Daily Times

The Oxford University Press (OUP) launched Dragonfly Readers – an innovative nine-level reading series aimed at helping young learners of English develop good reading habits and become motivated readers.

The distinctive feature of these beautifully illustrated anthologies is that they are infused with Asian themes and values helping learners explore the unity and diversity of Asian cultures. Covering both fiction and non-fiction texts written by Asian authors, the series is designed with non-native English language learners in mind, and includes extensive teacher support materials.

At the launch event, OUP also introduced Oxford Reading Buddy-a next-generation digital reading service that offers a host of digital tools and unique inbuilt coaching feature to help students develop reading comprehension skills. Dragonfly Readers are included as interactive eBooks within the Oxford Reading Buddy platform. Additionally, the service tracks student progress with online quizzes and provides teachers with valuable insights into student achievement. Used together or independently, Dragonfly Readers and Oxford Reading Buddy offer a complete system to teach graded reading and develop students’ critical thinking skills.

The event featured an invigorating panel discussion on the topic ‘The Importance of Reading and Cross-Cultural Understanding’ with Abbas Husain, Amra Alam, and Fouzia Khan as speakers and Kiran Hashmi as the moderator. The panellists highlighted why in this age of globalization, it is important to inculcate among children an appreciation for other cultures. In this context, they emphasized that Dragonfly Readers will enable school children in Pakistan to learn about the traditions and values of other Asian countries and hence develop an understanding and tolerance for cultures that are diverse yet similar to theirs.

While speaking about Dragonfly Readers and Oxford Reading Buddy to school heads and teachers present at the event, Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, OUP Pakistan, in his welcome address said, “Dragonfly Readers have been developed for primary and secondary schools throughout Asia. The objective is to encourage student engagement, using beautifully designed anthologies across a range of genres.”

He further added that the series will be a valuable new tool for the teaching of English.

Dragonfly Readers and Oxford Reading Buddy are simultaneously being launched at events in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.