How about Joining the Slow Reading Movement?

Living more slowly has been getting some good press nowadays.  Slow Food is a movement to combat the fast food craze.  Slow Eating is supposed to do great things for your health.  Norway is experimenting with Slow Television. with a new nine hour broadcast about knitting. How about adding Slow Reading to the list of movements?  Foreign languages can encourage you to become a convert.

Do you read too fast in your native language?  I do.  The years I have spent attending classes and working in education have encouraged me to "skim and scan" almost every piece of written material I pick up.  My husband Wayne voices his annoyance when I finish the morning paper before he even reads the sports page.  He says I don't pay enough attention to detail, and I must admit he is right.  For me, it's hit the main idea and move on to the next article.

Reading in another language though.  Now that is a different experience. I have always known that I like to read in other languages, but I never analyzed why.  A few days ago I downloaded Au Bonheur des Dames by Émile Zola ( for free!) on my Kindle Reader. I have become addicted to the Masterpiece Theater production by PBS, "The Paradise." which is based on that novel. Since my French language ability is still in the recovery stage, I had no idea that I would be able to read the 19th century French novel.  But I can! Slowly!  And I am enjoying the reading because I have to concentrate and think about the meaning of the words.

The reading skill in foreign languages has a checkered past.  Before World War I, most foreign language education programs were based on producing students who could read and write in the new language (much like Latin had been taught for years).  In the second half of the 20th century, the primary goal of studying a foreign language became communication, with a heavy emphasis on being able to understand and speak the language.  And I heartily support that goal.  One of my great thrills in life is having a conversation with a native speaker of another language in that person's language.

But let's look at foreign language skills in a more practical manner.  Take my interest in French, for example. Realistically,  I'm probably not going to encounter enough native French speakers at this stage of my like to truly develop French speaking ability.  So should I give up on French study?  Not if I have a new goal, which is being able to read in French.  I can spend lots of happy hours immersed in French articles or literature.  

Here's what I am now reminding myself about reading in other languages.

• Be sure to read something I'm truly interested. Travel stories, yes; sports scores, not so much.
• Develop Stephen Krashen's "tolerance for ambiguity."  I'm not going to understand everything.
• Find a quiet place to read so that I can concentrate.  Foreign language reading takes a little more concentration.
• Do the reading in small doses.  Like about fifteen minutes.

Now I'm not feeling quite as guilty about not chatting up strangers in French on our recent trip to Canada. I'll keep telling myself that at least I can read Émile Zola in the original.