Leisure reading in a second language: An experiment with audio‐tapes in Irish

Abstract

Abstract The problems of second language readers of Irish in the elementary school are analysed. The results of a survey of 50 9‐year‐ old children's attitudes to Irish reading are given, as well as a discussion of their parents' attitudes and difficulties in this area. The low frequency of the children's Irish reading and their restricted access to Irish materials has inevitable repercussions on their L2 reading ability. The effect of supplying tapes to accompany leisure books in Irish was explored. It was found that such tapes considerably increased the children's motivation to read, resulting in more frequent reading of a taped compared to a non‐taped book. There was a significant increase in frequency of reading even in the case of a book which was perceived to be difficult by the children. In addition to the marked improvement in the motivation to read, there were indications that the tape facilitated comprehension and increased the children's reading rate and accuracy of pronunciation. These benefit...