- •Teaching to Read
- •Input reading 1
- •Match the following headlines with the likely types of a language student’s reading
- •Exploratory task 1.1
- •Exploratory task 1.3
- •Exploratory task 1.4 Match the types of texts with their textual features
- •Exploratory task 1.5
- •Bottom-up processing
- •Interactive processing
- •Exploratory task 1.7
- •Exploratory task 1.9
- •Exploratory task 1.10
- •Exploratory task 1.11 Read the following text, get its communicative message and elicit your response.
- •Input reading 2
- •Reading activities are organised in the three-phase framework
- •Exploratory task 2.5
- •Integrated task
- •Answer Keys
- •Possible reading dynamics: 1f 2a 3d 4e 5c 6b
- •Exploratory task 1.4
- •Glossary
- •References and Further Reading
Input reading 2
Activities for teaching to read
Teaching to read starts with teaching “phonics”, i.e. associations of sounds and letters. Beginners' reading activities can be organised with the tasks such as “Draw links between the foreign and native language letters that sound the same”. “Draw links between the pictures and the letters that begin the words”. “Cross out letters, which you can't hear when you name an object”. “Read the words, which are names of the animals. Do not read other words”. “In the short story read only the words, which you can understand. What is the story about?”. “Read out only the sentences, which describe the picture”. ”Read out only the sentences, which belong to one story” (After P.Ur. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching. CUP. P. 156-157).
Exploratory task 2.1
Consider the following reading activity for young learners, “Stick the labels on the picture of the living room. Some labels will be left unnecessary”. List the difficulties that the activity can present to the young learners.
Labels |
Picture of the living room |
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List of difficulties:
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Teaching reading to advanced students can be organised with a single text (skimming and scanning reading), parallel texts (reading two or more texts on the same subject thus creating information gap between the readers), divided text (splitting the text into parts and handing them out for the learners to read and them put information together, thus organising a jig-saw reading). Advanced reading activities can take the form of cued reading (finding information in the text as relevant to the cue given), guided reading (seeking information in the text in answer to the questions given), jig-saw reading (pooling information together of the two or more texts distributed between the learners), shared reading (reading the same text in a group but with each learner having a different task with subsequent sharing information), critical reading (activating thought processes over the text).
Exploratory task 2.2
The following reading activity is based on psychological testing. Do the task and evaluate the activity according to the format given below. Task: Do the following stress test and estimate your stress level. Encode your answers as 1 “always”, 2 “almost always”, 3 “occasionally”, 4 “almost never”, 5 “never” . Total scoring over 24 indicates that your stress level is reaching a dangerous mark.
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(O’Connell, S. 1999. Focus on Advanced English. Longman. P. 52)
Evaluation points |
Comments and proofs |
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Reading activities are based on a number of techniques for teaching to read. Techniques for teaching to read include extracting (extracting information from the text in answer to questions or other elicitation tasks), cloze procedure (filling gaps in the text), sequencing text parts (restoring the logical order of the crippled text), matching (matching headlines and passages in the text), restoration of the text (restoring the text from bits and scraps), finding irrelevancies (finding and ticking off sentences, which are logically irrelevant in the text), fitting in sentences or passages (fitting in the sentences or passages in the points of the text, where they are logically appropriate), digest (summarizing the most essential information points from a number of texts), comment (reader's response on the text).
Exploratory task 2.3
Do the following selection of reading activities and let your partner do “time-and-motion” study with a stop-watch (record how much time your partner has spent on each task). Compare the time you needed for each task. Explain the reason for the difference in the “time-on-task”. Write the time and the answers in the right column. Share the results in the group.
Reading task |
Time and answer |
Read the text and find the appropriate place in the text for the detached passage. Bleeding can usually be stopped by applying pressure to the cut for 2 or 3 minutes. If it has bled freely any germs will normally have been washed away by the blood. If the cut is deep consult a doctor. A tetanus injection may be needed. Detached passage. Apply a plaster dressing firmly, bringing the edges of the cut together, so that it knits quickly. |
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Read the text and complete the gaps. Bruises are very … in children. Parents sometimes worry that a … may be broken. Children’s bones … break but if in doubt consult a … Severe bruising can be … by rest for 214 to 48 hours. A cold compress may … a bad bruise if applied … (Please mask the tip: common, bone, rarely, doctor, treated, ease, soon) |
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Underline the sentences that are logically irrelevant. Minor burns and scalds cause redness of the skin. Immediate treatment by pouring cold water over a burn is often helpful. Never use ice. If burns cause severe blistering consult a doctor. There is no need to worry. Sunburn should if possible be prevented by avoiding long exposure. Sun tan makes your skin resistible to burns. |
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Choose the best headline for the extract. The tallest person in the world was a man and he was 272 cm tall. The shortest person in the world was a woman. She was 51 cm tall. A Russian mother in reported to have had 69 children (twins, triplets and quadruplets) between 1725 and 1765. The oldest reported person in the world was from Japan, who was 118 years old. The worst sneezing woman was a British woman who sneezed for 978 days. A/Women set more records than men. B/Strange stories. C/Human records |
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Read the text and answer the question. Imagine three children. The first is top of the class in maths but has few friends. The second is artistic and imaginative but works in snatches. The third child puts twice as much work to get the results but has a sunny personality. The fourth child works brilliantly in group showing readiness to co-operate. The fifth child is everybody’s charm and has a unique gift for being always ready to give a hand. Question. Which child do you think has the best chance of succeeding in life? |
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Exploratory task 2.4
The task under analysis is to read the text and to tick off the "true" statements. Work in small groups. Decide on the “true” and “false” sentences and pick up the information from the text that serves your arguments.
Have you eaten too much over the holidays? You should try fidgeting for a while. Those around you might not like it, but scratching and twitching is an important way of burning up calories. American researchers have found that some people's squirming and wiggling equals several miles of jogging each day. The scientists based at the National Institute of Health's laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona are studying why some people get fat and others stay slim. In one study 177 people each spent 24 hours in the institute's respiratory chamber - a room where the amount of energy people expend is measured by their oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. By the end of the day, some people had burned up 800 calories in toe-tapping, finger-drumming and other nervous habits. However, others had expended only 100 calories. The researchers found, that slim women fidget more than fat women, but there was no significant difference in men. Heavy people expend more energy when they fidget than do thin people. |
Put a tick next to the statements, which you think, are true. What cues from the text do you use in each case?
Heavy people always eat more than thin people.
Heavy people do not scratch and twitch
Thin people take more exercise than heavy people
Heavy people are more effective in expending their energy
Squirming and wiggling is better than jogging to take off weight
Toe-tapping and finger-drumming is effective to burn up the calories
Women are more prone to take off weight than men