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2.0 SYNOPSIS
Topic 2 provides you with an overview of the different models of reading, (bottom-up,
top-down and interactive reading models) and the approaches to teach reading. The
reading models provide insights to the ways different readers approach reading. This
topic also discusses various approaches to teach reading.
Theoretical Models
Of Reading
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
According to the literature surrounding reading theory there are three primary models
which readers use: bottom-up, top-down and interactive models of reading. These
models have been used to explain the cognitive processes that occur as readers
interact with the text. These reading theories will be discussed in turn.
The central idea of the bottom-up reading model is that reading is a process of
decoding a series of written symbols into aural sounds. Meaning is then derived from
the blending of sounds. The diagram below describes this process.
meaning
(Cambroune, 1979)
Using this model, readers process each leatter as it is encountered. The letters or
graphemes are then matched to a phoneme of the language. The phonemes are
then blended together to form words. Meaning is then derived at the end of the
process. A typical reading programme that adopts this model is the phonics
approach.
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
In the top-down model, the reading process is a reverse of the bottom-up model.
Here, reading is conceptually driven. Readers use their background knowledge to
make predictions as they read the text. The following diagram illustrates this model of
text processing.
(Cambroune, 1979)
From this diagram, it can be seen that the model emphasises the reconstruction of
meaning rather than the decoding of form. The interaction of the text is central to the
process and the reader brings to this interaction his/her knowledge of the subject at
hand, his/her knowledge and expectations about how language works, interest,
motivation and attitude towards the subject or content of the text. In other words, the
reader hypotheses or makes an assumption of the text and uses his/her background
knowledge to confirm the hypothesis or assumption or reject the propositions.
As with the bottom-up model, the top-down model also employs a linear text
processing approach.
This model is also known as inside-out model, concept-driven model and whole-to-
part model.
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
Exercise 1
What kind of readers are most likely to adopt the top-down reading
approach? Why do you think so?
Exercise 2
In groups of 3, discuss how you use bottom-up reading approach for Year
One pupils. Present your discussion in class.
** A note to teachers **
With the insight that there is more to comprehension that the words on the page
provides, these theoretical models help explain the way our background knowledge
guides the comprehension process and the implications for second language
reading. Eskey and Grabe (1988) suggested two general implications for ESL
reading. First, that a strong, bottom-up foundation of basic identification skill is
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
paramount. Second, reading for meaning, that is ultilising the top-down approach
should also be well developed because reading is not just limited to decoding skills.
enable pupils to associate the appearance of each sight word with its
sound/pronunciation (sight to sound correspondence)
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
Exercise 1
Based on your experience, what kind of practice can you do to achieve the above
objectives? Work in your study group.
Language experience approach is suitable for all levels of learners. By using the
Language Experience Approach (LEA) to teach beginning readers how to read,
pupils can connect their life experiences with learning written words. The unique
factor about this approach is that the pupils own words are recorded or used as they
describe the event or activity. This allows them to interact with the text and gain
knowledge and understanding through their experience.
The LEA can be used with individual pupils or group. While it is most commonly used
with young emerging readers, it is also effective for teaching struggling readers.
1. Have the pupils choose an experience that they would like to write about. For
groups, this should be a shared experience such as a field trip or an activity that
the whole class had participated in. For individual pupils, it could be anything that
the pupil feels is important or interesting, such as a family activity, a story about
their pet or favorite toy, or even a television show or movie that they enjoyed. The
language experience approach can also be used to create fictional stories.
2. Discuss the experience with the pupils. This helps them to clarify what they want to
write about, organize their thoughts, and come up with specific, descriptive
vocabulary.
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
3. Write the story down as the pupils dictate it. For groups, have pupils take turns
dictating sentences describing their experience. Record what they say on large
chart paper, repeating the words as they are written. For individual pupils, this can
be done on a single sheet of paper, or it can be made into a book. The writing
should be done in neat, large print rather than cursive, to make it easier for the
pupils to read. Try to stick to the pupils' own words exactly as they are spoken with
a minimum of correction for grammar or sentence structure. It is important for
pupils to see their own words in print, because they have a personal connection to
the words.
4. Read the text aloud. Point to each word as you read it aloud. After reading the text
to the pupils, have them reread it aloud. With a group, call on individual pupils to
read sentences, or have them read chorally as a group while pointing to each
word. Pupils can illustrate their individual texts and read them aloud to the class.
Since the words that the pupils dictate are familiar and are used in a meaningful
context, pupils will be able to read more difficult vocabulary than they might
ordinarily be able to if they simply saw it printed in a book.
A phonics approach teaches the relation of the letters (graphemes) to the sounds
(phonemes) they represent. The theory behind the phonics approach is based on two
assumptions: most languages have consistent phonemes (sound) to grapheme
(letter) corelation. Once children have learned the relationships of the letters to the
sounds, they can pronounce printed words by blending the sounds together. Knowing
these relationships helps early readers recognize familiar words accurately and
automatically and "decode" new words.
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
Though this approach has been well received, there are some grey areas which
makes it not a complete model or a stand alone approach to teach early reading. For
instance, a child can use phonics to work out that b-a-t means bat because the letters
represent their most common sounds; but phonics is of no help in reading eye as
there is no correspondence between the letters and the sounds the letters represent.
Furthermore, English has its many irregularities, therefore it makes it harder for ESL
learners to identify unfamiliar words. The use of phonics assumes that once readers
know how a word is pronounced, they will associate it with a spoken word they
already know and therefore understands it. However, the problem may arise
especially with intermediate pupils who may come upon a new word which they have
not heard of. So working out how a word might be pronounced is not going to
guarantee understanding.
Phonics may be useful and helpful at the initial stages of developing reading but it
needs to be supported by other methods as the reader’s reading proficiency
develops.
Exercise 3
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TSL 3063 Teaching Reading Skills and Vocabulary In The Primary ESL Classroom
References
Eskey, D.E. & Grabe, W. (1988). Interactive Models for Second Language Reading:
Perspectives on Instruction. In P. Carrell, J. Devine & D. Eskey. (Eds.),
Interactive approaches to second language reading (pp. 223-38). New York:
Cambridge University Press.
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