HOW TO START YOUR OWN BOOK CLUB FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS
AESL505 2018 SUMMER
Hello, English learners! We are AESL students in IVC. In summer semester 2018, our group worked on a project “how to start your own book club for English learners.” We researched about...
-How to start a book club?
-How to know your reading level?
-How to choice a good book from extravagant collection?
-Where can you find a place?
Also, we recorded interviews to two Professors who teaches English in IVC, and the manager of DREAM book club which is regular book club in IVC. There are a lot of wonderful information. We hope you will like it!
STEP BY STEP
When you start your own book club
Find people who speak different languages but similar reading levels. 5 to 10 people are good for one group, but if there is more than one person, it can be possible.
After you get some people who are interested, It is good idea to have an additional meeting to discuss about important things; where are you going to meet, how often do you meet, what kind of books you want to read, how do you contact each other.
Pick a book.
What will you talk about? Write down questions while you are reading. What is the theme or topic? What does the character do? What did you like or dislike? How did the book affect you? ...etc.
Good luck starting your own book club!
THE KEY IS TO MAKE IT FUN!
Most important thing is everyone has chance to speak and respect others opinions.
Feel free to disagree with your friend, just do it respectfully.
It is no problem if your book club does not have teachers or native English speakers who can help you.
Your book club is not a stereotype, it must be flexible. Creating a fun environment to read, discuss books.
Have fun, read, and make new friends!
FIND YOUR READING LEVEL
You can go to Website LEXILE measures and pass the steps. You find your level. LEXILE measures and forecast reader growth. Lexile measures provide and alternative and possibly more useful measure of reading ability than grade-equal scores.
There’s no direct relation between a specific Lexile measure and a specific grade level. However, there is a range of student abilities with each grade and you might find it useful to see what the typical Lexile measures are within a given grade.
Also Macmillan Readers Level Test can be help you that to complete a range of vocabulary and grammar based questions that have been graded from starter to upper intermediate level.
Finally if you know what is grade for level 505, you can go for grade 5 (770L to 1080L) grade 6 (855L to 1235L)
Lexile
https://lexile.com/educators/measuring-growth-with-lexile/lexile-measures-grade-equivalents/
FINDING BOOK IDEAS
Libraries & bookstores
Check out your public library, local bookstores, and national book chains. Most of them carry their own recommendations or lists of what clubs are reading.
Audiobooks
Choosing a book with audio is one of the smart way. You can listening and reading at the same time. You will know about regular speed of reading, pronunciation, phrase of the sound, and emotional performance.
Newspapers & magazines
Sunday's New York Times Book Review is the biggie;
Newspapers, such as USA Today and most local papers, especially the big city dailies;
General interest magazines, such as Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Oprah, People, Vanity Fair, and Elle, to name a few;
Two of my favorite magazines are Bookmarks and BookPage. Your library probably carries one or, maybe, both.
Literary prizes
Keep your eye on annual literary awards, considering both finalists and winners. Here are the most prestigious prizes (for the English language):
Nobel Prize for Literature
National Book Award
Man Booker Prize
Pulitzer Prize
National Book Critics Circle Award
PEN/Faulkner Award
Go to websites
There are a lot of websites for book lovers. Goodreaders.com is one of the excellent website. Go to Goodreaders.com, click on "Browse" and choosing "Lists." You can see a search box and a search button upper right. White down your reading grade or ESL in the search box. You will find your favorite books.
FIND A PLACE TO MEET WITH MEMBER
One of the first decisions you must make when starting a book club, is where your book club will meet. This can not only set the tone of the meetings but can also facilitate or hinder discussion. For example meeting in too noisy or cramped a space means that members may not be comfortable or willing to engage in much discussion. On the other hand, having somewhere too cosy and informal may be detrimental to a serious literary discussion.
Traditionally
The traditional place for book club meetings has always been the living room and members usually take turns to host the meetings in their own homes. This is still the format for many reading groups and it generally works well.
Other places
In some cases, due to personal circumstances, it could be difficult for members to host meetings in their homes or they may simply not want to. In these instances, you can hold meetings in various public places, such as libraries, cafes, restaurants, churches, community halls.
Online Meetings
For the modern version of the reading group – i.e. online book clubs – physical location is less of an issue and in many ways, it can have its advantages – there is no need to book anywhere and no need to clean up afterwards. Travelling distance and time is also not an issue which means members from anywhere in the world can join in the meetings.
SELECTING BOOKS
Vote—All members make suggestions, followed by an open discussion, and vote.
Rotate—Members take turns, each choosing a book for a given month. In many clubs, the one who hosts the meeting picks the book.
Mixed—Members rotate each month, with the member whose turn it is proposing 3 different titles; members then vote to select 1 book out of the 3 choices.
VOICE INTERVIEW TO PROFESSORS AND THE DREAM BOOK CLUB IN IVC
There are a lot of wonderful advice!
5500 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92618