BEL3110 – TEACHING OF

READING SKILLS

WEEK 1
 Chapter 1
What is reading comprehension?
• Complex and multifaceted process whose nature
changes with development and experience.

Purpose
Enjoyment

Access information

Learn something new

Aim / goal

To extract
meaning
Reading Comprehension

1. • strategic knowledge
- identifying main ideas and supporting details

2. • Word-level reading skills

3. • Text-level reading skills

4.
• Cognitive skills
• Memory
• Vocabulary knowledge
• Language comprehension
The multifaceted nature of L2 reading
comprehension
Factors involved in reading comprehension

• Reader’s familiarity with the meaning of words

1.

• The role of these words in sentences

2.

• How certain words can be used to connect ideas

3.

• How the position of words in a sentence may

4. alter its meaning
Other essential skills

Learning to match sounds to letters

How to figure out the meaning of

unfamiliar words by using context or by
dividing words into smaller familiar parts
What helps in reading
A good memory

Familiarity with the topic

Reading comprehension strategies for working out

what the text is about

Needs to be interested

Needs to be motivated

Receive quality teaching

L2 Reading Development

Age at which the L2

learner is first L1 literacy skills
exposed to the L2

E.g. EL2 adolescent

E.g. EL2  primary immigrants – solid
vs English  reading skills in L1 vs.
secondary adolescent immigrant
– no L1 reading skills
What is actually involved in Teaching
Reading Comprehension to EL2
Learners?
• Classroom snapshot 1.1 illustrates some of the
complex factors that might influence EL2
reading comprehension with different group of
learners
BEL3110 – TEACHING OF
READING SKILLS

WEEK 2
 Chapter 1
Cross linguistics transfer and L2 Reading

Research on The Literacy

L2-related importance
language of transfer learning
Cross linguistics transfer and L2 Reading

writing
reading
comprehension reading

Crosslinguistic
transfer & L2
literacy

fluency spelling
Cross linguistics transfer and L2 Reading

• Why is there so much interest in L1-L2 transfer?

One – assumption that learners who have good reading

skills in their L1 can be expected to transfer those skills
and develop good reading skills in their L2 as well.

Two – learners should be able to utilise the resources

they have crosslinguistically.
E.g – if we provide extra support in Spanish (L1) to
children with a reading disability, we would expect that
intervention also to be helpful in their English (L2)
reading.
• When these two assumptions are not met, we
look for explanation.
• These explanation are usually related to;

• Contextual factors such as lack of opportunity to learn

1.
• Intra-individual factors, like problems with working
memory, lack of relevant prior knowledge, or perhaps lack
2. of motivation

• Typological differences, e.g. – the fact that English words

are made of letters whereas Chinese uses logographs
3.
• L2 reading involves the interaction between
two language systems: the reader’s L1 and L2

interference similarities

confusion facilitate

mislead
• Metacognitive strategies;

1. Which strategies one should use to regulate the

reading process

E.g – reading a text in order to find specific

information involves a different strategy than
reading a text for memorisation of details or writing
critique

2. Comprehension monitoring
• Cognitive strategies;

Making
Predicting Summarising
inferences

Connecting
Mental
to prior Re-reading
imagery
knowledge

Text structure Cohesion

to facilitate
understanding clues
• Prior knowledge
Inaccurate comprehension when the text
contradicts the prior knowledge or

Proficient readers - do not rely on prior knowledge

Prior cultural knowledge

Well developed L2 word-level reading skills

Familiarity with the topic or cultural context

Need both lower and higher level reading skills

Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers

Background
knowledge

Comprehension
Vocabulary
strategies

Develop Focus =
reading mastering
Initial stage
fluency and word-level
break the code skills
Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers

Make
inferences
Ability to
synthesize Evaluate
what was read

Reading to
Academic learn stage Draw
vocabulary (higher- conclusions
order skills)
Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers

Younger EL2 learners

Basic word-level reading skills

Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers

Slightly older EL2 learners

Higher-order thinking

Problem-solving skills

Handle the meaning of the text

Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers
Word-level reading accuracy
and fluency

Challenge for:

- Interrupted schooling EL2

learners
- Exposure of L2 orthography &
language beyond primary school
Considering the Needs of Young and
Adolescent EL2 Readers

This task may be somewhat easier when the learners’ L1

shares orthographic and language features with the L2

it will be more challenging for L2 learners whose L1 does

not use a similar writing system and for L2 readers who
have not had prior literacy instruction in their L1

In other words, ‘one size does not fit all.’

 Comprehending Narrative and
Expository Texts
Plot – conflict/ Differ: internal
Young children Theme tension/ organisational
resolution structures

Differ:
Exposure to Aware of the
Characters conventions of
stories story elements
language use

Follow them
Read to them Express
Setting through
or told orally opinions
reading

Repeated Recognise the Understand

Expectations
exposure story grammar and recall
Comprehending Narrative Texts
Young EL2 learners

Awareness of story grammar

Exposure to story telling in L1 or L2 will contribute to:

The development of knowledge and understanding of the story

grammar
Comprehending Narrative Texts

Older EL2 readers

Without schooling

Expected to have the knowledge

Comprehending Narrative Texts
• Teaching story elements
1.

• Important for primary grades

2.

• Read aloud
3.

• Discussion of story elements

4.

• Learners who have not had consistent schooling should be

5. taught in the upper grades as well
Comprehending Narrative Texts

Narration

Use flashbacks

Adds complexity
Comprehending Narrative Texts
Literary
similes allegories
devices

hyperboles metaphors analogies

puns personification
Comprehending Narrative Texts

Aesthetically pleasing

Challenging for EL2 learners due

to less developed language skills

Meaning is obscure

Comprehension difficulties
Comprehending Narrative Texts

The bull-man wheeled toward

him, pawed the ground again,
and got ready to charge. I
thought about how he had
squeezed the life out of my
mother, made her disappear in
a flash of light, and rage filled
me like high-octane fuel.
Comprehending Expository Texts

Informational
Non-fiction
texts
Comprehending Expository Texts

Content-area textbooks

In science / social studies

Tied to content-area learning goals

Comprehending Expository Texts

1. 2.
Structure
Descriptive Sequential

5. 4. 3.
Problem- Cause-and- Compare-and-
solution effect contrast
Comprehending Expository Texts

EL2 learners
Organise
paragraphs:

Topic Additional
sentence details
Comprehending Expository Texts

Linguistic devices

Transition Conjunctions Benefits

• Sequential texts • Compare & • Provide clues –

contrast how ideas in a
• Outline steps of passage are
an experiment • Relationships related
between idea
• Historical units • Awareness –
events facilitates
comprehension
Comprehending Expository Texts

Difficulties:

Complexity of language structures

Information density

Unfamiliar vocabulary

Domain-specific terminology
BEL3110 – TEACHING OF
READING SKILLS

WEEK 3
 Chapter 1
EL2 Reading in a Digital Age

21st-century learners

‘digital natives’

Interact frequently & naturally with

a wide range of digital technology

Active participants on social

network sites
EL2 Reading in a Digital Age
4 questions
Do learners navigate digital texts in the same way
that they navigate printed text?

Does digital reading require unique strategies and

skills?

Does digital reading decrease or increase the

reading demands for EL2 learners?

Do children from different cultural and economic

groups have similar access to these technologies?
EL2 Reading in a Digital Age

EL2 learners:

New experiences

New needs

New learning
demands
 EL2 Reading in a Digital Age
experiences

New needs

learning
EL2 learners: demands

Sidetracked & Try to access

lost the meaning
Challenges Hyperlinks
Navigate
Overwhelm
complex

Syntactic
structures &
content
EL2 Reading in a Digital Age

Efficient Use search

internet terms Scan results
reading: strategically

Identify Store
Synthesize
relevant retrieved
information
results sources
EL2 Reading in a Digital Age
Problem

Require higher
Require more
Lack of linearity levels of critical
flexibility
thinking
• Hard for EL2 • Move from one • What is valuable
learner to text structure to
prioritise another • What is
sections trustworthy
• Multiple pieces
• Hard to identify of information • What is
the big ideas & are presented in questionable
the supporting different ways
details
 EL2 Reading in a Digital Age
Facilitate comprehension
Supplementary Interactive Quick access to Current and
Hyperlinks
information digital resources words definition updated
• Allow & require • Audio files and • Information in • Hyperlinks to • nil
to move quickly videos small chunks the definitions
from one part
to another • Aids • Visuals with • Check in an
understanding animation online
dictionary
• Understand key • Activities
concepts • Meaning in L1
• Immediate
feedback

Increase reading motivation

Choosing the L1 or the L2 for Initial
Reading Instruction
Big issues Bilingual
Policy makers Researchers
among educators
• Policy • Pragmatic • Instruction • Still seeking
makers approach in learners’ a clear
L1 first answer
• Educators • Due to
budgetary • In support of • Support
• Researchers implications the linguistic teaching
& cultural reading in L1
identity of first or
EL2 learners
• Support for
teaching L2
first
A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency

Underdeveloped Learning disability

EL2 proficiency (LD)
One’s current academic skills must
be well below the average range of
scores.

Can cause a negative long-term

impact on a person’s ability to
function.

Psychologist – individual difficulties

interfere significantly and can’t be
attributed to contextual factors.
A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency

Low academic achievement:

Psychosocial adversity

Lack of proficiency in the

language of academic instruction

Inadequate educational
instruction
A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency

Factors of controversial & challenge in

determining learning disability (LD)
• Over-identification of EL2 learners as having
an LD

• Under-identification of EL2 learners who

actually have an LD

• Lack of clear legislation

A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency

Over-identification
Biased assessment assumptions and processes
A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency

Under-identification
Injudicious attribution of EL2 children’s learning difficulties to
lack of EL2 proficiency or to cultural differences
A Learning Disability or Lack of EL2 Proficiency
What aspects of
literacy, language,
and cognitive
development
Phonological
memory
What aspects are
highly related to
EL2 language
proficiency
Processing speed
What components
Developmental Basic, lower-level
that are not related
research cognitive processes
with EL2 proficiency
Phonological
awareness
Awareness of
alternative
assessment methods
Word decoding
When EL2 learners have
persistent difficulties with
Crosslinguistic
word decoding &
relationships
phonological awareness
in their L1
BEL3110 – TEACHING OF
READING SKILLS

WEEK 4
 Chapter 4
READING SKILLS BEYOND GRADE
6: RESEARCH AND IMPLICATIONS
FOR PEDAGOGY
PREVIEW

comprehension
• To achieve deep _______________

inferences viewpoints fluency

critically Higher-order analysis

academic synthesis comprehension

PREVIEW

Higher-order
• _______________ reading skills

inferences viewpoints fluency

critically Higher-order analysis

academic synthesis Comprehension

PREVIEW
• How EL2 reader can tackle:
academic
▫ Unfamiliar _______________ vocabulary
fluency
▫ Consolidate reading _______________
▫ Develop their ability to notice multiple
viewpoints
_______________
critically
▫ Analyse texts _______________
inferences
▫ Make _______________ while reading
▫ Construct deep understanding based on
analysis
_______________ synthesis
and _______________
inferences viewpoints fluency
critically Higher-order analysis
academic synthesis Comprehension
PREVIEW
• How to enhance reading comprehension of
Non-fiction
_______________ academic texts.
• Discuss classroom research that:
▫ Illustrates effective ways to help EL2 adolescent
vocabulary
readers develop academic _______________
cohesion
▫ Focus on an understanding of _______________
markers that link ideas in a passage
▫ Promote _______________,
cognitive _______________,
metacognitive
awareness
and metalinguistic _______________

vocabulary metacognitive cohesion

cognitive non-fiction awareness
PREVIEW
Instructional considerations in the use of
• ____________
authentic
____________ modified
texts versus ____________
reading material.
literary
• Challenges of ____________ language
poetic
▫ Interpretation of ____________ expression
Idiomatic
▫ ____________ expressions.

poetic Instructional modified

literary authentic Idiomatic
PREVIEW
• Effective EL2 reading
____________
instruction :
interrupted
▫ For adolescents with ____________ schooling
▫ For those without ____________
literacy skills in their
L1
• Considerations for the assessment of reading
comprehension in EL2 adolescents
____________

comprehension literacy
instruction interrupted
PREVIEW
• Considerations for the assessment of reading
____________
difficulties in EL2 adolescents
• The use of ____________
assistive technology (AT) to
facilitate reading for ____________
adolescents who
____________
struggle with it.

assistive difficulties
struggle adolescents
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS
• In high school, language comprehension is very
important in reading comprehension.
• Because in secondary school, the demands of reading
comprehension increase significantly.

• Complexity of written materials 

1.

• Use more complex grammar and syntax

2.

• More sophisticated and discipline-specific vocabulary

3.
• Increasing amounts of metaphorical and figurative
4. language
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS

• These materials are:

1. • Extensive and content-dense

2. • Require higher levels of abstraction

3. • Involve multiple viewpoints

4. • Widen the spectrum of text genres

LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS

• Secondary school readers are expected to be able to:

‘read between
the lines’

Drawing Identifying ideas

inferences that are implicit
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS

• Therefore, an emphasis on effective reading

instruction includes a focus on language
components such as cohesive devices that
convey meaning is needed.
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS
• Activity: Classroom Snapshot 4.1
To understand the ideas The completion of the To understand at a
and concepts that are reading task demands deeper level = establish
presented: the readers: global coherence
• Establish both local • To make inferences • Notice text elements
and global coherence that make the text
• Establishing hang together as a
• Effective connections involve whole
interpretation of local coherence
cohesive devices such • Go beyond the
as pronouns information presented
explicitly
• Activation of prior
knowledge • Integrate the
information presented
with prior knowledge
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION DEMANDS IN
SECONDARY SCHOOL READING MATERIALS
• Conclusion
The importance of engaging in reading instruction
for EL2 learners across content areas:

direct

explicit

systematic instruction of vocabulary across all

content areas

reading comprehension strategies

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING

Rich vocabulary knowledge is critical

for understanding written material

Academic vocabulary in secondary

school reading material is increasingly
less familiar & more abstract
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING

• Therefore they need to:

1.

• Become familiar with a large number of

a. words – vocabulary breadth

• Develop deep knowledge of their multiple

b. layers of meanings – vocabulary depth
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING

A research done to EL2 learners living in urban

neighbourhood.

Results: EL2 adolescents had English vocabulary

knowledge similar to that of EL1 children in grades 2 & 3.

Struggled to understand the texts.

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING
Another research –effectiveness of teaching academic vocabulary to EL2 7th
graders in a meaningful context.

Academic vocabulary was taught explicitly, systematically, & comprehensively.

The treatment: discuss the vocabulary, watched videos to expand on concepts

& to promote discussion & used graphic organisers.

Definitions, cognates in the students language, visual representations & two

sentences for each new word.

Result: learners perform better.

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING
EL2 learners with limited
Explicit vocabulary Effective vocabulary English proficiency vs.
instruction instruction learner’s with high English
proficiency

• Improve oral • Multiple exposures • Learner’s level of

language skills to new words in a English proficiency
variety of contexts
• Improve listening • Time
• Opportunities to use
• Improve reading the words orally and • Intensity
comprehension & in reading & writing
writing
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING
• Suggestions to cater the needs of secondary
school students with limited English proficiency:

Complementary reading material

Adapt the reading material

Individual support

One size does not fit all

ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING
• Effective academic vocabulary intervention for
EL2 adolescents are:

Comprehensiveness

Systematicity

Consistency

Cohesiveness
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY IN SECONDARY
SCHOOL READING
• Need abundant opportunities to learn and use
the words through different modalities:

Across a
reading speaking writing variety of
subjects
COHESION MARKERS
COHESION MARKERS

• Language awareness  understanding the

function of language devices such as:

conjunctions pronouns suffixes

COHESION MARKERS

Help to create cohesion in texts

Facilitate reading comprehension.

Focus on lexical familiarity with conjunctions.

COHESION MARKERS

‘Because’ and • Important linguistic devices by making

explicit the logical relationship between
‘although’ ideas in a text.

‘But’ and • Express the idea that something is different

from what has been stated  adversative
‘although’ conjunctions

Examples • ‘Sam studied hard’ and ‘he failed the exam’

(page 104) • ‘but’ and ‘although’  not interchangeable
COHESION MARKERS

‘But’
Coordinating conjunction  the order of mention of the two events fits
the order in which the events occurred  highly fluent EL2 learners will
expect the next sentence to elaborate on what was stated last: failed

‘Although’
Subordinating conjunction  the relationship between the depending or
subordinate clause and the rest of the sentence
COHESION MARKERS

• Poor comprehenders have

problems with conjunctions
1.
• Study: Grade 5 & 7  divided
into 2 groups  poor and good
2. comprehenders
COHESION MARKERS
1st condition
• Boldface conjunctions: intent to direct explicit attention to the
conjunctions and their text-connecting function
2nd condition
• Implicit, condition, read texts from which conjunctions had been
omitted
Results: explicit condition
• Both able to establish more meaningful connections between
sentences & comprehending the text and making inferences
Results: implicit condition
• Poor readers had more serious difficulties in comprehending the
text and making inferences
COHESION MARKERS
Easier to infer the logical relationships of ideas in
narratives than in expository texts. (less dense)

Narratives:  more relevant prior knowledge to

help them to infer meaning.

Conjunctions  vocabulary related to L2 proficiency

and reading comprehension in EL2.

Increased oral proficiency  more familiar with the

meaning of various conjunctions.
COHESION MARKERS

• Examples of conjunctions:

Temporal
Additive Adversative Causal Conditions
relations

In addition Although Consequently Since Provided that

Assuming
As well as In spite of As a result of Whenever
that
Furthermore Nevertheless Therefore By the time Unless

Moreover Albeit
COHESION MARKERS
To help EL2 learners with reading
comprehension, it is important to:
• Examples of conjunctions:

Explicitly teach the meaning of conjunctions

Explicitly teach the functions in signaling

logical relationships between clauses or
sentences

Foster the habit of systematically paying

attention to conjunctions in order to
understand the meaning nuances they carry

Direct teaching  take place in meaningful and

engaging contexts & embedded in a
comprehensive vocabulary program
 COHESION MARKERS
• Activity 4.1: Read the following statements and underline the
conjunction in each.

• Global temperatures continued to increase, even though Congress passed a bill

to reduce carbon emissions.
1.

• Global temperatures continued to increase until Congress passed a bill to

reduce carbon emissions.
2.

• Global temperatures continued to increase, even as Congress passed a bill to

reduce carbon emissions.
3.
• Global temperatures continued to increase; however, Congress passed a bill to
reduce carbon emissions.
4.
 COHESION MARKERS
• Activity 4.1: Outcome

• 1st statement: even though  adversative or contrastive

1. (contradict)

• 3rd statement: even  temporal relationships (occurred at

2. the same time).

• Unaware  students may not appreciate the different

3. meanings that is signaled by the specific conjunction used.

• Result  students may misunderstand the message

4. conveyed in the text.
 COHESION MARKERS
Guidelines for the effective instruction of conjunctions to both EL1 and EL2 students:
• Teach common conjunctions like ‘but’ and ‘because’ before more academic conjunctions like
‘notwithstanding’ and ‘nevertheless’.
1.

• Never teach conjunctions as isolated vocabulary lists: rather, select the target conjunctions
embedded in texts students are reading.
2.

• Select conjunctions from both narrative and informational texts, as the typical conjunctions that
appear in each genre tend to be different.
3.

• Teach conjunctions as part of a robust integrated vocabulary-literacy instruction program

that provides multiple opportunities for practice in reading and writing across the content areas.
4.

• Engage students regularly in active thinking about the changes in meaning that result from the use
of different conjunctions.
5.

• Use graphic organisers to show the logical relationships between ideas connected by conjunctions
–causal, adversative, temporal, etc.
6.
COHESION MARKERS
 1. The visitors arrived _______ she was preparing dinner.
2. She was crying bitterly, ______ I asked her what the matter was.
3. ______ I go home, I'll read up on this subject.
4. ______ I was too ill to go, she offered to go in my place.
5. I read through the book ______ I could get some information on the life
of Alexander the Great.

6. ______ there weren't many people at the party, it was a most enjoyable
occasion.

7. We went to the seaside _______ enjoyed ourselves very much.

8. She should wear ______ her new blue dress ______ the white lace one
to the party..

9. ______ he had promised to come home early, he returned late.

10. Don't expect him to come; he has ______ the time ______ the money
to make the trip.
11. ______ we last saw him, he was in good health. ______, it is a shock to
hear of his death.
12. _______ we were returning home, we found that one of the boys was
missing, _______ we turned back to search for him.
13. I might have come to your house ______ it was raining; ______ some
friends dropped in, ______ I had to entertain them.
14. He thought his parents would be home late, ______ he made a feast for
himself with all the food in the house.
15. ______ they entered the house, they found that it had been ransacked.
_______ nothing was missing, they called the police ______ reported
that their house had been broken into.
16. He could not go ______ he was ill _______ the doctor had advised him
to stay in bed. He had missed the excursion, ______ he did not feel too
disappointed.
17. He worked as quickly as he could ______ he would be in time for his
favorite television program. But ______ he had finished, he met a friend
______ spent an hour with him.
18. ______ all of them had gone out, he was alone in the house. He locked
the door ______ he would feel safer, ______ switched on the television
set. _______ he sat there engrossed, he suddenly heard a loud crash. He
jumped to his feet ______ looked about him.
 1. The visitors arrived while she was preparing dinner.
2. She was crying bitterly, so I asked her what the matter was.
3. When I go home, I'll read up on this subject.
4. As I was too ill to go, she offered to go in my place.
5. I read through the book so that I could get some information on the life of Alexander the Great.

6. Even though there weren't many people at the party, it was a most enjoyable occasion.

7. We went to the seaside and enjoyed ourselves very much.

8. She should wear either her new blue dress or the white lace one to the party..

9. Although he had promised to come home early, he returned late.

10. Don't expect him to come; he has neither the time nor the money to make the trip.

11. When we last saw him, he was in good health. So, it is a shock to hear of his death.

12. As we were returning home, we found that one of the boys was missing, so we turned back to search for him.

13. I might have come to your house even though it was raining; but some friends dropped in, and I had to entertain them.

14. He thought his parents would be home late, so he made a feast for himself with all the food in the house.

15. When they entered the house, they found that it had been ransacked. Even though nothing was missing, they called the police and
reported that their house had been broken into.

16. He could not go because he was ill and the doctor had advised him to stay in bed. He had missed the excursion, but he did not feel too
disappointed.

17. He worked as quickly as he could so that he would be in time for his favorite television program. But when he had finished, he met a
friend and spent an hour with him.

18. When all of them had gone out, he was alone in the house. He locked the door so that he would feel safer, and switched on the television
set. As he sat there engrossed, he suddenly heard a loud crash. He jumped to his feet and looked about him.
COHESION MARKERS
COHESION MARKERS
Louie rushed and got ready for work,
but
_________, when he went out the door, he saw
the snowstorm was very heavy. _________,
Therefore he
Then
decided not to go to work. _________, he sat
However
down to enjoy his newspaper. _________, he
because
realized his boss might get angry _________he
Finally
did not go to the office. _________, he made
another decision, that he must go to work.
Then
_________, he went out the door and walked
to the bus stop.
COHESION MARKERS
Most terribly cold it was; it snowed, and was nearly quite dark, and
evening—the last evening of the year. In this cold and darkness there went
along the street a poor little girl, bareheaded, and with naked feet. When she
left home she had slippers on, it is true; but what was the good of that? They
were very large slippers, which her mother had hitherto worn; so large were
they; and the poor little thing lost them as she scuffled away across the
street, because of two carriages that rolled by dreadfully fast.

One slipper was nowhere to be found; the other had been laid hold of by an
urchin, and off he ran with it; he thought it would do capitally for a cradle
when he some day or other should have children himself. So the little
maiden walked on with her tiny naked feet, that were quite red and blue
from cold. She carried a quantity of matches in an old apron, and she held a
bundle of them in her hand. Nobody had bought anything of her the whole
livelong day; no one had given her a single farthing.
METACOGNITIVE AND COGNITIVE
READING STRATEGIES
METACOGNITIVE AND COGNITIVE
READING STRATEGIES
Do I know something about this topic that can help me figure out this
text?
What is new about this text that I did not know before?
Do I understand the text?
Can I summarise what I read?
What steps
BEL3110 – TEACHING OF
READING SKILLS

WEEK 9
 Chapter 2 (Planning for Teaching)
 Chitravelu N., Sithamparam S., & Choon T. S.
 ELT Methodology (Principles and Practice)
 PLANNING FOR TEACHING

What does a planning involve?

Societal objectives

School level objectives

Form or standard level objectives: preparing schemes of

work for the year
 PLANNING A UNIT

Sample unit organised around grammar points

A unit organised thematically

Procedure for developing a scheme of work for an

integrated unit

Sample thematic unit on animals and parts of their body

 WHAT DOES PLANNING INVOLVE
• Planning involves a teacher using his knowledge of:

what it means how learning a

the nature of
to ‘know’ a language takes
language;
language; place;

what factors what factors

learning
contribute to hamper
resources
effective language
available;
learning; learning;

approaches and
techniques.
 WHAT DOES PLANNING INVOLVE
• A teacher used those knowledge in making decisions about:

what needs to be learnt;

how much can be learnt within a specified period of time;

how the circumstances for learning should be arranged;

what activities and materials to use and in what sequence;

how learning can be monitored and feedback given and obtained;

how to evaluate learning.

WHAT DOES PLANNING INVOLVE
• 5 levels of teaching objectives:

At the level of society

At the level of the school

At the level of the standard or form

At the level of the unit

At the level of the lesson

 SOCIETAL OBJECTIVES
• School is a preparation for life and people use language for
different purposes in life.

• As teachers, we need to remember the purposes for which

our students would use English.

• Learning in school, shop, getting things done in the

government institution, understand English cartoon, enjoy
the activity book, pass exam, etc.
 SOCIETAL OBJECTIVES
• The purposes is important because it affects:

Motivation

Evaluation of
learning
 MOTIVATION

No purpose for learning  no reason for learning

Students need to be made aware  English can help them

If there is no immediate needs  teacher needs to be aware

and create needs within the class  interesting activities
 EVALUATION OF LEARNING
Teachers assess their success by looking at students’ exam success
 not a good indicator.

Important aspects of language learning are not measured and

sometimes not measurable through exams.

Teachers do not pay attention to listening and speaking skills  not

tested in public examinations.

It is a failure when a child leaves school and they cannot speak and
do not want to read after school.
 SCHOOL LEVEL OBJECTIVES

The Ministry of Education establishes stages in learning

 different objectives for different levels in the school
curriculum. In Malaysia, there are TWO (2) levels:

terminal objectives;

unit (KBSR) or skills (KBSM) objectives.

 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF KBSR
• The English Language Syllabus for primary school aims to equip
learners with basic skills and knowledge of the English language so
as to enable them to communicate, orally and in writing, in and out
of school. By the end of the primary school, pupils should be able to:

• listen to and understand simple spoken English in certain

i. given context;

• Speak and respond clearly and appropriately in familiar

ii. situations using simple language;

• Read and understand different kinds of texts for enjoyment

iii. and information; and

• Write for different purposes and in different forms using

iv. simple language.
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF KBSM
• By the end of secondary school, students should be able to:

• listen to and understand spoken situations in the

i. school and in real life situations;

• Speak effectively on a variety of topics;

ii.

• Read factual prose and fiction for information

iii. and enjoyment;

• Write effectively for different purposes.

iv.
THESE OBJECTIVES AFFECT PLANNING
FOR TEACHING IN TWO WAYS:
1.

• They provide a context for learning  enables the

teacher to decide on not only what to teach but
also on the level at which to teach it.

2.

• They help to indicate to the teacher what the

expected level of achievement of the students
should be by showing what everyone else in the
country would be learning.
 FORM OR STANDARD LEVEL
OBJECTIVES: PREPARING SCHEMES
OF WORK FOR THE YEAR
1. What is a scheme of work?
2. Who plans the scheme of work?
3. Factors to be considered in planning a scheme of work
4. Suggested procedure for drawing up scheme of work for the year
5. Sample of scheme of work
1. WHAT IS A SCHEME OF WORK?
• A plan that indicates what will be taught for
the semester/year and in what order it will
be taught.

• Objectives set out in the syllabus for each school

year form the basis for the scheme of work for
the year.
2. WHO PLANS THE SCHEME OF WORK?
• All the teachers who teach a particular standard
to work together. The reasons are:
Such things as monthly test and school exams make it necessary for teachers
to synchronise  what is taught and the order in which it is taught.

All the teachers’ perceptions on the syllabus items become known to everyone
else and this enriches the teachers and therefore the course offered.

Teaching resources, especially audio-visual aids can be shared.

3. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN
PLANNING A SCHEME OF WORK
What items need to be covered,
how important each item is for
The amount of time available per
the pupils, how long it will take
period / per week / per semester;
them to achieve the level of
mastery required;

How recycling, reinforcement,

How the items can be graded,
and enrichment can be built into
sequenced and combined;
the scheme of work for the year;

How to achieve a good balance

and integration of the four skills.
a. AMOUNT OF TIME AVAILABLE
• In calculating the amount of time available, a teacher
should consider:
 Actual class contact time provided for by the Ministry of
Education;
 By how many hours learning time can be extended through
such things as homework, extended reading and project
work.

• Procedure for calculating amount of time available:

 Step 1 - Find out how many weeks of teaching there are for
each semester and multiply this by the number of minutes
available for each week.
 Step 2 - Make a rough estimate of how much non-contact
time is available for homework, project work, etc.
 Step 3 - Add extra time to contact time to obtain total time
available for learning.
b. WHAT ITEMS NEED TO BE COVERED

The syllabus However,

spells out what syllabuses only do
needs to be taught so in a very
in any one year. general way.

A syllabus,
therefore, needs
to be
interpreted.
c. GRADING AND SEQUENCING
• A number of criteria need to be kept in mind when
making decisions regarding grading and sequencing:

1. Level of relative learning difficulty

2. Nature of skill to be taught

3. Possible timing of items

4. Effect on motivation

5. Coherence
d. PROVIDING FOR RECYCLING,
REINFORCEMENT, AND ENRICHMENT
• Issues to be considered:

Why recycling is The importance of

important the item/skill

How much
The level of
repetition is
proficiency of the
required for the skill
pupils
to be well-learnt
e. BALANCE
• A teacher needs to be balanced in planning the
curriculum for a year. Some issues that need to
be looked into in achieving balance are:
whether the emphasis and time allocated to an item reflects its
importance in the learning process and usefulness to the pupils;

whether the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading,

writing – are given balanced treatment;

whether grammar and vocabulary building (development of

accuracy) have been given appropriate attention or if planning
has concentrated entirely on development of fluency.
f. INTEGRATION
• The concept of integration is particularly important in
the communicative approach. Integration is important
for a number of reasons:
 Real communication involves using more than one
skill.
 Integration of language with interests of pupils and
needs increases motivation
 Variety of input and output in the learning process
improves comprehension and retention.
 Language items like vocabulary and grammar are
best learnt in context, integrated with skills like
writing and speaking.
4. SUGGESTED PROCEDURE FOR DRAWING
UP SCHEME OF WORK FOR THE YEAR
• Use the syllabus, the textbooks and workbooks and the guidelines given
above, to break the syllabus into a number of themes or topics that would
lend themselves to the effective teaching-learning of the skills
Step 1 prescribed.

• Use the inventory of skills, grammar items and prescribed

vocabulary to decide which skills / items should go with each topic or
Step 2 theme.

• Decide on an appropriate sequence for presenting the themes.

Step 3

• Decide on the amount of time you can usefully spend on each topic
or theme.
Step 4
5. SAMPLE SCHEME OF WORK
• You may have:
a) a general scheme of work specify themes
in the order in which they will be
covered and when
b) more detailed scheme  balance and
integration of skills

At this stage, you need to consider:

a) some degree of flexibility (add/change)
b) timing (comfortable rather than exact)
PLANNING A UNIT
1. Sample of unit organised around grammar points
2. A unit organised thematically
3. Procedure for developing a scheme of work for an integrated
unit
4. Sample thematic unit on animals and parts of their body
A UNIT IS ORGANISED AROUND ONE OF
THE FOLLOWING:

A grammatical feature

A communicative
function

A theme
1. SAMPLE OF UNIT ORGANISED
AROUND GRAMMAR POINTS
Presentation of grammar items:
• Time expressions, adverbs of frequency

Contextualised practice:
• Talking about people’s daily routines and hobbies
• Reading a text on the day-to-day activities of a man
who rears crocodiles
• Writing a composition, ‘My Mother’s Daily
Routine’ using substitution table containing
structures taught in the Presentation stage.
2. A UNIT ORGANISED THEMATICALLY
• The KBSR syllabus and handbooks specify a
number of topics suitable for primary school
children.

• The KBSM also specifies a number of topics,

each of which is spelt out in the inventories
given for each skill in the syllabus.

• For example (refer to page 23):

3. PROCEDURE FOR DEVELOPING A SCHEME
OF WORK FOR AN INTEGRATED UNIT
Step 1: identify the broad topic.

Step 2: identify sub-topics within it.

Step 3: think of what children usually do when listening to, speaking about, reading or writing
about the topic.

Step 4: think of what language (vocabulary and structures) pupils need to do activities.

Step 5: decide what language students would already know. Check syllabus for previous years.

Step 6: check amount of time available and decide how much can be taught and what would be
most useful for students at this stage of their development

Step 7: think of interesting tasks that students can do that will allow them to learn the target
skills and language items.

Step 8: Work out in detail how the skills can be integrated

4. SAMPLE SHCEMATIC UNIT ON
ANIMALS AND PARTS OF THEIR BODY
• Refer to page 25
PLANNING A LESSON
1. What is a lesson?
2. Why is lesson planning important?
3. Factors to bear in mind when planning a lesson
4. Possible procedure for planning a lesson
5. Format for a lesson plan
 PLANNING A LESSON
What is a lesson?

Why is lesson planning important?

Factors to bear in mind when planning a lesson

Possible procedure for planning a lesson

Format for a lesson plan

1.WHAT IS A LESSON?

• A learning event in which all

the activities are orchestrated
Definition to serve one central pedagogic
aim.

Stages • A beginning, a middle, an end.

1.WHAT IS A LESSON?
• Pre-reading
Reading • Reading
• Post-reading

• Pre-listening
Listening • Listening
• Post-listening

• Pre-writing
Writing • Writing
• Post-writing

Grammar • Presentation
• Controlled practice
and speaking • Communicative activity
2. WHY IS LESSON PLANNING IMPORTANT?
• There are for important reasons:

1. Opportunity to weigh the various options available and

to make his choices before the lesson is done in class.

2. The plan acts as a route map. (before and during the

lesson).

3. Enable teacher to get the software and hardware

necessary for implementing the plan

4. Act as a record of work done.

 3. FACTORS TO BEAR IN MIND WHEN
PLANNING A LESSON
The general and Previous
specific objectives Student
it sets out to characteristics knowledge of Tasks
achieve the pupils

Amount and Language

type of pupil- requirements
Time Materials
teacher of
participation tasks/activity

Balance in Sequence
allocation of and grading
time of activities
 4. POSSIBLE PROCEDURE FOR
PLANNING A LESSON
• Deciding on what to teach • Deciding on the staging
1. 6. of the lesson

• Deciding on the general aims of your

lesson • Deciding on activities
2. 7.

• Interpreting the chart

• Checking for balance
3. 8. and variety

• Deciding on specific aims or levels of • Marking a final copy of

4. achievement 9. the lesson plan

• Taking stock of circumstances under • Dealing with mixed-

5. which learning will take place 10. ability groups
5. FORMAT FOR A LESSON PLAN
• A lesson plan should be in a format that makes
filing and reference easy.

• A sample form for a lesson plan and a sample

lesson plan is presented as below:

• Refer to page 35-36

READING
1. What reading involves
2. Aims of teaching reading
3. Stages in learning to read
4. Developmental reading
5. The reading lesson
1. WHAT READING INVOLVES
• Reading – merely involves the ability to sound
the words printed on a page.

• It is actually more complex than that.

• The understanding of the skill – strongly

influence what and how you teach.
i. Tapping your own reading experiences
i. Tapping your own reading experiences
ii. Some insights about the reading
process and reading purposes
• Reading involves knowledge of certain writing conventions
1.

• Real reading involves not merely sounding of the words in a text but
2. understanding the meaning or message the words are intended to carry

• Understanding a text involves understanding the language in which it is

3. written

• Reading involves utilising previous knowledge (of the world, of culture,

4. of the topic under discussion, of the print conventions being used, etc)

• Reading is a thinking process

5.
ii. Some insights about the reading
process and reading purposes (cont.)
• Reading is an interactive process
6.

• Reading is a life-support system

7.
• Reading is not a single skill that we use all the time in the same way but is a multiple
skill that is used differently with different kinds of texts and in fulfilling different
8. purposes

• Wide reading experience in a particular kind of text is often necessary for proper
understanding of any one instance of that kind of writing
9.
• What reading enables a person to do must be perceived as interesting and worthwhile.
Otherwise, no reading will take place beyond school and beyond the stage of learning to
10. read.
2. AIMS OF TEACHING READING
• By now, you should know the in-depth
understanding of the nature of the reading
process and some idea of the purposes of
reading.

• The syllabuses and handbooks for the KBSR and

KBSM specify some aims:
i. Objectives of the KBSR
Retrieval of specific Provide the
Become
information from opportunity of
independent and
the text and developing study
mature readers.
response to the text. skills.

Promote the
Enrich students
Use a wide range of application of
vocabulary and
texts. reading skills for
language structure.
different purposes.

Encouraged to read
extensively outside
the classroom with
minimal teacher
guidance.
ii. Terminal Objectives of KBSM

To read and understand prose and poetry for

information and enjoyment.

To enable students to read with enjoyment,

without help of unfamiliar authentic texts, at
appropriate speed, silently, and with
adequate understanding.
iii. Additional aims in teaching reading
1. Help students to become independent readers.

2. Develop response to text.

3. Help students read with adequate understanding.

4. Help students read at appropriate speed.

5. Help students read silently.

iv. Reading aims can center around the
development of any aspect of skilled reading:

• Improving motivation
1.

• Increasing awareness of different reading

2. purposes

• Developing different reading strategies

3.

• Improving comprehension skills.

4.
v. Simplified form of Barrett’s Taxonomy
Literal
recognition or Inference Evaluation Appreciation
recall

The taste.
Values and
Opportunities for
Drawing therefore there is
Understanding of exchange of views
conclusions not usually no
information that and
stated in the text ‘correct’ answer to
is explicitly stated interpretations
but implied by the questions
in the text. again make these
facts given. involving
questions very
evaluation.
enjoyable.

E.g. Inferring E.g. Judgments

E.g. emotional
E.g. Recognition main ideas, about whether
response to plot or
or recall of main supporting something is real
theme; reactions
ideas, details, details, sequence, or imaginary,
to the author’s use
sequence, etc. predicting desirable or
of language.
outcomes acceptable, etc.
3. Stages In Learning To Read

Reading Early Developmental Mature

readiness reading reading reading

Stages of learning to read Stage of reading to learn

i. Reading readiness
• The concern of the pre-school teacher.
1.
• The child who wants to read needs:
• To develop his knowledge of the English language, motivation
to learn, the ability to discriminate between shapes, recognition
2. that print has meaning just as talk has meaning.

• Do not concern ourselves with the techniques of teaching these

skills here.
• Consult a book on reading readiness if any of your students do
3. not have these skills and attitudes.
ii. Early reading
Developing
language and
Motivation
comprehension
skills

Learning the
Word
print
recognition
conventions of
skills
English
iii. Sight word skills and the whole
word method

Why sight words are important

Choosing what words to teach

Techniques for teaching sight words

iii. Sight word skills and the whole
word method (cont.)

Guidelines for teaching ‘sight words’

Ways of recycling ‘sight’ words

Making pocket charts for yourself and your

students
4. Word Attack Skills
Word attack using configuration clues

Word attack using picture clues

Word attack using contextual clues

Using the dictionary

Word attack using structural analysis

Word attack using phonemic clues

vi. Basic phonemic approaches
• What they involve
• The theory underlying these approaches
• What learning in this way involves
psychologically
• Guidelines for using the phonic approach
• Outline of the phonic approach
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Sample activities for teaching phonics
a. What they involve

To help the children see the

relationships between the
sounds of English and the
letters that produce them.

1st – Isolated sounds are

learnt, then the skill of
putting the sounds together
to form whole words is
taught.
b. The theory underlying these
approaches

• That the language being learnt is phonemically regular

1.
• That once a child has learned the phonemic elements,
he can obtain the pronunciation of the printed word by
2. assembling the sounds together in blended sequence

• That once he gets the pronunciation of the word, he will

understand what he has read.
3.
c. What learning in this way involves
psychologically

i. Rote learning

ii. ‘Part learning’

d. Guidelines for using the phonic
approach

i. Has a large listening

vocabulary, able to see and hear
differences in letters and sounds.

ii. Teach phonics after the

students have begun to read -
use the look and say method.
e. Outline of the phonic approach

1. Start with the 2. Introduce the 3. Sound

vowel sounds. consonants. combinations.

6. Break up words
4. Join syllables 5. Identify letter
into appropriate
together to form groups and to
letter blends or
simple words. sound them.
syllables.

7. Combine the
use of contextual
clues with the use
of phonic clues.
f. Strengths and weaknesses
• Once the child masters phonics, he can become an independent reader.
1.

• It is often psychologically inappropriate for average students because it is

unmeaning-related.
2.

• There is no one-to-one correspondence between English letters and the sounds

they represent, as there is between sounds and letters in Bahasa Melayu.
3.

• It only concentrates on decoding, converting the written form into its spoken
equivalent.
4.

• Phonics needs to be taught systematically but often it is not. This leads to

confusion.
5.
g. Sample activities for teaching
phonics
i. crosswords ii. Ladders

• Can be introduced quite • Can be made with the sound

simply by using just four required shown at the top.
letters to show the principle.
• As the children think of
• The next stage might be to suitable words, they are
ask for consonants to be printed on the rungs, starting
inserted. at the bottom.

• Later simple crosswords can • Groups can play

be found giving simple clues. competitively by taking turns
on several ladders, the first
group to reach the top of the
ladder being the winner.
5. Language Experience Approaches

i. What I think about, I can talk about.

ii. What I say, I can write.

iii. What I can write, I can read.

iv. I can read what I have written, and

I can also read what other people have
written for me to read.
i. A typical language experience series
of learning activities
• Get your students to listen to a story from children’s literature.
1.

• Ask students to paint a picture of some aspect of the story that interest them.
2.

• Ask one of the children or the class as a whole to talk about the picture they have
3. drawn.

• Print the story that the child or class dictates.

4.

• Provide opportunities for developing sight word skills by getting your students to
5. recognise words in the stories they themselves dictated.

• Put up the story your students dictated on the softboard for them to read
6. whenever they want.

• The next day get your students to read their story again.
7.
ii. Theory
Theory Difficulties

• Learning would be • The students often do not

individualised, written in the have enough English
experiential context of each proficiency to dictate their
child and therefore highly own stories.
meaningful.
• Teacher-student ratio makes
• Fewer repetitions would be individualisation very
needed because language difficult.
comes from the child himself.

• Allows a smooth transition

from spoken to written
language – it facilitates the
perception that print is
‘speech written down’.
6. The Big Book Approach
• Features of the Big Book Approach:
All the children in a class gather together to share a single copy of a book
with the teacher.

To ensure complete visibility of the pages to all readers while the reading
proceeds, the pages of the book are made large and there are only one to
three lines of print.

The procedure generally followed is usually a variant of stipulated

stereotype.
i. Activities according to the Big Book
Approach

Class activity

Group activity

Individual work
ii. Strengths of the Big Book approach
• The approach tries to reproduce the home
1. environment in the classroom.

• Learning to read can take place at the same time as

2. learning the language itself.

• All children love stories and so motivation to learn

3. using this method is likely to be high.

• Texts selected for intensive reading are usually

4. disjointed.

• Stories provide a context for all learning activities.

5.
7. Selection of texts for early reading
practice
• Two kinds of texts need to be distinguished:

Books for
early reading

Books learner Books people

himself will will read to
read him
7. Selection of texts for early reading
practice (continuation)
The primary function The function of the
of the first is second is
• to develop his word • to give students a
recognition skills and chance to develop
his knowledge of knowledge of the
print conventions kind of language they
will meet in books
• to build up his self-
confidence and sense • to give them a
of progress. forecast of the joys of
reading.
Features early readers should have
Appropriate language
• Repeatedly use the words the students have learnt.
• Simple and direct language.
• Legible print.

Simple but interesting content

• Clear and uncomplicated story line.
• Have repeating episodes.
• Within the understanding and experience of children.

Illustrations and colour

• Illustration should support understanding.
• Illustration should be bold and uncomplicated.
• Black, blue, and green are thought to be more legible than red
or orange.
Features of books to be read to
students
• Be within the experiential background of the
1. students.

• Have a very simple, repeating story lines

2. which allow easy participations of students.

• Be in language that can be easily understood

3. by the students.
4. Developmental Reading
• In Malaysian schools this phase would begin just
after students complete Tahap 1 of the KBSR and
would, for most students, go on till they finish
school.

• In this phase the student learns the reading

skills necessary for silent reading.
i. What silent reading involves
2. Predicting
1. Recognising outcomes, guessing 3. Applying a reading
structures, words, etc. word meanings using strategy to the text.
contextual clues.

5. Thinking while
4. Making
reading: ask 6. Having an effective
connections within
questions, classify, reaction to the text.
the text
deduce, predict, etc.

7. Building up familiarity
with the many different
kinds of texts the student
is likely to need to read
in English.
ii. Selection of texts for developing
silent reading skills

Suitability of Concepts in
Balance
language the text

Level of
Pedagogic
Content reasoning
suitability
required
iii. Exploiting texts to aid developmental
reading
Why we read
(purposes)

What we read How we read

(texts) affects (process)
determines determines

What we do, know

or become as a
result of readng
(product /
outcome)
iv. Possible procedure for determining
how to exploit a text

1. Read the text carefully and

mark it or take notes on areas
that need practice.

2. Think about available

options in presentation of the
text.
The Reading Lesson
1. stages in a reading lesson

1. Pre-reading activities

2. While-reading activities

3. Post-reading activities
1. Pre-reading activities
• This phase usually has one r more of these
functions:
• To stimulate interest in the topic of the text so
a. that students do not come to the text ‘cold’.

• To introduce language or concepts which occur

b. in the text but which students may not know.

• To help students see the relationship of ideas

c. in a difficult text by providing a framework.
2. While-reading activities
• Activities that a student engages in while
actually reading the text.
a.
• Activities he engages in which help him to
understand the text by getting him to use the
b. text in various ways.

• The purpose – to enable students to achieve

the lesson aims by handling the text in
c. different ways.
3.Post-reading activities

• The purpose – to look out

of the text to see its
relevance to other
a. activities the students may
find interesting or useful.
The Reading Lesson
2. selecting reading skills in the syllabus

There are at least two issues in skill

selection:

what to select

how to combine and integrate skills

There are at least two issues in skill
selection:

i. What to • Select only those skills that are appropriate for the
select level of your students.

ii. how to • There are only a limited number of reading skills and
an almost unlimited number of reading task.
combine and • If you select a variety of tasks for the students to do
integrate and use a variety of different texts, there will
automatically be a natural integration and recycling of
skills reading skills.
The Reading Lesson
3. grading and recycling skills

Some skills are thought to be more difficult than others.

Some people, feel that making inferences and using contextual

clues must come after the development of literal comprehension.

They believe that young children cannot infer. This is not strictly
true.

What you need to do is not to leave out skills altogether but to teach
them in graded levels of difficulty.
The Reading Lesson
4. guidelines for preparing a reading lesson
1. Find a suitable
2. Think of a 3. Work out the
text and identify
sequence of details of each
the skills you
activities. activity.
want to teach.

4. Look through 5. Work through 6. Check on the

the sequence of all the activities timing of
activities yourself. activities.

7. Make sure that

you have all the
material you
need.
Ways of Dealing with Mixed Abilities in
a Reading Lesson
• Give all students the same text but differ the questions
1. you give to different groups according to their ability.

• Form mixed-ability groups in the class so that poorer

2. students can learn from the better ones.

• Do jigsaw reading. Form mixed-ability groups.

3.

• Work on long-term basis. Work with other teachers

4. teaching the same standard or form.

• Supplementary readers written within certain word

5. levels can also be used for this purpose.
1. Some ways reading can contribute
to the development of other skills
• Some examples of how reading can provide
input for Speaking and Writing:

• Providing a model for imitation.

1.

• Introducing words and structures in a

2. meaningful context.

• Creating a context for generating spoken

3. and written discussion.
2. How other skills can contribute to
reading development
• Writing and speaking can be means of expressing understanding of content / appreciation of style of
the reading text.
1.

• Writing in the form of note-taking and summary writing can be used as a means of developing
study-skills, improving recall of what is read, enabling the perception of the relationship of ideas in
2. the text.

• Writing can be a pre-reading activity to increase the readiness of the students to appreciate the skill
of the writer of the reading text.
3.

• Writing or speaking can set the purpose for reading.

4.

• Listening can introduce words aurally that a student needs to understand before he can learn it in its
written form.
5.

• Listening-while-reading can assist the learner-reader to learn how to group words into meaningful
chunks instead of reading word by word.
6.
 The end
Thank you and good luck!!!