Development IDENTIFIERS *Authentic Materials

A study investigated the use of varied reading materials to improve French second-language reading skills, found to be unacceptably low at the second-year level. Subjects were 30 high school students of second-year French. A pretest of reading skills and a language and reading attitude survey were administered to the students. Subsequently, a 30-week unit of reading instruction was taught. The unit used diverse texts, including short stories, songs, menus, recipes, advertisements, and cartoons. A survey, individual activities, and a posttest measured outcomes. Students demonstrated improvement in the following areas: reading in French with satisfaction and ease; retelling stories; listing vocabulary words by free association; comprehending main ideas and key details; using context clues to make logical guesses about word meanings; using visual clues to respond to statements in French; and creating