Humanistic Reading lnstruction ：Student．lnvolvement through the Useof English Newspapers

Takao Hosoki

Abstract
This article reports on significant gains in the development ofefficient reading skills， which closely relates to achievement motivation‑

one of the critical components of humanistic teaching． lt discusses one
study of liberal arts English classes in a university， based on humanistic

principles， which experimented with the use of English newspapers as amotivator for reading in order to facilitate the formation of student
lnterests．

There is little disagreement about the importance of student interests
in reading． lt is unfortunate， however， that many college students learn

skills necessary to read but do not develop a permanent interest inreading． A major goal for reading courses should be to help students findlasting pleasure and satisfaction from reading．
To promote a lasting interest in reading by students， the author

describes ten major steps that include： Rationale for the English
Newspaper， Use of English Newspapers， Student lnterests， Teaching

Materials， Vocabulary Expansion， Classroom lnteraction， Reading
Periods， Teacher Attitudes and Behaviors， Study Skills， and Techniques in

Evaluation． The author will focus on each of these steps， in the order
given．

Rationale
The newspaper carries an enormous amount of current news andinformation from around the world． The newspaper， often called

一59一

the

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso
1iving textbook

No． 42， 1994

， is one of the most readily available and highly

motivating resources． lt has something to contribute to almost all areasof the curriculum． lt contains information relevant to students of allages and ability levels． lt is especially useful in strengthening skills inreading （Degler 1987）． The variety of topics a newspaper covers makes it

possible to individualize learning assignments．
The appeal of a newspaper can motivate many students to read who

do not respond to traditional instructional materials． lt gets themstarted reading about subjects in which they are interested． Even socallednonreaders' and low achievers sometimes turn out to be readerswhen they find material that interests them．

It is important that students understand the vital role thenewspaper's play in our international society． 'rince informed

participation is essential to the survival of a free world， teachers should

help students become intelligent readers of newspapers by teaching them
how to interpret newspaper content critically．
During the 1950s in the United States， many educational specialists
proposed promoting the use of the newspaper in the classroom to build thereading skills and habits of young people． Many educators started using

this medium to promote learning and develop basic skills in various
subject areas． Additionally， some instructors in language arts， social
studies， science， and scores of other subjects tried to integrate the study ofthe newspaper into their courses．

The American Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation（ANPA） was established and in cooperation with Visual Education
Consultants （VEC） has served nationally as a focus for using thenewspaper in the classroom． lt acts as a coordinating agency for
Newspaper in Education （NIE） programs， and advises individual schools

and programs．
In Japan， under the influence of NIE programs developed in the UnitedStates， and originally established as a small study session of the Japan

Newspaper Association in 1985， the NIE committee decided to deploy anationwide pilot project in February of 1994． lt has approved 65 juniorand senior high schools across the country as essential models fordeveloping NIE programs．

一60一

Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use Of English Newspapers

The NIE program of Japan has been developed on a shared basis withthat of the United States． To realize its objectives， the program aims
are to ：Make educators aware of ．the potential the newspaper has
for the curriculum．

Provide educators with new ideas and activities to enrich
the learning experiences of young people regarding reading
and writing．

Help students develop skills of critical reading by teachingcompetence in newspaper reading．
Foster student's personal growth through the use of thenewspaper to provide information， entertainment， andskills necessary for our free international society．

In recent years， successful college teachers（primarily those in the

English language， economics， science， politics， and ecology）have beenaware that the newspaper is an attractive instructional device for lessons．

There are some classrooms where the newspaper is the basic text． Moreoften， however， it is used as a supplementary resource． There also remain

literally thousands of college teachers who are not aware of theりnewspaper's potential
to educateも and motlvate students ln many

CUrriCUIUm areaS．
It is particularly for those college English teachers that this article

has been written． In using the English newspaper in their classrooms，
hopefully， they will benefit by some new ideas and practical suggestions

based upon research findings and the experience．of successful newspaper
activities used in humanistic teaching outline in this article．

Students who lack adequate basic skills of reading for college‑level

work and need remedial assistance have been a challenge for higher
education teachers for years． According to the author's research finding，in his university for the past five years large numbers of students have

一61一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

been admitted who lack adequate preparation for college‑level work．

They have not been provided with adequate support systems such as
developmental or remedial programs， basic skills programs， or reading
improvement courses that would help remove their deficiencies．
A large percentage of students are often in need of remedial reading

instruction． For example， in 1991 the author found' that 25％ of his
freshman classes needed remediation in reading． He also found that 37SO6
0f his sophomore classes were deficient in reading skill．

Enrollment of such students has clearly increased in recent years． ln

1993 more than 32906 of his freshman classes， whd needed some degree ofremedial assistance in reading， were found to be much more likely to stay
as uninvited guests in his class than ones who were in need the previous
year． lt is likely to continue to increase in 1995 and after． Part of thisincrease many result from greater recruitment of underprepared students．
Thus many students came to college with poor r．eading skills． Theycame in reluctantly， hoping at the least that they wouldn't be bored．
Very few expect， or even hope， to be enlightened． To them， reading issomething that they take for a minimum number of semesters in order tofill a graduation requirement． Their goal ordinarily is to simply
accumulate a certain number of passing credits in reading， not todemonstrate proficiency in it．
Their problem is simply that none of them are in the author's class bychoice but are required to take the reading courses． Many reading courses
are organized in a traditional classroom structure． ． Students are assigned

to classes that meet on a regular basis each week． These classes aredesigned to cover the material in which the students' tests have indicatedthat they are deficient and fail． ln such a traditional classroom setting

the teacher generally presents material through whole‑class lectures．
Much class time is spent reading and reciting some sentences or a few

paragraphs， checking the accuracy of translation， and explaining

grammatical constructions． Often a common textbook or workbook，
which generally doesn't meet the Students' needs， is used by Sll of thestudents． However， it sometimes is supplemented by other textbooks，
workbooks， and audiovisual materials that can be used by the teacher

without individualized attention to the students． No study‑skills

一62一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

instruction takes place with the textbooks that students are using in theirtraditional classes．

Class size is large， fifty students on average． Experience indicatesthat a reasonable size for English classes is fifteen students and that aclass with more than twenty students is unmanageable for individualizing
instruction， developing the reading interests of individual students， andencouraging positive attitudes toward reading． ln such a learning

condition， many students have failed and have developed negative
attitudes toward reading．
An important outcome of reading instruction is to cultivate students
who can and do read． Utilizing the material acceptable to the students‑
the English newspaper一 with contents which reflect the students' academic

majors and needs， is a・good measure to use in class． The author is
attempting to develop or extend the reading interest of his students andprovide a medium that will be highly interesting for them．

Use of English Newspapers
In his humanistic teaching the author gave priority to the following
four components in order to develop the reading interests of students andto encourage positive attitudes toward reading ：1． Provide

lively' class interchange according to the useof the fresh resources， newly aequired ideas andresponses solicited from the students themselves．
2． Utilize the content of all practice devised from student‑

offered material， both cognitive （facts， ideas，thoughts） and affective （interests， needs， feelings，
values） ．

3． Establish close relationships among class members andthe author． lndividuals are encouraged to engage inaffective sharing．

4． Encourage awareness of what is interesting andmotivating to themselves and to others by matchingeach instructional situation with their preferred styleof learning as frequently as possible．

一63一

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

Particular' emphases were placed upon student needs， interest andstudent responses． The newspaper meets the author's goal to fulfill

students' needs， interests， and response as the primary focus ofteaching． The degree to which any of these components is present in theauthor's lessons depends on his preparation， teacher‑student goals， thestudents' willingness to be self‑enhancing during English development．
It is essential that teachers consider how students feel about reading

and what students like to read． Although there are no guaranteed
strategies that will promote positive attitudes in reading， it is important

to consider the effects of a student's positive self‑concept， positive

teacher attitudes toward reading and toward the student， andinstructional strategies that utilize students' interests and meet theirinstructional needs． ln this respect， author's findings in reading classes

in the previous year， have shown excellent results through instruction inusing English newspapers． Nearly 83906 of the 185 students in his four
reading classes were very interested in reading the English newspaper， felt

motivated to read more， and felt better about themselves for having
developed some degree of expertise in an area （particula．rly in economics）

when they saw that their interests were valued and that they could workin their interest area while using the newspaper． Positive changes instudent attitudes toward reading occurred during a three‑month period inwhich the English newspaper was introduced in his classrooms． The
author confirmed that skillful and reflective use of the newspaper could

stimulate a positive attitude and thus interest in reading and improvereading skills while promoting positive self‑concepts．

According to Mathewson （1976）， the acceptance or rejection ofmaterials read influenced attitudes toward further reading． Without apositive attitude， interest would be lacking． Thus the author placed

particular emphasis upon students choices as to their needs andpreferences （interests）， meeting the requirement of the affective
objective， so that the English newspapers were likely to be ideal forvoluntary and recreational reading by students．
Furthermore， Galyean （1979） suggested that the key to humanistic
instruction is that． teachers should fulfill the goal of student ．interest as

the primary focus of teaching．

一64一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of E‑nglish Newspapers

The author's experience revealed that whether or not the student wasfamiliar with the English newspaper was irrelevant and that most
students could learn to read， and read to learn， better with an English

newspaper than with traditional printed materials or other materials．

Student lnterests

Since they started reading the English newspaper， the students havebecome increasingly concerned with their future and have wanted the real
information the newspaper provides about career， available jobs， housing，
automobiles， family life， food preparation， nutrition， budgets， health，safety， and peace．

Most students are beginning to wonder what kind of world they will
live in for the rest of their lives． They are concerned with what economic

findings will affect their daily patterns of life and what is happening ingovernment and in foreign relations． They are concerned with their
future responsibility as citizens． These students， who gradually moveinto the adult society， are at the same time， concerned with their typicalproblems and interests of adolescence： appearance， making friends，
dating， wearing their latest fashions， discussing the latest hit records，

films， and sports events with their peers． The newspaper can provide aliving curriculum that serves all of these special needs and interests ofstudents．

Investigations conducted by the author in 1993 and 1994 illustrateinterest areas with regard to newspaper articles that were read in
students' freshman and sophomore year． These findings show the major
topics in the articles which most interested the students in the author'sclasses． （See Appendix A）
The items mentioned in Appendix A reflect the student's iRterests，needs， wants，' and concerns， and then were shared with others and theauthor． This contributed in promoting or extending the readinginterests， learning skills of reading， critical thinking， and live exchangesof communication among the students．

一'

U5一

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

Teaching Materials
College students often make greater progress in reading when theyread about things that interest them． Humanistic teaching makes
provision for the integration and utilization of student interests as often
as possible in order to enhance the students' own self‑concept and self‑
confidence in their ability to read （Weinstein and Marlo 1972）． The ideasthat follow are for the most part of this nature．

The students were provided choices among reading materials thatwould accomplish the author's or students' objectives． There were somematerials that might motivate many students to read who previously did

not respond to traditional instructional materials． Other materials
appeared to prove very stimulating in the extension of interests and 'inclass discussions． The followings are illustrative of their choice：newspapers， weekly （monthly） magazines， paperbacks， TV （video） script，

comic books， songs， scenarios， dramas， and workbooks for qualifying

exams．
Among the above materials， their top choice was a newspaper．
Summarizing the results， more than 859060 of the' freshman reported asfollows ：1． The newspaper is a readily accessible and economical，

resource for becoming familiar with current world
events．

2． The newspaper provides a wide range of topics andinformation that interest the students．

3． The newspaper is up‑to‑date material which offers aliving learning experience．

4． The newspaper contributes to more learning skills ofboth critical and recreational reading than traditional
textbooks do．

5． The newspaper offers the student an opportunity 'to
successfully read and act on the events throughout the

day although， unfortunately， most students have neverbeen enhanced by conventional textbooks which

一66一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student

Involvement

through the Use of English Newspapers
teachers have selected．

Vocabulary Expansion
Research lends strong support for increasing the size of one's

vocabulary by reading newspapers． Most coliege entrance tests，qualifying tests， and other achievement tests are largely vocabulary
tests． Students who wish to do well on these tests do well to increase

their vocabulary． The students who want to understand and appreciate
the world's literature， newspapers， films， and pamphlets will need a large

vocabulary．
A student's vocabulary grows with reading． Yet to read well， a

student must often already have a large vocabulary． Reading andvocabulary are interconnected ； They are self‑providing． Students who
have an interest in reading frequently have a large vocabulary which isconstantly growing． The vocabulary of those who do little reading
remalns stagnant．
To help students increase their vocabulary does not mean simply
assigning a number of words in each class to look up in the dictionary．

Looking up a word in the dictionary and writing down its meaning does
not mean that the students really understand the word．

In his humanistic teaching， therefore， the author used some othermethods， besides reading and dictionary study， to help the students
learn new words． Some suggestions which have been used by the author
follow ：1． lntroduce new words in each article． Start to discuss

concepts related to new words， and connotative
meanings with emotional characteristics attached tothem．

2． Project news items onto the overhead projector （OHP），
underlining words that the students are not' likely toknow． Then ask them to make an intelligent guess
about the meaning of the word based on the cQntext inwhich it is used． lf they cannot figure out the meaningfrom context， then let the students use the dictionary．

一67一No． 42， 1994

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso
3

Let the students find occasions to use the word in theireveryday conversations and in other contexts． For
example， if the word is

prognostic'， make a commentthat a student's perceptive remarks in a classdiscussion wererain．

A dark cloud is prognostic ofThrough repetition in a variety of contexts，

words will become the students own．

4

Many words in the English language are derived fromthe same root． For example， the word

philanthropy'

has the same root as philharmonic， philosophy， andphilology． Philos is Greek forLove'． By pointing

out to students that whole families of words arederived from different roots， they can usually get someidea of the meaning of a new word if they see that it

has a similar root． Some students have useful books
that give good examples and exercises for words with
Latin and Greek roots．
5

Spend time teaching the specialized vocabulary of
topics about world events． Any topic has its own
terminology， which the students must learn in order tograsp basic concepts and interpret newspaper content
critically． This is particularly true in such subjects asscience， medical science， politics， engineering， andeconomics． Before teaching a lesson， put the newwords on the board or the chart and have the students

pronounce the words， repeat them， recite their
6meamngs．
Have the students compare topics in English
newspapers with those of Japanese ones， and underlie

English equivalents for the Japanese words in those

topics， reinforce them with your own examples orillustrations， ask them to do．the same， and review the

new words frequently until the students have madethem their own．
7

Before moving o'n to a new article， give multiple‑choice

一68一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

quizzes and question‑answer dialogues on new words
related to a new article， and occasionally review the

new words to keep them in the students' active
vocabulary．

8． Have the'students listen to and compare articles oneach page in English newspapers with the same article
covered on TV news and reports which have been pre‑recorded． The students frequently have difficulty
picking up the word． To give them practice， ask themto write the words 'they have identified in the sentences
read in the tape．

9． Use realistic case studies as often as possible which are

relevant to students' lives and involve thememotionally． For example， the students who are very
interested in gun problems and its victims should locate
the articles on such topics in the Japanese newspapers，

underscore specific words and phrases in them， try totranslate them into English looking up in a Japanese‑
English dictionary， and compile a list of words． This
activity is helpful to call students' attention to thespecific style of expressions in the newspaper articles

after the students compare their own translation with
the English articles actually read for their later classes．

Classroom lnteraction
The key to humanistic teaching is an exchange of lively situations
emerging from the interest perspective of each student． ln such a class，
all class dynamics serve to fulfill the goal of student interest．

Successful humanistic teachers can incorporate classroom discussion．into their teaching in order to encourage the live exchanges among thestudents， enable them to develop their own feelings， ideas， and positive
attitudes， and engage in sharing them． This technique， with its potential

to nourish interpersonal relations with each other and build critical

一69一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

thinking skills， works particularly well with newspapers， with constitutea reservoir of information and knowledge to discuss．

In the author's humanistic class， Japanese language was entirely
designated to carry the live interaction within the class because thestudents could not demonstrate proficiency in using English at a usefullevel even after seven and eight years of study． While this may indeed beregarded as an unacceptable view of English learning， it was still a sort ofreading‑related and English promoting activity． Often most students
who were not previously concerned with Progress and who did not enjoy
trying to learn to read English newspapers came to experience pleasureand satisfaction from readihg English newspapers through discussions．

Reading interests are often promoted through voluntary
participation in class discussion and discussion groups． Discussion gives
the students an opportunity to share a wide range of topics in ways that

may spark an interest in another student who has not been curious about

the topic previously． Peer recommendations and the teacher's
coparticipation in' the class dialogue are often powerful forces indeveloping interests．
In recent years， classroom interaction has become the subject of muchinterest and study． Research on this teaching method has shown it to be

an excellent device in stimulating a desire to learn． Studies havedemonstrated that successful classroom climates， in which students
participate in discussions， are related to student achievement． The
author has realized that it is important to respect students' feelings andideas and encourage their responses to have classrooms that promotelearning， discussions and student involvement．
The author has recognized that positive changes in student attitude

toward reading occurred when a variety of topics within English
newspapers were introduced in classroom discussions and that discussions
are very important when working with the newspaper．

Some social problems are presented which are typical of those
discussed in class． The problems which were discussed are of various
types and arise from student interests， concerns， and curiosities toward

topics that confront them either directly or indirectly． The principal
areas from which the problems arise are classified in Appendix B．

一70一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

For prbmoting classroom discussions， teacher's questioning
techniques are essential． lf the purpose of questioning is improvestudents' thinking， better questions are needed， questions that will force
students to think， to make inference， to make judgment （Hunt 1967）．

Such questions required more time to prepare and more time for students

to respond to them． By giving students time to think about questions

and even time to discuss them with a neighbor before opening ．up
discussion， students will be able to give thoughtful responses． lnclassroom discussion it is important for teachers to give students moretime if they want them to think．

For the discussion in the' humanistic classes， motivation and interest一

arousing questiQns called attention to pictures， titles， headlines，
subheadings， settings， and characters． The picture in an article actuallyused to whet curiosity by asking such questions as ：1．

Have you ever seen anything like this before ？

2．

Does this picture teach a lesson ？
What is it ？ （or Why do you think so ？）3．

What do you think this story will be about ？

4．

How does this picture make you feel ？

5．

What do you see that is interesting in this picture？

6．

How are you influenced by this picture ？

if
Or other devices are used，
Whether pictures， titles， headlines，

questions can initiate in students a habitual spirit of wanting to read tofind answers， reading will become self‑motivating． During discussion theauthor allowed and encouraged the students to share their curiosities，interests， needs， and questions．

Reading Periods
The author believes that the English newspaper's greatest appeal formany college English teachers lies in its ability to improve reading skills，and that．skillful and reflective use of the English newspapers canstimulate a desire to read．

There are two major goals of the author's humanistic readingclasses； development of critical reading and the ability of making

一71一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

decisions about values which are important affective components ofhumanistic teaching． College students must be taught to read critically．
Critical reading skills are acknowledged as indispensable tools for thereading program and needed by each college student． The following are a
few ways the author cultivated some of the critical reading skill． These

teaching techniques basically depend on both what is called forty‑minutesustained silent reading （SSR）一 was suggested by Lyman C． Hun't， Jr．
（1967）， and thirty‑minute discussion， which is essential because criticalreading is a type of interactive reading．
During SSR， the students and often the author select a few articles，
which are most likely to be interesting to them， and all read quietly forforty minutes． The intent of SSR is to make available uninterrupted
reading time． With the entire class involved， it conveys the message thatevery student is a reader． However， because the students have neverexperienced being quite with little socialization in their previous
traditional classes， some students are late to get to work on reading or do

nothing during SSR but daydream．
The author， therefore， circulates among the students to see what they

are doing and to'??撃?them if needed． Once the students have become

familiar with the procedures and can work independently， the author used

the period for enjoying his own reading activities． Setting aside forty
minutes once a week for reading or reading‑related activities provides forthe variety， the free choice， and the flexibility required if the students areto become voluntary readers．
Such a cri．tical reading period exposed the students to reading in manY

forms and gave them an opportunity to make choices． lt is a positive

approach toward activating interest in reading． The students wereactively involved in learning through SSR．
In reading English newspapers， the objective was to find out the mainideas the author was trying to get across in each article， often in the firstparagraph． An important area of critical reading skill is also that ofdealing with author's opinions， viewpoints， and biases． Every student
needs to develop this are'a of skill in order to reconcile the views of theauthor or the contents of the article with his／her own thinking．
Editorials， syndicated political columns， critical essays， propaganda， and一72一

Takao Hosoki： Humanistic Reading lnstruction： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

political cartoons are good sources to help students develop the skill．
There seems to be'a negative， or at least reactive， feeling about the author

viewpoint and the article contents．
Another purpose of critical reading in the humanist‑ic classes is thedevelopment of abilities to select， reject， and adapt information andideas． The teacher needs to have students acquire competence in
integrating the values of others with their own personal values， and relate

to their own awareness of their own values． Reading newspapers reflects
many value concerns． The students have a large number of values such as
moral values， social values， religious values， political values， personalvalues， scientific values， human values， economic values， artistic values，

and academic values． The students ignore， nationalize or accept， andchange their own value system．

Interest or concern， which is one of important components ofhumanistic teaching， is judgment that influences the process．

A teacher must use many techniques and activities to strengthen astudent's awareness and skill in making values decisions．
When the students' needs arose reading any newspaper articles， theauthor used his motivational strategies． Audio visual aids helped thestudents to read in a more active manner． Another was use of realistic
case studies， which were relevant to students' interests， needs and lives

and involved them emotionally． Still another was an easy‑to‑difficult
sequence in reading tasks and practice exercises， allowing the students togain confidence with easier and familiar topics which the students haveseemed to read in Japanese， before going on to the more difficult．

Thought‑provoking questions and even sequential presentation of well‑known documentaries allowed the students to engage in active
learning． John Keller （1983） summarizes motivational strategies in fourwords ： attention， reference， confidence， and satisfaction．

Teacher attitudes and Behaviors
Researchers have clearly indicated that the teacher plays a criticalrole in influencing student's attitudes toward reading． lf students live
associating reading only with repetition of skill， teach， and test， they will

一73一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

never reach for reading material on their own initiative． lf， on the other

hand， students live in an environment that associa'te．s reading withpleasure and enjoyment as well as skill development， they are likely to

become enthusiastic readers．
Students perceive the teacher's responses to the things they say， do，and feel in the classroom． From the author's experiences of teachingreading， the teacher who seldom enjoys reading often has more difficulty

in producing enthusiastic readers than does a teacher who clearly enjoys

it． The good reading teacher is knowledgeable about reading materials
for the age and grade level of his students in order to be able to makerecommendations in terms of their interests and achievement levels（Widdowson 1987） ．
In the humanistic classes， it is important for the teacher to forget the

typical teacher role as an authoritarian， the role often seen in traditionalclasses in colleges， which is used to intimidate students into reading． lt

is also important to create a positive learning climate， one in which
students feel comfortable about expressing their thoughts freely． ln sucha positive classroom climate， it is an attitude that respects students， as

responsible adults． The curriculum includes activities that are relevantto the lives of students， with opportunities to work together with theirteacher and work individually or cooperatively， in small groups， or as a

total class． These activities are always organized based on interest andneed areas， such as video and TV viewing， outdoor class， presentation，library activity， drama， and music． All these activities take place in an

unpressured atmosphere and through interaction with other students andthe teacher．

The following is a summary of attitudes and behaviors that wereanalyzed in the classroom to produce a positive attitude in the students ：‑⊥∩乙Accept each student as a valued person

Demonstrate respect for each student and his／her
efforts in attempting to become a better reader．

QU4﹁DHelp the students see a need for reading．
Become a co‑learner， not a teacher or a know‑it‑all．

Consider the feelings of the students and give
immediate attention to their needs and interests．

一74一

Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

6． Convince the students they need not be afraid that they
are slow learners or poor readers．

7． Recommend and positively reinforce student
participation with intriguing materials and intrinsic
motivation．

8． Make use of outside expertise．

9． Believe that every student can achieve some measure of
success with reading．

10． Make interesting materiars available and provide atime for enjoying reading and show that reading isimportant．

11． Provide time for the sharing of materials，presentations， discussions and audio‑visual aids， sinceenthusiasm is often transmitted from one student to
the other students．

12． Provide opportunities to read voluntarily by providing
a means to succeed at reading assignments during thestudent's instrUction or independent basis．，

13． Make the students' success known to others and findsomething about the student's reading that is deservingof praise．

14． Compare the student's progress against his own
previous level of proficiency， not with that of others．

15． Project a positive and enthusiastic attitude about one's
own teaching． The students generally feel better about
themselves in a classroom in which the teacher feels
good about himself．

Some of the above topics are closely related to teacher's evaluationsin the later section．

Study‑skills

Systematic instruction of study skill has never been structured to thestudents in the liberal arts English classes before．

During the first three months of the author's humanistic classes，

一75一

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

most students had very poor self‑concepts and negative attitudes inreading and felt that the English classes were unfriendly， rather hostileenvironments． Many of these students had poor study skills and time

management． TheY found themselves unable to cope with their classactivities， assignments， even their peers and the author． Others had highlevels of test anxiety， poor attendance， and performed poorly on classassignments and tests， even when they knew the contents．
Thus it was obvious that a number of students come to the university

with poor study skills． Therefore， the author incorporated study skills
instruction into his humanistic classes in order to develop skill for reading
since reading and study skills are closely linked．

The following skills are those which his students felt were the most‑り盈004﹇0瓜︶ ワー8

important and most needed ：Study methods （Reading improvement skills）
Use of library resources and reference materials
Effective note taking， outlining， and summarizing
Techniques to expand the vocabulary and its retention
Test‑taking （Ways to study for examinations）
Problem solving， critical thinking skills， ・inferential

comprehension
Time management
Ways to expand recreational and voluntary reading

These study skills were taught and practiced so the students' could

apply them． They were taught in conjunction with the students' own
preferred learning style， not in isolation． This motivated the students tolearn the skill because they could see its usefulness．

The author is convinced of， and comMitted to， the value of teaching
those study skills ； and he believes his commitment needs to be extended to
all teachers in all grade levels in universities．

Techniques in Evaluation
Ongoing evaluation of how efficiently the teacher is teaching and how
effectively the ＄tudent is learning is essential to any successful reading

program． Through evaluation the teacher does not only determine the

一76一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

extent to which objectives have been met， but also identifies the need forbetter teaching and the extent of review and reinforcement． The student

learns to analyze his own strengths and weaknesses， successes andfailures， and improves his skills in the problem solving approach to all

problems．
Student's self‑evaluations ： Self‑evaluation should guide students indeveloping self‑direction． Students need guidance to learn how toevaluate themselves． Checklists， charts， and development of task
standards can provide this guidance． Students can， with the help of theteacher， prepare their own guidelines for improving study and work
habits． The following illustrate what such guidelines were with regard toreading newspaper articles．
A． For comprehension
1． Recognize or recall the facts‑when， where， who，
what， how， why．

2． Value， judge， or compare ideas and contents一 likes
or dislikes， agree or disagree， same or different，004

related or opposed．

Express， discuss， or illustrate ideas．

Recognize the events leading to a happening（Cause and'effect）．

5

Recognize and apply rules of logic to solution of aproblem．
ρU7一

Use original， creative thinking to solve a problem．

Make judgments based on clearly defined
standards．

8
B． For a

Use a number of facts to reach a conclusion．

ffective domain

1⊥り乙Make positive comments about themselves．

Make maximum use of interests when selecting004

and reading the articles for reading improvement．

Check their frustration‑level experiences．

Feel positive about themselves and enthusiastic
about their reading．

5

Have the students participate in work with peer

一77一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

VOIUntarily．

ρ07 80σ

Have the students seek attention constantly．

Help encourage their peers with low motivation
on reading．

Try to become used to working cooperatively．

Participate in the class willingly to makethemselves more interested and comfortable withEnglish newspapers．

10．

Try to have the opportunity for self‑directed

activity with voluntary interest in English
newspapers・
11．

Make the students feel good about participating・in the reading‑related activities．

12．

Have the students participate in silent readingwith the obvious purpose to improve reading
skills．

Teacher's evaluations ：The author checked on his own behavior inteaching reading by asking such affective questions as the following：
Did 1

1． Make judgments about what students' interests willbe ？

2． Promote interests through selection of the articles andparticipation in actual reading ？

3． Provide interesting articles and reading‑related

activities to make reluctant students much moreenthusiastic ？

4． Encourage the students to discuss their opinions andideas ？

にりρUηfUtilize peer recommendations in developing interests ？
Give students choices in reading to extend interests ？

Utilize high interest‑controlled articles that would
appeal to the students ？

8

Utilize materials and articles acceptable to thestudents ？

Mathewson （1976） suggested that the acceptance or

一78一Takao Hosoki： Humanistic Reading lnstruction： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

rejection of materials read influenced a'ttitude towardfurther reading． Without a'positive attitude， interest
would be lacking．

Did 1

9． Establish a favorable working relationship with thestudents ？

10． Establish a friendly atmosphere free from

11⊥0
4
‑⊥

interruptions ？

Try to be a good listener ？

Communicate with the students in terms they canunderstand ？

13．

Respect the students and their information as
confidential ？

14．

Develop an awareness of the numerous opportunities

for acquiring living background information fromcountless articles ？
15．

Welcome the students as partners and for mutual
concern in education ？

Conclusion
In 1993 the author conducted a survey to determine opinions of his 185

students in freshman and sophomore years about his humanistic teaching

through English newspapers． The survey revealed that 869060 of thestudents rated the beneficial points of his humanistic classes in thefollowing order of importance：．

1． Sharing common beliefs， values， and attitudes（humanistic process）

2． Developing， enhancing， and maintaining a positive levelof awareness and self‑concept （humanistic process）

3． Seizing opportunities to make reading purposeful（critical and voluntary reading）

4． Coming to take various issues as active participants insociety from a global point of view （global education）

The students who expressed similar attitudes to those described above

一79一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

were interviewed after particip3ting in a survey． Comments from someof those interviews'follow：
Liberal arts English study has the reputation of

being

disenchanting and tedious， and is for us manysophomores a distasteful and painful task． Participatingin his class， however， I was・allowed and even encouraged tobelieve that the class would lead to develop and extend thereading interests． Actually I attempted to become abetter reader and I seem to have become one，

My involvement in his class made me realize that

English reading instruction by English newspapers
provided incentives to learning and promoted voluntaty
and critical reading． Irealized that when I was reading， I
knew I was really enjoying reading．
Ifeel much more committed to the need for enriching

my reading by incorporating many reading‑related
activities outside class． Because in the class I feelskeptical about the time allotment needed for theロロロ
act1Vltles．

Irealize how important a reading program is， to be

successful， to foster the students who read， and who feel
good about ourselves， and about our ability to use reading．

to satisfy some felt personal or informational need．
Ibecame aware of the necessity for having decision‑

making experiences and having the opportunity for self‑
direction as well as more reading skills・

The English newspaper involves studying the English

newspaper itself， and obtaining knowledge or skills invarious areas． It serves as the essencial components ofthe English curriculum． Vocabulary building， reading（critica1， recreational， and voluntary）， student‑teacher
interactions， writing activities， and literature are all more

intimately connected with the English newspapers thanwith other teaching materials．

With the result of the interest in reading instruction through an

一80一Takao Hosoki ： Humanistic Reading lnstruction ： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

English newspaper and with a positive reaction to this， the author
concludes that the flexibility and abilities of the English newspaper as an
attractive instructional tool for college English teachers merit its serious
consideration by all of them， and that use of the English newspaper will

become more important as wider distribution of both global and humaneducation program is made for university curriculum， with its emphasis
on such areas as basic and survival skills necessary for the internationalsociety． To maximize the success of using this exciting resource， English

instruction in the humanistic classes involving the English newspaper
must be carefully constructed and developed to enhance， or maintain apositive level ofreading'， self‑concept， and self‑confidence and should

capitalize on the students' interests and needs．

References

Degler， Lois． 1987．
Comprehension Skills．

Using to Newspaper to Develop Reading

Journal of Reading， 21 ： 339‑342 ； January．

Galyean， Beverly．1979． A confluent design for language teaching． TESO五Quarter！y， 11 ： 143‑156．

Hunt， Lyman C． Jr． 1976． The individualized reading prograrn ．' A guidefor classroonz teaching． Newark， Del． ： lnternational Reading
Association．
Mathewson， Grover． 1976． The function of attitudes in the reading process．

In Theoretical models and processes or reading， 2nd ed．， eds． Harry
Singer and Robert B． Ruddell， pp． 655‑676． Newark， Del ： lnternational

Reading Association．

Weinstein， Gerald， and Marlo Fantini． 1972． Toward Hurnanistic
Education ： A curriculum of Affect． New York ： Praeger Publishers．
Widdowson， H． G．1987． The roles of teacher and learner．'一肌T Journα1
41／2 ： 83‑88．

一81一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

Appendix A（Student lnterests Concerning English Newspaper Articles）
1． Sports ； Ball Games， Match and Race

All Japan golf tournament
All Japan judo tournament

Asian Games Hiroshima
Grand sumo tournament
J league soccer game

University baseball league
2． Economics ： Foreign Trade， Budgets， Taxes， Finance， Prices， Currency，

Stocks Labor， Wages
Bank rate

Budget deficit‑reduction plan

Consumption tax
Corporate donations
CPI （Consumer Price lndex）

Current account surplus

East Japan Railway Company shares
Equipment investment
Fiscal resources

Foreign investors
Global bond

GNP （Gross National Product）
International Trade Fair
Leisure industries

Multinationals
Recession

Regional economics
Retirement benefit

Security Company
Service industries

Shoppers from Vladivostok
Stock market
Subsidiary firms

Tokyo Foreigh Exchange
Trade barriers
Trade surplus
Yen's appreciation

3． Health and Disease

AA （Alcoholics Anonymous）
Abortion
Aerobic exercise

AIDS （Acquired lmmune Deficiency Syndrome）

一82一Takao Hosoki： Humanistic Reading lnstruction： Student
through the Use of English Newspapers

Alzheimer's disease

CancerDiet

Drugs
Emergency operation
Food poisoning
Genetic therapy
Health craze
HIV （Human lmmuno‑deficiency Virus）

Hybrid wheat
Influenza epidemic
Life expectancy
Liver transplant

Medicare
NHS （National Health Service）
Pesticide and disinfectant
Senior citizens
STD （Sexually transmitted Disease）

Surrogate motherhood
Test‑tube baby

Typhoid fever

Welfare4． Computers
Antiviral programs
CPU （Central Processing Unit）
Date bank
Floppy disc （BE）／disk （AE）

Microprocessor
PC hacker

Personal computer
VDU （Visual Display Unit）

5． Crime and Punishment
Capital， punishment
Gun control

Juvenile delinquency
Traffic accidents

6． lnternational Affairs and Foreign Relations
Apartheid
Civil Rights Act （Martin Luther King）

Communication Satellite
Coup d'etat

Desegregation （lntegration）
Desertification

一83一

Involvement

Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

EC （European Community）

Ecosystem
Gang warfare
G‑7 （Canada， England， France， Germany， ltaly， Japan， the U． S． A．）

Infant Mortality

Judaism
Ku Klux Klan

Malcom X

MuslimNatural resources

Overpopulation
Oxfam （Oxford Committee for Famine Relief）
PKO （Peace Keeping Operation）

RacismRate of illiteracy

Red Cross
Refugee camp
The Sahara Desert
The Third World

Uranium
UNICEF （United Nations lnternational Children's Emergency Fund）
7． Society and Environment
Avalanche
Black‑marketing of rice
Charity
Divorce rates

Dry summer
Earthquake
Electronic driving license

Equal job opportunities

Family planning
Fertilizer

Holiday makers
Industrial waste
Marine life

Nuclear plants
Old‑age pension
Part‑timer

Redundancy
Retirement
Sexual harassment
Toxic waste

Waste disposal
Water supply
Women's Lib

一84一

Takao Hosoki

Humanistic Reading lnstruction： Student lnvolvement
through the Use of English Newspapers

8． Education and Schooling
CareerCurriculum
Extra‑curricular activities

Higher education （Degrees‑Master and Doctor）

Home economics
Syllabus
Tuition

Vocational guidance and training
9． Culture， Arts and Entertainment

Amateur astronomers
Ancient and latter‑day painting‑masterpieces
Archeology （the Bronze Age， the Stone Age）
Astronomy （comets， lunar eclipse， solar eclipse）

The bolshoi Ballet Troupe
Culture Property Protection

DinosaUr blockbuster （Jurassic Park）
The lnternational Beauty Contest
International Press lnstituteOpera

The Super Kabuki Troupe
The Takarazuka Girls' Opera
Theoretical physics
The Venice Film Festival
Wood‑block prints
10． Others
Classified Ads
Comic strips
Editorials
For Rent ＆ Lease
For SaleJob

Lang'uage schools
Letters to the editor

Restaurant
TravelTV schedules

Weather maps

一85一Tokuyama Univ． Ronso

No． 42， 1994

APPENDIX B（Problem areas appearing in the discussions）
1． Problems of the individuala． Peer relationships

b．Senior／junior relationships （particularly in extra‑curricular
activities）

c． Sexd． Employment
e． Marriage
f ． Part‑time job

g． Gradesh． Aptitude
i ． Automobiles

j ． School and club competitionk ． School failure （more than one subject）

2． Problems of national and international groups
a． World peaceb ． lnternational trade and economic relations
c ． Political conflicts

d ． lnternational disputes
e． Social security

f． Population
g． Crimes

h． Environments

3． Problems of neighborhood and community groupa ． Educational facilities

b ． Housing （boarding） and living conditions
C ． Business opportunities
d ． Recreation and leisure timee ． Public nuisance

4． Problems of health and sanitation
a ． Food （poor food， unbalanced food， inadequate dieting）

b ． Medical attention／care for physical health and mental healthC ． lllness and sufferingd ． Lack of sanitation （sewage disposal， water supply， waste）

一86一