Criteria for reading materials

To assure each student of a wide and interesting range of choices while at the same time preventing bottle-necks occurring in the demand for any one level, TEREP's graded-reader collection follows these magic formulas tried and tested in ER programmes elsewhere:

• for Library Readers (the books student borrow), 2.5 titles per student and at least 10 to 15 titles at each of the four levels. This is the number of books a student usually reads before feeling confident enough to move up a level
• for Class Readers (books read at one time by a whole class), a minimum collection of 3 titles per level per term, given that 4 classes per Class Reader is likely the maximum time over which interest can be maintained [at present, no class readers are available]

Students now take part in selecting books (through class polls or the Quick Book Review sheets, for example), but the initial purchase was done by teachers only. We of course stuck mainly to books specifically put out for young EFL/ESL learners, preferring to stick to the lower levels of a graded-reader series. But publishers vary as to what constitutes a beginner-level reader so, without first-hand access to every graded-reader title or series, we had to rely on inspection copies, catalogue descriptions, and the EPER list of recommended titles when trying to form an impression of whether or not a so-called beginner/starter level was actually simple (let alone, interesting) enough for our junior high students. In the end, we also had to go with some books and series originally intended for first-language children just learning to read. These, as well as some of the graded-reader series, may prove a little too childish for junior high students but it was the only way of providing enough of a variety at even the lower levels.