Recently, I found myself watching the video below on YouTube from Scott Thornbury about the importance of repetition in language learning, utilizing the example of "narrow reading":
(Did you have a quick chortle when you heard Scott quip "coursebooks, as much as I love them..." - brilliantly done!)
Watching this, it reminded me of an important priority I had while designing and writing my own integrated skills coursebook series with Pearson. Basically, we had five different skill strands to feature, and I wanted the same kind of narrow topic treatment at similar stages across the different strands (reading, writing, listening, speaking, and grammar).
I'm not particularly keen on the word "narrow", because I think it tends to have negative connotations in most cases. I personally call this sort of materials focus "topic streaming" - that we stay within a broad topic but introduce and explore a range of related but different sub-topics. If we can do this across different macro-skill areas as well, we can build variety within a broad topic and really draw on all of the different skills to maximise learning. The chance to revisit vocabulary, expressions and even grammatical constructions (as Scott alludes to in his video above) is similarly enhanced greatly.
The Screenjelly cast below gives some quick examples of how I utilized topic streaming across five different skill strands (if it doesn't appear here in the post for you, click here):
I think this is a good priority for teachers to consider in the way they use (and hopefully add to) regular coursebooks, or even the way they plan curriculums and organise their learning materials.
Just adding to the idea of "narrow reading" in particular, if you teach younger learners or teenagers, I really recommend BBC's Newsround for Children. The stories and features there always include a "related stories" column in the margin. By exploring beyond the main article, students are automatically maximising the opportunity of experiencing narrow reading.
The trick with narrow reading, or topic streaming (the way I tend to focus on this idea), is ensuring you can stay within or revisit a broad topic without becoming obviously repetitive. No one likes to flog a dead horse, so to speak, and English language learners are no exception!
:-)
