Reading Skill

3.1. Introduction

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). Reading is a means of language acquisition, communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis. Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe. Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations alone.

3.2. Definitions of Reading

a.        Among the many definitions of reading that have arisen in recent decades, three prominent ideas emerge as most critical for understanding what "learning to read" means:

b.       Reading is a process undertaken to reduce uncertainty about meanings a text conveys. The process results from a negotiation of meaning between the text and its reader. The knowledge, expectations, and strategies a reader uses to uncover textual meaning all play decisive roles way the reader negotiates with the text's meaning.

c.        Reading does not draw on one kind of cognitive skill, nor does it have a straightforward outcome—most texts are understood in different ways by different readers.

d.       Reading skills enable readers to turn writing into meaning and achieve the goals of independence, comprehension, and fluency.

·          Reading skills are specific abilities which enable a reader

·         to read the written form as meaningful language

• to read anything written with independence, comprehension and fluency, and
• to mentally interact with the message.

e.        Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation.

f.        Reading is making meaning from print. It requires that we:

·         Identify the words in print – a process called word recognition

·         Construct an understanding from them – a process called comprehension

·         Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate – an achievement called fluency

g. Reading is a basic life skill.  It is a cornerstone for a child's success in school, and, indeed, throughout life. Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfillment and job success inevitably will be lost.  --Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading. 

h. Richard Anderson and the Commission on Reading define reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts.  Skilled reading is

        I.            constructive: learning to reason about written material using knowledge from everyday life and from disciplined fields of study;

      II.            fluent: mastery of basic processes to the point where they are automatic so that attention is freed for the analysis of meaning;

   III.            strategic: controlling one’s reading in relation to one’s purpose, the nature of the material and whether one is comprehending;

   IV.            motivated: able to sustain attention and learning that written material can be interesting and informative; and

      V.            a lifelong pursuit: continuous practices, development, and refinement.

3.3. Seven  Critical Reading Strategies

1.  Previewing: Learning about a text before really reading it.

Previewing enables readers to get a sense of what the text is about and how it is organized before reading it closely. This simple strategy includes seeing what you can learn from the headnotes or other introductory material, skimming to get an overview of the content and organization, and identifying the rhetorical situation.

 2.  Contextualizing: Placing a text in its historical, biographical, and cultural contexts.

When you read a text, you read it through the lens of your own experience. Your understanding of the words on the page and their significance is informed by what you have come to know and value from living in a particular time and place. But the texts you read were all written in the past, sometimes in a radically different time and place. To read critically, you need to contextualize, to recognize the differences between your contemporary values and attitudes and those represented in the text. 

3.  Questioning to Understand and Remember: Asking questions about the content.

As students, you are accustomed (I hope) to teachers asking you questions about your reading. These questions are designed to help you understand a reading and respond to it more fully, and often this technique works. When you need to understand and use new information though it is most beneficial if you write the questions, as you read the text for the first time. With this strategy, you can write questions any time, but in difficult academic readings, you will understand the material better and remember it longer if you write a question for every paragraph or brief section. Each question should focus on a main idea, not on illustrations or details, and each should be expressed in your own words, not just copied from parts of the paragraph. 

4.  Reflecting On Challenges To Your Beliefs And Values: Examining your personal responses.

The reading that you do for this class might challenge your attitudes, your unconsciously held beliefs, or your positions on current issues. As you read a text for the first time, mark an X in the margin at each point where you feel a personal challenge to your attitudes, beliefs, or status. Make a brief note in the margin about what you feel or about what in the text created the challenge. Now look again at the places you marked in the text where you felt personally challenged. What patterns do you see? 

5.  Outlining And Summarizing: Identifying the main ideas and restating them in your own words.

Outlining and summarizing are especially helpful strategies for understanding the content and structure of a reading selection. Whereas outlining reveals the basic structure of the text, summarizing synopsizes a selection's main argument in brief. Outlining may be part of the annotating process, or it may be done separately (as it is in this class). The key to both outlining and summarizing is being able to distinguish between the main ideas and the supporting ideas and examples. The main ideas form the backbone, the strand that holds the various parts and pieces of the text together. Outlining the main ideas helps you to discover this structure. When you make an outline, don't use the text's exact words.

Summarizing begins with outlining, but instead of merely listing the main ideas, a summary recomposes them to form a new text. Whereas outlining depends on a close analysis of each paragraph, summarizing also requires creative synthesis. Putting ideas together again -- in your own words and in a condensed form -- shows how reading critically can lead to deeper understanding of any text. 

6.  Evaluating An Argument: Testing the logic of a text as well as its credibility and emotional impact.

All writers make assertions that they want you to accept as true. As a critical reader, you should not accept anything on face value but to recognize every assertion as an argument that must be carefully evaluated. An argument has two essential parts: a claim and support. The claim asserts a conclusion -- an idea, an opinion, a judgment, or a point of view -- that the writer wants you to accept. The support includes reasons (shared beliefs, assumptions, and values) and evidence (facts, examples, statistics, and authorities) that give readers the basis for accepting the conclusion. When you assess an argument, you are concerned with the process of reasoning as well as its truthfulness (these are not the same thing). At the most basic level, in order for an argument to be acceptable, the support must be appropriate to the claim and the statements must be consistent with one another. 

7.  Comparing And Contrasting Related Readings: Exploring likenesses and differences between texts to understand them better.

Many of the authors we read are concerned with the same issues or questions, but approach how to discuss them in different ways. Fitting a text into an ongoing dialectic helps increase understanding of why an author approached a particular issue or question in the way he or she did.

3.4. Essential Components of Reading: Read  Naturally’s programs develop and support the five essential components of reading identified by the National Reading Panel:

 

1.       Phonemic Awareness: The knowledge and manipulation of sounds in spoken words.

Phonemes, the smallest units making up spoken language, combine to form syllables and words. Phonemic awareness refers to the student’s ability to focus on and manipulate these phonemes in spoken words. According to the National Reading Panel, teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading development.

2.       Phonics: The relationship between written and spoken letters and sounds.

Phonics is the relationship between letters or word families, short vowels, long vowels, and letter combinations and the sounds they represent. As determined by National Reading Panel, phonics instruction helps early elementary students develop proficiency in decoding, spelling, and understanding words.

3.       Fluency: The ability to read with accuracy, and with appropriate rate, expression, and phrasing.

Fluency is the ability to read as well as we speak and to make sense of the text without having to stop and decode each word. The National Reading Panel’s research findings concluded that guided, repeated oral reading significantly improves word recognition, reading fluency, and comprehension in students of all ages.

4.       Vocabulary:       The knowledge of words, their definitions, and context.

Vocabulary development is closely connected to comprehension. According to the National Reading Panel, students need to hear, read, understand, and use new vocabulary words in various contexts to build their comprehension levels. Repetition, aided by quizzes, glossaries, and crossword puzzles, is paramount to building vocabulary.

5.       Comprehension : The understanding of meaning in text.

Comprehension is the level of content understanding a student has after reading a passage. The National Reading Panel determined that young readers develop text comprehension through a variety of techniques, including answering questions (quizzes) and summarization (retelling the story).

6.       Spelling: The National Reading Panel Report did not include spelling as one of the essential components of comprehensive literacy instruction. The report implied that phonemic awareness and phonics instruction had a positive effect on spelling in the primary grades and that spelling continues to develop in response to appropriate reading instruction. However, more recent research challenges at least part of the National Reading Panel's assumption. A group of researchers found that, although students' growth in passage comprehension remained close to average from first through fourth grade, their spelling scores dropped dramatically by third grade and continued to decline in fourth grade.  Progress in reading does not necessarily result in progress in spelling.  Spelling instruction is needed to develop students’ spelling skills.

3.5. Previewing Techniques: One of the most efficient techniques for faster reading is the skimming and scanning approach. Previewing a text, document or book allows you to grasp the broader picture and sketch the most important data and get the author’s main idea.

This technique is a real-time saver; think of all the books for exams or paperwork at the job and to be able to extract key information without having to read the whole material. We will decide to either read the material or forget about it. Previewing may require a bit more concentration but it is easy to learn and can be combined with other techniques.

What is skimming and scanning?

1. Scanning is a technique to trigger and extract key information and ideas such as names, numbers, specific facts. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page identifying specific words and phrases to either find a particular answer or grasping the basic main idea. We  can also use it to determine whether a new resource will answer your questions or not. This activity probably takes about a 5-10 minutes.

2. Skimming will focus on understanding the main idea and concept. It works best with non-fiction material. You won’t read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. You may stop for interesting facts but then quickly continue to skim the book.

It’s like browsing a new travel book or moving your finger over a map of a city you wish to travel to. At first you may spot pictures, read selected snippets of information or identify general areas, landmarks, or highlights. You want to know the bigger picture first before exploring a location in detail. These practices will teach your brain to understand, comprehend and remember a lot faster.

Tip: Previewing is all about answering these five ‘W’ questions: Who, Where, What, When, Why. Who relates to people involved.

Where relates to the location.

 What refers to the general idea/topic. 

When is about the time of an event.

 Why refers to reasons, analysis.

 Write down all key facts to remember them later.

How to skim and scan?

We can choose from four major strategies.

• Reading Key Sentences
• Scan for name and numbers
• Scan for trigger words
• Skim small parts of text for key ideas

There is also a fifth technique called novel previewing and is taught by Ron Cole, but this method differentiates from the steps explained in this.

The following steps help preview a book.

• Preview the content page
• Read the title
• Read the back of the book
• Read the index
• Scan for images
• Look for letters in “bold”
• Read the chapter names and headlines
• Read first sentence of paragraphs
• Try spotting tables and graphs
• Spot ‘conclusion’ or ‘summary’ sections
• Jot down key information

Also look for “thematic sentences”. These are key sentences which contains a summary of the paragraph or a whole chapter. Those may give us a solid overview of a long chapter.

3.5.1.Skimming and scanning strategies

1. Previewing key sentences
Those sentences can be found at the very beginning of a paragraph or chapter. The first few sentences will give you a good idea about the paragraph.

How does it work?
Each paragraph usually delivers one idea, though paragraphs may often relate to each other. Once we understand the central idea behind each paragraph block you will quickly get the gist of it. This may aid you in understanding the whole chapter a lot faster.

We can also use a different approach – just look for the applicable information that we require and skip the rest. Another tactic is to read the first and the last sentence of longer paragraphs which may give us more relevant summary and to pick up the central idea.

2. Scan for name and numbers
Numbers and names are always present in every text and they narrate to details about people, places and concepts. There is no order of getting the specifics in a text during previewing. Where did the story take place? The number of people involved? And understanding the main fact.

One of the best ways of scanning for this sort of information is to move finger or pointer across the page we will notice that we will quickly remember a number or a few names. After that just read the whole text so that we can get a complete picture.

3. Scanning trigger words
Paul Scheele taught this technique to read his book “Photo Reading”. The concept is to preview a text while keeping a lookout for important key words and if wanted to jot them down. Mainly you will spot nouns or compounds. Trigger words usually include numbers, names, places and key sentences.

4. Reading the title
Reading the title, the content and the back of the book or text is probably the first thing we do with new material. Many trigger words are automatically revealed through this method. For example if the title says “Guide to memory techniques” it is unlikely to find information about ‘web design’ for example.  There are also chapter titles, headlines, sub-headlines or titles of tables and graphs that reveal a lot of useful information.

3.6. Six tips to improve reading comprehension

1.       Have him read aloud. This forces him to go slower, which gives him more time to process what he reads, which improves reading comprehension. Plus, he's not only seeing the words, he's hearing them, too. You can also take turns reading aloud.

2.       Provide the right kinds of books. Make sure your child gets lots of practice reading books that aren't too hard. She should recognize at least 90 percent of the words without any help. Stopping any more often than that to figure out a word makes it tough for her to focus on the overall meaning of the story.

3.       Reread to build fluency. To gain meaning from text and encourage reading comprehension, your child needs to read quickly and smoothly - a skill known as fluency. By the beginning of 3rd grade, for example, your child should be able to read 90 words a minute. Rereading familiar, simple books gives your child practice at decoding words quickly, so she'll become more fluent in her reading comprehension.

4.       Talk to the teacher. If your child is struggling mightily with reading comprehension, he may need more help with his reading — for example, building his vocabulary or practicing phonics skills.

5.       Supplement class reading. If your child's class is studying a particular theme, look for easy-to-read books or magazines on the topic. Some prior knowledge will help her make her way through tougher classroom texts and promote reading comprehension.

6.       Talk about what he's reading. This "verbal processing" helps him remember and think through the themes of the book. Ask questions before, during, and after a session to encourage reading comprehension. For example:
Before: "What are you interested in about this book? What doesn't interest you?"
During: "What's going on in the book? Is it turning out the way you thought it would? What do you think will happen next?" 

3.7. Aims of teaching reading

              According to Christine Nuttall the aim of teaching reading is 'to enable students to read without help unfamiliar authentic texts, at appropriate speed, silently and with adequate understanding'. Teaching reading is to develop learners' reading skills and to provide them a rich reading experience. Proficiency in reading is important because it provides self-dependence in learning. A good reader can become an efficient use of language than the one who is deficient in reading.

3.8. Characteristics of efficient readers 
They have the ability to read with maximum comprehension in the minimum possible time. 

·         They read silently and rapidly. 

·         They are able to adapt their reading speed to suit their purpose and the difficulty of the reading material.  

·         They know that maximum comprehension is required when reading a manual on how to operate a scientific instrument. 

·         They use standard aids to reading like a glossary and a dictionary. 

·         They employ a variety of reading strategies. For example, they know how to skim and scan a text.

·         They have developed the right 'physical' habits for reading: no head movement, no lip movement, no murmuring, no going back and forth on the line, and no running of pencil or finger on the line. In addition, they have learnt to read words in sense groups and not merely one word at a time. 

3.9. Guidelines for teaching reading 
            Learners are to be asked to read the passage concerned silently.  We should not read a passage aloud and explain it. Our main aim is to help learners become independent readers. If necessary we can explain or paraphrase a text after learners have read it. Read out a text only when the focus of the lesson is on showing learners how a text should be read aloud with correct pronunciation, word stress, sentence stress, intonation and pauses. 

Always set a reasonable time limit for our learners to read a passage silently. It is useful to ask them to read the passage in order to get its global idea. Learners must be trained that while they read a text they should look up the glossary provided. After learners have finished reading the text teachers must start probing their comprehension of it. It is important to encourage learners not only to come up with responses but also to justify them.

3.10. Process involved in Reading – Symbol, Sound and Sense

Reading is essentially a process. It is a process of getting meaning from word symbols.  It is more than a mechanical process.  A mature reader always engages in the following activities when he reads:

• He looks at the printed words
• He comprehends meaning
• He reacts to the meaning he has developed
• He uses some of the meanings according to his requirements.

The process of learning to read involves the symbol, sound and sense and the following are the varied tasks a child has to do to become an effective reader.
1. The child must hear and be able to recognize the sounds that are spoken and determine the differences between the sounds. This is the auditory perception and the auditory processing.

2. The child must recognize the different sizes, shapes, position and form of the 26 letters.
3. The child must have a sense of directionality and hold the book with the cover first and the opening pages to the right.
4. The child must remember the sequence of the sounds and the syllables in the correct order.
5. The child must learn that letters and combinations of letters are all associated with different sounds in speech. This entails knowing upper and lower case letters (Capital and small) and cursive writing.
6. The child must learn that B and b are the same but ‘p’ and ‘b’ are different. Likewise in script, the child must note the difference between the ‘a’ and the ‘o’.
7. On top of all of this decoding, the child must also derive 'meaning' from the words read.
8. The child must use visual and auditory skills at the same time.
9. The child will need to simply remember the many rules of letters - the silent ‘k’ in knife or the silent ‘p’ in receipt.
10. The child must also understand the symbolic nature and meaning of grammar, capital letters, commas, exclamation marks, quotation marks etc.
             For many, these skills come slowly and with a great deal of difficulty. It is important to use a multi-sensory approach whenever possible, some memory training, tap into previous knowledge before moving forward and make it meaningful. Be sure to look at the suggested reading for additional support to help struggling readers. 

3.11. Types of Reading – Loud Reading, Silent Reading – Skimming, Scanning – Intensive Reading, Extensive Reading

            The main purpose of reading is comprehension, i.e., understanding the meaning of words and the relationship between ideas.
A.  Loud Reading : Loud reading is also known as oral reading.  It is introduced two months after the student has learned to read his textbook.  It teaches the student to read with correct pronunciation, articulation, intonation, stress and rhythm.  It enables the student to read with expression.  It helps the teacher to evaluate the student’s knowledge of spoken words, phrases and sentences.  It aids the student to read with understanding and paves the way to silent reading.
            The teachers read aloud the particular passage, paying attention to correct pronunciation, articulation, rhythm, etc.  The passage is selected, taking into consideration the comprehension capacity of the student. This is followed by the student reading aloud the same passage.  The teacher corrects the mistakes in pronunciation, articulation, etc., after the student has finished reading.  At the junior level, accuracy in reading is stressed and speed is emphasized at the senior level.  Word by word reading should not be encouraged while word recognition can be developed.

Merits and Demerits: The student learns to read properly.  He develops the skill of speech and can learn elocution. Mistakes in pronunciation, articulation, stress are corrected at an early stage.  The student learns by imitation which is a natural method of learning.

            The disadvantages of this method are that some students may not enjoy reading aloud.  It does not help deep understanding of the text.  In later life, silent reading is preferred and if a student becomes used to reading aloud, he cannot become an extensive reader.  The other students of the class are distracted when one student is reading aloud. Thus only a few students get the benefits of this system.

B. Silent Reading :  This is the most important type of reading.  Since we read faster than we speak, children must be initiated into silent reading as soon as possible.  Silent reading should be introduced when the student has mastered the basic structures, comprehends the meaning of words and can recognize and pronounce words accurately.  Silent reading enables the student to read without making sounds and moving his lips.  It helps him read with speed, ease and fluency.  It aids comprehension and expands the student’s vocabulary. According to Ryburn, the aims of silent reading are pleasure and profit; to be able to read for interest and to get information. To get maximum benefit from this method passages which can be understood and appreciated by the students should be chosen.  The passage should not be too long and the students can be given fresh and unseen passages to read in order to inculcate the habit of wide and varied reading.

Procedure

1.      The teacher explains the method and aims of silent reading to the students.
2.      The teacher asks the students to read the passage silently.
3.      The teacher walks around the classroom to supervise the students. The teacher checks whether the students whisper, murmur or move their lips while reading.  He also checks the postures of the students.
4.      After allowing sufficient time to finish reading the passage, the teacher asks questions from the passage. He thus tests the students’ comprehension of the passage.  He may also ask the students to summarize whey they have just read.
Merits and Demerits:
·         Silent reading is time saving and quick. 
·         It is interesting and useful in later life.
·         It initiates self-education and deep study. 
·         It helps the student to concentrate on the meaning and results in greater assimilation of information. 
·         It is also useful to make a quick survey of the material to be studied and to look through indexes, chapter headings and outlines. 
·         It is useful for speed reading, to skim the material and to familiarize oneself with the material and its thought content.
·         It also helps to appreciate the language as well as to study it from a linguistic point of view. 
However, this method is not beneficial for beginners.  It cannot be used to correct pronunciation, articulation etc.  The students’ comprehension of the material cannot be checked.  The teacher cannot test whether the student is actually reading the material or not.

B.1. Skimming:  Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When we read the newspaper, we are not reading it word-by-word. 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. We use skimming when we want to see if an article may be of interest.

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings as they move down the page or screen. We might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when we are 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.

B.2. Scanning:  Scanning is a technique we often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. We search for key words or ideas. Scanning involves moving our eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when we first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once we have scanned the document, we 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.

C. Intensive reading: It is related to further progress in language learning under the teacher's guidance. It provides a basis for explaining difficulties of structure and for extending knowledge of vocabulary and idioms. It will provide material for developing greater control of the language and speech and writing. Students will study short stories and extracts from novels, chosen for the standard of difficultly of the language and for the interest they hold for this particular group of students. Intensive reading is generally at a slower speed and requires a higher degree of understanding to develop and refine word study skills, enlarge passive vocabulary, reinforce skills related to sentence structure, increase active vocabulary, distinguish among thesis, fact, supportive and non-supportive details, provide sociocultural insights.
D. Extensive reading :    It develops at the student's own pace according to individual ability. It will be selected at a lower level of difficulty than that for intensive reading. The purpose of extensive reading is to train the students to read directly and fluently in the target language for enjoyment without the aid of the teacher. Where graded texts are available, structures in texts for extensive reading will be already familiar, and new items of vocabulary will be introduced slowly in such a way that their meaning can be deduced from context or quickly ascertained. The student will be encouraged to make intelligent guesses at the meaning of unfamiliar items.
Material consists of authentic short stories and plays, or informative or controversial articles from newspapers and magazines. The style of writing should entail a certain amount of repetition without monotony. Novelties of vocabulary should not coincide with difficulties of structure. It means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of what is read. It is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure and to encourage a liking for reading, Increase total comprehension, enable students to achieve independence in basic skill development, acquaint the student with relevant socio-cultural material, and encourage recreational reading.

3.12. Methods of Teaching Reading

A. Alphabetic Method

This is the traditional method.  In this method, the letters are taught by their names in the alphabetical order.  Then words are built by putting the letters together.  For example, the word ‘book’ is taught by asking the children to spell the word letter by letter and then the pronunciation / buk / is taught.

            This method is useful for fixing the spelling of words. It is easy to teach reading by following this method.  But, this method often results in teaching spelling and pronunciation. Even silent letters are pronounced by the child.  For example, in the word ‘comb’, the ‘b’ that is silent may be pronounced by the child.  Those who learn through this method often speak English like reading a book. Their speech is not natural.  Even in reading, the letter is not the unit. The word is the unit.  If we read by the letter, fast reading cannot be developed.

B. Phonic Method

The phonic method teaches the sounds commonly represented by the letters and not the names of the letters. This helps young learners to establish the correct association between sounds and letters.  For example, sets of words like pin, win, kin, spin, skin or park, mark, dark, lark, spark or see, sea, tea, key, etc. are taught together.

            In this method the pronunciation of a word is learnt easily and correctly. Children will be able to read fluently without any anxiety caused by the irregular system of English spelling.  This method can be used only with a set of words whose pronunciation and spelling are fairly uniform and not with all words.

C. Phonetic Method

            In phonetic method, pronunciation is taught by giving students knowledge of English phonetics. There are many entirely new sounds in English.  In this method:

     (i)   Knowledge of 44 vowel and consonant sounds of 26 English letters.

     (ii)  Teacher tells about how these sounds are produced by different speech organs.

     (iii)  Teacher explains the rules of producing sounds.

            In phonetic method, practice of producing correct sound is very essential.  The practice of sounds of single vowel or monopthongs, diphthongs, consonant-cluster is done by the teacher in the classroom.  Apart from the knowledge of phonetic symbols the knowledge of phonetics transcription is taught.  The basis of classification of phonetic symbols is also taught by using tables.

 (i)  Phonetic method is based on scientific principles of phonetics.

 (ii)  The learner can himself evaluate the correctness of his pronunciation.

 (iii)  It develops self-confidence among student.

D. Word Method or Look-and-Say Method

            This method tries to teach the word as the unit of reading.  It directs the attention of the child to the whole word and not to the letters as in the alphabetic method.  Flash cards containing words are used for this purpose. The cards may be prepared in two sets - one with words and another with pictures to illustrate them or cards which contain both the word and the corresponding picture.  The words on the flash cards are graded according to difficulty in respect of spelling and pronunciation.

E. Sentence Method

            This method is an improvement on the word method.  The sentence is the unit of thought and not the word. So it is better to present the sentence as an integrated unit.  Here too flash cards can be used.  The phonic method can be combined with the sentence method.  For example, A cat on the mat saw a fat rat is taught as a unit. This result in unauthentic or fictional sentences but in the initial stages, it may be useful. In practice most teachers combine these methods according to the needs of the classroom.

F. Phrase Method

            This method is based on the assumption that phrases are more interesting than words. Phrases convey meaning and the human eye recognizes a group of words and not a single word each time.  The phrase is the unit of teaching.

            The teacher writes a phrase on the blackboard and asks the student to look at the phrase attentively. The teacher reads the phrase and his student repeats it several times.  New phrases are compared with the phrases that are already taught.

3.13. Type of Reading: Based on Purpose

A. Reading for Perception

Cognitively speaking, perception was conceived as a one-way process in which the print was recorded by the eye, similar to a photograph and then processed by the brain.  This perceptual process is also passive. The eye did little more than record the information available and the brain’s role was to simply process whatever it was provided.  The print environment determined what was perceived.

             Recently perception is understood in more transitive and constructive ways.  According to this the eye and brain are more actively involved in information processing.  Under the direction of the brain, the eye selectively picks up relevant information from the print environment.  Based on the print selected and contributions by the brain, meaning is constructed.

B. Reading for Comprehension

              Reading comprehension is the mental processes that begin with the reader’s first glance at the print and end with his understanding of the message which the writer is trying to convey through the printed medium.  Success in the process depends on adequate motivation, a background for concepts, word perception skills and the ability to reason one’s way through smaller idea elements and to grasp, as a whole, the meaning of a larger idea.

3.14.  Comprehension Skills

The following abilities are basic understanding and they are called comprehension skills. Ability to….

• associate meaning with the graphic symbol
• understand words in context
•  read in thought units
•  understand – the phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph and whole section.
•  acquire word meaning
•  select and understand the main ideas
•  follow direction
•  draw inferences
•  understand the writer’s organization
•  evaluate what is read – to identify tone, mood and intent of the writer
•  retain ideas
•  apply ideas and to integrate them with one’s past experience.

Reading activity involves perception, recall, reasoning, evaluating, imagining, organising, application, and problem solving.  Reading comprehension involves the following levels -

a. Reading the lines: Understanding the literal meaning i.e., responding to the precise meaning of familiar words in their context and inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words from contextual clues and also visualising the scenes and events.

b. Reading between the lines: Getting the author’s intent and purpose - interpreting clues to character and plot, distinguishing between fact and fiction - recognising and interpreting many literary devices like metaphor and irony.

c. Reading beyond the lines: Deriving implications, speculating about consequences, drawing generalisations not stated by the author - arranging ideas into patterns - by analysis and synthesis the reader gains a new insight or higher level of understanding.

d. Reading with involvement: The reader not only gets ideas but ideas get him - sympathy and identification with characters, awareness of moral problems etc. (RIE Monograph on ELT, P.1970).

3.15. Components of Reading: SQ3R

A. Survey : The first step, survey or skim, advises that one should resist the temptation to read the book and instead glance through a chapter in order to identify headings, sub-headings and other outstanding features in the text. This is in order to identify ideas and formulate questions about the content of the chapter. This step helps you gather the information that is necessary to focus on the chapter and formulate questions for yourself as you read. It’s not necessary to have answers to your questions at this step in the process – answers will come later.

Read the title: This helps your brain begin to focus on the topic of the chapter.

Read the introduction and/or summary: This orients you to how this chapter fits the author’s purposes. It also provides you with an overview of the author’s statement of the most important points.

Read each boldface heading and subheading: This helps you to create a framework for the chapter in your mind before you begin reading. This framework provides a structure for the thoughts and details to come.

Review any graphics: Charts, maps, diagrams, pictures, and other visual aids are there to make a point. Publishers will not include these items in textbooks unless they significantly add to the content of the text.

Review any reading aids in the chapter: This includes italics, chapter objectives, definitions, and study questions at the end of the chapter. These aids are there to help you sort, comprehend, and remember the material.

B. Question: Formulate questions about the content of the reading. For example, convert headings and sub-headings into questions, and then look for answers in the content of the text. Other more general questions may also be formulated: 1. What is this chapter about? 2. What question is this chapter trying to answer? 3. How does this information help me? Now that you have surveyed the entire chapter and built a framework for understanding, it is time to begin the reading process. This step and the next two, reading and reciting, are repeated over and over as you read the chapter. Turn boldface headings into one or more questions. Write those questions on the left third of a piece of paper. As you read this section, you will be looking for the answer to your questions. For example, if you are reading a book to help you improve your study skills and the heading is "Use a Regular Study Area," the questions you might ask are, "Why should I have a regular study area?" and "Where should my regular study area be located?" 

Why is this step necessary? : When your mind is actively searching for answers to questions, it becomes engaged in the learning process. This will help you remember and understand the information.

C. Read (R1) : Use the background work done with "S" and "Q" in order to begin reading actively. This means reading in order to answer the questions raised under "Q". Passive reading, in contrast, results in merely reading without engaging with the study material. Reading each section fills in the information around the mental structures you have created by surveying the chapter and developing questions about each heading.

Read one section at a time: As you read each section, look for the answers to your questions and write them down in your own words on the right two-thirds of your piece of paper.

Add more questions, if necessary: A single question is probably adequate for a section that is only a few paragraphs long; however, for longer sections, you may find that you need to add a question or two.

Don’t get bogged down with the details: Well-written textbooks often provide examples to further explain main ideas. As you read each section, try to separate the details from the main ideas. Use the details to help you understand the main ideas but don't expect yourself to memorize every detail provided in the chapter.

D. Recite (R2): The second "R" refers to the part known as "Recite/wRite" or "Recall." Using key phrases, one is meant to identify major points and answers to questions from the "Q" step for each section. This may be done either in an oral or written format. It is important that an adherent to this method use his/her own words in order to evoke the active listening quality of this study method. Reciting material as you go retrains your mind to concentrate and learn as you read. When you can answer your questions about the section that you’re reading, move to the next section and repeat the question, read, recite process again. Use this for every section in the chapter

When do you recite?: At the end of each section.

How do you recite?: Look at the question(s) you wrote down before you read the section. Cover your answers with a piece of paper and see if you can answer the questions from memory.

What if you can’t recall the answers to your questions?: Reread the section, or the part of the section, that has to do with that question.

E. Review (R3): The final "R" is "Review." In fact, before becoming acquainted with this method a student probably just uses the R & R method; Read and Review. Provided the student has followed all recommendations, the student should have a study sheet and should test himself or herself by attempting to recall the key phrases. This method instructs the diligent student to immediately review all sections pertaining to any key words forgotten. The review step helps to refine your mental organization of the material in the chapter and begin to build memory – we learn through repetition. This step provides another opportunity for repetition of the material and therefore will enhance your recall of the information.

How do you review? : Once you've finished reading the entire chapter, using the survey, question, read, and recite steps, go back over all of your questions. Cover the answers to the questions that you’ve written down and see if you can still recite them.

What if some of the answers have been forgotten? : Reread that section of the chapter to refresh your memory, recite the answer after you've written it down, and then continue your review process.

When to use SQ3R?

No technique is useful 100 percent of the time. Now that you’ve learned another study strategy, it is important to decide when to use it. Different study strategies work best in different situations.

When should you use SQ3R? : SQ3R is an excellent technique to use with textbooks that provide a lot of information and require you to learn the material in depth. Textbooks in many disciplines such as biology, psychology, and sociology fall into this category.

SQ3R is useful with many textbooks – what textbooks is it less likely to be useful for? : SQ3R is probably less useful with textbooks that focus on helping you solve problems, like with math textbooks. In this case, the main emphasis of reading the chapter is on helping you solve math equations. Focusing your energy on solving mathematical problems using the information in the chapter is probably a better use of your time.

SQ3R may be less useful for two other types of textbooks: beginning foreign language texts or texts for English class. The focus of beginning foreign language texts is often vocabulary, verb tense, and sentence construction. Books for English class may be novels, and the purpose of reading may be focused more on the “big picture,” rather than on the content of a particular section or chapter.

Does it matter how the professor uses the textbook in class? : If your professor is reviewing a lot of material from the textbook during class lectures, it is probably well worth your time to read the chapters using the SQ3R method.

If your professor uses the textbook as a supplement or reference to class lectures, you will need to balance spending your study time solving problems, reviewing notes, or doing other class homework assignments to fill the time that would be spent using SQ3R.

Action Plan: Now that you've learned about SQ3R, the next step is to incorporate it into your study strategies. You may want to begin by selecting one class for which you will use the SQ3R method to read every chapter prior to your next test. Here are some additional strategies you may want to implement along with reading the chapter using this method:

•Plan ahead and start early. SQ3R takes time and is not a strategy that can be employed or used effectively the night before a test.

•Plan to read each chapter before it is discussed in class. Doing this will make the class lecture a review. It is also likely to help you to understand the material that is presented in class on a deeper level.

•Identify information in the chapter that you don’t understand. Plan to talk with the professor after class or during office hours if you still don’t understand the material after it is covered in class.

Write out your goals for using SQ3R over the next few weeks and stick to them.

3.16. Strategies to Develop Reading

According to Prof. Rajagopalan “We should concentrate all our attention on the pupils now in school and make them more and more book-minded.  We should create in them a real love for books and good taste for reading”

            Reading is one of the most useful skills in learning a foreign language.  According to Gray, reading is a form of experience.  Good reading habits promote self-education.  Reading is an activity which is not confined to school life alone.  It is an activity which becomes a part of man’s life.  Good reading habits keep a student reading regularly for both pleasure and profit.  Following suggestions are given to promote the development of reading habits among school children -

1. Teacher - a Good Reader: The teacher himself should be a good reader.  Only then he can make his pupils to read books.  He should talk about new books in the class whenever there is an opportunity.  The teacher may also recommend some books to them, keeping in view their age and interests.

2. Proper Guidance: Most of the pupils are lacking proper guidance for developing good interest in reading.  Teacher should guide his pupils about the source of getting good books according to their age and capabilities.

3. Library Service: The best place to stimulate the children to read freely is library.  A good school library and class libraries can go a long way in developing reading interests among students.  There should be a provision for a period for library reading in the regular timetable of the school.

4. Organising the Reading Programmes: The school timetable should provide for a library period as discussed above.  The books may be given to the children on a fixed day.  During this period books for extra reading may be distributed to all the children and they should be asked to read silently.  The school can also organise book exhibitions periodically to develop students’ interest in reading more and more books.

5. Bulletin Boards: The class bulletin board, if put to proper use, can promote interest in reading among pupils.  Illustrated material like pictures, cut outs from magazines and even an interesting paragraph may be fixed on the bulletin board.

6. Survey of Reading Interest: Surveys of students’ reading interests can help in the development of reading interest among the students.  Pupils’ reading interest can be surveyed with the help of questionnaire, interviews and visits to their homes.  In this way reason can be found out that stand in the way as obstacle of the pupils’ interest in reading.

7. Reading Clubs: A reading club can be organised in the school to develop reading interest among students.  The books dealing with particular activities may be collected and placed at the disposal of member students.

8. Follow Activities: Creative activities such as listen to recitation of poems or reading plays and dramatization followed in the school will motivate the students to form reading habit.  Some students do not take interest in reading. They can be inspired effectively by discussion activities held on various books read.

            To sum up, all efforts should be made to develop reading habits among school-going children.  We should concentrate all our attention on the pupils in schools and make them more and more book-minded. We should create in them a real love for books.  We can never hope to improve the standards of English of our pupils unless and until reading habits are formed among them.

3.17. Testing Reading Comprehension

            Students’ reading comprehension can be tested from his response to a few new or unseen passages. Testing the familiar passages may elicit only memorized responses.  Four types of questions may test reading comprehension–

i) True/False: Here the teacher frames a few questions which cover the main points of the text or passage.  Students have to reply to the questions.

ii) Multiple Choices: No or little writing is involved in this type.  They are to choose the correct answer.

iii) Open-Ended questions: The teacher can write a few open ended questions related to the main points of the text.

iv) Information Transfer:  Instead of answering a question the student has to record information from the text in a different form - Completing a table, labeling a picture, drawing a diagram etc.,

            While testing reading comprehension in English the teacher must ensure the following –

• The pupils relate one idea with the other.
• They are able to infer the given facts.
• They find out the sequence of events.
• They find logical connections between ideas.
• They guess the meaning of the words.
• They locate the relevant information

        The teacher will frame different questions to test the above abilities of the students.