1. Dr. Nataly Smetannikova
The POWER of READING
(in Foreign Languages)
18 European conference on Reading
Jönköping, August 2013

2. CONTEXT
• “100 books list” for “any respectful
student”(V.Putin,Jan.3,2012)
• 100+ (plus)
• A circle of reading
• A number of lists
• “Reading that unites us”

3. Reading for
16 century Religion Education, human values
Classical
literature
19 century
Learning,
tests
Profession, business,
training
Profession-
oriented texts
20 century Ideology
Education , political
values
Politically-
oriented texts
21 century Socialization
Communication, human
values
Modern literature

4. Before 16 Scroll code Oral reading
16 century
Note – book
book
Silent reading
19 century Text book, book
Oral/silent
For detail
20 century
Newspaper,
magazines
Scanning
Skimming
21 century
Print
screen ?
READING (HOW?)

5. Reading at school
MT FL
In the curriculum yes yes
Across the curriculum yes but no
Beyond the curriculum no but no

6. Engagement into READING
RUSSIA:
• PISA 2009 : 459 points /462 in 2000
• Do not read for pleasure 21%
• Read for 30 min. 48% (35% in Finland)

7. Frequency of Reading & Reading Performance
READ per DAY Mean Score
Do not read 427
30 min 452
30-60 min 472
1-2 h 489
2 h 498

8. READING at UNIVERSITY (humanities)
MT FL
IN THECURRICULUM YES YES
ACROSS THE CURRICULUM YES, BUT NO
BEYOND THE CURRICULUM NO NO

9. University professors observations
• Read less
• Read fewer genres
• Avoid difficult books
• Decline in traditional values
• Underestimation of “good” modern literature
• Need in book discussion

10. Conclusions
•Lost opportunities
•Need in communication
and socialization

11. “Reading that unites us”
AIMS and OBJECTIVES
• AIM: a circle of reading
• OBJECTIVES :
1. Clusters
2. Various age groups
3. Analysis (readers/ books / engagement into
reading)

12. PROCEDURES
TIME: March 1 – April 30, 2013
Questionnaire
1. What book has influenced you?
2. What book would you like to discuss?
3. What book do you recommend to read?

13. Overall Performance
On-line – 1014
Valid – 836
Men – 243
Women – 591
No answer - 2

14. Gender, %
29,1
70,9
MEN
WOMEN

15. Age, %
3,2
7,3
9,6
7,9
23
23,2
25,8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
60 and more
50 - 59
40 - 49
30 - 39
20 - 29
15 - 19
before 15 y.o.

16. Education, %
37,4
19,1
2,2
30,8
10,6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
unfinished
secondary
secondary vocational universities scientific
degree

17. Occupation, %
6,9
0,8
1
3
13,2
7,6
27,9
39,6
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
other
engineer
librarian
research associate
professor
teacher
student
school student

18. Place of work, %
48,7
39,5
1,5 1,6 2,9 5,8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
school university library research
institute
business other

19. Fans of Reading
(from what age, %)
0,4 0,1
0,7
3,8
5,6
15,5
14,1
16,2
7,5
4,8
12,1
1,6
5,3
2,7
3,9
1,5
2,1
0,7 0,5 0,4 0,1 0,1 0,1 0,1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 30 45 51

20. Outcomes. Book clusters
Cluster 1
1 Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe 1
2 Bulgakov, Mikhail. Master and Margarita 2
3 Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace 2
4 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings 3
5 The Bible 3
6 London, Jack. White Fang 3
7 Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter 3
8 Orwell, George 1984 3
9 Kaverin, Veniamin. Two Captains 4
10 Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 4
11 Conan Doyle, Arthur The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 4
12 Pushkin, Alexander. Eugeny Onegin 4

21. Cluster 2
1. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment.
2. Defoe, Daniel . Robinson Crusoe
3. Glukhovsky, Dmitry. Metro 2033
4. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
5. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov
6. Salinger, J. P., The Cather in the Rye.
7. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings .
8. Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace .
9. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit
10. The Bible

22. Cluster 3
1. Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita
2. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment.
3. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
4. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter
5. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot.
6. London, Jack. White Fang .
7. Coelho, Paulu. The Alchemist.
8. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray.
9. Suvorov, Viktor. Icebraker: Who started the Second
War? (Ledokol)
10. Hasek, Jaroslav . The Good Solder Svejk.

23. Overall numbers
• Total number – 32 books
• Total books – 21
• Total authors - 19
• Russian authors – 12
• Foreign writers – 18
• In school curriculum – 7
• In University curriculum - 10
• Across curriculum – 5
• Beyond curriculum - 7
• Modern literature - 5

24. Authors
School curriculum University curriculum Across curriculum Beyond curriculum
M. Bulgakov The Bible G. Orwell J .Rowling
L. Tolstoy J. London V. Kaverin D. Glukhovsky
A. Pushkin M. Twain D. Defoe P. Coelho
F. Dostoyevsky A. Conan Doyle F. Dostoyevsky J. Hasek
L. Tolstoy J.P. Salinger

25. Conclusions
• Circle of reading of men is limited - 21 books, 19
authors
• Even competent readers need some sort of
guidance: 4 books are read on their own
• The more you work with the book, the more
memorable it becomes.
• Reading in foreign languages motivates men to
read.
• Modern literature is important for making
competent readers.

26. Thank you!
Tack så mycket!
Спасибо большое!
nataly.smetannikova@yandex.ru