Free Voluntary Reading

• Main Author: Yakup Çetin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Gaziantep University 2010-12-01
• Series: Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences
• Subjects: kitap; okumak; gönüllü; edinim; kelime; books; reading; voluntary; acquisition; vocabulary
• Online Access: http://dergipark.gov.tr/jss/issue/24246/257086?publisher=gantep

Doubtless to say, the contribution of reading skill to first and second language acquisition is enormous. From one‟s speaking and writing we can more or less conclude how much s/he has read. We can list the characteristics of good readers as follows: rich vocabulary knowledge advanced reading comprehension, accurate grammar usage, broad general knowledge, correct spelling and punctuation, writing ability, and so on. If reading is so powerful, why cannot we promote reading books in our society, particularly among young people? The fact that we are imposed to read books which we think are necessary or compulsory rather than the ones which we would like to read voluntarily, is the main reason why many of us are not able to develop a life-time reading habit. Since compulsory books, such as teacher-selected books are outside one‟s interest; they are destined to be forgotten sometime, or they suffer form shallow reading, or they are mostly returned to their place on the shelf after browsing the initial pages. However, if people of all ages, especially children would read self-selected books they enjoy, they would be surprised to notice the great change inside them. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to revitalize free voluntary reading by referring to Krashen‟s well-known hypotheses. Also, it aims to revive the reader‟s belief in free voluntary reading with theoretical and practical examples