The Teaching of Reading

What is reading?
Reading is a process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction among the reader’s existing
knowledge, the information suggested by the written language, and the context of reading situation.

What are the factors that influence reading in a second/foreign language?

1. Cognitive development and learning style orientation at the time of beginning second/foreign language
study
2. First language proficiency
3. First language metalinguistic knowledge
4. Second/foreign language proficiency
5. First language and a second/foreign language degree of differences
6. Cultural orientations
(-from Farrell, T.S.C., 2002)

What are the concerns of teaching reading?

1. Schema Activation to make sense of new information in light of what they already know, and to
make the necessary connection between the two. Some basic pre-reading techniques are
 Brainstorming ideas that a topic bring to mind;
 Previewing a passage, noting headings and bold print;
 Constructing a graphic organizer, web, or outline from passage headings for use in note
taking

2. Vocabulary Development is an important factor contributing to reading comprehension. Studies

conducted on the importance of vocabulary instruction demonstrate that it plays a major role in
improving comprehension. This instruction can be done through
 Wide reading approach
 Direct instruction
 Superficial instruction
(- from Devine, T., 1986)
What are the principles of vocabulary instruction?
1. Be enthusiastic about content area language.
2. Relate new vocabulary words to experiences and concepts that students know.
3. Limit the number of words taught in each unit; concentrate on key concepts.
4. Help students to see clearly the associations among related concepts.
5. Use mental imagery and symbolic representation techniques to help students think about new
words.
6. Model how to use graphic organizers.
7. Allow students enough practice in working with strategies and graphic organizers so that their
use becomes a habit.
8. Use dictionaries and glossaries appropriately.
9. Repeatedly model how to determine a word’s meaning in text materials.

(- from Gunning, T. G., 2003)

What is the basis for choosing words for vocabulary development?

1. high frequency words
2. academic words/ content area words
3. technical words
4. literary words
5. low frequency words
(-from Nation, P., 2002)

3. Comprehension Development is the main purpose of reading instruction. For comprehension to

improve, the interaction among all three factors (reader, text, and context) must be taken into
consideration.
4. Understanding text Organization helps students to have a blueprint for constructing a situational
model of a story or informational piece. Students need to learn the following in relation to text
organization:
 Text type (narrative or expository)
 genre
 Hierarchy of ideas in exposition
 Significant details in narrative and expository texts
 Use of graphic organizers

5. Application is the part of the lesson that helps readers see the relevance of learning in their own
life, or appreciate the nature of their environment and understand the significance of knowing about
the lessons discussed in the classroom. This provides a ground for making students remember and
value insights learned in the class. Reading instruction can end by:
 Valuing
 Appreciating
 Relating lessons to own life
 Linking lesson to explain real-life contexts
 Responding creatively using multiple intelligence

What is the format of a language lesson?

A language lesson has five parts or phases:

1. The perspective or opening phase where the teacher gives a preview of the new reading lesson
that he/she will teach.
2. The simulation phase where the teacher poses a question (or questions) to get the student
thinking about the coming activity. This is used as a lead into the main activity.
3. The instruction/participation phase introduces the main activity of the reading lesson.
4. The closure phase is where the teacher attempts to get the students’ input regarding what they
have learned in the lesson that was just presented.
5. The follow-up and the final phase has the teacher using other activities to reinforce the same
concepts and introduce new ones.

What are the general instructional objectives for a second/foreign language reading program?
1. To develop an awareness of reading strategies necessary for successful reading comprehension.
2. To expand vocabulary and develop techniques for continued increase of vocabulary.
3. To develop an awareness of linguistics and rhetorical structures found in reading texts.
4. To increase reading speed and fluency.
5. To promote an interest in different types of reading materials.
6. To provide individual feedback on progress in improving reading skills.
7. To provide practice in extensive reading skills.

What are the principles for designing effective and interesting reading lessons?
1. The reading materials are interesting for the students.
2. The major activity of the reading lesson is students reading texts.
3. Activities and exercises reflect the purposeful, task-based interactive nature of real reading
(predicting, hypothesizing, and revising ideas about what was read).
4. Activities and tasks allow the learners to bring their knowledge and experiences to the reading
passage.
5. Instructional activities have a TEACHING rather than a testing focus.
6. A variety of different reading activities are used during each lesson ( to maintain interest, motivation,
and pace)
7. Lessons should be divided into pre-reading, during reading and post-reading phases.

(- from Farrell, T.S.C., 2002)

What is Content-Based Instruction?

 Content-based instruction (CBI) is “…the integration of particular content with language teaching
aims.” It is based on the common underlying principle that successful language learning occurs
when students are presented with target language material in a meaningful, contextualized form,
with the primary focus on acquiring information and knowledge.

 Content can refer to academic content or content in terms of cultural themes.

 One of the reasons for the increasing interest among educators in developing content-based
language instruction is the theory that language acquisition is based on input that is meaningful
and comprehensible to the learner (Krashen 1981, 1982).

 Content becomes the organizing principle; and language structures, vocabulary, and functions are
selected by the teacher that are both necessary for the content and that are compatible with it. This
contextualizes language learning for students and focuses the learner’s attention primarily on
meaning.

 CBI approaches “… view the target language as the vehicle through which subject matter content
is learned rather than as the immediate object of study.” (Brinton et al., 1989, p. 5).

 “When the learner’s second language is both the object and medium of instruction, the content of
each lesson must be taught simultaneously with the linguistic skills necessary for understanding it
“ (Cantoni-Harvey, 1987, p. 22).

 Input must be comprehensible to the learner and be offered in such a way as to allow multiple
opportunities to understand and use the language. If comprehensible input is provided and the
student feels little anxiety, then acquisition will take place.

 In other words, Krashen suggests that a second language is most successfully acquired when the
conditions are similar to those present in the first language acquisition; that is, when the focus of
instruction is on meaning rather than on form; when the language input is at or just above the
proficiency of the learner; and when there is sufficient opportunity to engage in meaningful use of
that language in a relatively anxiety-free environment.

 The importance of meaningful context in language teaching is also the underlying principle behind
the Whole Language Approach, commonly referred to as Natural Approach. It is a developmental
language model based on the premise that youngsters acquire language (speaking, reading, and
writing) as naturally as they learn to walk and talk, when they are invited to engage in self-motivating
activities that are stimulating, interesting, social, meaning-based, purposeful, interactive, and most
of all enjoyable. This approach is based on current research in language acquisition.

What are some strategies in teaching reading?

For Vocabulary Development:
A. Structural Analysis. It is the process of breaking up word parts into its meaningful components: the root
words, affixes and suffixes. In short, it is a process of decoding unfamiliar words by visually examining
the words to discover component parts, which may lead to pronunciation and meaning. A person who
uses structural analysis must be able to recognize the root word or base word; inflectional endings (-s,
-ed, -ing), affixes (prefixes and suffixes), and compound words.

For example, the word biology can be analyzed by looking at the part bio (which means life) and logos
(which means the study of). Taken together, one could know that biology, in its simplest meaning, is a
study of life.
Find out how well you know the meaning of the following word components:
 1. anthrop – _________ 11. inter -____________
2. bi, di –____________ 12. intra - ____________
3. biblio –___________ 13.mal -_____________
4. chron –___________ 14. mid -_____________
5. cosmos -__________ 15. mis -_____________
6. ex - _____________ 16. mono- ___________
7. ful - _____________ 17. phile - ___________
8. hydro -___________ 18. phobia- ___________
9. ism _____________ 19. phon - ____________
10. ist - _____________ 20. sym, syn - ________

Use structural analysis to get the meaning of the following words.

WORD CLUE MEANING

e.g. polygamous poly- many Having many marriages
gam- marriage
_____ 1. Megalopolis ous – adj. Forming/ A. government or state governed by priest representing a supreme
_____ 2. Heliocentric having spirit or god
_____ 3. Ichthyolatry B. an X-ray photograph of the breast, especially to detect signs of
_____ 4. Zoomorphic cancerous growth
_____ 5. Androphobe C. a cemetery, especially a large and elaborate one belonging to an
_____ 6. Endogamy ancient city
_____ 7. Heptarchy D. with the sun at the center of the universe
_____ 8. Haemostatic E. the worship of fish
_____ 9. Idiolect F. a person with a morbid fear or hatred of men
_____10. Anaerobic G. marriage restricted to one’s own group or tribe
_____11.Anthropophagi H. not requiring air or oxygen to survive
_____12. Theocracy I. the unique speech pattern of an individual person
_____13. Mammogram J. acting to stop the flow of blood or bleeding
_____14. Necropolis K. an immense city, an urban complex made up of several closely
linked cities and their surrounding areas
L. government by seven, a state divided into seven self-governing
parts
M. using shapes based on animals
N. eaters of human flesh, cannibals

B. Context Clue. It is an instructional approach that consists of analyzing words surrounding an unknown
word to determine its meaning. Words are not very useful when they are presented as isolated
elements. They are more functional when they appear in a meaningful context. Some of the common
context clues are the following:
1. Definition Statements
2. Synonym
3. Antonym
4. Summary
5. Examples
6. Simile
7. Apposition
8. Groupings

C. Intensive/Extensive Reading. It supplements explicit vocabulary instruction because all the words
encountered in print are impossible to include in teaching. Through this type of reading, students come
to experience words as used in wide array of reading materials.
D. Pleasure Reading. It is another way of making students read, but the materials or selection that they
have brought are for themselves or for sharing with friends and classmates. Or it may be a selection
chosen by the teacher, but for the purpose of making students develop love for reading.
(-from Farrell, T.S.C., 2002)
For Comprehension Development
1. Pre-Reading Plan
 2. Previewing
3. Anticipation Guide
4. QARs – Question –Answer Relationships
5. ReQuest – Reciprocal Questioning

For Activating Prior Knowledge

This strategy is designed to determine what students already know about the topic that is going to be
studied. This will help to create interest prior to reading.
Activating prior knowledge allows students to feel that they are somehow connected to the topic being
studied, helping to create a more positive learning environment and helping students feel that they are a
part of the learning process.

Procedure
Before beginning a text, discuss the topic that will be covered. Have the students share what they already
know about the topic. Find ways to relate the knowledge they have with the material that needs to be
covered.
Language Arts Social Studies
Topic: Story about snakes Topic: Climate
Ask students, What do you know about snakes? Ask students, How does climate affect
How can you tell if they are poisonous? What vegetation? What kinds of plants grow only in
snakes are common in our area? certain areas?

Science
Topic: Tornadoes
Ask students, What do you know about
tornadoes? What do you know about
thunderstorms? Are they similar? What would
you do if you were caught in a tornado?
Math
Topic: Multiplication With Decimals
Ask students, When are the decimals used in
everyday life (e.g. money)? If you were
purchasing several items at the same price, how
could you quickly figure out the total cost?

Assessment
Discuss each question and determine from students’ answers which students need additional information
before beginning a lesson. As the lesson progresses, continue discussion and questions to determine
students’ comprehension of the topic.

Anticipation Guide
This strategy allows students to consider thoughts and opinions they have about various topics in order to
create an interest in the material that is being covered and to establish a purpose for reading the material.

This strategy works best with topics such as literature, science, and social studies that require information
in order to develop opinions. Although subjects such as grammar and mathematics are more skill related,
there are instances in which an Anticipation Guide with modification would be useful

Procedure
Begin by listing three or more debatable statements about a topic that students are going to study. Ask the
students to identify whether they agree or disagree with the statements. Explain that the students need to
read the text carefully and see if they can find statements that support their own views. After they read the
text, discuss the original statements to see if the students maintain their original view or if they have
changed their opinion.
When constructing an Anticipation Guide, keep the following in mind:
 Analyze the material and determine main ideas.
 Write the ideas in short, declarative statements. Avoid abstractions.
 Put statements in a format that will encourage anticipation and predictions.
 Discuss reader’s predictions and anticipations before reading.
 Assign the text. Have students evaluate the statements according to the author’s intent and
purpose.
  Contrast the predictions with the author’s intended meaning.

Language Arts
Topic: Writing a persuasive paper
Statements: Students should wear uniforms in school.
Students should be allowed to choose whatever classes they want to take.
There should be no dress code in schools.
ReQuest
This strategy encourages students to build on previous knowledge and think about what might be important
information in the assigned reading. It also gives them the opportunity to write questions about things they
do not understand. One of the advantages to this strategy is that it breaks the text into short sections so it
will not appear overwhelming to students.

Procedure
The first step is to choose the text to be covered. Make sure students are familiar with the entire selection.
Next, have the students read the paragraph or short section and have them think of questions to ask about
the topic as they read. After the read, have students ask their questions and use the text to answer. Next,
ask higher level questions you have prepared. Continue reading the entire selection and have a question-
answer at the end of each section.

Language Arts Social Studies

Read the introduction to a story. Have students ask
questions about the characters, setting, and plot.
Continue reading short sections. Prepare questions such
as, Do you think the characters are acting in the way they
should? Why or why not? What would you have done in
this situation? What is one thing that could have changed
the entire outcome of this story?
Read the beginning of a chapter on the
Fertile Crescent. Ask why it was called
this. What is known about this area from
long ago? End with questions such as,
What do you think caused this culture to
last throughout time?

Language Arts
When discussing a topic such as sound waves, ask
students how they think Helen Keller learned to speak or
how Beethoven was able to compose music even after he
became deaf

Assessment
Discuss and evaluate teacher’s and student’s questions and answers. Discussions can be used to
determine students’ level of comprehension by assessing their responses after reading. Encourage
responses from students who appear off task. Students should correctly respond to 80% if the questions
during a discussion.

K-W-L (Know-Want to Know-Learned)

K-W-L gives students a purpose for reading and gives them an active role before, during and after reading.
This strategy helps them to think about the information they already know and to celebrate the learning of
new information. It also strengthens their ability to develop questions in a variety of topics and to assess
their own learning.

Procedure
Before reading, ask students to brainstorm what is known about a topic. They should categorize what is
prior knowledge, predict or anticipate what the text might be about, and create questions to be answered.
During reading, have the class discuss the information, write responses to their questions, and organize
the information.

This strategy may be done on a sheet with three columns: Know, Want to Know, Learned. Guide the
instruction the first few times it is used. Modeling is effective for the initial use.
 Language Arts
Know Want to know Learned

nouns adverbs modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb

pronouns prepositions combines with noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent
verbs proper pronunciation correct use of commas, colons, semicolons,
quotation marks

Social Studies
Topic: Ancient Egypt

Know Want to know Learned

pharaohs Why did they mummify people? Believed in an afterlife
buried dead

pyramid How long did it take to build a pyramid? sometimes a lifetime

Mummified people

Mapping
Mapping provides a visual guide for students to clarify textual information such as characters, setting,
problems, reactions, and outcome. This strategy allows you to visually determine students’ comprehension,
and it provides students with a strategy that they can use on their own when they are dealing with other
topics.

Procedure
Model an example of a map for students, talking through each step and having students assist in filling in
the different areas. After comprehension of this strategy is assured, have students complete various maps
on their own.
Language Arts
Characters:_______________________________________________________________
Setting: Place_____________________________________________ Time: ___________
Problem: ________________________________________________________________
Events: __________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Resolution:________________________________________________________________
Outcome: ________________________________________________________________

Social Studies
Topic: Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs medicines pyramids afterlife gods
mummification
__________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ________
__________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ________

Social Studies
Topic: States of Matter
Solids:______________________________________________________________________
Liquids:_____________________________________________________________________
Gases:______________________________________________________________________

Assessment
Evaluate students’ maps to determine level of comprehension by the percentage of correct responses.
PLAN
This is a graphic organizer in which students create a map to visually organize and better understand the
information that has been covered.

Procedure
There are four steps in this process:
[P]redict the content/structure by using chapter titles and subheadings.
[L]ocate known and unknown information. Students can indicate this by placing a __ by things they
know and a ? by things they do not know.
[A}dd words or phrases to the ? as students locate information about the topic.
[N]ote new understanding of information and use it in instruction.
Social Studies
Language Arts
PARTS OF SPEECH CULTURES OF THE WORLD

article?
noun adverb
social groups? religion?
preposition?
adjective pronoun
verb Economic political
Systems? systems?
connotation? conjunction? language
denotation?

Mat
Scienc
WAVES GEOMETR

vibrations trough
? ?
amplitude volum area
? cres
t
wavelength shape
?
Characteristics measurement
? formulas

Evaluate the answers that individual students provide to the questions in their organizer.