BCNC Reading
BCNC Reading
BCNC Reading
Teach
Reading?
Benefits to reading include:
Learning about learning (how to read)
Immersion in the second language
Modeling for improved writing in English
Improved vocabulary
Increased cultural background knowledge
Transfer of some first-language reading skills
Students learn new strategies and thinking processes best when consciously
aware they are doing so. (Brown, Armbruster & Baker, 1986)
Always tell students overtly about the aim of your reading lesson. (E.g. Today we will learn about
skimming and scanning. This helps you find information quickly without having to read every word
on the page.) Once they are conscious of the processes, students can monitor their comprehension
and apply appropriate strategies (e.g. guessing a words meaning from the context without relying
on their dictionaries).
At the end of the tutoring session, always review with them what was learnt.
24
25
Guiding questions:
Cross-cultural comparison:
26
Guessing Unknown Words: Use contextual clues to determine the meaning of new words
without looking them up.
o E.g. Children cannot cook and work. Parents take care of them until they grow older.
What do parents do for their children?
Transferring Knowledge (Follow-Up/Post-Reading): Give further practice using the content
of the text. While true or false statements about the text are a good way to check
comprehension, you should also provide opportunities for tutees to state their opinions/ideas
about the text they have just read.
o E.g. Rose said, I have to pay my own medical bills. Its been really hard for me in
America, but its worse at homeI never learned to read and write any language. Im
very glad to be learning. At home, I would never have this opportunity. Do you agree
with Rose? Why or why not? What are some opportunities you have here in America?
What are some things you missed about your home country? Tell me more.
27
Teach
Writing
Product-Oriented vs. Process-Oriented Writing
Writing takes on many forms in our lives, from jotting down phone messages to writing college essays.
The processes we use to write vary greatly depending on the purpose of our tasks. There are two
approaches to writing instruction: product-oriented and process-oriented.
Product-Oriented
Process-Oriented
s_reet
s_r_et
s _ _ _ et
_ _ _ _ et
_____t
______
Vanishing Letters
Copying words, making lists, or labeling objects has great
benefits for beginners: the practice helps learners build
confidence in writing words on their own. Learners begin by
copying a complete word. Then the teacher removes one
letter at a time until the student can write the word on their
own. This technique works equally well with sentences or
short paragraphs.
Scaffolded Writing
Many everyday writing tasks that involve simple text (for example, writing a note to the school or
leaving a message for a co-worker) can be developed by providing students with a sample text with key
information left out:
Date: ______________________
Dear ____________________,
_______________________ needs to leave school early today because ________________________
_______________________. I will pick her up at ________________________________________.
Sentence
Starters
Thank you.
They
provide
Yours
truly,a framework for writing such as this:
_______________________.
28
Dictation
Provided that the content of the sentences or passages being used is meaningful and related to the
content of instruction, dictation is an excellent way to help learners build confidence in their writing,
and to check their ability to transfer what they understand orally to writing. Dictation is usually done in
pairs, making it an interactive task for tutors and tutees as well.
Here are a few ways to make dictation meaningful:
In a lesson on making calls, dictate names and phone numbers (for beginners) or a brief
message (for higher-level students).
Dictate phone numbers or addresses to practice pronunciation of 13 vs. 30, 14 vs. 40, etc.
Dictate vocabulary words that have been covered during the lesson for review and to practice
spelling.
Implement dictation into cloze (fill-in-the-blank) activities. Even difficult passages can be made
more manageable if they are done as cloze exercises.
Dictogloss
Choose a passage from a text with interesting vocabulary that will not overwhelm students. Be sure it is
not so long that students will become frustrated.
Read the passage at normal speed, without stopping at every word or sentence as in a traditional
dictation.
Students need to listen and take notes, writing down as much of what you say as possible.
Next, students get together in pairs or small groups, and attempt to reconstruct the passage. Encourage
them to highlight problem areas so that they can listen for them the next time you read the text.
Read the text again, and give the group another chance to fill in the passage and discuss their ideas.
Repeat this process as needed, giving one final reading after most of the passage has been
reconstructed to check listening and accuracy.
You can make use of this activity in a variety of ways. You can ask students where they had trouble
understanding the passage: sometimes it is a vocabulary word or phrase they didnt understand (in
which case, you can discuss said vocabulary), and sometimes it is an issue of reduced/linked/altered
pronunciation (in which case, you might repeat the word/phrase, have students reconstruct it, see if the
29
reconstruction makes sense, and then get students to repeat the word/phrase slowly and in the same
way you said it).
Regardless of how you choose to use the activity, the pair/group work is what makes this exercise a
great one: students must share ideas, disagree, persuade, ask for help, give help themselves, and teach
each other, all during the process of recreating the text. This is where real communication and learning
takes place.
30
31
reading and talk about it during your session, then assign a writing activity as homework. This writing
activity can then be used as reading material for your next tutoring session.
Remember, your student learns writing from editing and revising what theyve written!
After reading a story or article, have students copy down a sentence or two. You can guide
students to choose sentences that they agree/disagree with, or sentences that they want to talk
more about. Students then write a reaction to the sentences.
Writing letters on social or community issues. whether real or hypothetical.
o E.g. BCNC has decided not to hire non-native English speakers as teachers on principle.
Write a letter advising the organization to change their decision, and give reasons why.
Writing summaries: one of the best tools for assessing reading comprehension, but you must
explicitly teach students how to summarize first.
Journaling. (You might want to check whether your students are already doing this in class first.)
Possible writing topics:
o My first day in Boston
o My earliest memory as a child
o My favorite place
o The past (e.g. Two years ago, I was)
o The future (e.g. Two years from now, I hope to)
o My favorite time of day
o A time when I felt ____
o A strange thing about living in the U.S.
o My worst experience at work
o A funny thing that happened to me
o My favorite food
o If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I would
o If I could take any vacation in the world, I would
32
33