HCMC University of Education

Department of English – ELT Section

Module 2 – Mainstream

I. INTRODUCTION
What is reading?
Reading is like listening:
 …………………………….. + involving comprehension of text.
 main difference: written vs …………………….. language,
 listening takes place in …………………………… whereas readers (usually) have time to read (and
re-read) at their ……………………………………...

Why do we read?
- for …………………. - for …………………. – for ………………. for ……………..

What do we read?

How do we read? - skimming:

- scanning:
- extensive. reading:
- intensive reading: .

II. WAYS OF READING:

 Reading in real life

 Reading in class

3 poss. ways: 1) T reads aloud, ss follow in books.

2) Ss read aloud in turn.
3) Ss read silently to themselves, at their own speed.

 Comments on reading aloud & silent reading

* T reads aloud & Ss read aloud in turn:
+ can be ………………….. at earliest stages of reading, make …………………… bt sounds & spelling.
- not a useful technique:
- 1 st. is active at a time, others not listen or listening to a bad model.
- ss focus on ………………………., not on understanding.
- an ………………………….. activity.
- ss read slowly, take up ………………………………….
- reading aloud makes reading more ………………………….
* Silent reading :
+ ss can read at their own speed, can go back & read again.
+ developing ……………………….: Ss need practice in looking at a text & trying to understand it.
+ ……………………… of the class: nothing seems to be happening, ss are in fact concentrating &
thinking a/b meaning.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 1

III. STAGES OF A READING LESSON

III.1 Pre-Reading
1) Introducing the text
Purposes

How:
 saying a simple sentence to introduce the text.
 organizing an activity before reading (to arouse interest in topic, to make ss want to
read + introduction)

Techniques for introducing the text:

1- Using pictures + (guessing words or eliciting ideas)
2- Predicting content from
3- (Ss guess whether sent. given are correct, basing on background
knowledge)
4- (Ss think of ideas/ words related to theme given)
5- (Asking Qs related to theme + background knowledge/personal experience)
6- Holding a (for advanced level + time allowed)
2) Presenting new vocab.
* no need to present all new words, ss guess meaning from context: an important part of
reading.
* guessing helps to focus attention on new words, makes them want to know their meaning.

3) Giving guiding questions:

Purposes

How: Ask 1 or 2 Qs or design a MC task focussing on main points/gist/ general ideas after
first reading.

In summary: Pre-stage
 Think of an appro. activity to lead into lesson and introduce text
 Present vocab. that need presenting at this stage
(conducting rep. chorally & individually)
 Giving GQ (Qs or MC Qs)
(- let class read text silently to find As to GQs
- feedback: complete answers given)

III. 2. While-Reading
A. Checking comprehension: focus on major details
Purposes

Tasks: 1) T/F/ Not given exercise

2) MC
3) Gap –fill exercise
4) Completing a table/ sentences
- help focus ss’ attention on main points.
- make it easier for ss to organize info.
5) Matching
6) Rearranging

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 2

 7) Question-Answer: set Qs in textbooks; Qs with cues can be used in pairs,
groups or homework.
T asks & Ss answer Qs orally => Oral check:
+ ask short, simple questions.
+ short answers are required.
+ ss keep books open.
+ ask T’s own questions: more flexible  modify questions

*Asking questions
1. Types of question
2. Eliciting long/personal responses
3. Questioning strategies

B. Teaching new language: using definition questions

III.3 Post –reading/Follow up

Purposes: 1) Provide Ss with opportunities to relate what they have read to what they already
know
2) tasks should enable ss to produce language based on what they have learned.

How: - Sp: discussion, role play, interview (theme-related tasks given for free language
practice & developing other skills).- Wr: gap-filling, reproducing the text, writing a
summary
- For Lg Practice/ Focus: practice/ consolidate Pro./Vocab./grammar

PRONUNCIATION
I. Choose the word whose part is underlined is pronounced differently from the others in each group.

1. A. worked B. used
C. laughed D. stopped
2. A. streets B. mouths
C. services D. asks

II. Choose the word whose main stress is placed DIFFERENTLY from the others in each group.

A. village B. pretend C. annoyed D. severe

Vocabulary
Match the words/phrases in column A with their definitions in column B.
1. service a. extreme or very difficult
2. manage b. put sth out
3. crowd c. the act of doing sth for sb
4. stick sth out d. a large group of people standing
5. severe together
e. succeed in doing sth, esp. sth difficult

Gap fill
One day the doctor ________ by a young man. The doctor _________ to be interested. He felt the young
man __________ in the street with his tongue ______ out.

Controlled speaking
Tell part of the story from these prompts:
A doctor – village – annoyed.
People – stop – street – advice.
Never paid – never – money – made up his mind – put and end

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 3

 A SUMMARY OF TYPES OF QUESTIONS

WARM-UP QS G. QS COMP. QS POST QS

N0. OF QS 3-5 1-2 7- 10/series 1-3
STAGE pre pre while post

FOCUS theme-related Qs, main ideas major details tasks for lg.
based on practice or theme-
background related activities
knowledge/ for developing
personal experience other skills

TYPES OF short/long long/complete short long

ANSWERS
PURPOSES (textbook) (textbook) (textbook) (textbook)

TASKS:
Task 1: Identify the reasons for reading and the ways of reading for these different text types.

Text type Reason for reading Way of reading

pleasure information close Skimming Skimming for
reading for gist specific info.

the instructions for installing a 

computer monitor
A message (SMS) from a friend

The evening's programmes in a

TV guide
A news paper report of a sports
event
A short story
A research paper published in a
scholarly journal

Task 2: For questions 1 – 5, match the instructions with the ways of reading listed A – F. There is one extra
option which you do not need to use.
Ways of reading
A reading for specific information
B reading for detail
C reading for gist
D intensive reading
E intensive reading
F extensive reading

Instructions
1 Find all the words in the story about pets.
2 Read the text. Decide which is the best heading for it.
3 Read the article to find out exactly how the machine works.
4 Finish reading the story at home.
5 Read the poster to find the dates of Annie’s, Sam’s and Julie’s birthdays.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 4

  SOME COMMON TASKS / TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING READING

FOR MAIN IDEAS

1. Matching

Match the paragraphs with their main ideas.

2. Multiple choice

FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION

3. Checklist

4. Multiple choice

5. Information transfer
Read the text about T. W. Parker and complete this table.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 5

6. True – False statements / True – False – No information
7. Answering comprehension questions
 questions of literal comprehension
 questions of inference (answers not explicitly stated)
 questions involving reinterpretation (answers found in different places in the text)

FOR PERSONAL RESPONSE

8. Discussion
Now discuss traffic problems in Ho Chi Minh City with your partners.
9. Answering questions
Do you think regular exercise is necessary for pregnant women?
Are you for or against drinking soft drinks?

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 6

Text 1
Today, many people are starving to death. There is a shortage of food and the available food is too
expensive for hungry people to buy. Therefore, they go without food or each day has only one or two small
meals lacking the necessary vitamins to maintain good health.
Recently, a man who wanted to understand the conditions of such people conducted an experiment. He
only ate one meal a day for a month but continued to work as he normally did. During the first five days he
was hungry at his regular meal times, but after he drank a glass of water, his hunger went away. During the
next few days, although he was not hungry during the day, he quickly noticed every food stall, and the smell
of food caught his attention. During the third and fourth weeks, he had hunger pains. He knew that he would
have hardly enough energy to work.
This experience changed his attitude. He more frequently noticed overweight people and people who threw
away leftover food. He realized the importance of food for the very hungry person. He could no longer easily
pass by a hungry beggar on the street. But most importantly, he could now sympathize in a small way with
the starving people of the world.

Text 2
A doctor who worked in a village was very annoyed because many people used to stop him in the street and
ask his advice. I this way, he was never paid for his services, and he never managed to earn much money. He
made up his mind to put an end to this. One day, he was stopped by a young man who said to him,” Oh, doctor.
I’m so glad to see you. I’ve got a severe pain in my left side.” The doctor pretended to be interested and said,”
Shut your eyes and stick your tongue out of your mouth”. The he went away, leaving the man standing in the
street with his tongue hanging out … and a large crowd of people laughing at him.
1. The new words are in italics in the text.
Write them in two lists:
- words which you would present before reading.
- words which you could leave for students to guess and deal with afterwards.

2. How would you introduce the text? Decide exactly what you would say.

3. Look at these possible guiding questions. Choose the two which you think would be best.
a) Was the doctor rich?
b) Was the doctor unhappy?
c) What was the young man’s problem?
d) Where was the man’s pain?
e) What did the doctor advise?

Text 3
SCHOOL UNIFORMS SHOULD RECEIVE AN A+
School uniforms should be mandatory for all students for a number of reasons. First, they
make everyone equal. In this way, the “rich” kids are on the same level as the poor ones. In
addition, getting ready for school can be much faster and easier. Many kids waste time choosing
what to wear to school, and they are often unhappy with their final choices. Most important, some
studies show that school uniforms make students perform better. Many people might say that
uniforms take away from personal freedom, but I believe that the benefits are stronger than the
drawbacks.

Task 2
Work out a task to check comprehension of text 1.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 7

Task 3
Compare the questions in A and those in B. What is the difference between them?

When you are invited to a meal in Thailand, the words of the invitation literally mean ‘come
and eat rice’. Indeed, nearly all Thai dishes are eaten with rice, which grows there very easily
as the climate is warm and there is plenty of rain.
The food is always served in nearly cut up pieces, so there is no need to use knives and forks
but, instead, special spoons and forks are used. The Thai used to eat with their hands and
there are still some people who eat this way. There is a particular way of doing it. First they
wash their right hand in a bowl of water – they only eat with their right hand. They are
careful not to let the food touch the palm of their hand. After the meal, the hand is again
carefully washed.
The meal us usually made up of several different dishes, all of which are spicy. They are
served in bowls which everyone shares, though each person has their own bowl of rice. As
Thailand has a long coastline, it is not surprising that fish and shellfish play an important
part in Thai cooking.

A. 1. Why is rice a common food in Thailand?

2. Why is fish a common food?
3. Why are knives not needed to eat food?
4. Here are some statements about the traditional way of eating in Thailand. Which are true
and which are false?
a) You should wash both hands before eating in Thailand.
b) You should eat with the fingers of the right hand.
c) You should wash your right hand after eating.

B. 1. Write two lists:

- Things that are the same in Thailand as in your country.
- Things that are different in Thailand from Vietnam.
2. Imagine you are eating with a Thai family. What would you find most unusual. Why?
3. Do you think you would enjoy Thai food? Why/Why not?

Task 4: Here are four different strategies for asking questions in class.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy? Consider which strategy:
– help the teacher control the class?/ help to keep the attention of the whole class.
– give good students a chance to show their knowledge.
– give weak or shy students a chance to answer.
– give lazy students a chance not to answer.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 8

Task 5: Select one of the texts above to do one of the tasks below which seems to be
appropriate for the text.

Suggest a follow- up of text 1, which will be taught for about 40 minutes.

Task 6: Put these stages of a reading lesson in a logical order.

a. Check detailed understanding by asking multiple choice questions.

b. Focus on vocabulary in the text by asking learners to find words that mean X, Y, Z.
c. Use a picture to generate interest in the topic.
d. Ask learners to read the text quickly in order to answer gist questions, such as: What's it
about? Who wrote it? Why?
e. Ask learners to talk about their personal response to the text and its topic.
f. Teach essential vocabulary that learners may be unfamiliar with.
g. Focus on a grammar structure in the text by, for example, asking learners to underline each
instance of it.
h. Use the title of the text to encourage learners to predict the content of the text.

Task 7: Matching tasks to texts

Numbers 1 to 3 show three different kinds of reading text. Letters a to i are descriptions of
reading tasks. Match them together with the appropriate text, and then put them in the
correct order (which task would you do first?, second?, etc).

Texts Tasks
1. a job advertisement.

2. a letter to the editor of a newspaper.

3. an encyclopedia entry.

Reading tasks
a. scanning for numbers like hours, wage etc.
b. very detailed reading to understand the writer’s point of view
c. skim reading to locate relevant information
d. scan to locate the correct heading
e. detailed reading about the profile of the person they want and job description
f. skim reading to determine interest in topic under discussion
g. detailed reading to fully understand all the information related to this topic
h. skim reading for suitability
i. detailed reading to understand all points being made

Task 8: Evaluating reading tasks

In the box below is a short reading text followed by 3 reading tasks aimed at pre -intermediate
students. On the next page there are 3 statements (a to c) with two options (i and ii) that ask
you to evaluate the reading tasks. Tick the option that you think is correct to complete each
statement.

POPULAR TESOL COURSE

Our current TESOL Course has proved to be very popular with students from all around the world.
We are running two groups this month and there is a very good mix of people from many different
countries: China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Italy, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Tahiti.
Paola Cavalcante is the first Italian teacher to attend the TESOL Course since it began 8 years ago.
She has taught English and French in her home town of Florence for a total of 12 years, but has
focused almost exclusively on teaching English for the last 6 years.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 9

She says there is great demand for English teachers in Italy. “Most people want to speak a foreign
language for their jobs, for travelling, for study abroad and so on.” The TESOL Course is the first
methodology course that Paola has studied overseas. “At home when there was ever anything
interesting about methodology I always liked to go – usually in the evening or weekends – in my free
time.”
Task 1 (first reading)
What countries are talked about in the text?
Task 2 (second reading)
Which answer is correct? This text is …
a) a report? b) an article c) a story
Task 3 (third reading)
What does the word “exclusively” mean? (see line 7)

Tick the statement you think is correct.

a. Task 1 is …
i. appropriate for a first reading because it is easy for students to do.
ii. not appropriate for a first reading because scanning the country names does not give a
general idea of what the text is about.
b. Task 2 is …
i. appropriate for a second reading because it makes students think about the text type.
ii. not appropriate for a second reading because it does not check understanding of the text
in enough detail
c. Task 3 is …
i. appropriate for a third reading because by a third reading students should be able to work
out the meaning of new words from the context.
ii. not appropriate for a third reading because it is too hard

Task 9:
Read the following statements about reading and decide if you think these statements are True
or False by writing ‘T’ or ‘F’ in the right hand column below.

Statements about reading True or False

a. It’s a good idea to get students to underline new vocabulary in the text the very first
time they read it.
b. It is not possible to create an intensive reading task for a bus timetable.
c. True / False questions can only be used for detailed reading tasks.
d. You should set reading tasks before students begin reading.
e. It’s not a good idea to set time limits for reading because it makes students panic.
f. The first time students read a text, it’s better that they don’t use a dictionary.
g. Sometimes it’s a good idea to get students reading and not bother about a task.
h. Lead in activities are mostly a waste of time.
i. It helps students to get the gist understanding of a text before reading for detail.
j. Students should be able to understand a writer’s opinion about a topic the very first
time they read.

Lecturer: Bui Tri Vu Nam (MA) 10