TEACHING&TESTING READING.ppt
- 2. FORWARD TO EVERY GOOD READER… ‘ The essential is invisible to the naked eye’ • ‘The heart understands what the mouth can’t ever tell and what the ear can’t hear’. •Read in the name of thy LORD who created… • ‘The eyes look, but the brain sees’
- 3. How do we read? Box 1.1 SOME ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF READING 1. We need to perceive and decode letters in order to read words. 2. We need to understand all the words in order to understand the meaning of a text. 3. The more symbols (letters or words) there are in a text, the longer it will take to read it. 4. We gather meaning from what we read. 5. Our understanding of a text comes from understanding the words of which it is composed . Do you agree with them? Disagree? Agree, but with reservations. Note down your responses. Task
- 4. Short experimental readings Box 1.2 CAN YOU READ IT?
- 5. cont. Box 1.3 How LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO READ? 1. X P T A Q E W T 2. Jam hot pin call did tap son tick 3. How quickly can you read and understand this? Which took you most time to read and which least? Why? Task
- 6. Cont. Box 1.4 : READ QUICKLY PLEASE. The handsome knight mounted his horse, and galloped off to save the beautiful princess.On and on, over mountains and valleys, until his galloping house was exhausted .At last he dismounted…….Where was the dragon? Task Read the text in this box as quickly as you can.
- 7. Conclusion 1.When beginning to read a text, or where there is little or no helpful context , we depend on decoding letters to understand words; but as soon as there is a meaningful context we tend to bring our interpretation to the word according to its general ‘shape’ and the sense of the text rather than according to its exact component letters.Thus reading activities should probably stress reading for understanding rather than exact decoding of letters.
- 8. 2. WE need to understand some words in order to understand the meaning of a text, but by no means all: we often ‘skip’ or misread words in order to make sense of the whole more quickly or conveniently.The implication of this for reading is probably that we should not insist too strongly on our learners understanding every word, but rather encourage them to go for the the overall meaning of a text.
- 9. 3. Very roughly, the more sense units there are in a text, the longer it will take to read it. If smaller sense units (words, sentences) are combined into bigger, coherent ones ( sentences, paragraphs), the whole is much faster in reading than if they are separate or incoherent. Learners therefore will probably read more successfully if given whole meaningful units of a text than reading disconnected ‘bits’.
- 10. 4. And 5. The word ‘gather’ implies that somehow the meaning of a text is there in the words and all we need to do is to pick it up. However, our understanding is based on far more than simple reception of the words themselves, and the process of reading would be better defined as ‘constructing’ meaning from a written text.The ‘construction’ of meaning that occurs in reading is a combination of ‘bottom-up’ processes(decoding and understanding words, phrases and sentences in the text) and ‘top- down’ ones( our expectations, previous knowledge constructs (schemata) of the text content and genre).
- 11. Teaching Reading What does “Reading” mean? Choose the most suitable definition (s) from the following : 1. It is the process of decoding the encoding message of the writer. 2. It is the process of deciphering the graphic symbols on the paper and changing them into sounds 3. Reading is a physical & a mental process which involves an emotional side that triggers off when the reader’s emotion is stimulated and ignited by the printed words, joy, excitement, sympathy, anxiety, indifference…etc.
- 12. What is reading comprehension? Understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible. e.g.: 1) Looking at a notice board to see if there is an ad for a particular type of flat.( here a competent reader will quickly reject the irrelevant information and find what he is looking for). 2) Carefully reading an article of special interest in a scientific journal.( it is not enough to understand the gist of the text ; more detailed comprehension is necessary.)
- 13. WHY DO WE READ? There are two main reasons for reading: 1. Reading for pleasure 2. Reading for information( in order to find out something or in order to do something with the information you get).
- 14. WHY DO WE TEACH READING? To substitute real experiments by imaginary ones. To develop the Ss’ ability to extract the message the text contains. (symbolic effect) Professional competence depends on reading. Higher education depends much on the quality & quantity of reading. Cross-cultural problems can be tackled by wide reading. The more the students read, the more background knowledge they acquire.
- 15. THE COMPONENTS OF READING COMPREHENSION: THE SUBSKILLS Recognizing the script of a language Deducing the meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items Understanding explicitly stated information Understanding information when not explicitly stated Understanding conceptual meaning Understanding the communicative (function) of sentences and utterances
- 16. Understanding relations within the sentence Understanding relations between the parts of a text through lexical cohesion devices Interpreting text by going outside it Identifying the main point or important information in a piece of discourse Distinguishing the main idea from supporting details
- 17. Selective extraction of relevant points from a text Extracting salient points to summarize( the text, an idea etc.) Basic reference skills Skimming Scanning to locate specifically required information Transcoding information to diagrammatic display
- 18. In order to develop these skills, several types of exercises can be used. These question-types can have two different functions: 1. To clarify the organization of the passage. The questions can be about: The function of the passage The general organization ( e.g. argumentative) The rhetorical organization (e.g. contrast ,comparison) The cohesive devices ( e.g. link-words) The intrasentential relations ( e.g. derivation, morphology) TEXT ATTACK SKILLS
- 19. 2.To clarify the contents of the passage. The questions can be about: plain fact ( direct reference) implied fact ( inference ) deduced meaning ( supposition ) evaluation N.B. The above skills, question-types & question- functions are constantly related since a given exercise uses a certain type of question, with certain function, to develop a particular reading skill.
- 20. Classroom Reading Performance Oral Silent Intensive Extensive Linguistic Content Skimming Scanning Global
- 21. HOW DO WE READ? The main ways of reading are as follows: Skimming: quickly running one’s eyes over a text to get the gist of it. Scanning: quickly going through a text to find a particular piece of information.
- 22. Extensive reading: Reading longer texts, usually for one’s own pleasure .This is a fluency activity, mainly involving global understanding. ‘It is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading.’ Richards et al. (1992)
- 23. Intensive reading: reading shorter texts, to extract specific information. This is more an accuracy activity involving reading for detail. It is ‘the detailed and time-consuming analysis of reading material, usually in the classroom’, the purpose of which is ‘to teach vocabulary and structure in context, to teach reading skills such as scanning or guessing unknown words, and to prepare students to eventually read and comprehend all kinds of written material in the target language.’ Bramford (1984)
- 24. Reading involves both bottom –- up and top-down processing. The ‘construction’ of meaning that occurs in reading is a combination of: 1. Bottom-up processes ( decoding and understanding words, phrases and sentences in the text ): The old lady took her dog to the park 2. Top-down processes ( our expectations, previous knowledge constructs (schemata) of the text, content and genre) The old lady took her dog to the park
- 25. CLASSROOM READING PROCEDURES 1. Pre-reading phase: Here the teacher has to motivate the learners to: Anticipate the topic( looking at the title/ the pictures/ graphics, subtitles) Arouse their interest Activate learners’ formal and content schemata
- 26. Box 1.8.1 : QUESTIONS GIVEN BEFORE THE TEXT Read the questions and guess what the answers are. Later , you will read the text and are going to be able to check how many you got right. 1. Where was Jane walking? 2.What did she hear behind her? 3. What was her necklace made of? 4. What did the thief steal (two things). 5. What did he do next?
- 27. Box 1.9.2 PASSAGE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS As Jane was walking down the street, she heard someone walking quietly behind her .She began to feel afraid.Suddenly a large hand touched her neck; her gold necklace broke and disappeared. In another moment, her bag too was gone, and the thief was running away.
- 28. 2. While-reading phase This phase is tailored on the text rather than on the learners’ ideas previous to reading. Its aims are: Helping understanding the writer’s concepts. Helping understanding the text structure. Helping clarifying the text content.
- 29. 3. The post-reading phase This stage includes any reactions to the text and the while-reading phase. It should contribute in a coherent phase way to the writing, speaking and listening skills. The aims of this stage are: Consolidating what has been read or acquired. Relating the text to the learner’s own knowledge, experience, interests or views.
- 30. CHARACTERISRICS OF EFFICIENT READING AND IMPLICATONS FOR TEACHING If reading is to be efficient a number of considerations is to be borne in mind: 1. Starting with global understanding and move towards detailed understanding. { Reading comprehension exercises should preferably start with the overall meaning of the text, its function and aim rather than on working on vocabulary or more specific ideas.}
- 31. This treatment is important because: It is a very efficient way of building up the student’s confidence when faced with authentic texts that often contain difficult vocabulary or structures.{ They will feel that at least they understand what the text is about and will subsequently feel less diffident when tackling a new text.}
- 32. It will develop an awareness of the way texts are organized (e.g. stating the main information and developing it, or giving the chronological sequence of events) → It is this awareness of the general structure of a passage that will allow the students to read more efficiently later on. Reading is a constant process guessing, and what one brings to the text is often more important than what one finds in it.
- 33. This is why , from the very beginning, the students should be taught to use what they know to understand unknown elements, whether these are ideas or simple words. This is best achieved through a global approach to the text. One could sum up this kind of approach in the following way :
- 34. Study of the layout: title, length, pictures, type face, of the text Anticipation of where to look for confirmation of these hypotheses Making hypotheses about the contents and function Skimming through The passage Confirmation or revision of one’s guesses Further prediction Second reading for more detail → → ↓ ↓ ← ←
- 35. 2. Getting students accustomed to reading authentic texts from the very beginning. (‘simplifying’ a text often results in increased difficulty because the system of references, repetition and redundancy as well as the discourse indicators one relies on when reading are often removed or at least significantly altered).
- 36. Reading comprehension should not be separated from the other skills. There are few cases 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 read. It is therefore important, to link the different skills through the reading activities chosen:
- 37. Reading and writing: e.g. summarizing, mentioning what you have read in in letter, note-making, etc. Reading and listening: e.g. comparing an article and a news- -bulletin , using recorded information to solve a written problem, matching opinions and texts, etc. Reading and speaking: e.g. discussions,debates,appreciations,etc.
- 38. IDEAS FOR READING ACTIVITIES 1. Pre-question (general questions) 2. Do-it-yourself questions (learners compose and answer) 3. Provide a title 4. Summarize 5. Continue ( provide n end to a story) 6. Preface (suggesting what might have happened before) 7. Gapped text 8. Mistakes in the text. 9. Comparison 10. Re-presentation of content (ss present the text in a different graphic medium) e.g. a drawing that illustrates the text colouring * marking a map lists of events or items described in the text
- 39. Questioning : Teaching or Testing? COMPREHENSION TEXT AND QUESTIONS(1) READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS Yesterday I saw the palgish flester gollining begrunt the bruck. He seemed very chanderbil,so I did not jorter him, just deapled to him quistly. Perhaps later he will besand cander, and I will be able to rangel to him. 1. What was the flester doing, and where? 2. What sort of flester was he? 3. Why did the writer decide not to jorter him? 4. How did she deaple? 5. What did she hope would happen later?
- 40. COMPREHENSION TEXT AND QUESTIONS (2) READ THE TEXT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS Yesterday I saw the new patient hurrying along the corridor. He seemed very upset, so I did not follow him, just called to him gently. Perhaps later he will feel better, and I will be able to talk to him. 1. What is the problem described here? 2. Is this event taking place indoor or outside? 3. Did the writer try to get near the patient? 4. What do you think she said when she called to him? 5. What might the job of the writer be? Why do you think she wants to talk to the patient?
- 41. Remark: What is it about these questions which makes them answerable in spite of the incomprehensibility of the source text? The aim of comprehension exercises must be clearly defined and a clear disntinction made between teaching and testing. TESTING will obviously involve more ACCURACY-TYPE exercises whereas through teaching one should try to develop the sub-skills listed on slides(15,16&17)
- 42. CONCLUSION: The students must be taught how to approach and consider the text to become INDEPENDENT & EFFICIENT readers. The meaning is not inherent in the text: each reader brings his own meaning to what he reads based on what he expects from the text and his previous knowledge. This shows how difficult it is to test competence in reading comprehension and how great the temptation is to impose one’s own interpretation on the learners.