PCE 2008

Reading Circles
Readers have always talked about books, turning a solitary pursuit into social interaction; reading circles are a way of giving shape to this. One estimate suggests that as many as 50,000 people in the UK belong to a book
club. Many foreign language teachers have also begun using reading circles in their teaching. In this day of talks and workshops our presenters – and our audience, too – will tell the stories of the reading groups they belong to
and those they run, sharing ideas and discussing good practice – followed by a short reading session focusing on a short story by a contemporary author.

Jill Hadfield: A new fictional genre - the Bookclub Novel
What is a Bookclub Novel? Is it a faithful account of each meeting or are the meetings tangential to the lives of
its members? What is the structure? How does the timeline - a series of meetings - influence the plot? We will
look at books with titles as varied as The Used Women's Bookclub and The Hemingway Bookclub of Kosove,
and plots ranging from extramarital affairs to murder mysteries. One thing is clear: the real agenda is not the
meetings themselves, but the characters' personal lives and preoccupations; the subtext is how fiction can clarify
- or undermine – these.

Chris Lima: Connecting teachers & texts
This talk presents an overview of the British Council’s work with Reading Groups around the world through the
enCompassculture website. I will also look at the principles and objectives of the ELT e-Reading Group for
English teachers worldwide, and report on its development and its achievements.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-literature-creativereading-eltereading.htm

Alan Pulverness “Read or Die”*: Reading groups and reader development
As language educators, we have a great deal to learn from the immense popularity of reading groups. Drawing
on practical experiences in Argentina, Russia, the Philippines and Singapore, we outline the key considerations
for setting up and sustaining a successful reading group.
*”Read or Die” is a highly successful student-initiated and student-run reading group in Manila.

See http://read-ordie. org

Mark Furr: Moving Great Stories from the Periphery of the Language Classroom to its Centre
The Bookworms Club for Reading Circles series brings the book club into the classroom. In this workshop,
attendees will experience a Reading Circle from a student’s perspective. In small groups, we will examine the six
Reading Circles Role Sheets; read a short text preparing to discuss the story from a given perspective; and
discuss the story using Role Sheets as guides for discussion.

Loes Coleman: English Reading Circles: A User's Guide
In the past two years I have been running reading circles for L2 learning, both at the University of the Third Age
and in the local library. Reflecting on my experiences, I will present a case study, looking at the reading circle
from the point of view of the organiser as well the participants, using a well-known novel as an example.