Incorporating Free Voluntary Reading for an Engaging Curriculum

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of incorporating Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) into the DLIFLC Chinese Mandarin Basic course. The paper starts with two reasons for incorporating FVR: the documented benefits of FVR on language development as evidenced by research, and the intensity and low repetition rate of vocabulary of the DLIFLC Basic Chinese Mandarin course curriculum. This paper outlines the three phases of the reading program, provides an overview of teachers’ and students’ feedback on the FVR program, and does an informal comparison of test results. Despite some challenges, the program offers varied repetition of vocabulary, boosts students’ confidence in reading extended texts, enhances their enjoyment of language learning, and leads to improved performance in DLIFLC reading tests. The paper supports the use of FVR as an integral component of any DLIFLC Basic course curriculum.