What is
reading?
Reading is a receptive skill.
Reading is defined as a cognitive process that involves
decoding symbols to arrive at meaning.
Reading is an active process of constructing meanings of
words.
Reading with a purpose helps the reader to direct information
towards a goal and focuses their attention.
Reading is a thinking process. It allows the reader to use
what he or she may already know, also called prior
knowledge.
ole of reading in the classroom
Reading:
teaches learners new words and perspectives.
Helps learners improve their pronunciation.
helps strengthen language and sharpens sentence structure.
Improves learner’s literacy.
improves learner’s conversation skills.
helps to understand the content of what has been read.
During processing of information, the reader uses strategies to understand what
they are reading, uses themes to organize ideas, and uses textual clues to find the
meanings of new words. Each of the three components of reading is equally
important. Let's take a look at the components!
The first is the pre-reading stage, which allows the
reader to activate background knowledge, preview
the text, and develop a purpose for reading. During
this stage, teachers also pre-teach the vocabulary
which students might not have the knowledge of.
The second stage occurs during reading, when the
reader makes predictions as they read and then
confirms or revises the predictions. At this stage,
readers usually use different kinds of strategies
depending on the task they have to fulfill.
The final stage occurs after reading and allows the
reader to retell the story, discuss the elements of a
story, answer questions, and/or compare it to another
text.
Text
types
:
Difficulties when reading a foreign
text:
Students do not have enough vocabulary
Students have difficulty understanding what is being read
They do not know meaning of some words
Students do not know how to pronounce some words
They take time to read text
Cultural as well as linguistic differences are also involved
Absence of extensive reading
Types of texts
Lack of illustration
Reading strategies
Reading strategies are teaching methods. Teacher uses
these methods to help develop pupil’s language and
reading skills.
Reading strategies are:
Reading for detail;
Intensive reading;
Skimming and scanning;
Inferring reading;
Close reading;
Extensive reading.
Reading for detail
Reading for detail- means reading something carefully
to get accurate information. This is when you pay
attention to every single word and spend time thinking
about what each individual sentence means.
Examples:
reading a grammar explanation, reading the
instructions for an exercise in a textbook.
Intensive reading
“Intensive reading is when the readers carefully and
closely read a short text with the intention of gaining
an understanding of as much as detail as possible"
(Scrivener, 1994, p.188).
This means that the learner focuses on the language
more than the text. The readers read in the text,
focusing on the new vocabulary, grammatical forms,
the purpose of the author and the problems of the
text. These activities help in improving reading skills,
such as skimming and scanning a text for specific
information and reading for detailed information.
The role of the teacher in intensive
reading activities
Skimming and scanning
Skimming and scanning are two strategies for speed
reading. Their purpose is to get the information you need
quickly without wasting time.
Skimming- read quickly to get the gist of passage.
Leaners use it to find answer for a question without
reading every word but some portion of the text.
For example, when teacher asks questions from text and
learner attempts to find it quickly without reading whole text.
Scanning- moving eyes quickly over text to locate a
specific piece of information or key word without reading
whole text.
For example, when we are searching for a telephone number
in a directory, we scan the page for the name of the specific
person we are looking for.
Inferring
Inferring means Deducing meaning from context. Making an inference involves finding
clues, reading between the lines, and understanding what the author doesn’t explicitly
state.
inferring will encourage:
o more critical reading
o better understanding and enjoyment of the text
o Improves skill of drawing conclusions
o improves skill of making inferences.
Close reading
Close reading is a thoughtful, critical analysis of a
text that focuses on significant details or patterns.
Close reading activities include:
o outlining the content of the text for the students
o using headings or subheadings to identify the gist of the text
o breaking complex sentences into clauses
o asking students to summaries the key ideas
o rereading the text and annotate with main ideas, or questions or comments.
Extensive reading
Extensive Reading is the process of reading
longer, easier texts for an extended period of
time
by Extensive Reading
o learners build their vocabulary,
o helps them understand grammar,
o helps them to build reading speed and reading fluency
READERS
.
Reading in English is an excellent Here are five key concepts of effective
reading
way of expanding your vocabulary
and grammar. At the same time
reading expands your horizons Phonemics awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
comprehension
8 top alternatives of reading
short stories
Audiobooks
Podcasts
Reading comprehension
Adapted books
Ted talks
Fairy tales
Febbles
Some alternatives to reading aloud
round the class
Here are some alternatives to try :
You read your narrative, but students read character dialogue
You tell the story in your own words, without notes, on the
most spell- binding way you can . Then you get the students
to do the same with other bits.
Students read silently. Then. Without discussion, act out.
Improvising scene, based on what happened.
Students read to each other in small groups or pairs,
stopping, changing, discussion and also helping each other
whenever they need it.
