Pleasure reading for development of English as a second language : Pleasure reading at home and its effects in the English classroom. How pleasure reading in English can improve children’s comprehension of and proficiency in English as a second language.

Abstract: This study aims to find an understanding of how pleasure reading outside of a classroom context can assist in the development of English as a second language. The study primarily seeks to examine what teachers and parents say about how the access to and active reading of English books in children’s home environment can benefit their language skills development in the classroom, and this has been done through qualitative interviews. The interviewees were categorized into two groups, one group consisting of four teachers working as English teachers in grades 4-6 at four different schools, and the other consisting of parents of children currently studying in grades 4-6. The results of the study show that most of the interviewed parents encourage their children to read in English, however most of the mentioned children engage more in pleasure reading in Swedish rather than English. The study also shows that the interviewed teachers share the opinion that students who read in English during their free time bring better comprehension of and proficiency in the English language to the classroom.