Learning log outside-week 3

Reading Teaching

Traditionally, the purpose of learning to read in a language has been to have access to the literature written in that language. In language instruction, reading materials have traditionally been chosen from literary texts that represent "higher" forms of culture.

The communicative approach to language teaching has given instructors a different understanding of the role of reading in the language classroom and the types of texts that can be used in instruction. When the goal of instruction is communicative competence, everyday materials such as train schedules, newspaper articles, and travel and tourism Web sites become appropriate classroom materials, because reading them is one way communicative competence is developed. Instruction in reading and reading practice thus become essential parts of language teaching at every level.

Integrating Reading Strategies

Instruction in reading strategies is not an add-on, but rather an integral part of the use of reading activities in the language classroom. Instructors can help their students become effective readers by teaching them how to use strategies before, during, and after reading.

Before reading:

            ·         Plan for the reading task

            ·         Set a purpose or decide in advance what to read for

            ·         Decide if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed

            ·         Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall meaning) or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)

During and after reading:

            ·         Monitor comprehension

            ·         Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses

            ·         Decide what is and is not important to understand

            ·         Reread to check comprehension

            ·         Ask for help

After reading:

            ·         Evaluate comprehension and strategy use

            ·         Evaluate comprehension in a particular task or area

            ·         Evaluate overall progress in reading and in particular types of reading tasks

            ·         Decide if the strategies used were appropriate for the purpose and for the task

            ·         Modify strategies if necessary

Techniques for Reading Teaching

Reading aloud:

            1)      Basic Steps of Teaching (BST)  

            2)      Reading for Fluency (Chain Reading)

            3)      Reading and Look up

            4)      Speed Reading

            5)      Reading for Accuracy  

Silent Reading:

            1)      Pre-Reading

            2)      While-Reading

            3)      Post-Reading