The Science Behind Simply Stories

The Simply Stories team is passionate about reading for pleasure, and here’s why.

A range of large-scale studies continue to find highly positive associations between pleasure reading – extracurricular reading for gist – and the comprehension and fluency that mark higher-level reading. Reading fiction in particular draws on readers’ experiences, expectations, and inferencing abilities to lay foundations for literacy that goes beyond so-called functional literacy to develop critical literacy (Cardiff et al. 2007; Duncan 2014; Friere 1970; Graff 1993). It turns out that pleasure reading – again, particularly of fiction with its engaging narratives – boosts the intake of the linguistic aspects of texts such as morphosyntax and vocabulary (Coady 1997; Bamford & Day 2004; Day & Bamford 1988; Grabe 2009; Lee 2009). These benefits hold not only for younger but also older educated individuals reading in their native or a second language, and at all levels. This includes motivation to read more (Bamford & Day 2004; Clarke 2013; Coady 1997; Horst 2005; Krashen 1989; 2004; Pigada & Schmitt 2006). A handful of studies on lower-level immigrant adults in the UK and USA show the same benefits (Constantino 1995; Laymon 2012; 2013; Rodrigo et al. 2007; Williamson 2013; Yaden et al. 2003).

Importantly, pleasure reading involves individual choice – of where, how and what to read. Readers require books which capture their interest and which they can read in accordance with their reading level and linguistic competence (Anderson et al. 1987; Crossley et al. 2012; Hill 2008; Jose & Brewer 1984; Moses 2000; Ryan & Deci 2000; White 2007; Williams 1986). We discovered that there are few simple yet engaging books written expressly for adults (Young-Scholten & Wilkinson 2011; Young-Scholten & Maguire 2009). How many books do we need? For starters, we considered the study by Rodrigo et al. (2007) where 249 were made available. The study noted the preferences of the 43 students involved: fiction, followed by biography. This was one of the studies that guided our development of Simply Stories over the decades.

The collaborators behind Simply Stories

Manya Wilkinson and Martha Young-Scholten started Simply Stories at Newcastle University with seed funding from the Catherine Cookson Foundation, Pioneer Awards, Newcastle Institute for Social Renewal, the British Council and the Vice Chancellor’s Societal Challenge.

Manya is a New Yorker who lives in the North of England. She retired from Newcastle University as a senior lecturer in prose and scriptwriting on the graduate programme for creative writing and now  teaches writing workshops and mentors writers. After her first novel, Ocean Avenue, and radio dramas on BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play, Saturday Drama, Writing the Century and Woman’s Hour, she published ‘Lublin’, a novel which in 2025 won The Hawthornden Prize, the Wingate Prize and The Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award. Her new novel, ‘Lark,’ will be published in March 2027.

Martha is a retired Newcastle University professor of second language acquisition and now lives outside Seattle. She’s published and presented including with Manya and others the ideas underlying Simply Stories.

Forster, M., M. Wilkinson & M. Young-Scholten. 2013. Cracking good writers. Simply cracking good stories for low-literate adult immigrants. British Council NEXUS. 

Limon, H. and M. Young-Scholten. 2015. Creating new fiction for low-educated immigrant adults: Leapfrogging to digital?  International Journal of the Book 15: 1-9.

Malard Monteiro, P., M. Wilkinson & M. Young-Scholten. 2022. Simple and engaging fiction for adult beginners. In S. Stadler-Heer & A. Paran (eds) Taking Literature and Language Learning Online: New Perspectives on Teaching, Research and Technology. Bloomsbury.  

Wilkinson, M. & M. Young-Scholten. 2011. Writing to a brief: Creating fiction for immigrant adult.s In C.Schöneberger, I. van de Craats and J. Kurvers (eds.) Low Educated Adult Second Language and Literacy Acquisition.  Nijmegen: Centre for Language Studies. Pp. 103-123.

Wilkinson, M. & M. Young-Scholten. 2013. Simply Cracking Good Stories for pre-entry-level immigrant adults.Language Issues. Volume 24: 15-18.

Young-Scholten, M. 2012. ‘Writing simply cracking good stories’, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul.

Young-Scholten, M. 2013. ‘Beginners from three perspectives; Research, assessment and materials’;keynote. International Conference on Language, Literature & Cultural Studies, Pattaya, Thailand.

Young-Scholten, M. 2014. ‘Readers at the margins’, focus group, ESOL teachers in Concord, NH presentation Young-Scholten, M. 2022. ‘Linguistics-informed reading materials for beginning-level adult migrants.’

Young-Scholten, M. 2019. ‘Second language research and simple fiction for adults starting to read in English. Rotary Club of Thane Hills, India presentation.

Young-Scholten, M. 2021. ‘Simple fiction without simple ideas: Linguistically accessible and engagingbooks about difficult topics, Das Kollektiv, Linz, Austria presentation

Young-Scholten, M.  2022. ‘Producing engaging and linguistically accessible short fiction books for L2 adults’ English Department,  University of Cyprus presentation.

Young-Scholten, M. 2026. ‘Pleasure reading in a new language for low-literate adult immigrants and others’ BAAL Literacies SIG presentation.

Young-Scholten, M., E. Filimban, A. Middlemas, E. Mocciaro & P. Monteirio. 2021. Pleasure reading for immigrant adults on a volunteer-run programme. In A. N. Shaswar & J. Rosén (eds.) Literacies in the Age of Migration. Palgrave McMillan.

Young-Scholten, M., A Maudaressi & M. Wilkinson. 2013. ‘Extensive reading for immigrant adults with low oral proficiency beginning to read in a second language’ AERA, San Francisco presentation.

Young-Scholten, M. & R. Musa. 2016 .‘Developing new resources for low-educated immigrant adults and for those who teach them’, Weaving literacy through lifelong learning, BALID and UNESCO presentation.

Young-Scholten, M. and M. Sosinski. 2011.‘Writing cracking good stories for low-literate immigrants in English and Spanish’ LESLLA Conference, Minneapolis, MN presentation.

Young-Scholten, M., M. Sosinski &  A. Martín Rubio. 2015. Undergrads’ involvement in producing short fiction books for immigrant adult beginners in England and Spain. Language Issues 26:55-60.