WORKSHOP 1 HOW TO TEACH READING1

MEIRCA TEAM
STEP 1 1. In groups participants try to answer the questions in discussion 1 2. Answers are discussed in class 3. The tutor gives a formal definition of reading DISCUSSION 1
1. 2. 3. 4. Think of a definition of reading. Why do you think reading in a foreign language is so important? Do you like reading in English? What do you normally read in English? What is your favourite written genre? Why?

WHAT IS READING? Reading is one of the four basic skills needed to gain competence in mastering a language. It is a written receptive skill which activates a chain of cognitive processes in making sense of the text. In this making sense readers draw inferences, construct interpretations and respond actively to written texts. Recent research on reading supports that to achieve full comprehension an interaction between the information given and the readers expectations is necessary. STEP 2 (10) 1. The teacher presents a slide with the reasons for reading and another one for text selection 2. Then participants engage in discussion 2 3. Participants share their answer with their colleagues REASONS FOR READING AND TEXT SELECTION The ability to read effectively is fundamental for survival in our western society. It enables the person to access a great deal of information and to perform daily functions. Our society, being a literate one, offers a great range of written texts for the practice of the reading skill. However, whenever we read, we have a specific purpose in mind. Sometimes, we read simply to get the gist of the text or to locate a concrete piece of information. A text is a tremendous source of learning which enriches the reader and constantly transforms his/her expectations. In the following chart

Disccussion and theory are based on the work by Elena Garca Snchez, Sagrario Salaberri, Javier Villoria, Chapter 6: Reading. Madrid D and McLaren (eds). Univesidad de Granada 2005

(adapted from Hedge 2002:207), we give a selection of reasons for reading and the kind of texts that we can use in the Primary classroom to achieve our goals.

Reasons for reading

To get information or search for information

To satisfy to curiosity about a topic

To follow instructions

For pleasure and enjoyment

To keep in touch

To find out when and where

Text selection Travel brochures Train timetables Bus schedule Public signs Weather forecasts Menus Internet: web sites Magazine articles Newspaper editorials Advertisements Internet To know how to use a game Recipes Maps Poems Short stories Jokes Plays Cartoons Postcards Letters Notes Messages Invitations Emails Announcements Programmes

As regards text selection, the teacher should bear in mind the following principles: Texts should be adapted to the learners cognitive development. Texts should cover a wide variety of topics in order to reflect the diversity of interests present in the classroom. Texts should enhance motivation and promote self-esteem. Texts should reflect situations where the learner can activate his/her schemata and enrich the interpretation. The selected texts should be the result of a needs analysis. By means of a needs analysis the teacher can gather a great deal of valuable information which will result in a more accurate selection of the reading material.

DISCUSSION 2 1. Why do you read in English? Select reasons from the chart above. 2. Discuss with your partner the principles for text selection considered above. Rank them in importance, from your point of view. STEP 3 (10) 1. The teacher describes the types of knowledge required to make sense of a text. 2. In groups participants engage in discussion 3 3. Conclusions are share with the rest of the class TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE TEXT The readers final goal when reading a text is to make sense of it. Depending on the purpose of reading and the readers competence in the foreign language, he/she will bring to a foreground different types of knowledge. Hedge, (2002:189) mentions six types of knowledge likely to help the reader to make sense of the text:
Types of knowledge

Examples Position of articles Position of auxiliary verbs Position of adjectives and adverbs Word formation (affixation, compounding) Cohesive devices Background knowledge Cultural references Previous ideas related to the content Science fantasy novel Tale Poems

Syntactic knowledge

Morphological knowledge General world knowledge Sociocultural knowledge Topic knowledge

Genre knowledge

The interaction of these types of knowledge will contribute to a more precise interpretation of the written text. DISCUSSION 3 1. Of the types of knowledge Hedge mentions, which is likely to be most important in your reading process? Why?

STEP 4 (10) 1. Participants are asked to reflect on discussion 5 (differences between spoken and written language). They work in groups to write a list 2. Then, these differences are presented by the teacher. Both lists are compared and commented 3. Then participants engage in discussion 6 4. They share their opinions with the rest of the class DISCUSSION 4 1. What are the main differences between spoken and written discourse? DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN DISCOURSE Some of the main differences between spoken and written discourse can be summarised as follows: Written language is syntactically more complex than spoken language. Speakers often use incomplete sentences. The vocabulary of written texts is usually more specific than that of spoken discourse. Information is packed more densely in written language than in spoken discourse. Pauses and features like stress and intonation play a very important role in spoken language. Even though there are significant differences between speech and written discourse, sometimes they overlap, even more nowadays with the development of new technologies. Currently, spoken discourse is not influenced by limitations in time and space. Speech recordings in different modalities (answering phone, video player, etc.) allow interlocutors to listen to the same message many times and messages to be sent far away. In the same way, the use of new technologies means that many written texts (e-mails, chat, fax, etc.) have a short life. There are modes of interaction, like conversation on the Internet, in which features of spoken discourse and written discourse are mixed together. This leads us to think that nowadays we can think in terms of a continuum (Johnson and Johnson, 1998) between both types of discourse so that we do not focus on the extremes of this continuum, informal conversation and written narrative, for example. In the process of trying to understand a written text, the reader has to perform a number of simultaneous tasks that have been described by Celce-Murcia and Olshtain (2000:119). (S)he has to: Decode the message by recognising the written signs. Interpret the message by assigning meaning to the string of words. Understand what the author's intention was.

In the process described above, there are at least three participants: the writer, the text and the reader. Therefore, reading is interactive and involves the three participants. READING STAGES Three main stages can be identified in the process of teaching reading and the micro-skills associated with each of them. STEP 5 The teacher presents reading stages using the slides provided Pre-reading stage While- reading stage Post-reading stage 1 Pre-reading stage Pre-reading tasks have tended to focus primarily on preparing the reader for possible linguistic difficulties in a text. However, more attention has been paid recently to conceptual or cultural difficulties. One way of stimulating the students' interest and identifying their previous knowledge is to elicit information about the topic, characters, events and actions in the text. The learners may be asked to find answers to the questions provided at the beginning of the text, or to questions embedded throughout the text. The main purposes of this stage are: Make use of the students' background knowledge about the topic. Elicit some predictions and anticipate the content of the reading passage. Create expectations about the text. Improve the students' interest in the topic and motivate them for reading.

Strategies to be developed at this stage are: Predicting, guessing. Setting the context.

2 While-reading stage It is advisable to begin while-reading work with a general understanding of the text, and then move to specific information. The main reason for that is that global comprehension provides a context to grasp the meaning of smaller units.

The aims of this stage are to: Evaluate previous hypotheses. Develop an understanding of the writer's purpose as well as the structure and organisation of the text. Improve comprehension of the text content. Focus the attention on contextual clues to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. Make use of inferring and judging abilities. Looking for general information (skimming). Looking for specific information (scanning). Stimulate the development of cross-cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge.

The strategies used at this stage belong to one of these categories: Annotating: Focus on content and language of the text through questioning and organising information. Analysing: Focus on arguments, characters, setting and use of language.

3 Post-reading stage Work at this stage does not refer directly to the text, but it develops out of it. The work includes personal reactions to the text and the tasks carried out in the previous stages. Learners can express what they liked and disliked, whether the reading was useful or not, etc. Post-reading tasks provide opportunities for skill integration and are a springboard for further knowledge and abilities in content based learning. This stage aims to: Use information for further purposes. Transfer acquired knowledge to similar readings. Integrate reading skills with other communicative skills. Make a summary of the reading passage.

This involves the use of the following strategies: Summarising. Evaluating. Reflecting.

This three-stage approach is not meant to be carried out with each particular text. We may find that the post-reading work is not suitable or we may want to work with the text directly. Nevertheless,

there are advantages in following this approach: it makes use of the student's knowledge of the world, and it leads to the integration of skills. The typical stages that may be used in a reading or listening lesson can be summarised as follows: Build interest Pre-teach vocabulary (if necessary) Set a gist or scanning task Learners read Learners compare their answers Learners check answers with the teacher Set and intensive reading task Learners read Learners compare answers Learners check answers with the teacher Set an extension activity 4. A guide to prepare tasks for the three stages The following questions may guide the teacher's preparation of tasks for the three stages: Pre-reading -What knowledge, ideas or opinions do learners have about the topic? -How can that be elicited and used? -What's the purpose of reading the text? While-reading -What is the function of the text? -How is the text organised? -What information is to be extracted from the text? -What may the reader infer from the text? Post-reading -Can the reader use the information for further purposes? -Does the text demand completion? -Can the learners evaluate or reflect upon what they have read?

STEP 6 Pre-reading stage Activities 1 and 2 (Getting Ready and Is it good for you?) 1. Participants will work individually on both activities. 2. Answers to activity 1 are quickly given. Answer to activity A will be given in the while-reading stage. 3. Then, the teacher will ask: What do you think is the main purpose of this stage? Some answer may be: Make use of the students' background knowledge about the topic. Elicit some predictions and anticipate the content of the reading passage. Create expectations about the text. Improve the students' interest in the topic and motivate them for reading.

STEP 7 While-Reading stage Task 1 (see below) Activity A (food facts) 1. Skimming and scanning definition 2. Participants will do Task 1 in pairs. They will have to skim (quick reading) the text provided to give it a title. 3. For activity A, participants will scan individually the article Food and facts (true or false)

MICRO-SKILLS AND STRATEGIES INVOLVED IN READING 1. Reading Aloud There may be occasions in the language classroom praxis that require the students or the teacher to read aloud. In the first years of Primary education, storytelling plays an important role in the process of learning. This activity is usually more effective if the story is told (or read) aloud due to the fact that learners become more involved and consequently more motivated. Besides this, from the educational point of view, reading aloud is an activity teachers usually ask their students to do because in this way students can show that they recognise written and spoken forms and the relationship between form and meaning.

Reading aloud at early and intermediate levels can be used to check bottom-up processing skills or simply pronunciation. However, there will be some shortcomings if this practice becomes an everyday activity. Brown (2001:312) considers three pitfalls: a) It is not a very authentic activity. b) It is a boring activity because while one student is reading, the others can easily lose attention. c) It is not an interactive activity because students only have to recite. 2. Silent Reading This is the most common and natural type of reading. Readers have a period of uninterrupted reading without depending on anothers help. During that time, they enjoy the activity while at the same time increasing their reading skills. However, different goals can be pursued depending on the predetermined purpose of reading which is normally set out by the teacher. This leads to a subdivision into the following types: 2.1 Skimming This style of reading is very common in everyday life and is used to get a global impression of the content of a text (the gist of the text). Techniques used for skimming are reading bold letter, italics, capital letters, repeated ideas or conclusions. Skimming is a strategy that requires a definite reading competence because it implies an overall view of the text. On the other hand, it develops students self-confidence since they obtain a lot of information without needing much reading. Task 1: Read the test. Decide the best heading for it2 When people think of food in the United States, they think mostly of fast food like hamburgers and hotdogs. In fact, in U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles, there are thousands of different kinds of restaurants with foods from all over the world. So if you like to try different foods, the United States is the place for you. The United States has people from all over the world, and they bring with them typical foods from their countries. You can eat tempura in Japanese restaurants, tacos in Mexican restaurant, paella in Spanish restaurants, pasta in Italian restaurants, and you can eat Americans most popular food, pizza. Yes, pizza Pizza is originally from Italy, but today it is an important part of U.S. menu. There are about 58.000 pizzerias in the United States thats about 17% of all restaurants in the country, and the number is growing.

Spratt, M. Et al (2005) The TKT Course. Cambridge University Press (pag 24)

The United States has eating places for all tastes and all pockets. You can buy a hotdogs in the street and pay one or two dollars. Or you can go to a four star restaurant and pay $ 200 for a dinner. 2. 2 Scanning Scanning is more concerned with the search of specific information within a text. Typical scanning activities may include: looking for names, relevant dates, numbers in a directory, times on a timetable or key concepts in an academic text.

STEP 8
Participants will read the article Food and Facts paying attention to specific details (Scanning)

STEP 9 Post reading stage 1. How much do you remember (Multiple choice) 2. Words in context (Fill-in-the-blanks), 3. Vocabulary skill exercise (antonyms): activities A and B 4. Think about it 1. Participants will do these activities individually. 2. Then, The they will check the answers with their partners (in pairs) 3. Finally the answers will be checked by the teacher and the whole class

STEP 10 Analysis of skills and subskills applied in the first unit The teacher, together with the participants will summarize skills and subskills applied when developing the first unit. The teacher will ask participants if they think these activities can be modified or adapted according to their students needs. STEP 11 Intensive and extensive reading definition Intensive reading activity 1. The teacher defines intensive and extensive reading. He/she can use slides 2. In pairs participants carry out Task 2 (see below)

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2. 3 Intensive Intensive reading usually focuses on linguistic and content accuracy. It is very important in educational contexts because it is used to exemplify different aspects of the lexical, syntactic and discourse systems. That is, it draws the students attentio n to surface structure with the objective of gaining a full understanding of the literal meaning presented in the written passage. Texts used for intensive reading are usually short and they are studied in depth.
Task 2 1 My house is beautiful. It has got four rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. In the kitchen 2 there is a table with some chairs, a cooker and a fridge. In the bathroom there is a 3 toilet, a bath and a washbasin with a mirror. My bedroom is very cosy. I have many 4 books on the shelf because I like reading very much. My brothers bedroom is also 5 very nice but he only has toys because he is three years old. 1. 2. 3. 4. What does the word he (line 5) refer to? What is the meaning of cooker (line 2)? What is the opposite of beautiful (line 1)? Write the name of pieces of furniture under the following headlines: Kitchen, Bathroom, Bedroom, Sitting room.

The main features of intensive reading can be summarised as follows: It is a slow, careful reading procedure that is appropriate for difficult texts. It is really more of a language study method than a form of reading. It is useful for study purposes because its slow speed allows students to stop and look new words up in the dictionary; it also allows students to pause and study long or difficult sentences carefully to get a better understanding of their grammar. However, intensive reading alone will not make students good readers. In fact, too much intensive reading may actually cause students to develop bad reading habits like paying more attention to the vocabulary and grammar of a text than to its overall meaning or reading very slowly. Intensive reading tends to be boring, so students who fall into the habit of reading everything intensively often come to dislike reading in English. 2. 4 Extensive Extensive reading, on the other hand, is more oriented towards grasping a general understanding of the text for the purpose of enjoyment or learning. Texts used for extensive reading are usually long texts such as books or articles and reading them takes extended periods of time. Extensive reading is not usually performed during class time but it is known that this activity helps students to improve their reading abilities. This idea is supported by Green and Oxford (1995), who consider that reading for pleasure and reading without looking up all the unknown words are both

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highly correlated with overall language proficiency. Other studies, such as Krashen (1993) or Day and Bamford (2000), also support the importance of extensive reading in educational contexts because it helps to develop reading ability, linguistic competence, vocabulary, spelling and writing. Day and Bamford establish ten top principles for the teaching of extensive reading (2000:7-8):
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Students read as much as possible A variety of materials on a wide range of topics is available Students select what they want to read The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and general understanding Reading is its own reward Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar. 7) Reading is individual and silent 8) Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower 9) Teachers orient students to the goals of the program, explain the methodology, keep the track of what each student reads, and guide students in getting the most out of the program. 10) The teacher is a role model of a reader for students

Reading comprehension involves the development of both intensive and extensive reading skills. In order to become good readers, students need to practice reading extensively as well as intensively. It is good for students to read intensively if a text is very difficult or for study purposes. In addition, the development of comprehension skills must be part of the reading process and extensive reading provides opportunities to read skilfully and with pleasure. The chart below shows the main concepts associated with both intensive and extensive reading:
INTENSIVE READING Language study Often difficult Not much Slowly EXTENSIVE READING General understanding and enjoyment Easy (graded readers) A lot Fast and fluently

PURPOSE LEVEL AMOUNT SPEED

Step 12 Unit 15 (Non verbal communication) Pre-reading activity 1 (Getting ready) Pre-reading 2 (Express yourself) 1. For activity 1 and 2 participants work in pairs. 2. Then, answers are the given by students and checked by the teacher and the whole class

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Step 13 While-reading activity 1. Individually participants will do activity A (skimming for the main idea) 2. Participants give their answers Step 14 Reading the article: Actions Speak Louder than Words. Students read the article carefully Step 15 Post-reading activities 1. Reading Comprehension (Fill-in-the-blanks), 2. Vocabulary comprehension: Odd Word Out (Exercises A and B), 1. Participants do activities 1 and 2 in pairs 2. Activities are then checked Step 16 Post-reading activities (cont) 1. Vocabulary skill exercise (Using adverbs-A, B and C) 2. Think about it 1. The teacher reminds the participants that many of the activities carried out in the post-listening stage are not related exactly to the reading text (they are intensive reading activities). Here a grammar rule is introduced: adverb formation. 2. The teacher doesnt explain the rule. Participants look at the examples provided in the activity and then do activities B and C (they can work individually or in pairs) 3. The teacher asks if participants have had any problem with the activities. Then the teachers asks for volunteers to check the activities 4. Participants carry out the last activity (think about it) in pairs. 5. Finally the teacher asks for volunteers to give their answers.

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Step 17 DISCUSSION 5 1. What are the main purposes of intensive reading? 2. What can students learn through intensive reading? 3. What are some bad habits intensive reading may encourage? 1. The participants work in groups to answer the questions in discussion 8 2. Answers are discussed in grand group 3. The teacher takes notes of their answer on the blackboard so that participants can copy the main ideas. Step 18 Task3: Fur alarm: An example Reading lesson Participants carry out this example reading lesson. Steps to follow are clearly indicated in the Task (see below).

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BOURNEMOUTH

ADVERTISER
The weekly newspaper ___________________________________________________________________________

FUR ALARM
Polly the cat saves couple from blaze
Reported by David Haith A CAT which saved her owners from death in a fire last week is to be nominated for a RSPCA award. Polli, a 13 year old tortoiseshell, could have escaped out of a cat flap as thick smoke engulfed the rooms of a house in Kimberley Road, Southbourne, as Jean and 64 year old John Pegg slept. But Polly stayed on the couples bed pawing and scratching 62 year old Jeans face. The more Jean ordered her to stop, the more the puss persisted with her alarm tacics. Finally Jean awoke and switched on the light to find the first floor back bedroom filled with black smoke. She rouses her husband who was able to escape down the stairs. DENSE From a bedside phone Jean called the fire brigade but found the smoke was too dense for her to leave the bedroom. The couple were both taken to hospital and treated for the effects of smoke. The fire started by an electrical fault in a freezer gutted the chicken and caused smoke damage to the rest of the house. Polly was found outside by firemen, coughing and spluttering, but unharmed. Said Jean: Theres no doubt that Polly saved our lives. She had been sleeping on our bed but in the early hours kept banging her paw very hard on my face. She kept doing it with her claws out do Id wake up. She was also making this yak, yak sound a noise she makes by banging her teeth together when she sees birds out of the window. Jean added: The firemen told us that the smoke was so think we were within five minutes of dying. Polly is a heroine and Im putting her name for an RSPCS bravery award 15

FUR ALARM: AN EXAMPLE READING LESSON3

A: Firs think about which animals you think make the best pets B. Look at the following words: blaze, cat flap, nominate (for award), gutted (the house) You are going to read a newspaper story called Fur alarm. Consider for a few moments what the story may be about. When you are ready, read the article below very quickly (2 minutes maximum). Was your prediction correct? C: Look at the following numbers: 64, 62, 13, 5. Find to what they refer to in the text as quickly as possible. D: Look at the following questions. Read the text again and answer them 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Could Polly have escaped without waking up Jean and John? How did Polly wake Jean? How did Jean react to Polly trying to wake her? Why couldnt Jane go downstairs? How did the fire start? Were Jean and John badly hurt? Was Polly badly hurt? In what way is Polly a heroine?

E. What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping pets? REFLECTION ON THE LESSON 1. 2. 3. 4. Look at the section B, C and D. Which type of reading skills is practised in each section? Why is it a good idea to order the reading activities in this way? Do you think the learners should read silently or aloud? Why? What is the purpose of the final question? (What are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping pets? What skills may be practised here? 5. If you were teaching this lesson to a group of students and some of them volunteered de wrong answers, what would you do?

Activity taken from the book Learning to teach English by Peter Watkins. Delta Publishing 2005 (pages 59, 60 and 140).

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Step 19 Follow up work For the next workshop remember to: 1. Provide two handouts containing each the description of with one activity you

implemented in your class using ideas from the reading workshop. Briefly explain the objectives, content(s), detailed steps followed in the pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading. Analyze briefly sub-skills implied in he qctivity.
When sharing that information dont forget to point out the advantages and difficulties you faced when using those activities or techniques. 2. Based on your experience, how did you feel when applying those activities and techniques: How did your students react? Which activities worked better? Why? Which activities were not very useful? Why not? Based on your own needs, what else would you like to learn about this topic? Step 20 Evaluation of the workshop 1. Qu parte del taller te ha sido ms til? 2. Qu parte te ha resultado menos til 3. Valora de 1 a 5 los siguientes aspectos del taller: Teora sobre Reading Discusiones Actividades Tareas 4. Valora del 1 al 5 la utilidad general del taller 5. Qu sugerencias daras para los futuros talleres?

READING WEB PAGES

Title ESL Independent Study Lab-Reading Adult Learning Activities ESL Reading Longman English Web Address www.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/reading.html

www.cdlponline.org/index.cfm

www.gradereading.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/multimedia/programs/lei3_4.htm

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Interactive 3 Issues in English Dilemma WebLadder Readers Digest TOPICS Click into English www.proteatextware.com.au/iie.htm www.ea-software.com/reading5.shtml www.readingenglish.net/students/ www.rd.com www.topics-mag.com/readers/cheating-forum.htm www.clarity.com.hk/program/clickintoenglish.htm

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