Reading Skill

MARIA BHUIYAN
LECTURER, DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES
KHULNA UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (KUET)
 o READING

o STUDYING

o PREVIEWING

PREDICTING
Tactics & Skills of
o

Reading o INFERENCE

o SKIMMING

o SCANNING
 Reading vs Studying
Basis of Comparison Reading
Definition A process of going through a
topic/text to gather basic
information and idea.
Requirements Less energy, attention, time, and
devotion required
Tasks Involved Reading Newspaper, FB post, work
of fiction (for pleasure)
Memorization Memorization of information is
optional
Complexity Less complex topics are dealt with
Studying
A type of reading activity requiring
time and serious devotion to
understand a specific/complex
concept/text/topic.
More energy, attention, time, and
devotion required
Research work and learning
requires studying. Studying a
fiction for passing exam
Learning by heart or remembering
exact information is essential
Complex topics are dealt with
 Studying vs Reading

 Example of Studying:
Reading for exam, research work, assignment.

 Example of Reading:
Reading a newspaper, FB post, film poster, poetry, novel (for pleasure),
journal, magazine, and reading for fun.
 Previewing

❑ Dictionary meaning - to see beforehand, to view in advance

❑ Definition – getting familiar with text before reading it which “enables readers to get a
sense of what the text is about and how it is organized before reading it closely”
(Salisbury University, 7 Critical Reading Strategies).

❑ Before approaching a text, a great deal of information about it can be obtained by

previewing, i.e. by considering the clues given in the title, the blurb, the table of
contents, the index and any illustrations. Further information can be obtained from
prefaces, introductions, bibliographies or even acknowledgements.
 Predicting

 Dictionary meaning – assuming the content and topic of the text

 It calls the readers to take an informed guess that might be in the text from the
structure/form, title, picture, illustrations, graphs, writer’s bio, and reader’s personal
experience.

 Definition – “Prediction” is a pre-reading strategy in which readers try to guess what

they are going to read. This helps activate their schemata, or the assumptions we make
on the world from what we have already experienced and how our minds organize
these assumptions and experiences (TESOL 201.)
 Previewing & Predicting

 Title

 Blurb (the information on the back of a

book or on the inside cover)  Prefaces
 Table of contents  Introduction
 Index  Bibliographies
 Illustrations  Acknowledgement

 Structure
 Previewing using titles and headings:

Look at the following titles or headings and write

down what you think is the key content of each
5. On the road with scrap and
book or article.
straw
1. Blueprint for Greentown?
6. The Grapes of Wrath
2.Love’s Real Estate 7. Our Troubled Kids

3. If it wasn’t for the jokes 8. Convoy to Nowhere

4. Boat People Adrift in London
Here is a list of the actual subjects of each of the books or
articles. See if you can match them with the titles or
headings.

A. A caring religious community

B. Vietnamese refugees who arrived by sea

C. The gypsy way of life

D. A modern hippie commune that’s lost its way

E. An ecological community for the future

F. Community help for juveniles

G. Humour in the language of miners

H. A dispossessed community fruit-picking in California

 Pause and Think!

How many did you get right?

Which title was the easiest to suggest a

subject?

Which has been the hardest?

Previewing Using Illustration
 Let’s Practice More!

See Worksheet 1 : Reading Skill

Inference

 Dictionary Meaning - a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and

reasoning.
 Example –
All human are mortal
Socrates is human
--
Socrates must die.

 Definition - An inference is an idea or conclusion that's drawn from

evidence and reasoning. An inference is an educated guess
(vocabulary.com).
 Inference: When & How to use it?

 Unfamiliar Words

One of the major causes of worry for foreign language readers is what to do about unfamiliar
words. The automatic reaction - to reach for dictionary – is not only time-consuming and eventually
demotivating, but also often unnecessary. (There is certainly a time and place for using a
dictionary. But judiciously.) It is frequently possible to deduce the meaning of an unfamiliar word
from a variety of clues- its place and function in the sentence, a possible similarity to words in other
languages and, above all its context. Deducing the meaning of unfamiliar words using these clues
is one kind of inference.
 Inference: When & How to use it?

 Implied Meaning

At a deeper level, every writer requires the reader to be able to deduce meaning which
is not explicitly stated. The writer expects the reader to get from the text a certain
amount of information which is not spelt out but which at the same time should be quite
clear. This is popularly called ‘reading between the lines’ – it means understanding that
which is only implied. This is another kind of inference, but operating on a larger scale
than that of the individual unfamiliar word.
 Skimming

 Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning. It can be contrasted with
scanning, which is reading in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.

 Example:

A learner taking a reading exam decides to approach text by looking at the title, introductions, and any diagrams
and sub-headings, then skim reading to get a clear general idea of what the text is about.

 In the classroom

Skimming is a specific reading skill which is common in reading newspapers, messages and e-mails. It is important
that learners understand that there is no need to read every word when skimming, so often teachers set this as a
timed task to encourage speed.
 Scanning

 Scanning is reading a text quickly in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names. It
can be contrasted with skimming, which is reading quickly to get a general idea of meaning.

 Example

A learner taking a reading test needs to scan a text on population rates quickly to find out if a series of
statements about the population figures are true or false.

 In the classroom

As the above example shows, scanning is a specific reading skill which is often used in combination with
others such as skimming and intensive reading. Learners need to learn different ways and understand that
choosing how to read is an important step in building reading skills.
 Practice : Skimming & Scanning

See Worksheet 1 : Reading Skill

Reference:

Reading Skill by Prof. Mashrur Shahid Hossain (July 2004)

7 Critical Reading Strategies by Salisbury University
TESOL 2018
Pictures and emoticons are collected from various web resources.

***This PowerPoint is created originally by Maria Bhuiyan for Course HUM 1215
Technical English. Therefore, any unauthorized distribution or duplication is strictly
prohibited.