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1. Introduction The benefits of reading are well known and indisputable by this point, having been the subject of many research papers—many of which will be referenced to in this paper. Though there are multiple benefits gained from reading, this paper will focus on language development and in particular, the five factors that make reading such a useful tool in teaching English. According to Dickinson, when these factors are taken together, they can alter the trajectory of language development [1] in a very positive way. 2. Exposure to New Words The first and most obvious of these factors is the fact that reading constantly exposes a person to new words, thereby devolving a person’s vocabulary. It goes without saying that in order to teach a person English, it is important to develop their vocabulary, however, according to E. Hoff and L. Naigles [2] the befits of learning new words are particularly beneficial when a person is exposed to a high number of unique words relative to the total amount of words. This just further supports the proof that reading is perfect to help teach English as novelists go out of their way not to overuse constructs so as not to detract from their writing. What is more, this development of vocabulary has been proven to lead directly to the development of grammar. 3. Vocabulary and Grammar In a study performed by J. A. Dixon and V. A. Marchman [3], they proved that grammar and vocabulary are interconnected and help to develop one another. This has been proven to happen in two ways [4]: First, when a person discovers a new word by reading, the first thing they do—whether consciously or unconsciously—is to try to discern its meaning though its linguistic context, and by doing this, they gain information about the word’s parts of speech. Secondly, by learning a word in this manner, a person detects nuances in the meaning of the word. [5] 4. Interest As has been discussed earlier in the ITTT course for which this paper is meant, there exists a psychological theory of the Affective Filter, which is to say, a mental barrier that hinders the intake of new information. One way to bypass this barrier is through genuine interest [6]. By reading a story we find truly interesting, our attention becomes focused and with that focus comes a higher retention rate of the information. It should, however, be noted that this factor can just as easily backfire by choosing a book that is of no interest to the students or is perhaps even considered boring. [7] 5. Meaning In order to learn new vocabulary words, the students will require aid in learning the meaning of words and how they are used. The speed at which new words are learned can be drastically increased by understanding a word and seeing it being used in a variety of grammatically correct sentences such as in a book. [8] 6. Responsiveness This final factor was discussed by Dickinson [9] in the light of how when parents read to their children, the children learn better when the parent was responsive to questions and interactions. While this responsiveness does not translate directly to student-teacher relationships, there does still seem to be positives in extrapolating the idea and applying it to the classroom. By being responsive, answering questions about a text or sharing thoughts on it, the students will gain more time to talk and practice the language. Also, just as with the children, in doing this, the student will be forced to think more deeply about what they have read, further aiding in development. 7. Conclusion While not every factor perfectly applies to an ESL class or student-teacher relationship, the fact of the matter is, reading has obvious benefits to the development of language skills. One of the most important factors in developing proficiency in a new language is to be exposed to it constantly. While reading is a receptive skill, its help in increasing vocabulary and understanding of grammatical rules will undoubtedly help develop productive skills such as speaking and writing. The dialog of novels, for example, may serve as simulations of conversations in English in between classes where students can practice their English in real life. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [1] D. K. Dickinson, A. McCabe, L. Anastasopoulos, E. S. Peisner-Feinberg, and M. D. Poe, “The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: the interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool-aged children,” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 465–481, 2003. [2] E. Hoff and L. Naigles, “How children use input to acquire a lexicon,” Child Development, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 418–433, 2002. [3] J. A. Dixon and V. A. Marchman, “Grammar and the lexicon: developmental ordering in language acquisition,” Child Development, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 190–212, 2007. [4] M. Imai, L. Li, E. Haryu et al., “Novel noun and verb learning in Chinese-, English-, and Japanese-speaking children,” Child Development, vol. 79, no. 4, pp. 979–1000, 2008. [5] J. Gillette, H. Gleitman, L. Gleitman, and A. Lederer, “Human simulations of vocabulary learning,” Cognition, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 135–176, 1999. [6] P. Bloom, How Children Learn the Meanings of Words, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, USA, 2000. [7] S. M. Pruden, K. Hirsh-Pasek, R. M. Golinkoff, and E. A. Hennon, “The birth of words: ten-month-olds learn words through perceptual salience,” Child Development, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 266–280, 2006. [8] J. F. Penno, I. A. G.Wilkinson, and D.W.Moore, “Vocabulary acquisition from teacher explanation and repeated listening to stories: do they overcome the Matthew effect?” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 23–33, 2002. [9] D. K. Dickinson, A. McCabe, L. Anastasopoulos, E. S. Peisner-Feinberg, and M. D. Poe, “The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: the interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool-aged children,” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 95, no. 3, pp. 465–481, 2003.
