TEACHING READING

Reading Purposes

Intensive reading Extensive reading

Reading Purposes

Munby:• INTENSIVE READING• EXTENSIVE/RECEPTIVE READING

Reading Purposes (cont’d)

Grellet:• INTENSIVE READING• EXTENSIVE/RECEPTIVE READING• SKIMMING• SCANNING

Models of Reading Comprehension

Barnett:• BOTTOM UP

From Omaggio, A.

Models of Reading Comprehension (cont’d)

Barnett:• TOP DOWN: experience and intelligence to

understand — schemata

We need to consider:a) The interactive nature of reading: Ss are

individuals who approach the text with different background knowledge, interests, motivation,etc.

b) The PURPOSES--- why? MY objective? Strategies and processes involved?

Activities designed to check comprehension aim at:

a) Clarifying CONTENT: Understanding facts, implications, suppositions.

b) Clarifying DISCOURSE STRUCTURE: i.e. function of the passage, argumentative organization, rhetorical structure, use of cohesive devices, relationship between sentences, etc.

Elements to consider when teaching reading:

• Top down & bottom up processing• Schema theory• Strategic reading• Extensive reading• Fluency• Vocabulary• Role of the culture• Age of students

From Brown, D.

From Brown, D.

• Different GENRES• Permanence• Processing time• Distance• Orthography• Complexity• Vocabulary• Formality

Characteristics of written language:

Techniques for Teaching Reading Skills

Phillips’ 5 stages plan:

1) PRE-TEACHING / PREPARATION STAGEActivities:• Brainstorming• Looking at visuals, headline, titles, graphics,

etc.• Predicting from title or first lines

From Omaggio, A.

2) SKIMMING / SCANNING STAGESActivities:• Identifying topic sentence and main ideas• Multiple choice on best paraphrase• Matching subtitles and paragraphs• Filling in charts• Creating headlines for different sections• Making global judgements or reacting

3) DECODING / INTENSIVE READING:

(Harmer) addresses the ‘vocabulary question’: How do we cope with

Ss’ desperation to know every single word?

4) COMPREHENSION STAGE:E.g.

– Wh-questions– True/False questions– Multiple choice– Gap-filling exercises– Tables/charts to

complete– Sorting/grouping– Sequencing– Matching

Comprehension QuestionsTypes of comprehension questions:

• Literal• Reorganization• Inference• Evaluation

Forms of questions:• Yes/No• Alternative• True or False• Wh-• Multiple choice

5) TRANSFERABLE / INTEGRATING SKILLS:• Summarizing• Discussing• Relating topics to own reality• Think-pair-share• Response journals• Extension activities of various kinds

Strategies for Reading Comprehension

1) Identify the PURPOSE in reading2) Aid bottom up decoding3) Use effective silent reading techniques4) Use semantic mapping or clustering5) Encourage Ss to guess when uncertain6) Help Ss analyse vocab, distinguish

literal and implies meaning

From Brown, D.

Principles for teaching Reading Skills

1) Do not overlook specific focus on reading skills

2) Use intrinsically motivating skills3) Balance authenticity and readability

(SUITABILITY, EXPLOITABILITY, READABILITY)4) Encourage the development of reading

strategies5) Include BOTH bottom up and top down

strategies

From Brown, D.

6) Follow the SQ3R sequence:SurveyQuestionReadReciteReview

7) Plan for ALL the 5 stages8) Build an assessment aspect into your

techniques

Principles for teaching Reading Skills

1) Reading is NOT a passive skill2) Ss need to be engaged with what they

are reading3) Ss should be encouraged to respond to

the content of a reading text4) Prediction is a major factor in reading5) Match the task to the topic6) Good teachers exploit reading texts TO

THE FULL

From Harmer, J. (2)

Roles of the Teacher in Reading LessonsFrom Harmer, J.

1) ORGANISER2) OBSERVER3) FEEDBACK ORGANISER4) PROMPTER