Book Report: Aims 2

2.   Objectives of the "Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport" of Quebec.

In its guiding principles, the "Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport" of Quebec mentions that some practical activities should be presented in meaningful, linguistically rich contexts. It also adds that activities should call students to deal with the "unpredictable" aspect of the language. Book reading and book reports may fall into these categories.

Books are considered by the M.E.Q. as great tools for learning a language (C 19). On one hand, in comprehension, the readers will extrapolate information from the title, the table of contents, the preface, the back cover, the illustrations, the index, and the synopsis. On the other hand, in written production, they will have to perform some of the following objectives:

 (No 37)   To express an opinion or to advance hypotheses about a given subject of text. (Level of difficulty 2)  

 (No 38)   To formulate the main idea of a message transmitted by another person. (Level of difficulty 2)  

 (No 39)    To describe the physical characteristics of people, animals, objects and places. (Level of difficulty 1)

 (No 40)  To formulate their own arguments about a given subject. (Level of difficulty 3)

 (No 41)   To express a personal message, using information transmitted by several people on the same subject. (Level of difficulty 2)

 (No 42)    To report facts or describe events. (Level of difficulty 2)

 (No 43)  To tell a true or fictitious story. (Level of difficulty 3)

 (No 44)  To discuss the similarities and differences between their own hypotheses and those of others. (Level of difficulty 3)

  (No 45)   To discuss the similarities and differences between the hypotheses advanced and the facts, events and ideas expressed in a given text.

 (No 46)   To discuss certain opinions or ideas expressed by another person. (Level of difficulty 3)

Sometimes, outside assistance may be needed to understand a book better. Visual aids, like pictures and movies, seen before a reading, may help contribute greatly to the students' comprehension. A dictionary or a glossary must sometimes be used during the reading.

Book reading and reporting may be considered as enrichment when the chosen topics offer a higher level of difficulty or when they present more complex characteristics, mainly at the linguistic level. They demand a higher level of student performance than short texts or standard written production examinations.¹

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¹ Gouvernement du Québec, Secondary School Curriculum, Secondary School, English as a Second Language, Second Cycle (Québec: 1992), p. 1-77.