Teaching of reading
According to Lord Bacon, “Reading maketh a
full man.” Reading may be defined as the act of receiving meaning from the
written form. It is the ability to interpret linguistic sounds in their graphic
and symbolic representations. In reading we employ visual symbols to represent
auditory symbols. According to Goodman, “Reading is a psycholinguistic game.”
Gibson says, “Reading behaviour is receiving communication, making
discriminative responses to graphic symbols and decoding graphic symbols to
speech.”
Belts defines reading as a thinking
process. But Jenkinson defines reading as the act of responding to printed
symbols so that meaning is created. Reading is an active skill in the sense it
involves active visual and mental process. It is a receptive skill as the
reader derives message from the written material. Reading is understanding,
interpreting or making sense of a given text. The message will not be passively
absorbed, it requires effort.
There are mainly three levels of reading.
They are literal level, inferential level and evaluative level. In literal level, the reader can find the
meaning directly in the text. Answers can be seen clearly and openly in the
text. [For example, When did you buy this saree?] In inferential level, the
reader cannot get the exact answers directly from the text. He has to interpret
the text. He reasons, analyses, classifies, compares and contrasts. [For
example, How did it occur?] In evaluative level, the reader finds the exact
answer beyond the text. Answers are not directly given in the text. This level
is extra abstract. [For example, A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. Do you
agree?]
Sub-skills of reading
According to John Munby, reading has the
following sub-skills:
1.
Recognizing the script of the
language.
2.
Reducing the meaning of the
lexical items.
3.
Understanding explicit
information.
4.
Understanding implicit
information.
5.
Understanding concepts.
6.
Understanding communicative
value.
7.
Understanding relations.
8.
Interpreting outside the text.
9.
Diatinguishing main ideas.
10. Summarizing.
11. Selecting relevant points.
12. Skimming.
13. Scanning.
14. Transcoding to tabular or diagrammatic form.
Mechanics of reading
When we read, our eye movement is not even
but in jerks. The number of words read from one stop or fixation to the next is
called eye span. The slow reader has a short eye span and the fast reader a
long eye span. By training, eye span can be enlarged. There are various methods
of teaching reading. The methods can be broadly classified into analytical and
synthetic methods.
Reading problems and defects
There are two kinds of reading problems,
faulty reading habits and defective reading. Faulty readiing habits are finger
pointing, spreading the spit, regression, vocalization, sub-vocalization and
absent mindedness. In early stages children are engaged in loud reading. While
reading aloud children resort to finger pointing. In order not to lose the word
or the line on decipharing, students
move their fingers on the line. Since this habit will reduce the speed of
reading it should be gradually avoided.
Large font and adequate spacing can be
provided in the reading material in order to avoid this tendency. The children
have the habit of touching the finger on the tongue and spreading the spit on
the pages in order to turn them. This bad habit should be avoided. Regression
is eyes moving backward while reading for the words or phrases already read.
This curtain reading speed and should be reduced by giving concentration to
what is being read. Vocalization is a tendency to read word by word and not in
sense groups. At the elementary level, the spoken word helps in interpreting
the written word but at the higher levels it stands as a hump that reduces the
speed of reading to a great extent. Hence, this tendency should be avoided at
the very early stage of reading.
In silent reading some children show the
habit of sub-vocalization, that is, whispering on the passage. Since this also
reduces the speed of reading it should be discouraged. Absent mindedness while
reading is a very serious problem in both loud and silent reading. The teacher
has no immediate method to detect this defect, but to make a classroom
environment to get the learner's attention focussed to reading and next testing
the effectiveness of their reading skill by comprehension questions. Reading
without understanding is worthless.
Defective reading
Defective reading happens from two sources-
opthalmic and neurological. The former is due to defective eye sight like short
sightedness, long sightedness, etc. They should be advised to contact an
opthalmologist and be provided with seats in the front of the class so that
they can read from blackboard without strain. Stammering or stuttering and
alexia are neurological defects for which medical treatment or counselling
should be recommended.
Problem of partial or total deafness also
impedes reading, because speech sounds are partially or totally alien to the
children with such defects. If the vocal organs are defective, reading aloud
will create problems. Environmental problems arise out of noisy and dirty
atmosphere, as well as by lack of infrastructure facilities. There are
emotional problems like being shy. If
the reader is free from all the types of physical, environmental and emotional
problems he or she will be a prospectful reader provided he or she is
motivated.
Types of reading
Loud reading:-
Loud reading is oral reading. In second
language learning, loud reading should start a few months after starting oral
work. The following are the characteristics of loud reading:
1.
Loud reading is meant to mend
the defects in pronunciation, articulation and stress and to bring them to the
proper nature of the language.
2.
It is to guide the learners to
read with comprehension with increasing speed.
3.
It is after acquiring skills in
loud reading, the learners gradually move from it to silent reading.
4.
The teacher should read loudly
a passage as a model for reading and then only the learners be asked to read
loudly.
5.
At the cost of meaningful
reading, speed should not be insisted upon.
6.
Loud reading exercises should
be given to individual only, not to a group.
7.
For effective loud reading the
student's posture is an important factor.
Advantages of loud reading
1.
The learner follows the model
reading of the teacher.
2.
It develops confidence in the
learner and helps improve speaking with fluency.
3.
Opportunity for learning
pronunciation, reading by meaningful units, intonation, stress, etc. are got.
4.
Sensory training for the eyes,
speech organs and ear at the same time is got.
Disadvantages of loud reading
1.
Loud reading does not derive
pleasure.
2.
Loud reading may often cause
loose attention on meaning.
3.
If the habit of loud reading
continues, it will be a hinderence to others engaged in silent reading.
4.
While a student is reading
aloud, the others attention may be diverted to other things.
5.
Not all students are benefited
by loud reading in a class.
Silent reading
Silent reading is the most effective type
of reading. Because it has long time effects and can be effectively used for
acquiring knowledge and understanding in all walks of life. Silent reading has
the following characteristics:
1.
A text material in print is the
basis for silent reading.
2.
Eye movements are based more on
difficult points than on punctuation marks.
3.
Speech organs are at rest, the
eye is the chief sense organ.
Objectives of silent reading
1.
To enable learners to read
without using the speech organs.
2.
To enable them to read with
comprehension.
3.
To enable them to enrich their
vocabulary.
4.
To enable them to get
information and derive pleasure.
Process in silent reading
1.
The teacher selects a passage
of the learner's standard for silent reading and asks them to read silently in
a given time.
2.
He observes them reading and
corrects if improper ways like sub-vocalization, etc are noticed.
3.
He evaluates the learner's
comprehension using different methods.
4.
He gives the weak students more
attention.
Advantages of silent reading
1.
It saves time and energy.
2.
It has immense value in future
life, in public life as well as in self improvement programmes.
Disadvantages of silent reading
1.
Silent reading is not
worthwhile for beginners.
2.
Corrective producers are not
much effective.
3.
Improvement in suprasegmental
language features has no place in it.
4.
Particular care has to be taken
in selecting and grading materials for silent reading.
Intensive reading
Intensive reading involves detailed study
of linguistic and literary aspects and collecting information from a prose
text, with an immediate or not very remote purpose like examination, lecture or
critical study.
Objectives of intensive reading
1.
To enable students to
understand, speak and write correctly.
2.
To enable students to extend
their vocabulary and to enrich language.
3.
To enable students to think in
English.
4.
To enable students to develop
interest in English.
Processes in intensive reading
1.
Model reading by the teacher
while the learners listen.
2.
Individual loud reading by the
learners while the teacher corrects them.
3.
The teacher explains difficult
items in the passage and removes linguistic and literary difficulties.
4.
Special features in the passage
are elucidated.
5.
The teacher asks comprehension
questions on facts, meanings, usages, etc.
Advantages of intensive reading
1.
It enriches vocabulary,
structure, pronunciation, grammar, etc.
2.
It develops the power of
expression.
Disadvantages of intensive reading
Detailed analysis of the language features,
will not be very interesting to all the learners.
Extensive reading
In extensive reading the learners are not
getting help from the teacher. They read independently for comprehension of the
overall subject matter. Extensive reading involves reading silently and
speedily. Extensive reading should not be started in the early stage. There are
four objectives for extensive reading according to Thompson and Wyatt. These
are intellectual, literary, linguistic and recreational.
Advantages of extensive reading
1.
It keeps the class busy, for
every learner will be provided with text materials.
2.
It increases vocabulary.
3.
It promotes literary reading.
4.
It encourages self study.
Disadvantages of extensive reading
1.
It does not give emphasis to
analysis of linguistic features as it concentrates on subject matter.
2.
The learners get minimum
attention or no attention at all from the teacher.
Teaching elementary reading
In the Indian context teaching of English
as a second language starts in different years of the elementary school stage
in various states. Three stages can be envisaged in the acquisition of the
second language; they are the recognition stage, the structuring stage and the
interpretation stage. In the first stage,
the student will find that sounds, orthography, alphabet, structures, lexis,
syntex, etc are all quite strange. The teacher introduces a word, say cat, the
student pronounces it and when the teacher writes the word on the blackboard,
recognizes it and creates a bond between the sound or word and the object in
the new language.
In the second stage the student recognizes
that the syntax of the mother tongue is not the same for second language i.e;
SOV(subject, object, verb) pattern is changed to SVO(subject, verb, object)
while coming to the second language. In the early stage the learner will be
reading each letter one by one and then reading the word. In the next stage
when oral lessons progress the student will be familier with some domestic
words and short speech in response to simple questions like 'What is your
name?' etc.
The later stage is a higher stage namely
the interpretation stage which develops
at high school or even later. In the elementary stage the atomistic method was
traditionally in vogue. It is to pronounce each letter by name of a word and
then read it. Now this method is obsolate. The phonic or syllabic method has
almost displaced the atomistic or alphabet method as it has been found having
some advantages in learning pronunciation. In teaching a word the sound of each
letter is made and then the word is pronounced.
Gradually the student is introduced to word method, sentence method and
story method. Thus the preparatory reading can be started in the preliminary
stage, using a number of objects, pictures and their names. As Joseph and
Richard Addison suggests, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the
body.”
Choral reading
Choral reading is reading aloud in unison
with a whole class or group of students. After hearing the teacher read and
discuss a section, students re-read the the text together. Choral reading helps
build student's fluency, self confidence, vocabulary knowledge, motivation, and
enjoyment of literature. Reading and rereading shared texts may have the
additional benefit of building a sense of community in the classroom.
Types of choral reading
Antiphonal:-
Divide the group into groups and assign
parts of the text to each group. Give students an opportunity to practice how
they will read before bringing them back together to chorally read together.
Dialogue:-
Select a text that contains different
speaking parts. Assign the part of narrator to one group and each character to
other groups.
Cumulative choral reading:-
The number of students reading gradually
builds as the text is read. An individual or small group reads the first line
or section of a passage, and then they are joined by another group. By the end
of the passage the whole group is reading.
Impromptu choral reading:-
As a text is read, students join in or fade
out as they choose. Some students may choose to highlight certain words or
sections of the text, read every otherline, or the whole section. Students
choose
ahead of time what section of the text they
will read.
Critical reading
Critical reading is an analytic activity.
The reader rereads a text to identify patterns of elements information values,
assumptions, and language usage through out the discussion. These elements
are tied together in an interpretation,
an assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole.
Critical reading focusing on,
·
what a text says-
restatement-talks about the same topic as the original text.
·
what a text does-description-discusses
aspects of the discussion itself.
·
what a text means-interpretation-analyzes
the text and asserts a meaning for the text as a whole.
Goals of critical reading
Text books on critical reading commonly ask
students to accomplish certain goals.
·
To recognize an author's
purpose-this involves inferring a basis
for choices of content and language.
·
To understand tone and persuassive
elements-this involves classifying the nature of language choices.
·
To recognize bias-this involves
classifying the nature of patterns of choice of content and language.
The tools of critical reading
Critical reading mainly focuses on what to
look for or analysis and how to think about what you find or inference. The
first part-what to look for involves recognizing those aspects of a discussion
that control the meaning. The second part-how to think about what you
find-involves the processes of inference, the interpretation of data from
within the text.
REFERENCE
1.
English Language Educatin by
Dr.K Sivarajan, T.V Ramakrishnan and K Mridula.
2.
https/www.stedwards.edu
3.
https/www.criticalreading.com
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