Should level 1 kids not read as much as we now think they need (50% reading)? Don’t they need a better vocabulary to read? Wouldn’t it be better to use more time in level 1 for the power skill of listening? Should kids in level 1 TPRS/CI classes perhaps wait longer – until levels 2 and 3 to do more intensive reading, or should the amount of reading across the four levels be all the same? Shouldn’t the most reading be done at the higher levels?
One thing is definite – auditory input is more compelling than reading input in level 1. Krashen said as much when he visited my classroom. Part of that is because of the lack of compelling texts in extremely simple forms at that level. And the sheltered popular literature available, stuff like Le Petit Prince and lots of simple poetry, offers the intermediate student a ton of much more compelling reading materials than are available at the beginning levels.