CHAPTER — 12 Reading Skills “Read in the name of thy Lord ......” is the opening line of the verse The Clor (Al-Alaq), from The Holy Quran. Reading, here, sug comprehension. It is not just identifving the written symbéls but acquiring knowledge through the process that involve (@ mesial faculty leading to comprehension (urglerstanding), ‘The most acceptable definition of reading is the process by which swe make sense oF text. Th receptive skill has two important aspects The ability to recognize the letters of the alphabet or the graphic marks, ii, Understanding the message or grasping the information or comprehension. Reading Comprehension: By comprehension, it is meant, the degree to which the reader is, able fo extract relevant information from a text. During the process of reading, an encoder and a décoder get involved in the sending and reception of the message respectively. The encoder is the writer who acts as the' sender of the message, and decoder is the reader who acts as 2 recipient. Reading requires the reconstruction of the message. It demands thinking and planning on the part of the reader. The reader has to dis*inguish core of the text from the supporting ideas and at the same time he has to recognize the hidden meanings. The total act of reading is a “decision-making” process as the reader attempts to discover meaning according to his own sense.Bits of information Bracketing with inshor-term memory already stored fof the reaer ioveege in Jong ter memory Fig 11.1 Reading comprehension ‘During the process of reading, the reader: 1. reccives the image of words/symbols through eyes as visual information (if he is blind, he detects it through touch): 2, ‘The segments 6f information are held, for a short time, in the short-term memory; 3. the information is transferred to long-term memory where the fresh information is inked with already stored knowledge. If there is any information gap in the input data the reader can bridge it with already stored knowledge, making a sense of the message conveyed io him through written symbols. Ae reading requires an understanding on the part of the reader, the sub-skills of reading—skinning and scanning help the reader to comprehend the text with appropriate speed of reading. Skimming: Skimming means to go through the text quickly to grasp the overall meaning or gist of it. Iris to extract the main theme or the core of the text hy a quick reading process. The reader does not pronounce each and every word of the text, rather he focuses his attention on the subject matter, an overall view of the text, and prepares himself to answer such questions: 1. Summarize the given text 2. Give main points of the text. 3. Rewrite the subject matter in your own words. 4. Give a suitable title to the given passage. 5, Extract the central idea of the text. ‘Such questions inlicate that skiriming is like global listening. 141 How Skimming takes place: 1. Be attentive to the clues and indicators like titles, headings, ‘subheadings and typographical indicators (words in italics or bold letters).of important ideas. 2, Iman essay, read the first and the last paragraph to grasp the subject matter with clarity of concept. Read the first sentence of each paragraph, as 2 thesis statement or a topic sentence that means the sentence containing the ‘stand-point’ or ‘main idea’ 4. Look at pictures and diagrams with captions or words written below them: 5, Note numbers, date and words that seem important. ‘The sub-skill of reading by which the reader collects a particular information from the given text is known as scanning. The technique of scanning involves the ability to reject or ignore irrelevant information. In order to locate a specific piece of information, the reader has to go through the text quickly and focus his attention on the relevant part of the text. For example: i. Look up a word in the dictionary for meanings. ii, Search out a telephone number in the directory: fii, Find out result of a candidate from the Gazette jv. Locate weather conditions or functions in town in the newspaper. v. Extract the list of works from the biographical sketch of a waiter. Procedure for Scanning: 1. The required information has to be kept in the mind of the reader, 2° Decide which clues will be helpful in finding out the specific information 3. A brisk eye movement on the pages of the text 4. Read that part of the text which contains the clues leading to the required information.142 The clues which help the reader to find out a particular piece of information may be a full Sentence, some words, 2 single word, @ puncwation mark, alphabetical order, or numbers etc The development of scanning skill needs taining of eyes to move quickly, looking for the clues related to the required information. Scanning is useful to answer the questions such as: 1 Fill in the blanks. Mark True or False. 3. Cross Matching 4. Multiple Choice Items 3. Short answer/question Reading Speed: If we keep in our mind the following important points about reading we can develop a foundational work: 10 enhance reading speed; Reading is: © Anvuctive as well as a receptive skit + Decoding 2 message * Extracting information from a text * Getting specific questions answered. + Making sense of the text an interactive process + Predicting and interpreting + Referring to and inferring information from text. + A constant process of guessing + Constant making and remaki ig oF hypothesis ‘The following principles of teaming 10 read may also be considered as pre-tequisite for developing appropriate speed in reading i. The reader must develop an appreciation of the pleasure of : written language ji, The learner needs to develop the basic sense of what print looks like and how it works. : techniques to enhance r. _esniques to enhance readi iii, He has to develop the ability’ 0 think about words us a sequence of phonemes or building blocks ol spoke language. He should understand that sentences are mat. up of strings of separate words. iv, Awareness of spelling pattems that recur across words hastens progress in reading. ¥. Although the ability to sound out words is important for leaming to read, itis not enough, Written language is 10t just speech written down, Instead text brings new vocabulary new language pattems new thoughts etc. The reader must also learn to take the time to reflect on these aspects of the text Finally, we shall consider some practicable suggestions and eacling speed 1, First Reading in Chunks: In this technique our eyes take the view of group of lelters aun! words. The reader should develop the ability 1 read in chunks-—to take in four or five words in a single eye glance. 2. Inferring the Meaning There is no need to stop at difficult words just 10 look up their meaning in a dictionary. The difficulty can be faced by guessing tne ‘meanings of the words, keeping in view the context of their use. IF the and context to guess the reader develops the skill to use clues, structur meaning, the interest in reading can be maintaindgglongwith improvement of reading speed, 3. > Previewing: The reader should snake himself conscious of the layout, heading subheadings, paragraph indentations and various type-faces or fonts composing the text. Paying attention to the printed format cun spood up reading comprehension, 4. Anticipation Ifthe reader prepares himself to guess what is likely’ to occur weal in the text, he can improve the speed of reading. This is some sori o anticipation while reading the text. He can use certain clues like the title and sub-litles etc, that may give him an idea about the chapter ov contents of the book.144 TEPER E Hee eeieeee ees) #8 ee 5 Silent Reading: Loud reading reduces the speed of reading as each word has to be pronounced according to stress and intonation patterns. Silent reading is recommended to save time by establishing # direct link between visual mnd comprehension. It-wil certainly enhance the speed of reading. impac 6 Skimming: i ¢ eased. It is to 20 By skimming. the speed of reading can be increased, , through the text quickly to get a general understanding. One of the easiest scaye to skimread is to look at the centre section of a text and then to run the eyes down the centre area. It is not reading every word but reading very quickly to get general ideas about a text. 7. Scanning: Reading quickly for a specific piece of information also increases the speed of reading. The unnecessary parts of the text are not paid rion, therefore reading speed gets enhanced & SQ3R: SO3R ic a systematic process of reading by which reading speed as \vell as comprehension (understanding) can be enhanced S stands for survey fe tion PHOTO STATE POINT © stands for question BaaaTe FOIR First mnds for POSTGRADUATE COLLEGE, je i ate FOR WOMEN, RAWALPINDI Second stands for recall rabnawazawan23@amall.com Third R stands fro review In the first stage, the reader collects general information through a survey of the text. It is some sort of skimming in its nature. The reader Jooks at the lay-ont, tities, sub-titles, table of contents, and illustrations ete. to geta general impression of the text In the second stage, the reader makes questions (in his mind) related to the text. It is to make sure that he is going to involve in a purposeful study and will try to find out answers to the questions arising in Hie mind In the third stage, the reader hegins reading the text. This reading is an intensive reading in which the reader concentrates on the script punctuation merks, variations in type (or composing), the way the paragraphs are formed, etc. 145 In the fourth stage, the reader stops actual readi mind whatever he has read so far. He tries to bring bai has extracted from the text and recalls to his to mind what he In the fifth stage. the reader gets indulged in the process of “review”. This isa repetition of the steps: i Survey ii ili, Reading iv Questioning Recalling This last stage ensures an understanding of the text and also enhances the speed of purposefil reading Faulty Reading Habits: Most of the students in Pakistan do not enjoy reading books, rather they take them for examination purpose as a burden. Moreover, when they start reading they face many problems due to their faulty reading habits. If they set aside their faulty reading habits they will feel comfortable with the textual material and enjoy reading Here, we try to identify some faulty reading habits which are creating problems for the students. 1. Finger Movement Some students move their finger along the line of the text. This finger-move habit is not good for reading. The students should keepin ‘heir mind that reading is lines with eye movement, not finger movement 2. Head Movement: During reading some students are found moving their heads and this movement inereasés when they try to learn something by heart. The hnead movement is to be avoided as it inhibits reading speed. Moreo. cr vision gets disturbed as the eves are denied natural fixations. 3. Vocalisation: Reading is not some sort of developing speaking skill. It is concemed with comprehension of the text after identifying the written symbols. Therefore, reading aloud or vocalizing the written text is a bad habit and this habit retards reading speed tc a great extend. 4. Lips Movement: Many readers do not, produce the words in any audible way, even then they move their lips and mouth the words. This may be called sub- vocalisation and such habit is also » faulty reading habit146 Reading should be the eye contact and activation of faculty of mind to associate the symbols with meanings. It demands understanding ie reader tough the shortest way Reading without Understanding: Some students are in the habit of reading without making a conscious effor: to understand the text. They read just for the sake of going through the pages but they go not,gather any information or knowledge fom the writen material, Their minds remain bianl:. If they: develop the habit of skimming ‘and scanning, they can utilize the time and energy in a better way. 6. Reading without awareness of objectives: readers:get involved in actual reading, without knowing the purpose and objective of reading. Therefore, they remain unable to form questions in their mind, the answers of which they want to find out in the ext. It is necessary to set aside the habit of reading without awareness of its objectives Some 7. Word by Word Reading: ‘The habit of word by word reading instead of taking words in chunks is also « faulty habit of reading. Word by word reading is a time consuming ‘process and it retards tie reading speed too. Reading in chunks, the recommended styie of reading, is to be developed by the students 0° readers e 8. Reading without guessing meanings: ‘Mos! of the studemts use dictionaries frequently during reading, when they face difficult wort and phrases. This exercise intrups reading and sometimes the students feel the text as a burden, They lose interest in readirig and eventually stop reading the text Ak is Just because of their habit of not using inferring technique most essential for developing reading skill ‘These are some of the faulty reading habits which the students should discard for developing reading skills which is Strategies to enhance reading Skills: The term ‘strategy’ is used to describe what is involved when we tty to solve any problematic situation. For example when a student faces problem of difficult words and phrases, ic is suggested to use the strategy of making guesses from the context, It is an eflective strategy of reading, 447 San Ae Good readers have a wide range of effective approaches to texts and they can chouse a strategy suitable to-a given text. One of tue goals of foreign Janguage reading instruction is to provide students with as many strategies as possible 1. Use previous knowledge to predict what is presented iu the following text ‘Skip same difficult parts of the text but get the outline of the text. 3. Guess unknown words and phrases by using the clues or context. 4. Realise what are important parts in # text and leave out automatically the unimportant ones. 5. Do not dependent on text information through botion-up Processing but utilize actively top-down processing, The imagination of the reader is very important during reading, and this vicarious reading is an effective strategy 6. Change reading strategies according 10 the nature of text There are different kinds of text and strategies of reading should differ according to the kinds of text 7. Take the reading of text actively. Activating schemata is especially useful for foreign language learners, According to Schema theory, readers acquire information from text not passively but actively. Inference, generalization and personal-involvement make good readers 8. SQ3R formula (described cailier) is also a good strategy 10 ‘enhance reading skills. Activities to develop reading—based on authentic material: Activity: Check your reading speed by using the following formula 60 x 1o1al No. of Wor Words per minute Th ne in seconds ; ot | Scale of Speed in Words per minute: | 170-200 Slow j | 250-300 Above average 300-400 Past | j S00-alows ~ Vat Pan148 Cu commana Fly ot fe sutnnes propre Iie us ome ofthe ladys com. mitted ty responsi econ ee er teal eel eneoresaal pl Ges end precios F OUNDED in) 3897 and 9 “We are prom ofthe paren Beco Dictinon ed tots wit nea alien nenal, culrinal and socal tv thet serves heabhcare 1 plobal medical tech- and we celebrate the diferente rll imprest healt workne eget berg of teeiworite ts becetng wth teen ely all people ve health ely all eee Ogee? BO near 1 to help all people lead he s with organiza: leads us to seek out partnershir tions and institutions that share this world view To ensure sustained progress toward that goal committed to responsible economic ‘octal, andl environmental policies and practices we are Tite hb, we bebeve tt eve. solgti’ nd’ BD Unijcet a [pariershine with sense: wt she 0 ee el pvall phe ive eaten 148 LOS ANGELES. june 27:A bomb threat ngninst President George AW. Bush and his "fewish pang’ scrawled ine authorities to shut down part of a mnator California port on Monee tunel investigators determined that na epinsives wercon the revont Officials shu down a terminal ar Por: Hueneme, show Stick orth of Los Anpeles, after a dock worker discovered the mein inside the refiizerated cargo ship, arriving from Cuaternala si load of banana, Laura Esmil ® spokeswoman for the PBI, said the threat. whi! metal pillar in the hold of the ship. the: Mild Lat: read: “nitro + glycerin, 2 gift for gw bush and his jewish gang, Nitroglvcerine is an explosive liquid that can be used! to manufac ture explosives like dynamite and for const purposes Authorities initially said that the entire port was shut down a: Precaution but tater said that only the termunal and surroundiny rea were closed to civilian traffie while bomb squads searched. tr explosives, Bomb-sniffing dogs were used 16 search the ship.“several sw rounding vessels, cargo and buildings. Divers inspected the hall the ship, AUS. Coast Guard spokesman said ship had Panamanian regis but had last docked in Guatemala, An investigation wits undenvrs State officials who assess possible threats discounted a Link to te rorism, but said they would monitor the situation, “We don't see any apparent connection to terrorism.” saiel Chri Bertelli, 9 spokesman for the California Office ol Homclan The port of Hueneme. 60 miles (96 km) north of Los Angeles, i the only commercial deep water port between Lins Angeles ant sar Francisco and serves as 9 point of impor: atic expor" tor auton ion and demolition ‘oll. bbut despite a series of security improvements since Sept. 11, 20 Z,ineloding phvsical security, ship tracking and identification pr cedures — officials say large gaps remain m the long supply cham between the origin of goods and their final destination, ‘About 10,000 different ships make roughly 72,000 port calls in the United States each year. Only 5 percent of the roughly 9 million con tainers that come to the United States are examined pon arrica Officials check them based largely on risk assessments Reuters150 — Activity H: Skimming c Read the following passage A,B,C, an give a gist of the text of each ii give a title to each passage A LAHORE, aug 28: Lahore the maoss WRZ™Wating ot che ras and sein ‘Samo natn nealelien "a Sot ieee ts mame {iG aad frau Daag” cf Als qld ad gel re vata wih Goren Rhona! sof iehceayececiicasce Spite et memaicens of B. EARLIER ths oar mei organ ‘Ary Gen. Alberto Gonzales td a Sposa ‘Bot tw Bat nemiernon ba Dereuaded v2 federal Jadge te ‘Acted, Ve, te aban ene est i Ease hs mente US Danse age TS Bilis raed. thatthe sce Depart cul put yea Allaire Commute en trl ac vila ing ‘the Eaprnage ces profiager Steven). Rese end eis Weis ‘aa linge rceveda ist shar US pay pace ‘Salpeondconvaped te hel tor Elis ruled” that the ferment wed te the sary of the Untied onze tine was ela to the raeea defence et tre fund uly en ager cours Upheld tine” couvictonn the Elpanage Act cold na iu © Ether Ota Secrest ful be el gant arabs "Tat outcome eal fey te face the hiory ofthe Eapanage het ‘woul have pnithed rewespapers or Sine be ual od ste” Coaster te arches tae lard the Bosh adasrtion ant the i eae aa te “ert Tomar and tis newspaper about eee tan wer In 175 Ten assem!152 153 ; Scanning ‘Women Unlimited (india) are publishing Muneora Shams fs i Tocizes on Pakistan women writers tn toda wold its almoet a if eng 4 i pecific information asked to collect from each cutting /text cular Paldatant women works ageinst you. I voxte todian or Afpian Re neater received (Bunting Fellowship 3 oa], anil recently, the Telien ; A jo Yes, I cant compl been translated and published in over 20 Tanguages andl have pane pe ee Seen corer aeons ee eh hey : own seuneaa Edi |E. = | Beag = | Reese oleh | §Ssee oe Sees feemurmce | eee [ET 4 z 88 § E sera \ j j | i. Find out telephone number of Rescue. ii, Whose numiberis 5417440? What is the phone number of Punjab University? Make a list of numbers beginning with digit 9 Whose telephone number is 13337 vi Make a list of three digit numbers155 i eet eeenge eric aeeeee rete Javed Omer Vhora & Co Arif Habib Securities Bank of Punjab NIB Bank ii, Give information abput ‘closing’ of the following Pak Strategic Allocation Islamic Inv Bank Union Leasing os Mie | BE. Modaraba Ree i. ‘On which day the rates were offered? d iii, Pick out commercial banks reflecting ‘volume':O. ii, Which city the inter-bank rates belong 0? iv, Write the names of Mutual Funds reflecting 0,00 Change iii. _ What was the 9-month bid? V. Give rates of stock exchange fro Bank Alfalah fy Whee weak the oferta 2 pent Vic Write the name of the Commercial Bank with highest il i volume. Vrite bid and offer for 6-month. | ate Cee a vii. Enlist all the categories mentioned in the news item. vi. Point out bids exceeding digit 10.00. a Activities to develop reading—based on literary text: {ou Read the following passage taken from the literary text and answer the questions given below l 1 Hi Hl She suffered incessantly, feeling herself born for all delicacies and = ee: | | huxuses, She suffered ffom the poverty of her apartment, the Shabby fumarate F | Walls, the wom chairs andthe faded stuffs. Ail the things which another Se ig: woman of her station would not have notice, tortured snd angered h - hlnamasenaenn se me The sight the little Breton, who made this humble home, awoke in her sad regrets and desperate dreams. She thought of quiet amtechambers with their oriental hangings lighted by high broze torches and oft great foot men in short trousers who sleep in the large armchairs, madle sleepy oy the heavy air from the heating apparatus. She thought of large drawing rooms hung in oil silks, of graceful pieces of furniture carrying bric-a-brac of inestimable value and of the little perfumed coquettish apartments made for five o’clock chats with most intimate ft known and sought after, whose attemtion ali women envied and desired ds, meu156 I 457, ‘Ouestions: Write True or False What impression do you get about the character described in this text Which elass ‘she belongs to a nobility by upper middle class dle class. 6: lower middle class joxuce a gist of the passage in your own words. Infer the meanings of the words as they are used in the text: coquettish; intimate; envied incessantly: oriental; inestimaby Give synonyms of the following: suffered: shabby; desperate; graceful; faded; regrets Give a title to this passage (Oiher than the Necklace). a) Franzeis little boy. b) The national language of the speaker seems to be English ©) Franz is declared “the chieF culprit” 4) The Frenchmen were the ‘foreigners. 4, Write the theme of this passage. Give a title to this passage, Activity IN: Read these lines taken from a poem and answer the questions given below: The nineteenth Autumn has come upon me Since I first made my count, saw, before I had well finished, Activity HE: All suddenly mount Read the passage taken from literary text and answer the questions And scatter wheeling in great broken tings piven below Upon their clamorous wings T shall not chide thee, my little Franz; thy punishment Questions: will be great enough. So it is! We say to ourselves each 1, Paraphrase this stanza day, “Bah! I have time enough. I will learn to-morrow" What does “nineteenth Auturm” indicate? ‘And now see what results. Ab. it has ever been the yng see Aa oe Make more rhyming words with count and rings. greatest misforine of ou Alsace that she was willing to put off learning till to-morrow! And now these foreigners | 4. Comment on the theme of the given lines. can say fo us, and justly, ‘what! You profess 10 be ‘ . ; : Frenchmen, and can neither speak nor write your own ‘Whatimprenrion above the port do yos! get language?” And in all this, my poor Franz. You are nol 6. What do you understand by the line: the chief culprit. Each of us has something to reproach, i naa atiereueaine (heel eae tineye himself with, | Can you suggest a title to this stanza (other than given by the poet)? Iv: Read the following verses and answer the questions given below Onestions: | What is “Alsace”? Activ Guess the speaker of the passage Ne aeons eee ier Whose woods these are I think I know His house is in the village though c) anarmyofficer. ~—d)_— a teacher He will not see me stopping here158 To watch his woods fil-up with snow My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farm house near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year He gives his hamess bells a shake ‘To ask if there is some mistake Questions: 1, Fillin the bianks: i, Whose __ these are ___ think I know. ii, He will notsee__ stopping here fii, To wateh his fill up with iv. Hegiveshis__ ells a shake. v. To ask if there is some Whose house is in the villag Guess what is described by ‘He’ in the line He gives his harness bells a shake 4, Why did the speaker stop near woods’ 5. Enlist rhyming words for: Below; queer; lake Rewrite these lines in simple prose, Activity V: Read the following passage and answer the questions given under Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out hhim cagerly upon her open palm, The dull precious met seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit. “Isn’t 1t a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it, You'll have to look at the time # hundred times @ day now Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it.” ; Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch i i 4 4159 S Questions: 1 What was the present for Jim? What relationship do you guess between Jim and the woman? Express the sentiments of the woman for Jim Why did Jim put his hands under the back of his head’? ‘Skim through this text and give a gist of it Give this passage a suitable title.