Êóðñîâàÿ ðàáîòà: Developing reading skills
Êóðñîâàÿ ðàáîòà: Developing reading skills
1.
Introduction
2.
Main part:
a)
Reading skills. A Writing Approach to – Reading Comprehension –
Schema Theory in Action.
b)
The nature of foreign-language teaching. Vocabulary teaching
techniques.
3.
Conclusion.
4.
References
Introduction
Composing and comprehending: two sides of the same basic process. The
National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals that eighty-five percent of
all thirteen-years-olds can correctly complete a multiple choice check on comprehension,
but only fifteen percent can write an acceptable sentence summarizing the
paragraph read.
Such conditions, too frequent in most of today’s schools, stem inevitably
from a failure to recognize that composing and comprehending are process-oriented
thinking skills which are basically interrelated. Our failure to teach
composing and comprehending as process impedes our efforts not only to teach
children to read and write, but our efforts to teach them how to think.
Comprehending is critical because it requires the learner to reconstruct
the structure and meaning of ideas expressed by another writer. To possess an
idea that one is reading about requires competence in regenerating the idea,
competence in learning how to write the ideas of another.
This aspect of the relationship between comprehending and composing
explains Graves and Hansen report early success in their exploratory project
encouraging first grade children to write about their reading ( and to
verbalize about the process) (1982). The relationship and the absence of
adequate interaction about ideas also explains why preschool children learn
little from the 5,000 or more hours they spend watching television (Schramm
1977). Activity without language does not become experience. The work of Ann
Brown and others with their studies of metacognition (1977, 1978, 1982), Duffy
and Roehler’s explorations in reading (1981), and Perry Lanier’s work in
mathematics at the Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University
(1982), are demonstrating how thinking about the process of comprehending, that
is, consciously considering the reconstructions that one composes, can enhance
the basic process itself.
The skills required to read science must acquired through reading
science. The skills required in writing science can be learned only by writing
science. Basic reading and writing instruction can provide children with a
rudimentary vocabulary and certain basic skills of literacy, but application to
higher levels of processing requires specialized uses. We have long since
learned that unless children are taught to apply basic comprehension skills to
a variety of subject mutters – and experience guided practice in applying the
skills – they will not easily transfer their skills. Instances of ability, say,
to apply academic reading skills to life situations have been widely reported.
See, for example, the Adults Functional Literacy Project (Murphy 1973).
One reason, of course, is that the skills have unique and particular
relevance to every discipline. Reading for sequence in a short story, for
example, is very different from reading for historical sequence, or reading for
sequence in a process article. Direct attention to skill applications in
reading (and writing, too) appears to be mandatory and is one reason why
content area selections must be introduced in basic reading programs.
Restricted only to reading poems, plays, and stories, children can too easily
find their competence restricted to literary activity as well.
Reading skills
The art of reading is mainly a
matter of concentrating on the import of the written words, and not on the
words themselves. Words are merely the medium whereby the massage of the writer
is
conveyed to the reader.
A pupil is
said to have acquired correct reading habits when he can focus his attention on
the massage and not on the form; when he treats the text as a familiar form of
discourse and not as a task in a deciphering. He is reader in the true sense
when he ‘ sees through a window to the view outside without consciousness of
the glass.
It was
difficult to arrive at this stage under the old translation method which
concentrated on the single word and made the pupil conscious of its association
with the corresponding word in the mother-tongue. Reading by word-concentration
is a pernicious method corresponding to typing with one finger; it can by
practice lead to a certain proficiency, but not to the required skills.
Training technique. There appear to
be two schools of opinion on the technique to be adopted for the training of
the pupil. One favours silent reading from the outset, the other oral reading.
Silent reading. The case for silent
reading as both an end and a means might be stated as follows:
1.
This
is modern reaction from the traditional form of language lesson in which oral
reading predominated.
2.
Oral
reading on traditional lines virtually converted a collective lesson into a
series of short individual lessons.
3.
Silent
reading is claimed to be eye- as opposed to lip-reading. The eye movements are
rapid and can skip across the written pages by concentrating on key words.
4.
Silent
reading keeps the whole class active and enables the teacher to assist the
weaker pupils.
5.
It enables
the pupils to work at their respective paces and thus solves the difficulties
of extreme types.
6.
The
practice of silent reading in class prepares the pupils for library on their
own.
7.
In
introduces the pupils to the art of skimming.
8.
Oral
reading is a specific skill which it is not essential for all the pupils to
acquire.
Oral reading. The arguments in favour
of oral reading are:
1.
Reading aloud is a form of speech
prompted by written symbols; it is an aid to speech fluency, correct
pronunciation and intonation.
2.
If
correct silent reading implies the application of a particular technique (eye
movements over word-groups) the children must first be shown how achieve it by
example.
3.
The
words on the printed page are inert symbols which come to life when read out by
a good reader. The teacher’s rending of a text is too valuable to be dispensed
with.
4.
As
vocabulary is an important consideration, it ought to be presented to the ear
as well as to the eye.
5.
Concert
reading (in the early stage) is an alternative means of achieving general
activity.
6.
Silent
reading may be carried on at home, but the classroom is the only place for
controlled oral reading.
7.
Oral
reading provides a means of testing comprehension and checks superficial study
resulting from attention to content and not to details.
8.
Intensive
reading is more important than extensive reading in the early stages and for
the greater part of the course, indeed. ‘Skimming’ is not a desirable habit,
particularly for school-children.
Progressive stages. As reading is a
skill for which the pupil must be trained, it is advisable to proceed in series
of progressive stages with each serving as preparation for the next. The
ultimate aim is free reading by pupil unaided by the teacher but with the
occasional aid of the dictionary. The end, however, need not also be the means;
the early stages may have objectives of their own differing from that of the
ultimate aim.
There is a
tendency to regard writing as synonymous with written composition, and
proficiency in this skills as ability to discuss any topic in writing.
In the
foreign-language course, however, the writing skill must be interpreted more
broadly as the ability to represent words by means of written symbols.
Translating
children’s everyday uses of print into classroom practice. In the early 1970s,
a generally accepted definition of reading seemed to be that it was the
meaningful interpretation of written or printed symbols. At that time,
researchers in reading moved away from curriculum research which compared
methods in the teaching of reading to theory-based research which focused upon
the process of reading (Gibson and Levin 1975). The emphasis in the field was
upon the discovery of the underlying cognitive process of reading behavior as
researchers struggled for recognition of their work as a legitimate scientific
endeavor. Reading had become a complicated psycholinguistic process, a solitary
effort which took place somewhere between the reader and text. In turn,
learning to read in schools became a series of diagnostic events as the finding
of theory-based research were linked with the criterion referenced testing
movement of the 1970s and decade’s strong desire for accountability.
A Writing Approach to –
Reading Comprehension – Schema Theory in Action
In the
elementary schools, many lessons designed to develop children’s reading skills
have their origins in basal-reader materials. In addition, some lessons have
their beginnings in firsthand experiences. Working from a common experience,
children dictate sentences that the teacher records; later they read what they
have composed.
The almost
exclusive reliance on basal readers and experience charts for teaching reading
skills has an unfortunate outcome. Because stories and poems predominate in
basal reading books and because expository pieces, when included in these
texts, often lack the main and subheads that characterize conceptual and
relational content, young readers have little opportunity to develop an
understanding of how expository prose is structured. Expressed in more
technical terms, they have little opportunity to refine the schemata they hold
in their minds as to how, conceptual and relational content is organized on
paper and thus to build the skills necessary to comprehend lengthy or complex
passages.
Even when
children draft story charts together and they use these to build reading
skills, the content young writers compose is typically stories, poems, and
paragraph that describe personal experiences. This is equally true when
elementary youngsters write independently; stress is on drafting stories,
poems, and descriptions of firsthand experiences. Only infrequently do children
compose on relational topics from science and social studies. As a result,
students have little opportunity to develop their ability to organize
expository content on paper. Yet this learning basic, for it relates to
reading as well as to writing. In learning to organize informational content
for writing, students gain insight into how authors handle complex ideas on
paper; in so doing, they are refining their schemata for comprehending this
kind of content.
This lack of
attention to building schemata for interpreting and composing informational
content seems to occur even though study in science and social studies is part
of elementary programs and children read from content area texts as early as
first grade. An analysis of teacher’s guides to science and social studies text
hints at the reason for this lack. Few series suggest ways to encourage young
learners to perceive the structure within which ideas are organized in a
chapter, to gather data systematically based on their comprehension of that
structure, and to organize points gleaned into an original structure for
writing.
A basic
strategy for introducing students to the structures through which informational
content is expressed in written form is factstorming. Factstorming is the
process in which students randomly call out phrases that come mind on a topic
while scribes record these on chart paper or the chalkboard in the order given.
To be productive, of course, factstorming must be based on a data-gathering
activity. For example, students may view a film or filmstrip or listen to an
informational passage shared orally by their teacher. They may read in several
references on the topic. or they may collect data through a combination of
approaches that are part of unit study. In any event, students must have
informational background to bring to the factstroming.
The next
category in the instructional sequence is categorization, or the systematic
organization of facts “stromed”. This can be achieved in several ways,
depending on the sophistication and previous experience of students with the
process. One way is for the teacher to select an item of information laid out
on the board and ask students to locate a second item that is in some way like
first. Students tell how the two items are related, circle them. and locate
other items that share the same relationship, circling them in the same manner.
Having developed one cohesive category of facts in this way, students proceed
to organize the remaining facts into other categories according to shared
relationships, indicating related items by circling them with different colored
markers.
Dittoed
lists of terms and points “stromed” are helpful when students have had little
experience categorizing. Youngsters factstorm one day, perhaps listening on a
chart points recalled from an informational film viewed or from a series of
paragraphs read. These points are reproduced on a ditto, so that each
youngsters the next day has a copy and can circle related points on it with
different colored crayond.
Once students grouped related points
into labeled categories, they can take the next step - drafting shorts
paragraphs based on each of the categories. Again there are several ways of
proceeding. With youngsters who have had little experience drafting
informational paragraphs based on one main idea, a good introductory strategy
is teacher-guided group writing. Guiding either the total class or a small
writing team, the teacher focuses attention on one category on information
previously charted and encourages children to compose sentences on this topic.
The teacher or a student scribe records sentences suggested and then guides the
students is revising what they have drafted. The teacher may also ask students
for a general statement to use as a summary at the beginning or the end of the
paragraphs – a topic sentence, so to speak. He or she may ask students to
reorder the sentences drafted so that they flow more logically, to combine two
sentences into one, to substitute a more expressive word for one used, to write
another sentence that supplied added information. In short, children and
teacher together mark over, cross out, insert, reorder, and finally title their
paragraph.
Now in small writing teams, students
work in the same way with other categories of information they have charted. If
each group drafts a paragraph on a different subtopic, the result is several
titled paragraphs, each on a main idea that relates to a broader area.
With sophisticated students who have
had considerable experience composing informational paragraphs based on
categorized lists or data charts, of course the teacher can offer the option of
individual writing. Each youngsters composes a titled paragraph on one category
information. Later those who have drafted paragraphs on the same category can
pair off to talk about how they organized the given points into paragraphs and
to help with the editing of each other’s papers.
Having drafted and edited paragraphs,
students can share them by recording copies on a chart or the chalkboard. Now
the task is to decide on the order in which the individual paragraphs can be
combined into a composite report. Students reach a consensus by talking about
possible orders and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
After students have sequenced their
collaborative report, they can talk out the content of an introductory
paragraph, cooperatively frame a beginning sentence, and dictate several
supporting sentences that can be part of the introduction to their report.
Again, this work can be handled as a teacher-guided group writing activity; the
teacher asks questions that encourage students to think of a good beginning
sentence and to identify key content that is to follow in the body of the
report. In the same way students can formulate either a summary paragraph or
one that proposes generalizations based on the content included in the report.
The nature of
foreign-language teaching
The belief is prevalent that the
teaching of a foreign language is a comparatively simple subject. This follows
the assumption that the process is solely that of providing language
experience; for every lesson in which the language is spoken, read or written
must inevitably contribute to the extension of the pupil’s acquaintance with
the language. If this were the true character of the process the only
qualification for the role of instructor would be an adequate knowledge of the
language. Closer examination, however, proves that the efficient teaching of a
foreign language, far from being a simple process, is probably the most
difficult and complex of all subjects in the curriculum.
For all subjects the initial
considerations are what to teach and who. In this case of all other subjects
there is no appreciable difficulty about the first, as the syllabus is usually
clear and indisputable. Even for method there are guiding principles which meet
with more or less general acceptance. Foreign-language teaching, however, has
not yet attained the stage of universal agreement even as to what is to be
taught, still less as to how.
This may be taken as an indication of
the complex character of the subject, wherein content and method are curiously
involved. What appears to be a single subject is really a group of associated
yet distinct branches of study; for language is a generic term covering all or
any of the following features; speech, reading. composition, grammar,
literature, commercial, technical and scientific activities. Therefore courses
must differ widely if reading or speech is made the sole or major purpose, and
if the syllabus is extended to literature or commerce; the extent and choice of
vocabulary too will depend on whether instruction is given on Translation or
Direct Method lines; and presentation of grammar will vary considerably if
taught formally or functionally.
It is difficult even to qualify the
general character of foreign-language teaching. All other school subjects may
be broadly classified as either knowledge or skills. Thus History and Geography
are undoubtedly knowledge subjects, whereas Mathematics and Drawing are skills.
Strictly speaking none is purely one or the other. History is certainly more
than the mere absorption of data, and Mathematics call for the memorizing of
tables and formulae; but the predominant feature is clearly one element, with
the other as incidental.
In which category is foreign-language
learning to be included& The answer is more than academic interest, as the
respective point of view will determine the whole character of course.
If it is thought of as predominantly
a knowledge subject, efforts will be concentrated on giving the pupils as large
a vocabulary as possible and supplying them with many grammatical data. The
value individual lessons will probably be assessed by the number of new words
taught or the point of grammar elucidated.
On the other hand, if language is
thought of as essentially a skill, or a series of skills less attention will be
paid to extent of vocabulary, and progress will be measured instead by the
degree of fluency attained by the pupils. The conflicting views possibly arise
from different interpretations of the function of memorizing in the learning
process. This question has implications which warrant discussion.
That learning by the heart ought not
to be lightly dismissed as a deplorable feature of obsolete methods may be
gathered from the opinions of leading authorities.
Thus Handschin, a leading American
Specialist, writes:
“One of the best exercises of the
will is memorizing. We know there is a tendency in some quarters to make school
tasks easy by omitting memory work in former periods. But, of course, there
must be memory work,... although to overdo it is just as bad… For instance
oftentimes a course in elementary language is so conducted as to acquire
nothing but memory work.”- Methods of teaching modern languages, p.77.Word Book
Company, New York, 1923,
Harold Palmer, one of the most
stimulating of modern authorities, asserts that ‘ the study of language is in
its essence a series of acts of memorizing; whether we are concerned with
isolated words, with word-groups, with meaning or with the phenomena of
grammar, the fact remains that successful memorizing is the basic of all
progress.’- The Oral Method of Teaching Languages, p.20.Heffer,1023.
Elsewhere he elaborates his
interpretation of the teaching process by analyzing language psychologically as
comprising what he call (a) Primary matter and (b) Secondary matter.
He explains primary matter is an
appreciable part of language may be seen from the list of categories it
comprises. Summed up they are
1.
All
vocabulary (simple, compound and derived).
2.
(a)
All word-group used like single words, e.g.
of course, would rather, in spite of,
had better.
(b) Verb phrases, e.g. go out,
come back, get up.
(c) The association of prepositions
with nouns, adjectives and verbs, e.g. on Sunday, made of, averse to or
from.
3. Idiomatic sentences.
4. A large number of regular
sentences for use as model in substitution tables.
It must be admitted in the light of
Palmer’s formidable list of categories that there is a considerable amount of
language is virtually an act of recall, for all constructed sentences conform
to conventional patters. Indeed one of the chief causes of error may be (as
Palmer points out) the attempt of pupils to construct secondary matter freely
before they have absorbed and mastered sufficient primary matter. Memorising
therefore is undoubtedly an essential part of the learning process.
Nevertheless it would be incorrect to
interpret Palmer’s assertion that ‘ the study of language is in its essence a
series of acts of memorizing ‘ as implying that the process is necessarily that
of rote learning.
The essential characteristics of
language in use are the speed and facility with which the language is received
and produced. To be effective there should be little conscious effort but
rather the spontaneous use of familiar words and forms. Fluent speech and rapid
reading are not simply the application of knowledge; they imply the possession
of specific habits; they are in effect a series of unconscious acts of memory.
The inculcation of correct language habits is therefore the teacher’s chief
concern. For this purpose extent of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge are
not the most vital factors. Fluency is a quality attainable within any range of
vocabulary and may be absent despite the knowledge of all the words and forms
in the language. It would be right therefore to conclude that foreign-language
learning is essentially a skills, or a series of skills, calling for the
assimilation of a considerable amount of language matter for reproduction and
adaptation without conscious effort.
Vocabulary teaching
techniques
There are numerous techniques
concerned with vocabulary presentation. However, there are a few things that
have to be remembered irrespective of the way new lexical items are presented.
If teachers want students to remember new vocabulary, it needs to be learnt in
context, practiced, and then revised to prevent students from forgetting. We
can tell the same about grammar. Teachers must make sure students have
understood the new words, which will be remembered better if introduced in a
"memorable way".
Bearing all this in mind, teachers
have to remember to employ a variety of techniques for new vocabulary
presentation and revision.
Gairns and Redman (1986) suggest the
following types of vocabulary presentation techniques:
1. Visual techniques. These pertain
to visual memory, which is considered especially helpful with vocabulary
retention. Learners remember better the material that has been presented by
means of visual aids. Visual techniques lend themselves well to
presenting concrete items of vocabulary-nouns; many are also helpful in
conveying meanings of verbs and adjectives. They help students associate
presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their
system of language values.
2. Verbal explanation. This
pertains to the use of illustrative situations, synonymy, opposites, scales
(Gairns and Redman ), definition (Nation) and categories (Allen and Valette
).
3. Use of dictionaries. Using a
dictionary is another technique of finding out meanings of unfamiliar words
and expressions. Students can make use of a variety of dictionaries:
bilingual, monolingual, pictorial, thesauri, and the like. As French Allen
perceives them, dictionaries are "passports to independence," and
using them is one of the student-centered learning activities.
Using games
The advantages of using games. Many
experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games
are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. W.
R. Lee holds that most language games make learners use the language
instead of thinking about learning the correct forms. He also says that games
should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language
teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed by Richard-Amato, who
believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their pedagogical
value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many
advantages of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the
acquisition of input more likely" (Richard-Amato).
They are highly motivating and
entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their
opinions and feelings (Hansen). They also enable learners to acquire new
experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during
a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amato, they, "add
diversion to the regular classroom activities," break the ice,
"[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas". In the easy,
relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things
faster and better (Wierus and Wierus ). Further support comes from Zdybiewska,
who believes games to be a good way of practicing language, for they provide a
model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the
future.
Games encourage, entertain, teach,
and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used
just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not
just problems .
Choosing appropriate games. There
are many factors to consider while discussing games, one of which is
appropriacy. Teachers should be very careful about choosing games if they want
to make them profitable for the learning process. If games are to bring
desired results, they must correspond to either the student's level, or age,
or to the material that is to be introduced or practiced. Not all games
are appropriate for all students irrespective of their age. Different age
groups require various topics, materials, and modes of games. For example,
children benefit most from games which require moving around, imitating
a model, competing between groups and the like. Furthermore, structural games
that practice or reinforce a certain grammatical aspect of language have
to relate to students' abilities and prior knowledge. Games become
difficult when the task or the topic is unsuitable or outside the student's experience.
Another factor influencing the choice of a game is its length and the time necessary
for its completion. Many games have a time limit, but according to
Siek-Piskozub, the teacher can either allocate more or less time depending
on the students' level, the number of people in a group, or the knowledge of
the rules of a game etc.
Conclusion
1. The ability to read silently and
rapidly is the ultimate aim.
2. Oral reading is a specific and
useful skill but not a major objective; therefore it is not essential for every
pupil to acquire proficiency in it.
3. Oral reading is a useful means in
the early stages to train the pupils in the technique of rapid reading.
4. Oral reading is useful throughout
the course for the purpose of intensive reading in which attention is drawn to
vocabulary, idioms and grammatical forms.
5.
Oral
reading is an auxiliary speech exercise.
6.
It is
the reading aloud of the text and not the oral reading practice of the pupils
that is most important.
7.
Silent
reading is a valuable form of collective activity and ought to be practiced in
class. The class should be called upon (beyond the initial stages) to read a
section rapidly and then answer questions on the contents. This method forced
the slow readers to accelerate their reading pace.
Progressive stages. As reading is a
skill for which the pupil must be trained, it is advisable to proceed in series
of progressive stages with each serving as preparation for the next. The
ultimate aim is free reading by pupil unaided by the teacher but with the
occasional aid of the dictionary. The end, however, need not also be the means;
the early stages may have objectives of their own differing from that of the
ultimate aim.