Effective stratergies on improving reading comprehension

Sometimes, they have to listen tonecessary information extracted from the debates or discussions to support anddefend their own ideas; therefore, reading is not only aimed at improving t

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NAM ĐỊNH TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN LÊ HỒNG PHONG

CHUYÊN ĐỀ BÁO CÁO HỘI THẢO

CỤM ĐỒNG BẰNG DUYÊN HẢI BẮC BỘ

LẦN THỨ VIIICHUYÊN ĐỀ SỐ 2:

EFFECTIVE STRATERGIES ON IMPROVING READING

COMPREHENSION

Tác giả: Trần Thị Hà

Trần Thị PhượngTrần Thị Hồng Nhóm Tiếng Anh

Trường THPT chuyên Lê Hồng Phong- Nam Định

Nam Định, ngày 20 tháng 8 năm 2014

TABLE OF CONTENT

Activities 8 Activities 9 5.3 Post-reading: 15

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

In terms of opportunities, nationally, it can be seen that, foreign languageeducation policy and accompanying student attitudes and motivation havebecome crucial issues in the national development of Vietnam over the pasttwenty years Social changes have resulted in the changes in foreign languagelearning and teaching This choice of English, in particular, has greatlyinfluenced education, especially secondary school English has become acompulsory subject in the state examination In addition to the aim of passingtheir exams and getting some further studies for their future life, students have adesire to be integrated into the cultures to acquire human’s civilization

Learning English means learning four related skills: listening, speaking,reading and writing Among these, reading seems to be the leading activity inthe process of teaching and learning and it accounts for roughly 30% of totalmarks in the national exams

Reading comprehension is a skill that is learned over time It requires thereader to be able to read fluently, stay focused, and think critically about thebook or text in question Unfortunately, many students struggle comprehendingtexts Some cannot discern the main ideas from the details while others have ahard time understanding what the book is even talking about Therefore, helpingstudents increase their reading comprehension is a key to their educationalsuccess or failure

As a matter of fact, the question of how to teach reading effectively has been

of great concern In this article, I would like to share with you all some of mystrategies to help improve reading comprehension

2 Aims:

-Show out the importance of mastering reading comprehension

-Provide some suggestions for improvement of reading comprehension for highschool students

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

1 Roles of reading in language learning and teaching.

Reading plays an indispensable role in people’s lives It is a way to acquireknowledge and experience Through reading, knowledge has greatly contributed

to the growth of mankind Reading is the fastest and simplest way to raisepeople’s educational level (Hung & Tzeng, 2001) Reading is like opening thedoor of understanding to human’s past, where it can serve as a looking glass forour present Reading also stimulates the development of brain cells, reinforceslanguage skills, and enhances organizational abilities Where there is littlereading, there will be little language learning (Bright and Gregor (1970, p.52-53) In fact, the students who want to learn English as a foreign language has toexplore the knowledge of it by reading a lot or throwing himself into a createdEnglish speaking environment Only by reading can students acquire the speedand the skills needed for their practical purposes It is difficult in the modernworld to do anything other than a basic job without being able to read Reading

as a skill is the key to an educated workforce, which in turn is the bedrock ofeconomic advancement, particularly in the present technological age

Additionally, reading helps form other language skills such as listening,speaking and writing Reading is the best way for students to get used to newvocabulary, concepts, grammar and structures in reading materials The studentsknow how to use them in listening, speaking and writing in a right context andhave further practice of the language during the process of learning Throughreading, students can understand the use of words and structures in their writtenforms as well as the connecting devices that link them together Readingcomprehension is closely interrelated with other language skills “ There are fewcases in real life when we do not talk or write about what we have read or when

we do not relate what we have read to something we might have heard”(Frangoise Grellet-1982, p8)

A special relationship exists between listening and reading, which are bothreceptive phases of language, as opposed to productive phases of speaking andwriting In reading lesson, students have to listen to the teacher’s explanationsand guidance and answer the questions They also have to listen to their friends’opinions and exchange theirs with other’s Sometimes, they have to listen tonecessary information extracted from the debates or discussions to support anddefend their own ideas; therefore, reading is not only aimed at improving thestudent’s reading skill but their listening skill as well.

During a reading lesson, students may share what they have read with thepartners by discussing, exchanging and arguing In this way speaking is helpfulfor students to understand the text and at the same time to improve theirspeaking skill

“The connection between reading and writing is particularly strong Bothreading and writing are basically constructive process” (Roe and Ross.1998,p22) For a reading- related activity, written work is an effective way inchecking student’s reading comprehension After reading the reading text,teachers have students write a summary, reflection or take notes of what theyhave read As a result, they can use interesting main points in their writing paperlater on

In conclusion, during the reading lessons, an emphasis is placed on the readingactivities, but reading comprehension should not be separated from the otherskills The four skills must be interrelated to master a foreign language

2 The nature of reading comprehension.

There exist different views and definitions of reading comprehension.Jermery Harmer

(1983, p15) states that “Reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and thebrain The eyes receive messages and the brain then has to work out thesignificance of these messages”

According to Eddie Williams (1984, p.3) “Reading is a process whereby onelooks at and understands what has been written” Some have taken the positionthat reading involves merely the decoding of graphic symbols and theproduction of meaning Though there are several and varied definitions ofreading, most of us would come to conclusion that reading withoutunderstanding is meaningless Reading comprehension has the nature ofcommunication, in which reading acts as means of communication between thewriter and the reader.

Reading comprehension is, in fact, a language processes, not the sum ofvarious decoding and comprehension sub skills In short, reading is the process

of reconstructing the author’s ideas and information In a reading lesson atschool, the text is decoded by the students and the product of reading act iscommunication, their understanding of ideas that have been put in print by thewriter

As a means of communication, reading is a means of communicating withfriends and teacher at school For example, summarizing a text, taking notes ofmain points in the text or making comments on it in a sheet of paper thencomparing with the partners are some useful follow-up activities after reading

3 Kinds of reading comprehension

One of the most important points to keep in mind when teaching andlearning reading comprehension is that there is not one type of reading butseveral according to one’s purposes for reading Students will never be goodreaders unless they can adapt their reading skills to their aims when reading

In considering the reading process, it is important to distinguish the readingactivities according to manners and purposes of reading

According to manners, it can be classified into

-Silent reading

-Reading aloud

According to purposes, it can be divided into

Silent reading is widely used in real life in which we do not read every wordaloud The eyes run from left to right, top to bottom to receive the graphicforms of printed materials and decode them in mind.

Silent reading is good for reading comprehension because:

-Firstly, students can all read at their own speed If they do not understand,they can go back and read it again

-Secondly, students are, in fact, concentrating on the text and thinking aboutthe meaning

Therefore, silent reading is a skill students need to develop

3.1.2 Reading aloud

Reading aloud is seen as a way of reading whose purposes is “not justunderstand a text but convey information to someone else” (Doff 1981) Inother words, it is obvious that reading aloud involves looking at the text,understanding its and also saying it

In the classroom, reading aloud can be used to train students inpronunciation, so it can be done by the teacher at the earliest stage ofteaching procedure “Beginners have to discover how writing is associatedwith the spoken words they have already learnt” (Natali 1989, p.2) orreading aloud is also used as a means to make other students keep quiet

However, reading aloud is not a very useful technique as Bright and Gregef(1970, p 177) state

It interferes with the proper business of the reading lesson which is tocreate imaginative response in the mind from the visual stimulus of black marks

on paper

1. Where it is used frequently it slows down reading speed whereas the

objective is if increase it

3.2 According to purposes of reading

In 1981, Frangoise Grellet pointed out that “Extensive reading means readinglonger texts, usually for one’s own pleasure In the context of classroom learningthis is a fluency activity, mainly involving global understanding For extensivereading, students work on their own reading texts graded to the levels ofindividual readers They are given opportunities to progress at their own rate.The purpose of the extensive reading is to train the student to read quickly and'fluently in the foreign language for his own enjoyment without the aid of theteacher Therefore, the material for extensive reading should be selected at alower level of difficulty than that for intensive reading Structures in the textshould be already familiar to him, and new words should be introduced slowly

in such a way that their meaning can be deduced from the context or quicklyascertained In order to encourage students to read extensively the teachershould be able to recommend to the students extensive reading material whichcorresponds to their individual tastes and interests”

At high school, students often read intensively in the reading lessons, thisreading style is suitable for them to learn and practise the language, but it cannothelp to train them in fluent reading On the contrary, extensive reading can

provide students with fluency in reading Furthermore, extensive reading cansupply them with an adequate language environment as well as the enjoyment inreading and in learning a language Therefore, it is necessary for the educationalauthorities and teachers to incorporate intensive reading and extensive readinginto school curriculum.

3.2.2 Intensive reading

According to Frangois Grellet (1981, p 4) “Intensive reading means readingshorter texts to extract specific information This is more an accuracy activityinvolving reading for detail”

Intensive reading exercises may include:

• looking at main ideas versus details

• understanding what is implied versus stated

• making inferences

• looking at the order of information and how it effects the message

• identifying words that connect one idea to another

• identifying words that indicate change from one section to another

Hedge (1985, p.68) stresses that “Intensive reading lessons provide studentswith training in the strategies and skills they need to become successful readers”

In intensive reading, students are trained in reading comprehension through theanalytical approach to grammar and lexis They are encouraged to infer themeaning of unknown words and structures from the context in the targetlanguage For many learners, their purpose in reading English language is notfor information, interest, or pleasure, but to learn English So they assume thatthe appropriate style for them should be slow, intensive reading in order to besure of not missing any words Materials for intensive reading used by students

in class are short stories and extracts from novels or magazines They are chosenaccording to the level of difficulty of language and for the interest they hold foryoung people still at school This reading matter is studied in considerable detailand it is related' to language learning under the teacher’s guidance Therefore,the teacher’s task is to provide the students with strategies and skills of reading

to arrive at a profound and detailed comprehension of the text and how themeaning is expressed.

3.2.3 Skimming

Skimming is a way of reading that a reader is required to jump through the text,ignoring parts of it for the very general purpose of seeing what it is about, andwhether there is anything of interest to him in it The reader skims in order tosatisfy a very general curiosity about the text rather than finding the answer toparticular questions Skimming is a quick reading to get know the generalmeaning of a passage , the organization of the passage, the structure of the textand the writer’s purpose

Skimming is not an appropriate aim for learners at beginner level It is suitablefor the students of the eleventh form or twelfth form especially for giftedstudents of English At this level skimming helps them to organize theirthoughts and specify what information they can get from the reading material,therefore, their subsequent reading is more efficient

Scanning is, in contrast, described as follows

By scanning “the reader here is on the look-out for a particular item oritems he believes in the text” (Peter Wingard, 1990, p.83) For example,the name of the scorer in a football report

According to Nuttal, 1989 scanning means “glancing rapidly through a text

either to search for specific pieces of information (eg: a name, a date) or to get

an initial impression of whether it is suitable for a given purpose”

“Scanning occurs when a reader goes through a text very quickly in order tofind a particular point of information (William, 1986)

Activities

• Activities may include exercises that are devised by the teacher in whichstudents scan for a single word or specific text

• Activities may include exercises that are often carried on as a competition

so students will work quickly

• Students use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of what a passage

is about , activate prior knowledge about the topic of the passage byanswering some questions or performing a quiz , anticipate what theywant to learn about the top , use titles, pictures, and prior knowledge toanticipate the contents of the text , use key words, that may have beengiven to them by the teacher, that do not appear in the text, that allude tothe main idea

Like skimming, scanning is a useful reading skill that may be at first strange to

a learner who is used to reading everything in a foreign language with the samedegree of attention It can be appropriately applied in teaching and learningreading as it can be very useful as a study technique

4 Conclusion

All kinds of reading are interrelated Skimming and scanning are all helpfulreading skills that enable the readers to read rapidly in order to select somespecific information that are worth spending time on Both skimming andscanning are useful skills in silent reading Reading aloud and silent reading can

be used effectively for teaching and learning intensive reading but extensivereading is commonly carried out by readers who read for pleasure or furtherstudy through silent reading

When reading, readers employ some specialist skills They are successful inunderstanding what they read and do not depend on how they apply these skills

to their process of reading This is the important question for teachers andstudents in teaching and learning reading skills Here are some useful skills andactivities for reading comprehension

5.1 Pre-reading

A good reader often predicts what he is going to read In other words, hegenerally has some expectations before he actually begins reading the text.While reading he can understand the text and match the content of the text to hispredictions which will change when he gets more information from the process

of reading One of the important things for the teachers in the pre-reading phase

is to encourage students to develop predictive skills This helps to arousestudent’s attention and interest in the topic The way he introduces the text, theway he asks questions and the way he gives a reason for reading will intereststudents and motivate their purpose for reading For example, teachers can askstudents to predict what will happen at the end of a story or have them explainhow they decided on their prediction, which encourages them to makeinferences about what they are reading by using the title, subtitles, pictures,maps, diagrams, and divisions within the text to predict content and organization

or sequence of information

In addition, teachers help to give students the background knowledge necessaryfor comprehension of the text, or activate the existing knowledge that thestudents possess By answering questions, students get to know the purpose ofreading, focus their attention on what they are to learn as well as encouragethem to monitor their comprehension The following are some activities I haveapplied during pre-reading phase at my high school

1 Prediction

1.1 Possible passages

Steps:

+ Choose 8 – 15 key words from the text students will read

+ Determine categories into which students should sort the words

+ Tell students that the Unknown Words category is only for terms the grouphas no idea about – if they have a sense that a word should go in a certaincategory, they should place it there

+ Ask students to make a gist statement using words listed above

Aim:

+ engage students in contextual study of vocabulary before reading a passage

+ help students overview the reading text

Sample: (Unit 4- Book 10-Advanced)

Po

s sible Passage

Word list: Helen Keller, Sullivan, deaf, blind, fingertip alphabet, manual alphabet,

Radcliffe College, Braille, remarkable woman

Helen Keller

Sullivan

deafblind

fingertip alphabetBraille

Radcliffe Collegeremarkable women

manual alphabet

Possible statement: Helen Keller was a deaf and blind child Thanks to

Ms.Sullivan’s help, she could master the fingertip alphabet and Braille She made

every effort to learn and graduate from Radcliffe College Soon she became one ofremarkable women in the world.

+ activate students' prior knowledge about content area vocabulary and concepts

+ help students overview the reading text

Sample:(Unit 10- Book 10- Advanced)

Word list: Nam Cat Tien national park, established, central government,

ecotourism site, species, visitors, landscape, ecotourism, economy, promote

Possible sentences:

- Nam Cat Tien national park was established by the central government

- Nam Cat Tien national park is considered as an ecotourism site

- Nam Cat Tien national park contains many different species of plants andanimals

- A lot of visitors come to Nam Cat Tien national park because of its beautifullandscape

……

2 Word list

Steps:

- Write a key word or concept related to the reading material

- Ask students to work in groups and list their associations for the cue

- Encourage students to make inquiries about the associations for example:clarify the words, provide an example, definitions, or modeling…

- Ask students to think and talk about the key word

Aim: activate students’ prior knowledge and provides a framework for a

student-led discussion

Sample (Unit 14- Book 10- advanced)

World Cup: competition, football, soccer, championship, team, cup, fan,hold, score, footballer, final, match, host country,

3 Pre- questions

Steps:

- Asks students to work in groups and dicuss the list of questions teacher gives

Aim: build the students’ interest and motivation and activate

students’background knowledge and make connections

Sample: (Unit 14- Book 10- Advanced)

T asks students to work in groups and discuss the following questions to seehow much they know about soccer and the world cup

1 How often is the world cup held?

2 What does the abbreviation FIFA stand for?

3 When and where was the first World Cup tournament held?

4 Who is considered the all-time best soccer player?

5 When was the World Cup first held in Asia?

6 Is there a World Cup tournament for women?

7 Where and when will the next World Cup be held?

5.2 During reading.

5.2.1 Extracting specific information

In real life, we often read something as we want to extract some specificpieces of information We read the text as quickly as possible and onlyconcentrate on the particular items that interest us and disregard the otherinformation necessary This skill when applied in reading is often calledscanning It is one of some reading skills that is very useful for improvingstudents’ reading speed because a common problem for foreign languagestudents in Vietnam is that they tend to read too slowly in all types This is one

of their disadvantages when taking their exam in which reading passageoccupies 30% of total marks of the examination paper

5.2.2 Getting the general picture

Readers often read something because they want to get the generalpicture and have a general idea of the main points of what they have readwithout being too concerned with the detail It is the main point that they areinterested in The skill of reading in order to get the general picture isskimming It presupposes the reader’s ability to pick out the main points anddiscard what is irrelevant In teaching reading skills, skimming is a useful subskill that also helps to improve the students’ reading speed They will be able to

go through the text extremely quickly to see what a text is about or how it isorganized

5.2.3 Reading for detailed comprehension

Reading for detailed comprehension is very common in intensive reading

in which students are trained to read the text carefully through the analyticalapproach to grammar and lexis for detailed comprehension Students have to beable to access texts for detailed information of many kinds By generatingquestions, students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and

if they understand what they are reading Students learn to ask themselvesquestions that require them to combine information from different segments oftext For example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate