A.
Definition
of Reading
Reading is an activity
that can add someone’s knowledge about important news and also some new
vocabulary items.
“Reading
is a process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill
requiring the coordination of interrelated sources of information” (Stanley,
2007) Taken from: Stanley, S. (2007). An Analysis of Rx
for Discovery Reading RTM for Elementary Students Below Average in Reading. The United States of America: Pro Quest Information and Learning Company.[1]
B.
Reason for
Reading
There are many reasons why getting students to read English
texts is an important part of the
teacher’s job. In the first place, many students want to be able to read texts
in English either for their careers,
for study purposes or simply for pleasure. Anything we can do to make it easier for them to do these things
must be a good idea.
Reading
is useful for language acquisition. Provided that students more or less
understand what they read, the more they read, the better they get at it. Reading also has a
positive effect on students’ vocabulary knowledge, on their spelling and on
their writing. Reading
texts also provide good models for English writing. At different times we can
encourage students to focus on vocabulary, grammar or punctuation. We can also
use reading material to demonstrate the way we construct sentences, paragraphs
and whole texts.
Lastly, good reading texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulate discussion, excite imaginative responses and provide the
springboard for well-rounded, fascinating lessons.[2]
C.
Different
kinds for Reading
There are two kinds of
teaching reading; Extensive and Intensive. Extensive and Intensive are
different in some cases.
The first difference is that
Extensive Reading covers large area, while Intensive Reading covers narrower
area. According to Graham Stanley, Extensive Reading involves students reading
long texts or large quantities for general understanding, with the intention of
enjoying the texts. It means that students are given freedom to choose their
own topic which they think are interested to be discussed. In this case, the
students also have to find supported articles related to the topic in order to
give them background knowledge, so that they know more about the topic they
have chosen. It is different from Intensive Reading that does not allow the
students to find a topic they like. The topic is given by the teacher. The
students also do not necessary to look for supported articles because the topic
which is chosen by the teacher is usually short and easy to understand.
The second difference is about
students’ activity in class. In Extensive Reading the students’ activity is
more complex than in Intensive Reading. The students, in Extensive Reading
class, usually are asked to write a summary after reading an article/ passage.
As we know, writing summary is not an easy thing to do. It allows learners to
assert full control, both of the main factual or fictional content of an
article/ book, and of the grammar and vocabulary used to express it (Bell, 1998). Besides, the
students also will do a short presentation on what they have read. By doing
short presentation, the students will have knowledge of the right preparation,
self- independence and autonomy (Bell,
1998). While in Intensive Reading, instead of writing summary and having
presentation, the students are asked to answer some questions related to the
topic which is given by the teacher. Usually, all of the answers are available
on the text, so that the students only rewrite it.
The last, Extensive Reading
will discourage the over- use of dictionary (Bell, 1998); on the contrary dictionary is a
must in Intensive Reading. It is true that dictionary have an important place
in reading activity, but as stated by Bell (1998) that the students will focus
only on the language if they always consult the dictionary every time they find
an unfamiliar word. They will not pay attention to the message conveyed. Bell also said that this
habit will cause inefficient reading and destroy the pleasure that reading is
intended to provide. Graham Stanley from British Council, Barcelona said that by avoiding dictionary,
the students are expected to be encouraged to jot down the words they come
across in a vocabulary notebook and they can look them up after they have
finished reading. It will make the students guess the meaning based on the
context. By doing this, the students are able to always remember the meaning of
a word because they find it by themselves. Meanwhile in Intensive Reading,
students have to find difficult words while they are reading. The frequency of
using dictionary is often because in Intensive Reading, a text will be used to
answer some questions, so the students have to know the meaning of all words in
the text in order to make them easy to answer the question.[3]
D.
Level of
Reading
For students to
develop communicative competence in reading, classroom and homework reading
activities must resemble (or be) real-life reading tasks that involve
meaningful communication. They must therefore be authentic in three ways.
1. The
reading material must be authentic: It must be the kind of material that
students will need and want to be able to read when traveling, studying abroad,
or using the language in other contexts outside the classroom.
When
selecting texts for student assignments, remember that the difficulty of a
reading text is less a function of the language, and more a function of the
conceptual difficulty and the task(s) that students are expected to complete.
Simplifying a text by changing the language often removes natural redundancy
and makes the organization somewhat difficult for students to predict. This
actually makes a text more difficult to read than if the original were used.
Rather than
simplifying a text by changing its language, make it more approachable by
eliciting students' existing knowledge in pre-reading discussion, reviewing new
vocabulary before reading, and asking students to perform tasks that are within
their competence, such as skimming to get the main idea or scanning for
specific information, before they begin intensive reading.
2. The
reading purpose must be authentic: Students must be reading for reasons that
make sense and have relevance to them. "Because the teacher assigned
it" is not an authentic reason for reading a text.
To identify
relevant reading purposes, ask students how they plan to use the language they
are learning and what topics they are interested in reading and learning about.
Give them opportunities to choose their reading assignments, and encourage them
to use the library, the Internet, and foreign language newsstands and
bookstores to find other things they would like to read.
3. The
reading approach must be authentic: Students should read the text in a way that
matches the reading purpose, the type of text, and the way people normally
read. This means that reading aloud will take place only in situations where it
would take place outside the classroom, such as reading for pleasure. The
majority of students' reading should be done silently.[4]
E.
Reading
Skill
There are different styles of reading for different
situations. The technique you choose will depend on the purpose for reading.
For example, you might be reading for enjoyment, information, or to complete a
task. If you are exploring or reviewing, you might skim a document. If you're
searching for information, you might scan for a particular word. To get
detailed information, you might use a technique such as SQ4R. You need to
adjust your reading speed and technique depending on your purpose.
Many people consider skimming and scanning search techniques
rather than reading strategies. However when reading large volumes of
information, they may be more practical than reading. For example, you might be
searching for specific information, looking for clues, or reviewing
information.
Skimming, scanning, and critical reading are different styles
of reading and information processing.
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of
a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it
word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed
three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they
have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when
you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.
There are many strategies that can be used when skimming.
Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and
other organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the
title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first
sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you're seeking
specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well
to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables,
and charts.
Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up
a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas.
In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on
finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down
the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you
first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once
you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it.
When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such
as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for
words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or
color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.
Reading
off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people
have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper. Although
they can read and comprehend at the same rate as paper, skimming on the
computer is much slower than on paper.[5]
F.
Reading
Principle
Principle 1: Encourage students to read as
often and as much as possible.
The
more students read, the better. Everything we do should encourage them to read
extensively as well as - if not more than - intensively. It is a good idea to
discuss this principle with students.
Principle 2: Students need to be engaged
with what they are reading.
Outside
normal lesson time, when students are reading extensively, they should be
involved in joyful reading - that is, we should try to help them get as much
pleasure from it as possible. But during lessons, too, we will do our best to
ensure that they are engaged with the
topic of a reading text and the activities they are asked to do while dealing
with it.
Principle 3: Encourage students to respond
to the content of a text (and explore their feelings about it), not just
concentrate on its construction.
Of
course, it is important for students to study reading texts in class in order
to find out such things as the way they use language, the number of paragraphs
they contain and how many times they use relative clauses. But the meaning, the
message of the text, is just as important as this. As a result, we must give
students a chance to respond to that message in some way. It is especially
important that they should be allowed to show their feelings about the topic -
thus provoking personal engagement with it and the language. With extensive
reading this is even more important. Reading
for pleasure is - and should be - different from reading for study.
Principle 4: Prediction is a major factor in
reading.
When
we read texts in our own language, we frequently have a good idea of the
content before we actually start reading. Book covers give us a clue about what
is in the book; photographs and headlines hint at what articles are about; we
can identify reports as reports from their appearance before we read a single
word. The moment we get these clues – the book cover, the headline, the
web-page banner - our brain starts predicting what we are going to read.
Expectations are set up and the active process of reading is ready to begin. In
class, teachers should give students ‘hints’ so that they also have a chance to
predict what is coming. In the case of extensive reading - when students are
choosing what to read for pleasure - we should encourage them to look at covers
and back cover copy to help them select what to read and then to help them ‘get
into’ a book.
Principle 5: Match the task to the topic
when using intensive reading texts.
Once
a decision has been taken about what reading text the students are going to
read (based on their level, the topic of the text and its linguistic and
activation potential), we need to choose good reading tasks - the right kind of questions, appropriate activities before
during and after reading, and useful study exploitation, etc. The most useful
and interesting text can be undermined by boring and inappropriate tasks; the
most commonplace passage can be made really exciting with imaginative and
challenging activities, especially if the level
of challenge (i.e. how easy it is for students to complete a task) is
exactly right for the class.
Principle 6: Good teachers exploit reading
texts to the full.
Any
reading text is full of sentences, words, ideas, descriptions, etc. It doesn’t
make sense, in class, just to get students to read it and then drop it and move
on to something else. Good teachers integrate the reading text into interesting
lesson sequences, using the topic for discussion and further tasks, using the
language for study and then activation (or, of course, activation and then
study) and using a range of activities to bring the text to life. Where
students have been doing extensive reading, we should use whatever
opportunities present themselves to provoke useful feedback.[6]
G. Conclusiom
> talked about the fact that the more students read the better they get at
reading. We suggested that reading is good for language acquisition in general,
provides good models for future writing and offers opportunities for language
study.
> made a distinction between intensive and extensive reading, stressing
the beneficial effects of the latter (especially in relation to simplified
readers).
> said that teachers should encourage students to read in a variety of
genres and that, where possible, the language of the texts should be authentic,
unless it is too difficult for students (in which case we will offer
authentic-like language).
> said that students need to realize how to read for different purposes
- including skimming, scanning, reading for pleasure and reading for detailed
comprehension.
> come up with six reading ‘principles’: read as often and as much as
possible; students need to be engaged while they are reading; students should
be encouraged to respond to the content of a text (and explore their feelings
about it), not just concentrate on its construction; prediction is a major
factor in reading; match the task to the topic when using intensive reading
texts; and good teachers exploit reading texts to the full.
> looked at three reading sequences comprising a newspaper article, a
magazine article and an extended Internet-based web quest.
> listed a number of other reading possibilities.
> discussed ways in which
students can be encouraged to read extensively by providing libraries and time,
letting students have choice and getting them to give feedback.
REFERENCES
How_to_Teach_English_2nd_Edition_Jeremy_Harmer http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/read/extensive.shtml
