Critical Conversation Analysis: Beyond Buzz Words

This month we are publishing Critical Conversation Analysis edited by Hansun Zhang Waring and Nadja Tadic. In this post the editors explain why and how they used Conversation Analysis to achieve a deeper understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Spurred by social justice movements of the late 2010s, American businesses and universities instituted a range of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies aimed at promoting employment and educational opportunities for historically marginalized groups. Now, in the spring of 2024, DEI is increasingly criticized and eliminated as perfunctory, ineffective, and even unequitable. Our volume is in part curated to counter this dangerous narrative by demonstrating that diversity, equity and inclusion are not mere “buzz words” touted in abstract and controversial policies. They are, instead, deeply relevant human concerns that permeate mundane moments of everyday life.

We were particularly interested in how the framework of Conversation Analysis (CA), notoriously seen as over-invested in the minutiae of interaction at the expense of large social concerns, might help us achieve a deeper understanding of issues of diversity, equity and inclusion beyond the surface, given CA’s power of uncovering the “seen but unnoticed” and generating insights that often escape human awareness.

As such, the chapters in the volume use CA to closely examine how exclusion, injustice and inequity are both reproduced and resisted in various contexts, ranging from the family dinner table to the political town hall. We see, for instance, how racially diverse everyday speakers construct English as a white American language through negative evaluations of non-white speakers. But we also see how anti-racist work is achieved through ordinary people’s pursuit of shared understandings and humor. These are just some of the many examples of how we attend to diversity, equity and inclusion in our everyday lives, which the featured chapters carefully unpack.

Our hope is that this volume will be informative and inspiring for readers of various backgrounds: for members of diverse communities, businesses and universities seeking to promote diversity, equity and inclusion; for educators invested in fostering critical awareness and social justice; for researchers interested in evidence-based approaches to examining power (in)equality; and for analysts who might have been skeptical of CA’s ability to address critical research questions.

Nadja Tadic and Hansun Zhang Waring

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Reimagining Dialogue on Identity, Language and Power edited by Ching-Ching Lin and Clara Vaz Bauler.

Can Digital Communication Help Prevent Minority Language Loss?

We recently published Heritage Languages in the Digital Age edited by Birte Arendt and Gertrud Reershemius. In this post the editors introduce the book.

Heritage Languages in the Digital Age: The Case of Autochthonous Minority Languages in Western Europe explores the intricate relationship between technology, language policy and cultural identity, presenting case studies of digital communication in smaller languages such as Breton, Gaelic, Faroese, Frisian, Lombard, Low German and Welsh. The book’s central focus is on minority languages which are facing a declining number of speakers and a loss of communicative domains in an increasingly globalising world.

Heritage Languages in the Digital Age asks whether digital communication can help to prevent language loss of minority languages and offers insights for educators, activists, policymakers and researchers navigating the challenges faced by smaller languages in today’s interconnected world. The languages examined in this book are still spoken by a considerable number of speakers, and while their overall numbers of speakers may be declining, their significance in identity construction and cultural commodification processes is growing.

As the global discourse on language diversity and cultural preservation gains momentum, this book serves as a comprehensive resource for understanding and addressing the multifaceted challenges and opportunities facing minority language communities. It aims to support stakeholders such as teachers, language activists, planners and researchers who re-evaluate traditional media strategies, language policies and teaching methodologies to counteract language shift trends. Media studies in the field of smaller or endangered languages always differ rather fundamentally from media studies in general due to their specific focus: here, the dominant question raised by researchers and language planners tends to be how the media can be used to support a language and its speakers. Researchers are stressing both the opportunities and the pitfalls of digital technologies for smaller languages. The view has been expressed that effective use of computer-mediated communication could be the mainstay of successful maintenance efforts in the future.

The book also discusses how online communities influence language usage and cultural exchanges for speakers of minority languages and advocates for adaptive language policies and innovative teaching methods to support minority languages and bilingualism while fostering linguistic pride and identity.

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Agency in the Peripheries of Language Revitalisation edited by Mary S. Linn and Alejandro Dayán-Fernández.

10 Reasons to Publish with Channel View Publications / Multilingual Matters

In this post we give 10 reasons why we think you should choose us to publish your book!

• Independence
  Since we are independent we are able to publish books that we believe in and our publishing decisions are made by and for people with a knowledge of, and passion for, applied linguistics and tourism studies.
• Integrity
  We treat our authors, customers and staff with integrity as we answer to people who care about the areas in which we publish.
• Ethical
  Publishing with us is a positive choice to support an independent, ethical company, and a responsive, compassionate way of doing business.
• Continuity
  We are a small team and staff turnover is very low so you are likely to deal with the same person from proposal to publication and beyond.
• Personal
  All of us are involved in the decision to publish every book, and so whoever you speak to will know about you, your book, and why it’s important.
• Promotion
  We promote our books at specialist conferences and work with a wide range of international reps and booksellers to make sure our books are promoted all over the world.
• Accessibility
  We offer open access publishing and all our titles are available as consumer ebooks so that our titles are as affordable and accessible as possible.
• Supportive
  We are proud to help and support authors publishing their first book and to develop new talent and ideas.
• Innovative
  We are always on the lookout for new fields of research and take pride in the fact that we are often the first publisher to take a risk in a new and emerging subject area.
• Friendly
  We always enjoy meeting our authors, whether at conferences or online, and are always happy to discuss book ideas. Just get in touch!

If you would like to submit a book proposal to us, you can do so here. We look forward to hearing from you!

How is EFL Writing Teacher Education Shaped by Teachers’ Unique Local Contexts?

This month we published EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development edited by Estela Ene, Betsy Gilliland, Sarah Henderson Lee, Tanita Saenkhum and Lisya Seloni. In this post the editors explain the importance of studying local contexts and how they shape the pedagogical landscape of EFL writing teachers.

What do geopolitics and socioeconomics have to do with the English classroom and the skill of teaching English language writing? In our recently published book with Multilingual Matters, EFL Writing Teacher Education and Professional Development, we go beyond the traditional boundaries of English writing education to investigate how diverse regions that are mostly underrepresented in the research literature shape the pedagogical landscape of EFL writing teachers. 

Well over a billion individuals speak English as a foreign language around the world today. There are millions of English language teachers globally, working in schools, language institutes, universities, online platforms, and private tutoring settings. It is important, therefore, to document EFL experiences of learning and teacher education and allow them to inform theories and practices of second language writing that are still US-centric. It is to these less represented narratives, research, and stories that we need to listen to gain a deeper understanding of local practices and eventually work to develop a sustainable and ecologically responsible writing curriculum. 

This timely collection sheds light on often-overlooked areas of the globe, exposing how local settings from Rwanda to Japan, Kazakhstan, and Argentina present distinct challenges and opportunities for EFL teaching and the training of EFL writing teachers. We hope to foster a deeper, more inclusive narrative of EFL writing education by weaving together the stories of practitioners and researchers from all backgrounds – one that respects and represents the diversity of voices contributing to this subject. 

Our book offers teacher reflections, action research, and models of resources that can be adapted to other contexts. Chapters illustrate how educators modify their approaches to fit within the educational, cultural, and political contexts in which they work. In doing this, they also challenge the status quo and overcome the challenge of having to be the main drivers of their own professional development. For example, teachers of minority students in China show how they move away from exam-focused instruction, negotiating the advantages and disadvantages of this shift. Teachers in Japan, Chile, and Algeria reflect on their personal journeys toward student-centered, real-world writing pedagogies. A teacher educator in Turkiye describes activities that engage learners in exploring written genres through creativity. Iranian English teachers reveal that given the political and educational environments in two eras of Iranian history, primary and secondary school students have limited opportunities to learn how to write for communicative purposes. These and many other chapters illustrate the breadth of innovation and investment teachers and teacher educators have made in EFL writing across the globe.

Our book invites academics, policymakers, and educators to take a more comprehensive look at the global scene of EFL writing instruction. It is an appeal to acknowledge and honor the various ways that educators worldwide are advancing the subject of EFL writing, frequently under challenging situations and with limited resources. 

For individuals fascinated by the complicated dance of teaching writing in various global contexts, our book provides a glimpse into EFL educators’ innovative and resilient practices worldwide. We invite you to go through these pages, as each chapter demonstrates the ingenuity and passion of teachers who shape the next generation of English authors. 

If this topic speaks to you, or if you have your tales about the problems and triumphs of teaching EFL writing, we would love to hear from you. Let us continue to learn from one another, forming a worldwide community of educators united in our dedication to developing proficient, confident writers across boundaries. 

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Second Language Writing Instruction in Global Contexts edited by Lisya Seloni and Sarah Henderson Lee.

Exploring the Multifaceted World of Prescriptivism

This month we are publishing New Horizons in Prescriptivism Research edited by Nuria Yáñez‐Bouza, María E. Rodríguez‐Gil and Javier Pérez‐Guerra. In this post the editors explain the book’s key themes and consider future research directions.

How does the book approach the study of prescriptivism and what are the key themes it explores?

In this volume, prescriptivism is examined in a rich and varied manner, spanning historical perspectives and contemporary analyses. The chapters illuminate the role of language norms, social influences and speech communities in shaping prescriptive attitudes. This multifaceted approach is achieved by delving into various aspects of prescriptive practices, such as language norms in historical manuals and sociocultural values in literary texts and scripts. It also looks into how members of speech communities – of mainstream English, varieties of English and other languages –perceive the notion of ‘correct’ and ‘standard’ language.

How does this volume contribute to ongoing research in the field of prescriptivism?

New Horizons in Prescriptivism Research offers a fresh perspective to the study of prescriptivism by presenting innovative approaches and interdisciplinary themes. The research questions in the chapters address the main topics of the evolving landscape of the field and the authors’ insightful analyses offer valuable contributions to current trends, sparking new ideas and motivating further inquiry. Each part of the volume is concerned with different facets of prescriptivism. Part 1 traces the roots of linguistic prescriptivism in (historical) British and American English, and also examines the legacy of historical norms in contemporary language attitudes and usage. Part 2 reflects on the interdisciplinary nature of prescriptivism, with chapters combining linguistic assessment with literary enquiry in order to trace norms and language identity across genres, from poetry to TV shows. In Part 3, the authors look into prescriptivism in the context of New Englishes, touching on Indian English, Hong Kong English and Australian English. And Part 4 addresses the ideological stance of prescriptivism in languages beyond English, broadening the geographical coverage and paving the way for future comparative analyses in other national languages, such as Icelandic, Greek and Dutch.

What is the future of research on prescriptivism?

The future of research on prescriptivism is rich and diverse, with wide scope for scholars to continue scrutinising its complexities. In a globalised and digital world, prescriptive language use and language attitudes continue to evolve, attracting increasing attention. Interdisciplinary collaborations and cross-cultural perspectives will broaden our knowledge of prescriptivism in various linguistic, literary and social contexts. In this regard, this volume provides glimpses of future trends in the field by revisiting the principle of suppression of optional variability in the selection of a standard form, by exploring the diversity of strands of prescriptivism which have been institutionalised by various social forces and in varied linguistic or literary contexts, by tracing the process of linguistic democratisation as opposed to strict prescriptive norms, or by offering new readings of the ways in which social relations are constructed based on how errors and stigmatised features are perceived.

What is the main takeaway from this book?

In essence, this book invites readers to embark on a journey of exploration. The diverse range of perspectives and analyses here presented help to elucidate the complex relationship between language norms, social change and the choices made by individuals. Collectively, and addressing historical practices as well as contemporary attitudes, the chapters investigate the social role of prescriptivism, its portrayal in literature and its values in speech communities. By presenting innovative approaches and varied methodologies, the volume enhances our understanding of the significance of prescriptivism in shaping language history and society. It reflects the dynamics of the field with stimulating insights and avenues for deeper inquiry.

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Language Prescription edited by Don Chapman and Jacob D. Rawlins.

10 Tips for Teaching and Using Multimodal Activities with Multilingual Writers

This month we are publishing Digital Multimodal Composing by Matt Kessler. In this post, the author gives us some advice for leveraging multimodal writing activities to teach multilingual students and learners of additional languages. 

With continued advancements in digital technologies, the practice of being a language teacher and a language learner has fundamentally changed. In particular, in both academic and professional settings, students are now expected to be able to produce digital genres such as social media posts, slideshow presentations, infographics, portfolios, digital posters, and more. Notably, such digital genres require the use of multiple modes beyond text, including the purposeful use of images, colors, graphs, and audio. To better prepare students to succeed in this digitized world, here are 10 tips teachers might consider for leveraging multimodal writing activities with both language learners and multilingual students:

1. Be aware that multimodality – which refers to the simultaneous use of multiple meaning-making resources such as text, images, sound, and gestures – is an important and common practice in today’s world.
2. Don’t avoid multimodal activities in your classroom by focusing only on traditional literacy skills such as reading and writing.
3. Recognize that pushing students to develop multiliteracy skills is not only crucial for their future success, but also for their current success.
4. View multimodal activities as a means of translanguaging, or the systematic use of two or more languages so that students can both understand and be understood.
5. Learn what your students’ needs are in terms of the digital genres that they will need to produce in the future.
6. Consider teaching those genres that many students will likely encounter such as slideshow presentations, infographics, and digital posters.
7. Take the time to train your students on how to use the tools or platforms they will need in order to successfully complete the activity.
8. Set clear expectations about the specific modes (e.g. text, images) that students need to use when creating their assignments.
9. Experiment with different activities, and consider implementing those activities in-class, out-of-class, or a combination of the two to meet your needs and the time you have available.
10. Help spur students’ motivation to invest in the activity and to perform well by making their final work publicly available (e.g. a blog available to the broader public).

Matt Kessler, University of South Florida

kesslerm@usf.edu

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Multimodal Literacies in Young Emergent Bilinguals edited by Sally Brown and Ling Hao.

The Language Journey of Korean-English Bilingual Children

This month we published Korean-English Bilingualism in Early Childhood by Sunny K. Park-Johnson. In this post the author explains the importance of the longitudinal nature of the study.

When studying bilingual language development in early childhood, we often rely heavily on snapshots: these data come from just a day or two of their lives. Sometimes we see children in labs for a study, and then we never hear from them again. That is why a longitudinal study is so important. Following children’s language development across time gives us a perspective that is both expansive and specific, capturing moments in development that we sometimes miss in snapshots.

This book does just that. We get to see two-and-a-half years’ worth of data, observed monthly, that provides a rich picture of four Korean-English bilingual children’s language journey. The children in this book are acquiring both Korean and English during early childhood, a rich time of language development that has many nuances, small changes, and subtle shifts. And because the data is collected in the child’s home, we’re able to capture naturalistic, spontaneous language “in the wild”.

The longitudinal study is also important because it compares children to themselves over time. We know there is much individual variation between children; by observing children’s development longitudinally, the comparisons are within the child’s own self. This inherent consistency is immensely valuable when studying the picture of children’s language development.

The book takes readers through the development of morphology and syntax of Korean and English separately, then discusses code-switching and interplay between the two languages. Then, as an epilogue of sorts, there is a chapter that reports on an interview with two of the children, who are now young adults. It is a unique experience to hear from the very same participants a decade later as they reflect back on their bilingualism and language journey.

Perhaps most importantly, as a Korean-English bilingual myself, I was welcomed into the lives of these families: not just as a researcher, but as an extended family member. Thus, the book has an insight, context, and weight that goes beyond grammar; it is imbued with the responsibility and care of an insider that understands and loves the community. The value of those relationships cannot be understated.

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting, you might also like Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children by Jieun Kiaer.

Getting Inside “Measuring Second Language Pragmatic Competence”

This month we published Measuring Second Language Pragmatic Competence by Rod Ellis, Carsten Roever, Natsuko Shintani and Yan Zhu. In this post Rod introduces us to the book.

There is a background to the writing of any book which often goes unstated. In my blog post I’d like to take you inside the book by telling you a bit about why and how it got to be written. I will explain who the authors are, what motivated the writing of the book, what research it was based on and what I see as the uses of the book.

How did I come to work with my co-authors on this book?

The real starting point was a research study I completed more than fifteen years ago investigating the measurement of second language (L2) grammatical knowledge. This research drew the distinction between implicit and explicit knowledge of an L2 and involved the development of a set of tests designed to provide separate measures of these two types of grammatical knowledge. The results of this research project were reported in a book called  Implicit and Explicit Knowledge in Second Language Learning, Testing and Teaching published by Multilingual Matters in 2009. My idea was to extend this earlier research by investigating whether it was also possible to develop tests that would provide separate measures of implicit and explicit L2 pragmatic knowledge (i.e. the knowledge we use to communicate smoothly and appropriately).

I decided therefore to put in an application for a Discovery Research Grant from the Australian Research Council, drawing on my experience of the earlier project. My own expertise lay in second language acquisition research but I recognized that I also needed expertise in L2 pragmatics. I approached Carsten Roever, who had published widely in L2 pragmatics, to see if he would be interested in joining in the project. Carsten was an ideal co-researcher because he also had experience in language assessment. Together we developed a research proposal, which was successful. We now had the funds we needed for the project.

Our original aim was to investigate different populations of L2 learners – both EFL and ESL. After designing a battery of tests, we started by collecting data from L2 university learners in China and Japan. To help in this we were joined by two other researchers – Yan Zhu, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, and Natsuko Shintani, a professor at Kansai University in Osaka. Unfortunately restrictions arising from the Covid epidemic in Australia made it impossible to continue by collecting data from ESL learners.

The research team, then, comprised myself, Carsten, Yan Zhu and Natsuko. This team has remained with the project throughout and many of the chapters in the book involved all four authors.

Why was it important for us to take a psycholinguistic perspective?

By ‘psycholinguistic perspective’ I mean an approach that is founded on the psychological underpinning of linguistic rules and processes. In the case of language testing, this involves considering the mental processes involved when completing tests. While there are a number of different psycholinguistic perspectives, the one we drew on was based on the implicit/ explicit distinction. From this theoretical perspective, when learners complete a test they can draw on their implicit knowledge (i.e. knowledge that they have no conscious awareness of and can be accessed automatically) or their explicit knowledge (i.e. knowledge they are conscious of and that is only accessible slowly after reflection). The implicit/explicit distinction is a fundamental distinction in current thinking theorizing about an L2 but, surprisingly, it has not figured in research on the testing of L2 pragmatic competence. In fact, many of the popular ways of testing L2 pragmatics really only measure explicit processing and thus tell us nothing about learners’ ability to process their pragmatic knowledge implicitly even though, arguably, it is implicit abilities that are essential in everyday communicative situations.

All research needs to focus on how it can build on and extend existing research. By adopting a psycholinguistic perspective, we hoped to fill a gap in current research on the measurement of pragmatic competence.

How did we develop the tests that featured in the book?

The development of any test requires making decisions about what to test and how to test it. Our starting point was to decide what aspects of pragmatics to measure. A study of the L2 pragmatics literature led us to identify three aspects: metapragmatic awareness, implicature, and conversational structure. In deciding how to assess these aspects, we tried to design tests that would tap either learners’ implicit pragmatic processing abilities (i.e. responses made rapidly and without time for reflection) or explicit processing abilities (i.e. responses made without time pressure and that favoured reflection).  We ended up with two tests involving explicit processing, two tests more likely to favour implicit processing, and a test of the ability to comprehend irony where we were unsure of the kind of processing it would most likely elicit. These tests also differed in terms of whether they involve comprehension/perception or production.

The initial tests were designed by myself and Carsten Roever, piloted on a small group of ESL learners, revised, and then administered with the help of Yan Zhu and Natsuko Shintani in China and Japan respectively. One of our aims was to carry out a careful evaluation of the tests and there are chapters in the book that report the results of the evaluation of each test. Not unexpectedly, we did not find that all the tests worked as well as we had hoped! Subsequently, we redesigned some of the tests and used them in a final study where we investigated the effects of instruction on the development of the two types of knowledge.

What do we hope readers will take away from the book?

We envisage that the main readers of our book will be second language acquisition researchers interested in pragmatics. An abiding issue in SLA research is how learning is measured and we hoped that the tests we developed would help in designing studies that investigate how different conditions of learning impact on the kind of the learning that results. Two chapters in our book illustrate how the tests can be used in this way. In one chapter, we report a comparative study of L2 learners who completed a one-year study abroad and learners who received language instruction while staying in their home country. In another study, we used the tests to investigate the effects of different kinds of instruction on the acquisition of implicit and explicit L2 pragmatic knowledge.

We did not write the book for teachers. But the perspective that informs the book is one that teachers need to consider. Any time teachers set their students a test they need to consider what kind of knowledge the test is measuring.

What are we working on next?

The tests provide the tools we need to investigate the pragmatic competence of L2 learners and how learning conditions shape the kind of learning that take place. We are already embarking on two other studies investigating this. In one study (involving myself and Scott Aubrey), we are comparing the pragmatic competence of students in Hong Kong and Shanghai universities to see if there are differences in these groups of learners. In the other study with Natsuko Shintani, we are investigating how the interactive experiences of Japanese students on a study abroad shape the kind of pragmatic abilities they develop.

Rod Ellis

For more information about this book please see our website.

If you found this interesting you might also like Assessing Speaking in Context edited by M. Rafael Salaberry and Alfred Rue Burch.

How Do Young People Consume Books?

We recently welcomed Lily, a sixth-form student, to the office for some work experience with us. While she was here, she did a project for us about how she and her peer group consume books and explored the use of different formats through one of our titles, Spanish So White, which is available in hard copy, ebook and audiobook. In this post, she talks about the ways in which A-Level students consume and utilise reading material, particularly nonfiction.

A-Level students’ use of nonfiction

The majority of the consumption of nonfiction writing by sixth-form students is, undoubtedly, for studying rather than for entertainment. Most students seek out very little study-related reading material of their own volition, and there is limited access to academic material in the school. 

Sixth-formers generally constrain themselves to the textbooks they are allotted by the school. Personally, I am in the minority in that I have received journals/magazines/academic writing in addition to my textbook for my Economics A-Level studies. I am also currently reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot – a nonfiction novel in paperback – to contextualise and better understand content in the A-Level biology curriculum.

Most of the required academic or nonfiction material is paperback textbooks, occasionally provided additionally as an ebook by a teacher. Typically, paperback textbooks are lighter and more accessible (such as in a classroom) than a hardback, as well as more memorable than an ebook.

Fiction for study purposes

Sixth-formers’ consumption of fiction for studying is still limited. In general, the majority of this reading is for arts or humanities such as history and English literature. For example, to further engage with required English literature A-Level texts, I have read a selection of poetry, 19th century European novels, and 20th century American literature. All of these I have read in paperback.

Personally, I am more inclined to purchase an ebook to read for entertainment (although my contemporaries tend to read borrowed paperbacks). This is because digital formats are more accessible and faster to read; I own almost double the number of ebooks than hardbacks or paperbacks, yet the majority of my nonfiction is in paperback.

Spanish So White

Within my sixth-form community, there is little exploration of life outside of individuals’ personal bubbles. This is partially due to a lack of motivation or inspiration, but also due to limited accessible academic writing about the wider world. 

The book Spanish So White by Adam Schwartz has expanded my contextual and historical understanding of learning or speaking Spanish. As an aspiring Spanish learner, it has changed my perspective on how I have accessed or been taught the language.

While my preference for a paperback edition of a book still stands (especially for nonfiction, as it is more comprehensible to follow the intended layout and structure), the audiobook encouraged a more measured pace. Hearing the spoken Spanish which Schwartz had written about was a useful way to connect with the book.

The ebook of Spanish So White was still a useful resource, but it was more challenging to pace the reading and fully appreciate the ‘pause points’. To me, the physical book is more memorable, as I can associate photos with subheadings. The book has, thus, left a more lasting impression on me than it perhaps might have if I’d only accessed a digital format.

Lily McKay

World Book Day 2024

Last year for World Book Day we talked about our favourite book characters in this post, so this year we turned to the CVP mums to see what the next generation are reading!

Rose

I dread the day when my son (currently eight… and A HALF – he will make this clear to anyone who asks) says he doesn’t want me to read to him at night. Reading for him clicked about a year ago – before then, he was very reluctant and said all books were BORING. Naturally I questioned if he was, indeed, my son, as reading is my passion and my whole academic and professional career has revolved around this love. However, having undertaken a research project on reluctant boy readers as part of my PGCE in Secondary English, I knew not to push him. Lots of parents I’ve talked to have said they are concerned that their children will only read Lego comics, Minecraft manuals and Pokemon cartoons but I’ve always felt that if they are reading anything at all, the battle has been won! No, my son wasn’t independently reading The Lord of the Rings at age six but he is now confidently (and happily!) reading on his own. He loves Tintin, anything by Tom Fletcher and is obsessed with The Guinness Book of World Records   We have just started The Hobbit – to his dad’s absolute delight – he’s been waiting to read this to him since he was born!

My daughter is four and is all about reading bedtime stories to her teddies. She sits in bed with a pile of her books and retells them to her rapt audience. Many of her favourites she knows verbatim through me reading them to her, but the others she interprets via the illustrations and sometimes I think she creates better narratives than the original stories themselves! She’s mastered her alphabet and is blending and recognising three letter words now and it’s lovely to see how proud and excited she gets when she helps me read her stories – it’s magical to think of the world that is opening up to her. She also loves it when my son reads to her; their favourite bedtime book is The Eyebrows of Doom by Steve Smallwood and my son’s impressions of the dastardly eyebrows are absolutely hilarious – but certainly not conducive to a calm and quiet bedtime!

Anna

Sadly my 12 year-old is too old for having books read to her (or so she thinks!) But I’m currently enjoying reading The Explorer by Katherine Rundell to my younger daughter – all of her books are favourites in our house. We’ve also recently enjoyed the Grimwood series by Nadia Shireen. I love reading aloud, so I’m now a very enthusiastic volunteer to read to other people’s children.

Elinor

I am currently reading The Wild Robot Protects, the third book in the Wild Robot series, with my son. It tells the story of how Roz the wild robot leaves her island home to try and save her friends and family from the poison tide that is creeping across the ocean, damaging everything in its wake with its toxic particles.

I tend to read short stories with my daughter rather than chapter books and we have been enjoying stories from Tales of Adventurous Girls which she got for Christmas.