnaires to find out the changes in the reading motivation and attitudes of the participated students after the implementation. Furthermore, researchers shared the reading strategies that can improve the reading abilities of lower primary students generated from classroom observation and reflections from the teacher. This article is composed of three parts: research background and relevant theories; teaching framework and its application; research results and feedback.

Keyword(s) :   Picture story books, Singapore, Primary One, reading abilities