A Book Review of Becoming a Reading Teacher: Connecting Research and Practice

Abstract

The book Becoming a Reading Teacher: Connecting Research and Practice aims to encourage readers to regard reading as a lifelong habit. To bridge the gap between teachers and researchers, this book is structured around four parts: reading as a linguistic process, reading as a personal experience, reading as a collective experience, and reading as a classroom practice. The definition of a reading teacher can be interpreted in two ways: the teacher who builds readings into the lesson and the teacher who provides the opportunity for learners to be readers, but who is a reader themselves. Such teachers regard reading as a lifelong learning habit and pass on the enthusiasm to learners, eventually creating a reading culture beyond the classroom. However, the necessity for reading teachers to participate in the research may be explained as follows. Firstly, new research may change one’s mind. What’s more, research allows teachers to turn their difficulties, surprises, and challenges into questions, and to seek answers to those questions. In addition, research helps teachers overcome the challenges in teaching by discovering new strategies. Research can also help to prove teachers’ choices and decisions in teaching. Secondly, research allows teachers to see the role they play in the bigger picture. Research connects teachers with others and gives them a broader and shared perspective on their questions and experiences. Last but not least, research informs and promotes changes in policy, thinking, and so on.