“The classic stories work best,” says Mary Regan, instructor of English in the UN Language and Communications Programme. Mary is describing her mission to promote fluency in English through immersion in the written word.  She conducts reading groups, often on classic novels like Henry James’ Washington Square or stories like O. Henry’s ‘Gift of the Magi”’, and sometimes even short stories in translation by Chekhov  -- works that tell of universal human struggles that people from all cultures can relate to. “In the reading groups, we’ve had so many great discussions of these stories.  In the novel, Washington Square, for example, the father disapproves of his daughter’s choice of a fiance. The daughter wants to please her father, yet she wants her own life and independence—this kind of classic parent-child struggle is something people from everywhere can understand because it has, in some way, touched everyone’s life.” 

Reading and talking about such heartfelt human situations allows learners to feel and register the language on a deeper level.

 Mary champions lots of reading.  In her groups, the goal is for members  to read 1,000 pages per 12-week class term.  “Research says that reading is one of the best ways to improve knowledge of a language,” she says. Reading increases knowledge of vocabulary, structure, and the general “sense” of how a language works.

 “Students are often fascinated to see how vocabulary words can be used ina variety of ways, taking on different meanings in different contexts.”

The challenge, always, is to keep language learners -- with busy work schedules -- engaged enough with the reading to keep at it.

“Staying with reading for the long term is what counts,” says Mary. After all, when it comes to measuring the value of reading, It’s not about who finishes a book first—it’s about who stays with the “reading habit” the longest.