Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. an attention span
    • ex. Young children usually have a short attention span and can’t focus for a long time.
  2. literacy
    • ex. Schools teach media literacy so students can understand news and information better.
  3. relevant
    • ex. Elementary students learn relevant skills in computer class.
  4. emphasis
    • ex. In the speech, the speaker put emphasis on helping others in our community.
  5. empathy
    • ex. Children learn empathy when they listen to others and share their feelings.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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In many English classrooms in America, reading full novels is becoming less common. Teachers now use short passages because students have shorter attention spans. The National Council of Teachers of English believes short content will prepare students for the modern, digital world. The organization says that it doesn’t want to remove books. It only wants to focus on media literacy and introduce other texts that feel relevant and interesting to students.

However, not everyone likes the emphasis on shorter digital texts. Experts say that deep reading is important in developing critical thinking skills, background knowledge, and empathy. English teacher Kristy Acevedo said she won’t accept that students are too distracted to read. She plans to teach children how to manage their time reading and to use only paper and pencil during class.

Today, students are reading less even outside school. For some, it’s difficult to read at all. Data from last year shows only 14% of young teens say they read for fun daily, compared with 27% in 2012. Parent Leah van Belle says her son’s school feels like “a book desert.” It doesn’t even have a library.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Short Texts

  • The National Council of Teachers of English said that it wants to focus on media literacy which usually involves short digital content. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine you were required to read a book that is not interesting or relevant to you. How would you feel? Discuss.
  • According to the article, students now have shorter attention spans. Why do you think attention spans are shorter today than in the past? Discuss.

Reading Books

  • Which do you prefer: reading novels or short passages? Why? Discuss.
  • Parent Leah van Belle says her son’s school doesn’t have a library. How do you feel about this? Discuss.
  • For some students, it's difficult to read at all. Do you also find reading difficult at times? Why do you say so? Discuss.