Sessions

Global Issues in ER: Why, What and How?

English reading materials pertaining to global issues tend to be short, non-fiction articles in textbooks. In the case of graded readers they are often low level, factual non-fiction or narratives at a level too challenging for most of our learners for extensive reading purposes. Considering that ER programs usually have learners ‘self-select’ the books to read, non-fiction is not often chosen as they may not ‘appeal’ as interesting reading material or may even resemble similar content in other intensive reading classes. Learners are often looking for narratives or strong stories at an appropriate and often lower level. To fill this gap, the authors of this new series of global issues readers will introduce original and compelling narratives that learners may be more inclined to choose and thus become aware of important global issues. Due to the sensitive nature or even invisibility in society of some of the topics, there is often no material at all. This platform provides an opportunity to introduce the topics in a non-threatening, non-graphic and accessible way. This presentation will highlight the issues embedded in the ‘braided reader’ stories, the motivation for writing them and the process involved from pen hitting the paper to publication.