Unit 11 Teaching Reading 1.Teaching Aims: To discuss how toteach reading.Analyze some skills involved in reading comprehension and principles and models for teaching reading.Introduce some reading activities 2.Teaching Content: 1)How do we read? 2)What do we read? 3)Skills involved in reading comprehension 4)Principles and models for teaching reading 5)Pre-reading activities 6)While-reading activities 7)Post-reading activities 8)Conclusion 3.Teaching Hours::4 periods 4.Teaching materials: 1)Textbook 2)Falsh cards 3)CAI 5.Teaching Methods: 1)Lecture Computer-aided Instruction) 2)Demonstration 3)Students Practice
Unit 11 Teaching Reading 1.Teaching Aims: To discuss how to teach reading. Analyze some skills involved in reading comprehension and principles and models for teaching reading. Introduce some reading activities 2.Teaching Content: 1) How do we read? 2) What do we read? 3) Skills involved in reading comprehension 4) Principles and models for teaching reading 5) Pre-reading activities 6) While-reading activities 7) Post-reading activities 8) Conclusion 3. Teaching Hours:: 4 periods 4. Teaching materials: 1)Textbook 2)Falsh cards 3)CAI 5.Teaching Methods: 1) Lecture ( Computer-aided Instruction) 2)Demonstration 3) Students Practice
6.Teaching Procedures: Part One Goals and Techniques for Teaching Reading Instructors want to produce students who,even if they do not have complete control of the grammar or an extensive lexicon,can fend for themselves in communication situations.In the case of reading,this means producing students who can use reading strategies to maximize their comprehension of text.identify relevant and non-relevant information,and tolerate less than word-by-word comprehension. 2)Focus:The Reading Process To accomplish this goal,instructors focus on the process of reading rather than on its product. They develop students'awnreness of the reading process and reading strmegies by asking students to think and talk about how they read in their native language. They allow students to practice the full repertoire of reading strategies by using authentic reading tasks.They encourage students to read to learn (and have an authentic purpose for reading)by giving students some choice of reading material. When working with reading tasks in class,they show students the strategies that will work best for the reading purpose and the type of text.They explain how and why students should use the strategies They have students practice reading strategies in class and ask them to practice outside of class in their reading assignments.They encourage students to be conscious of what they're doing while they complete reading assignments. They encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and self-report their use of strategies.They build comprehension checks into in-cass and out-of-class reading assignments,and periodically review how and when to use particular strategies. They enoourage the development of reading skills and the use of reading strategies by using the target language to convey instructions and course-related information in written
6.Teaching Procedures: Part One Goals and Techniques for Teaching Reading Instructors want to produce students who, even if they do not have complete control of the grammar or an extensive lexicon, can fend for themselves in communication situations. In the case of reading, this means producing students who can use reading strategies to maximize their comprehension of text, identify relevant and non-relevant information, and tolerate less than word-by-word comprehension. 2) Focus: The Reading Process To accomplish this goal, instructors focus on the process of reading rather than on its product. • They develop students' awareness of the reading process and reading strategies by asking students to think and talk about how they read in their native language. • They allow students to practice the full repertoire of reading strategies by using authentic reading tasks. They encourage students to read to learn (and have an authentic purpose for reading) by giving students some choice of reading material. • When working with reading tasks in class, they show students the strategies that will work best for the reading purpose and the type of text. They explain how and why students should use the strategies. • They have students practice reading strategies in class and ask them to practice outside of class in their reading assignments. They encourage students to be conscious of what they're doing while they complete reading assignments. • They encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and self-report their use of strategies. They build comprehension checks into in-class and out-of-class reading assignments, and periodically review how and when to use particular strategies. • They encourage the development of reading skills and the use of reading strategies by using the target language to convey instructions and course-related information in written
form:office hours,homework assignments,test content They do not asume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to another.They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a different type of reading task or with another skill. By raising students'awareness of reading as a skill that requires active engagement, and by explicitly teaching read ing strategies,instructors help their students develop both the ability and the confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the classroom.In this way they give their students the foundation for communicative competence in the new language. 3)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 tet 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 predictionsand check for inaccurate guesses Decide what is and is not important to understand Reread to check comprehension ·Ask fo每hep After read ing:Evaluate comprehension and strategy use
form: office hours, homework assignments, test content. • They do not assume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to another. They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a different type of reading task or with another skill. By raising students' awareness of reading as a skill that requires active engagement, and by explicitly teaching reading strategies, instructors help their students develop both the ability and the confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the classroom. In this way they give their students the foundation for communicative competence in the new language. 3) 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
.Evaluste comprehension in a particular tak 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 necessiry 4)Using Authentic Materials and Approaches 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 tothem."Because the teacher assigned it"is not an authentic reason for reading a text
• 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 4) Using Authentic Materials and Approaches 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 leaming and what topics they are interested in reading and leaming about.Give them opportunities to choose their reading assignments,and encourage them to use the library,the Intemet,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. 5)Reading Aloud in the Classroom Students do not leam to read by reading aloud.A person who reads aloud and comprehends the meaning of the text is coordinating word recognition with comprehension and speaking and pronunciation ability in highly complex ways. Students whose language skills are limited are not able to process at this level,and end up having to drop one or more of the elements.Usually the dropped element is comprehension,and reading aloud becomes word calling:simply pronouncing a series of words without regard for the meaning they carry individually and together.Word calling is not productive for the student who is doing it,and it is boring for other students to lis过ento. There are two ways to use reading aloud productively in the language classroom.Read aloud to your students as they follow along silemtly.You have the ability to use inflection and tone to help them hear what the text is sying Following along as you read will help students move from word-by-word reading to reading in phrases and thought units.as they do in their first languge Use the 'read and look up"technique.With this technique.a stuadent reads a phrase or sentence silently as many times as necessary,then looks up (away from the text)and tells you what the phrase or sentence says.This encourages students to read for ideas,rather
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. 5) Reading Aloud in the Classroom Students do not learn to read by reading aloud. A person who reads aloud and comprehends the meaning of the text is coordinating word recognition with comprehension and speaking and pronunciation ability in highly complex ways. Students whose language skills are limited are not able to process at this level, and end up having to drop one or more of the elements. Usually the dropped element is comprehension, and reading aloud becomes word calling: simply pronouncing a series of words without regard for the meaning they carry individually and together. Word calling is not productive for the student who is doing it, and it is boring for other students to listen to. • There are two ways to use reading aloud productively in the language classroom. Read aloud to your students as they follow along silently. You have the ability to use inflection and tone to help them hear what the text is saying. Following along as you read will help students move from word-by-word reading to reading in phrases and thought units, as they do in their first language. • Use the "read and look up" technique. With this technique, a student reads a phrase or sentence silently as many times as necessary, then looks up (away from the text) and tells you what the phrase or sentence says. This encourages students to read for ideas, rather
than for word recognition. Part Two Strategies for Developing Reading Skills 1)Using Reading Strategies Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are leamning.Instead.they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word,stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item,until they reach the end.When they do this,students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge,a bottom-up strategy.One of the most important functions of the language instructor,then,is to help students move past this idea and use top-down strategies as they do in their native language. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations,types of input,and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading strategies and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation. Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include Previewing:reviewing titles,section headings,and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection Predicting:using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension.using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure.using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing style,vocabulary,and content Skimming and scanning:using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea.identify text structure,confirm or question predictions Guessing from context:using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words,instead of stopping to look them up
than for word recognition. Part Two Strategies for Developing Reading Skills 1) Using Reading Strategies Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a bottom-up strategy. One of the most important functions of the language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use top-down strategies as they do in their native language. Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading strategies and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation. Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include • Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection • Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content • Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea, identify text structure, confirm or question predictions • Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up
.Paraphrasing:sopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text Instructors can help students leam when and how to use read ing strategies in several ways By modeling the strategies aloud,talking through the processes of previewing.predicting. skimming and scanming.and paraphrasing This shows students how the strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read word by word .By allowing time in elass for group and individual previewing and predicting activities as preparation for in-class or outof-elass reading.Allocating class time to these activities indicales their importanoe and value By using cloze (fill in the blank)exercises to review vocabulary items.This helps students learn to guess meaning from context. By encournging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment,and then talking after reading about what strategies they actully used.This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies When language leamers use reading strategies,they find that they can control the reading experience,and they gain confidence in their ability to read the language. 2)Reading to Learn Reading is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports leaming in multiple ways. Reading to leam the language:Reading material is language input By giving students a variety of materials to read,instructors provide muktiple opportunities for students to absorb vocabulary,grammar,semtence structure,and discourse structure as they oocur in authentic contexts.Students thus gain a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work together to convey meaning. .Reading for content informition:Students purpose for reading in their native language is often to obeain information about a subject they are studying.and this purpose can be
• Paraphrasing: stopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text Instructors can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways. • By modeling the strategies aloud, talking through the processes of previewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphrasing. This shows students how the strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read word by word. • By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and predicting activities as preparation for in-class or out-of-class reading. Allocating class time to these activities indicates their importance and value. • By using cloze (fill in the blank) exercises to review vocabulary items. This helps students learn to guess meaning from context. • By encouraging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment, and then talking after reading about what strategies they actually used. This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies. When language learners use reading strategies, they find that they can control the reading experience, and they gain confidence in their ability to read the language. 2) Reading to Learn Reading is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports learning in multiple ways. • Reading to learn the language: Reading material is language input. By giving students a variety of materials to read, instructors provide multiple opportunities for students to absorb vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and discourse structure as they occur in authentic contexts. Students thus gain a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work together to convey meaning. • Reading for content information: Students' purpose for reading in their native language is often to obtain information about a subject they are studying, and this purpose can be
useful in the language learning clasroom as well Reading for content information in the language classroom gives students both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading Reading for cultural knowledge and avureness:Reading everyday materials that are designed for native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose language they are studying When students have access to newspapers,magazines,and Web sites,they are exposed to culture in all its varety.and monolithic cultural stcreotypes begin to break down When reading to leam,students need to follow four basic steps: 1.Figure out the purpose for reading.Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to pred ict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies. 2.Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest.This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-temm memory. 3.Select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and interactively.Students'comprehension improves and their confidence increases when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct meaning. 4.Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed. Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures,helping them leam to use altemate strategies. Part Three Developing Reading Activities Developing reading activities involves more than identifying a text that is"at the right level,"writing a set of comprehension questions for students to answer after reading. hand ing out the assignment and sending students away to do it.A fully-developed reading activity supports students as readers through prereading,while-reading,and post-reading activities
useful in the language learning classroom as well. Reading for content information in the language classroom gives students both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading. • Reading for cultural knowledge and awareness: Reading everyday materials that are designed for native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose language they are studying. When students have access to newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, they are exposed to culture in all its variety, and monolithic cultural stereotypes begin to break down. When reading to learn, students need to follow four basic steps: 1. Figure out the purpose for reading. Activate background knowledge of the topic in order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies. 2. Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory. 3. Select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their confidence increases when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct meaning. 4. Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed. Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures, helping them learn to use alternate strategies. Part Three Developing Reading Activities Developing reading activities involves more than identifying a text that is "at the right level," writing a set of comprehension questions for students to answer after reading, handing out the assignment and sending students away to do it. A fully-developed reading activity supports students as readers through prereading, while-reading, and post-reading activities
As you design reading tasks,keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in a text is an unrealistic expectation even for native speakers.Reading activities that are meant to increase communicative competence should be success oriented and build up students'confidence in their reading ability. 1)Construct the reading activity around a purpose that has significance for the students Make sure students understand what the purpose for reading is:to get the main idea, obtain specific information,understand most or all of the message,enjoy a story,or decide whether or not to read more.Recognizing the purpose for reading will belp students select appropriate reading strategies 2)Define the activity's instructional goal and the appropriate type of response In addition to the main purpose for reading,an activity can also have one or more instructional purposes,such as practicing or reviewing specific grammatical constructions,introducing new vocabulary.or familiarizing students with the typical structure of a certain type of text. 3)Check the level of difficulty of the text The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a reading text for a particular purpose and a particular group of students. How is the information organized?Does the story line,narrative,or instruction comdorm to familiar expectations?Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order.which have an informative title.and which present the information following an obvious organization (main ideas first details and excamples second)are easier to follow. How familiar are the students with the topic?Remember that misapplacation of background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difTiculties Does the text contain redundancy?At the lower levels of proficiency,listeners may find
As you design reading tasks, keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in a text is an unrealistic expectation even for native speakers. Reading activities that are meant to increase communicative competence should be success oriented and build up students' confidence in their reading ability. 1)Construct the reading activity around a purpose that has significance for the students Make sure students understand what the purpose for reading is: to get the main idea, obtain specific information, understand most or all of the message, enjoy a story, or decide whether or not to read more. Recognizing the purpose for reading will help students select appropriate reading strategies. 2) Define the activity's instructional goal and the appropriate type of response In addition to the main purpose for reading, an activity can also have one or more instructional purposes, such as practicing or reviewing specific grammatical constructions, introducing new vocabulary, or familiarizing students with the typical structure of a certain type of text. 3) Check the level of difficulty of the text The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a reading text for a particular purpose and a particular group of students. • How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow. • How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties. • Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may find
short,simple messages easier to process but students with higher proficiency benefit from the natural redundancy of authentic language. Does the text offer visul support to aid in reading comprehension?Visual aids such as photographs maps,and diagrams help students preview the content of the text,guess the meanings of unknown words,and check comprehension while reading Remember that the level of difficulty of a text is not the same as the level of difficulty of a reading task.Students who lack the vocabulary to identify all of the items on a menu can still determine whether the restaurant serves steak and whether they can afford to order one 4)Use pre-reading activities to prepare students for reading The activities you use during pre-reading may serve as preparation in several ways During pre-read ing you may: Assess students background knowledge of the topic and linguistie content of the text Give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess Clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the paxage Make students aware of the type of text they will be reading and the purpose(s)for reading Provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for class discussion activities Sample pre-reading activities: Using the tide.subtitles.and divisions within the text to predict content and organization or sequence of information .Looking at pictures,maps,diagrams,or graphs and their captioes Talking about the authoe's background,writing style,and usual topics Skimming to find the theme or main idea and eliciting related prior knowledge Reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures Reading over the comprehension questions to focus attention on finding that information
short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency benefit from the natural redundancy of authentic language. • Does the text offer visual support to aid in reading comprehension? Visual aids such as photographs, maps, and diagrams help students preview the content of the text, guess the meanings of unknown words, and check comprehension while reading. Remember that the level of difficulty of a text is not the same as the level of difficulty of a reading task. Students who lack the vocabulary to identify all of the items on a menu can still determine whether the restaurant serves steak and whether they can afford to order one. 4) Use pre-reading activities to prepare students for reading The activities you use during pre-reading may serve as preparation in several ways. During pre-reading you may: • Assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the text • Give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text, or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess • Clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage • Make students aware of the type of text they will be reading and the purpose(s) for reading • Provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for class discussion activities Sample pre-reading activities: • Using the title, subtitles, and divisions within the text to predict content and organization or sequence of information • Looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs and their captions • Talking about the author's background, writing style, and usual topics • Skimming to find the theme or main idea and eliciting related prior knowledge • Reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures • Reading over the comprehension questions to focus attention on finding that information