8/10/2018 1.5. A typology of reading activities – 2018-19: READING...

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H Learning Modules ... Unit 1: Reading 1.5. A typology of reading activities

1.5. A typology of reading activities

Unit 1. Reading

1.5. A typology of reading activities

English language learners often come with varied reading backgrounds and experiences. Some are fluent
readers in their native languages; some are not. Yet, they all will share the experience of learning to read in
English, and they will approach reading differently from the way native speakers approach it. The following
activities can help learners develop reading proficiency. The choice of activity, however, depends on the needs
of the learners, the nature of the text, and the demands of the reading task.

Below is a list of possible activities that can be used in the three reading stages.

a) Pre-reading stage

Conversation/discussion/question and answer work: based on topic, title, associated visuals, text headings.
Teachers should not say too much when introducing a text, or they will "give away" what it has to say, and kill the
students' interest instead of arousing it.

Personalization: based on topic, title, associated visuals, text headings. This means that the teacher relates the
topic to the students' personal experience. This could be done in pair or group work.

Brainstorming of what students know about the topic of the text: e.g. whole class quiz.

Prediction Work:

i) Anticipate the content:

based on title, associated visuals, text headings, first lines

through selection or matching exercise
true/false statements
cloze, gap-filling
students write questions which they expect the text will answer
the teacher gives prompts and students imagine what the text will say about them
the teacher gives them a topic and students write things they know and things they do not know

ii) To anticipate form (predicting vocabulary likely to appear in the passage):

listing
selecting from list
the teacher gives some words and students imagine how they are used in the text
di ti f t f d
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prediction of story from word rose

Teaching of Essential Vocabulary

visually (with pictures, drawings, miming)

giving examples (using the words in the context of the presentation of the text)

Setting of Reading Task to follow

b) While-reading stage

Comparison: passage and hypotheses from prediction work in the pre-reading stage.

Giving text a title: students read the passage in order to give a title, to complete a title or to select the most
appropriate title from a list given (discussing the rejects).

Information transfer: activities which translate information from a verbal form to a largely non-verbal form. They
give teachers an instant feedback, so that teachers can see immediately whether the learner has read correctly
or not. These activities include:

maps (read and draw the route on the map)

sets of instructions for making or operating something which can be carried out
students read a text and label or draw a diagram
drawing pictures: read and draw or complete a picture
tables (read and complete the table or chart)
adverts
timetables
tv programmes
plans
forms
dictionary pages, etc.

Matching: e.g. text and illustration(s), text and summary, text and topic.

Sequencing: e.g. pictures according to text, paragraphs (jumbled paragraphs), sentences (jumbled sentences =
read sentences which are not in the correct order and rearrange them), etc.

Spotting differences or inaccuracies: e.g. compared to tape, written version of "same"' text, two similar versions of
the same story, but not exactly the same.

Filling in blanks or Cloze Text

Open-ended statements: e.g. "Peter enjoys his job because....

Personal response tasks: an activity which involves students in reading something and then choosing something
justifying why they prefer that; e.g. read descriptions of 3 holidays and choose one; choose a present for your
mum from a catalogue.

Answering questions: focus questions, inferential questions, etc. (yes/no questions, wh-questions, or-questions,
true/false statements, multiple-choice questions).

 
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Students (groups) write own questions about text, then ask each other.

Finding evidence for statements

Summarizing text content: students can identify the topic sentence of each paragraph, that which summarizes
the main idea.

Information gap:

Jigsaw: text is divided into 2/3/4 parts. Students read different parts and then exchange information orally.
Complete information is then used to answer questions, solve problems, etc.
Student A reads short text and then passes information orally on to student B. Student B can take notes and
compare them to original text.
Different students in group scan same text but looking for different aspects or information; then exchange
information without consulting text.

Crossword puzzle based on information from text

Activity

Look at the following reading tasks and put them under the reading skill headings. Note that a particular task can
be used to develop several reading skills.

a) Giving text a title

b) Drawing a picture

c) Matching text and picture

d) Two true/false questions

e) Sequencing jumbled text

f) Spotting differences

g) Short answer questions

h) Jigsaw reading

i) Filling in a couple of blanks

Skimming Scanning Intensive reading

     
     
     
     
     

Go to the "Assignments" tool and submit Assignment 1.

c) Post-reading stage

Role-play, dramatization, (springing from passage)

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Discussion, debate (personalization)

Writing: e.g. letters, postcards, messages, adverts, etc. related to the passage

Gap-filling

Problem solving activities

Listening to a related text

Parallel story:

orally: students retell the story orally changing a few facts or data; they can use pictures, prompts, ...
written: what they have been reading can be a model for writing something similar.

Self-assessment: performance and strategies used.

Student evaluation of text: interest, difficulty.

Those who pursue a "holistic" approach to teaching reading skills may reject use of tasks here which are contrived
for the classroom, and may propose tasks which stimulate "real world" use of texts, such as reading a catalogue in
order to choose presents, using an application form for filling in personal details, or reading travel brochures in
order to choose a holiday. Holists may give priority to aspects of "authenticity".

On the other hand, there is another approach to reading which is often called "sub-skills" approach. It is used by
those who do not mind using tasks planned for the classroom, only. They may give priority to designing tasks
which achieve specific aims in relation to defined sub-skills.

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