CEPA Antonio Machado (Puertollano)

English LanguageReading Strategies

Before reading

Predicting the content of the text.

Unfamiliar words. Guessing the meaning from the context. Use the following analysis.

Taking advantage of what you already know. It will help you to understand the text better.

Distinguishing facts from opinions. Believe, think or consider (opinion). Adjectives as: horrible, fantastic, boring or interesting, express an opinion too.

-Predicting: Use photos and the title to understand what the text is about before you read.

While reading

Skimming.You can often find the main ideas by reading the first and the last sentences of each paragraph.

Key words. Get the general idea from repeated words.

Cognates. They can help you to understand the main idea of the text. Beware of false friends!

Keywords: You can understand the main idea of a text by focussing on the most frequently repeated words.

Cognates: are words with similar or identical spellings in two languages. They also have the same meaning. They can help you to understand the main idea of the text.

While reading

Key sentences. You can get the general idea of a text by reading the topic sentence of each paragraph.

A topic sentence contains the main ideas.

It is often the first or last sentence of a paragraph.

Normally you can locate it by looking for sentences which predict someting or state an opinion.

While reading

Short easy phrases or sentences.Don't panic if the text looks too difficult.

Look for short, easy pieces of information to get the general idea of the text.

Try to cut down long, difficult sentences into shorter, easier components.

Scanning. Although the text seems difficult, it is sometimes enough to look for specific information.

After reading

Reference words are usually pronouns

It is important to know what the pronouns refer to. Example:

Tom loved chats and was addicted to his computerParents should talk to teenagers about the problem of addiction to technology and find a solution for it.

T#Pgina 13ips

After reading

Answering 'true or false' questions.Read the sentences in the exercise first.

Read the text carefully and locate the relevant information.

Compare the sentences given with the information in the text. Decide if they are True or False.

Rewrite the evidence from the text using your own words: The text says..., the author writes..., according to the text...

After reading

Using your own words to answer questions.1. Read the questions carefully and find the answers in the text.2. Think of other ways of answering using the new structures and different words.3. You may use introductory expressions: according to the text/author,...4. You can also use the question to begin your answer.

Remember: Do NOT repeat the textand pay close attention to the verb tenseIn the question

After reading

Finding synonyms in a text.Consider the part of the speech (noun, verb, adjective or adverb?).

Look for words which belong to the same family of words.

Replace the selected words from the text with your options in the exercise.

Then check what you've written and decide if the words make sense in the sentence.

After reading

Reference words are usually pronouns which refer to a previously stated headword. 1. Look for the reference word in the text.2. Identify what kind of pronoun is: subject, object, possessive...3. Look at the previous information in the text and identify the word/s it refers to.4. Substitute the reference word with the headword.5. Make sure the sentence makes sense.

After reading

Matching paragraphs and headings. Read the whole paragraph.

Get the general idea from the first and last sentences, keywords and cognates.

Look for synonyms in the headings.

Match them with the most suitable paragraph.

Unfamiliar words

Is it a noun, an adjective or an adverb?

Is there a preffix or a suffix?

Is it a compound word? Can you recognise one of the words?

Think of possible synonyms. Which would make sense in the sentence?

If you still can't guess, try translating the sentence without that word. Try to determinate the meaning in your language.

Back

Reference words

Look for the reference word in the text.

Identify what kind of pronoun it is (subjetc, object, possessive)

Look at the previous information in the text and identify the word or words it refers to.

Substitute the reference word with the headword.

Make sure the sentence makes sense.

Back

Tips and ideas were taken from the textbook

Bachillerato Made Easy 2, Richmond Publishing, 2001First slide image (thinking man) has been taken from

http://jeffshore.com/2011/11/future-geniuses/thinking-man/Slide 6 image (light-bulb-bust) has been taken from

http://www.profitandlaws.com/

Reading_comprehension_tips.odp se encuentra bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 3.0 Unported.

Sources:

Jos Luis Chamero Garca