3.

4 Teaching Reading

Like listening, reading is a receptive skill. Reading offers many benefits

for EFL students besides the obvious ones. These include:

 exposes students to ways of life, ideas and knowledge

about the world which may be different from those
which surround them in their daily lives

 leads to more highly-developed overall language skills

 helps students learn new words and unconsciously

absorb information on how to use language more
effectively

 strengthens and builds new brain connections

 improves concentration

 relaxes the body and calms the mind

Reasons for Teaching Reading

Reading is used in many settings including academically, at

work, in research, in daily life situations (a menu in a
restaurant, emails), surfing the web, filling in forms,
instructions, application forms and more.
Proficiency in reading is strongly correlated with success in learning a
second language. Being able to read in English will enhance other EFL
skills such as:

 Enhancing Vocabulary Knowledge - Understanding

the meanings of unfamiliar words from context,
exposure to how words are used in different contexts,
and visual recognition and memory of words are all
positive effects of reading.

 Understanding & Improving Writing – Sentence

construction, proper grammar and usage, correct
spelling, correct punctuation, paragraph development
and transitions, correct capitalization, etc. can all be
improved from reading various texts, which also serve
as good models for English writing.

Reasons for Teaching Reading - Continued

 Provoking Discussion – Good pieces of reading

material can stimulate the imagination and influence
thought-provoking conversations, interesting lessons in
class, and more creative writing ideas.

 Recognizing Expressions – Reading books can

introduce students to phrasal expressions and other
idiomatic language that is used when speaking.
  Pronunciation & Rhythm – Practicing reading aloud
can help students improve their intonation and stress
within sentences. Various reading exercises, such as
highlighting or capitalizing stressed words within a
passage, are an effective strategy to help develop
students' speaking skills.

 Comprehension Speed & Productivity Increase –

Studies show that students who are taught different
reading strategies are able to comprehend more quickly,
and consume more information in less time. This
prepares students for the high volumes of research and
coursework material demanded of them at the collegiate
level and at the workplace.

Reading Sub-Skills

Reading utilizes sub-skills which can be developed and enhanced with

proper training. The sub-skills required depend on the purpose of the
reading. In our native language, we naturally utilize the following
reading skills depending on what and why we are reading:

 Scan – We scan a text when seeking specific

information (reading for detail) in an article while
researching, such as key words, dates, names,
places and/or other details within a text, without
reading every word. For example: When looking
through a telephone book directory for someone’s phone
number/name/address, trying to find the definition of a
particular word in a dictionary, or trying to find the time
 of the next train on a train timetable, we would
quickly scan through to find the specific information.

Reading Sub-Skills - Continued

 Skim – We skim a text when we are quickly

reading to find the general idea (the gist) or
general topic points without spending too much
time reading every word to understand specific
details. For example: While sitting in the doctor’s office
waiting room, one might pick up a magazine or
newspaper and skim through the various articles inside,
looking for an interesting one to read more
thoroughly. Skimming may also be performed while
reading (an article or novel) in detail, when coming to a
point that doesn’t seem to have a substantial
importance in understanding the overall meaning of the
text, such as a long description of the landscapes in a
novel, or an insignificant comment made by a random
bystander within a news article. Another situation may
be during an interview, an employer
typically skims over an interviewee’s resume while
questioning them, rather than reading it word-for-word.

Reading Sub-Skills - Continued

It is common for EFL learners to ignore the above mentioned reading

sub-skills (which they use in their own native languages) and
use intensive reading. They try and understand every English word
they read, regardless of the reading goals.
  Intensive Reading – Reading each word of a
sentence carefully within a text, looking for
specific information. It is not practical in most real
world reading situations, but is useful for
classroom purposes. EFL teachers assign short,
challenging texts for students in order to
introduce and reinforce vocabulary, sentence
construction, functional language, grammar points,
and format. For example: Students
may intensively read textbooks, as they are typically
followed by details and comprehension questions.

 Extensive Reading – This is the type of reading

that we do during our leisure time. Extensive
reading involves reading longer texts to
understand deeper meaning and subliminal
messages within stories, articles, blogs, critiques,
poetry, novels, or other texts that we read by
choice. For example: Before going to sleep or while
lying in the park on a sunny day, a lot of people like to
read a few chapters from a novel or maybe an in-depth
magazine article for pleasure, in which case they are
performing extensive reading.

3.4 Reading Sub-Skills - Continued

Test Results
EFL teachers can use a variety of exercises to target and train the sub-
skills necessary for reading success. Take a look at the following
exercises and determine which sub-skills are being tested:
 1.Read the text to find antonyms of the following
words: dangerous, unite, and create.

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading

 2.Read the story and summarize the storyline by listing the

setting, problem, rising action, and resolution.

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading

 3.Read the newspaper article and choose the title that fits best.

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading

 4.Read the story and write down all the countries the
characters travel through.

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading

 5.Read the first three chapters of a novel for pleasure.

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading

 6.Read the article and determine what type of audience you

think it was written for?

 Skimming
 Scanning
 Intensive Reading
 Extensive Reading
 Intensive Reading vs. Extensive Reading
 Teaching Vocabulary via Reading

One of the most positive effects of reading is natural vocabulary learning, recognition and retention. When
teachers preteach vocabulary that students encounter in their readings, there is a higher chance for retention.
Complete vocabulary comprehension involves knowing a word's meaning and its function. Several factors
complicate vocabulary comprehension because many words in the English language:

o have more than one meaning

o have similar sounds to other words spelt differently with different meanings

o can be used differently in different contexts

o can have a different meaning when used metaphorically

Teaching Vocabulary via Reading

Full comprehension of vocabulary includes:

 Knowing synonyms (words with similar meaning) and antonyms (words with opposite
meaning) of a word. For example:

o The boy was happy with his new bike.

The boy was content with his new bike. (synonym)

o She ran quickly into the house.

She ran slowly into the house. (antonym)

 Recalling and using the word with correct meaning and form. For example:

o Correct usage: I finished my assignment on time.

o Incorrect usage: The teacher didn’t assignment any homework today.

Teaching Vocabulary via Reading – Continued

 Being able to spell a word correctly

 Knowing verb + preposition relationships. For example:

o account + for something/someone

o adjust + to something/someone
 o approve + of something/someone

o depend + on something/someone

o disagree + with something/someone

o belong + to something/someone

As a lead-in to reading exercises, teachers utilize different strategies to clarify unfamiliar words.

Start by generating a list of words that are unfamiliar to our students in order to discuss their meanings and
function prior to commencing actual readings.

Defining Vocabulary

 The definition should consist of simple language that will be understood by the level of students
you teach

o Incorrect example: ‘arbitrary – contingent based solely upon one’s discretion’

o Correct example: ‘arbitrary – determined by chance, not by necessity’

 Give the proper meaning of the word as it is used in the text

o From text: The butcher weighed the meat on the scale.

o Incorrect meaning: ‘scale - thin bony plates protecting the skin of fish/reptiles’

o Correct meaning: ‘scale - a machine for determining the weight of an object’

 Use the word in an example sentence that clearly shows its meaning

o Incorrect sentence: The bike is rusty.

o Correct sentence: The bike is rusty from sitting outside in the rain for two years.

 Provide and drill students with the correct pronunciation of the words from the list so they can
be read more fluently when encountered in the text

 Introduce synonyms, antonyms, and usage of the new vocabulary to reinforce comprehension
when encountered in the text

o Synonyms: ‘ecstatic – joyous, overjoyed, blissful’ (adjective)

o Antonyms: ‘ecstatic – depressed, apathetic, down’ (adjective)

 Defining Vocabulary

During the reading exercise, point out how the vocabulary is used in context. Afterwards, the understanding of
the words can be further reinforced through:

 Comprehension check questions -

Ex. In the story, who did the bus driver think was humorous? A: the young boy

 Have students use the new words in their responses to reading comprehension questions -
Ex. What did the bus driver think about the young boy? A: The bus driver thought the young
boy was humorous.

 Having students identify their use and meaning in example sentences -

Ex. The comedian made everyone in the audience laugh because of his ______________
personality. A: humorous

During reading, when students encounter these words again, their meanings and functions within different
contexts will serve to solidify their comprehension of the vocabulary.

Beginner to Intermediate Levels - Continued

Graded readers (books simplified for EFL students) are recommended to encourage extensive reading outside
of the classroom. When guided reading is performed in class, higher level texts can be used because the
teacher explains difficult words and discusses content with the class.

Upper Intermediate to Advanced Levels

The more vocabulary and authentic English material students are exposed to, the further we can progress
towards reading more extensive, challenging texts such as:

 novels
  newspaper/ magazine articles

 blogs

 reports

 articles

 poems

 literature

 etc.

These can be used for intensive reading, extensive reading, and sub-skills training exercises.