PREMA: An extensive reading work-in-progress

The conventional approach to implementing extensive reading involves high initial investment costs, obtaining space and a circulation management system for the reading materials. Over time, texts become outdated, worn out or lost and need to be replaced. For teachers, using time in class for timed reading activities can be logistically complex: making copies, keeping time and adjusting for students who finish at different speeds. In order to alleviate these and additional concerns, we are developing PREMA, an extensive reading software package that allows online texts to be used as reading material. This original revolutionary software allows students to utilize texts of any size that they find online. PREMA (your Personal Reading Manager) is still under development, but comes with features for automatically tracking the total number of words read, measuring students’ reading speed, and rating the relative difficulty of a particular text. There are additional features we are planning for the future, which will allow for customization for ESP uses. In our presentation, we will discuss the accomplishments, hopes and challenges PREMA faces as it continues to evolve into a distributable format.