I’m not a big fan of having English Language Learners read aloud individually to the entire class, though I do have students doing it when it’s part of a small group (reader’s theater, in partners, or when they’ve practiced reading a short passage and “perform” in front of the class). It seems to me that, outside of those engaging interactions, having students read a passage aloud is not very energizing to them (or even worse — a confidence destroying experience) and pretty deadly for the rest of the class.

However, I know this is a matter of debate among teachers of English Language Learners. I’ve found some good posts about the topic, including tons of comments on them, but I haven’t been able to find a single piece of research on the subject.

So I thought I’d share links to the online discussions, and hope that a reader can recommend research. Can you help me out?

ALSO: SEE Oral Reading In The Mainstream & ELL Classroom

Thanks to Julie Niles Petersen, I realized that the reason I couldn’t find research was because it’s generally called “round robin reading” or “popcorn reading.” Thanks, Julie! After a search, I found a ton of research pointing out what a bad instructional strategy it is. Here are a few links that I’m adding to that list:

Weighing the Options: Alternatives to Round Robin Reading

Here are my choices for The Best Posts On Students Reading Aloud Individually In ESL Class:

Reading aloud allowed? is from Oxford University Press’ English Language Teaching Blog.

Reading aloud in class is a complete waste of time – Discuss… is by Ken Wilson.

Why I hate reading aloud is by Laura Patsko.

To Read or Not To Read is by Tamara Jones.

Jeremy Harmer on reading aloud is online presentation.

5 Reasons Not to Use Round Robin Reading with ELLs is from Colorin Colorado.

11 Alternatives to “Round Robin” (and “Popcorn”) Reading is by Todd Finley.

3 Reasons To Dump Round Robin Reading and What To Do Instead is by Valentina Gonzalez.

Are read-alongs (round robin, popcorn) a good idea? is from Timothy Shanahan.

Feedback is welcome, as well as additional suggestions.

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