Chart 2

A red rod; a green rod; Take a green rod. Give me a pen. Thank you.

Fig. 21 Chart 2

Chart 3 includes combinations		of letters which can be used for loud
reading and writing.
		Chart 3
-ble -ake	-ght	-ight -all
-ttle -gle	-ck	-ete -ite

Fig. 22 Chart 3

Activities

Task I. Read after me.

The teacher points at each of the words in chart 1 with a pointing rod and reads the word aloud. The learners read word by word after him in chorus.

The task is carried twice.

Task II. Be ready to read after me the word I point at.

With a pointing rod in one hand the teacher points at a word, read it and with the other hand points at the learner who is to read the word after him. The tempo of work is normal and is not slowed up.

Task III. Be ready to read the word I point at.

Putting the pointing rod at a word in the chart the teacher makes a long pause (giving the learners some time to actualize the sound-motor image of the word in inner speech) and then with a gesture induces one of them to read the word. If the word is read correctly the teacher encourages the reader: Correct! Good you are! Well done!

All the tasks in both sequences are carried out with all the learners of the group. The activities are rather intensive, that's why from time to time pauses of relaxation including learners' dancing, singing, physical exercises are used.

The advantage of mastering imitative reading consists in the following. By the moment learners start studying imitative reading almost all the components of the significative structure of the words (except their graphic forms) have already been formed in their speech-generating mechasnisms. The sound-letter image of a word learners accept in imitative reading is integrated into the system of the word's significative components (the sound-motor image of a word, visual image, meaning / concept and sense), which have already been formed in their speech-generating mechanisms. The graphic form of the words are supported by the meanings of the words which beginners could have accepted only by ear. This meaning is now attributed to the combinations of letters which present the word's graphical images. It facilitates learners' assimilation of the sound-letter image of the word and formation of sound-letter relationships.

At the starting and beginning stages of language instruction there are no conditions for applying reading rules. Beginners are too young for rules. The peculiarity is that at these stages learners come across either the most fre­quently used English words which belong to the most ancient stratum of the English vocabulary and do not obey the reading rules {are, have, give, many, one, two, there, bus etc.) or words which in spite of obeying the rules are rather difficult in spelling (daughter, night, etc). These words usually preserve their traditional spelling that often doesn't coincide with certain phonemic rules [2, 272]. In such cases tasks and exercises in imitative reading are of great help, because carrying them out beginners memorize words with traditional spelling as indivisible unities, i.e. as orthograms.

The first stage of imitative reading is to start before studying the ABC, rules of syllable formation and rules of reading. Teaching the ABC can be started at the second stage of teaching imitative reading when learners are able to read a great bulk of the vocabulary studied during the oral period of develop­ing their sensitivity to the foreign language.

Mastering the alphabet and mastering imitative reading have different goals. As it has already been mentioned, the goal of imitative reading is involu-tary forming of letter-sound relationship in learners, which do not require their conscious-raising understanding while learners' meaningful and sound­ing associations are a must of this process.

The goal of mastering the ABC, on the contrary, presupposes learners' conscious-raising memorization of the names of the letters of the foreign language, their relationships with their graphic images as well as develop­ing in learners skills of writing the signs of letters which are rather differ­ent from those of the native language. Each letter has its name that in most cases doesn't coincide with the sounds used instead of it in oral speech. In the process of studying the ABC there are no meaningful associations, while in imitative reading they are evident.

Intensive and steady imitative reading in some degree involves receptive and unconscious mastering of graphic signs of the letters of the ABC. Owing to this fact the children who have been taught imitative reading master the alphabet, rules of syllable formation and reading rules with more ease and in a shorter time than the children taught reading in a traditional way.

10.6. DEVELOPING READING SKILLS FOR MEANING 10.6.1. Goals of Teaching Reading for Meaning in Secondary School According to the State Standard of Secondary School of this country, the goals of teaching reading can be defined as follows:

Intermediate Level

To develop in learners:

— the skill to comprehend simple authentic texts of different genres

and styles which would conform to personal, public and educational

peculiarities of education; - the ability to use the dictionary and other reference books;

• the skill to read for the gist popular-scientific articles of newspapers and magazines, to define their main ideas;

• the skill to review an extensive text (or a series of texts) to find out specific information;

• the ability to get information from notices and adverts, menu, schedules, brochures and other documents [9, 18].

Senior School

To develop in learners:

• the skill to comprehend simple authentic texts of different genres and styles, such as fiction, popular-scientific articles, sociopolitical journalism;

• the ability to use language guesswork supported with a meaningful context or word-building elements;

• the ability to analyze selective abstracts of a text;

• the skill to define main information of a text;

• the ability to use the dictionary and other reference books;

• the skill to analyze the press [9, 18].

The reading speech skill as such is effected by readers through several types of reading activities [17; 29]. In conformity to them as well as to the goals of teaching reading given above there has been developed and scientifi­cally based a methodological system of teaching reading in a foreign language [2; 12; 17;49; 45; 87; 69; 29]. According to it reading activities while master­ing a foreign language can be divided into several types.