Reviewer for 21st Century Literature of the Philippines and the World

Reading Approach

Teachers use reading approach as one of the methods in teaching English. This approach is
one way of solving student’s reading problems. Students are demanded to read more to
improve their knowledge and get new ideas. Inferencing, guessing and predicting are
important skills developed in reading. By reading, students will know about the different of
culture by reading across cultural understanding, and they will learn how to pronounce the
words correctly. In reading approach, students are expected to improve their English skills.

Skimming

In skimming, the main idea of a text is quickly identified. The goal is to read shorter texts to
extract accurate detailed information. Skimming is done at speed three to four times faster
than regular reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited
amount of time. Some students will read the first and last paragraphs using headings,
summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. Some might also
read the title, subtitles, subheadings, and illustrations. Other people consider reading the
first sentence of each paragraph. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It
might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts. This technique is useful when you are
seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension.

Scanning

Scanning is quickly reading a text to get the summary of it. It is a technique wherein students
search for keywords or ideas. Scanning involves moving eyes quickly down the page seeking
specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used for the reader to find answers to
questions. Once a student scanned the document, they will go back and skim it.

Extensive reading

Extensive reading is an approach to language learning, including foreign language learning,

by means of a large amount of reading. The readers view and review of unfamiliar words in a
specific context will allow the reader to infer the word’s meaning, to learn unknown words.
Extensive Reading is the free reading of books and other written material that is not too
difficult for readers. Extensive Reading is sometimes called Free Voluntary Reading.
Graphic fiction or a graphic novel is a comic book narrative that is equivalent in form and
dimension to the prose novel (Campbell 200, 81). The pictures are arranged in sequenced
in image panels and dialogues are written in speech bubbles. The illustrations allow the
readers to imagine and experience the characters and events in the story. Here are some of
the features of graphic fiction or graphic novel according to Singh (2012).

1. Autographic forms are the marks of author’s handwriting which creates an impact that
the whole novel is a manuscript and thus provides a sense of intimacy.

2. Graphic novels encourage interactivity in the minds of the reader as he fills in the blanks
between image panels.

3. Filling in the blanks between image panels makes the reader imagine the actions
portrayed in the story.

4. The language, syntax and meaning of a graphic novel spring primarily through the
relationship between images than words.

5. Graphic fiction combines book and screen

Flash fiction is imaginative literature of extreme brevity. It could range from a word to a
thousand (Gacusan 2018). It is known as micro stories, postcard fiction, nanotales and short
shorts. According to Sustana (2020), most of the flash fictions have these common
characteristics.

1. Brevity. Flash fiction presents the story with fewest words as possible.

2. Complete plot. Flash fiction emphasizes the development of plot. It has a beginning,
middle and ending of the story.

3. Surprising ending. The successful hallmark of a flash fiction is its twist at the end of the
story.
Multimedia applications include the interaction of different media types like animation,
video, text and sound. It has become a part of our lives as soon as we entered the digital age.
Before the modern technology, there are tools helping us appreciate some of the types of
multimedia such as videos on television. There are various components of multimedia such
as:

1. Videos

Digital video is a primary component in multimedia, especially those that appear online and
on television. The different formats of these types of multimedia include wmv, avi, mped and
flash. Some of these formats are better than others because they load faster and can be
viewed or loaded using different platforms and operating systems. Many videos have
changed formats ever since the mobile phone industry became more advanced in
technology. Many of the video formats require plug-ins on browsers and specific mobile
applications to load. Here is a list of multimedia formats:

MPEG .mpg .mpeg

Developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. The first popular video format on the web.
Not supported anymore in HTML.

AVI .avi AVI (Audio Video Interleave).

Developed by Microsoft. Commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. Plays well on
Windows computers, but not in web browsers.

WMA .wma WMA (Windows Media Audio).

Developed by Microsoft. Plays well on Windows computers, but not in web browsers. flash
swf (small web file} Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver digital video content
over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player version 6 and newer.

MP3 .mp3

MP3 files are actually the sound part of MPEG files. MP3 is the most popular format for music
players. Combines good compression (small files) with high quality. Supported by all
browsers.

MP4 .mp4

MP4 is a video format, but can also be used for audio. Supported by all browsers.

2. Animation
Animation is a form of art for most people, especially those that are in the business of
producing animated movies. Right now, animation has become interactive, allowing users
to directly affect the outcome of animated components and events. Flash is the most
common platform for animation, and using this component, the interactivity of animation is
enhanced.

3. Text

Text has always been and will always been the most common among the types of multimedia
components in different applications. Text in combination with other media components
can make any application more user-friendly. By using text, interactivity is increased. Text
elements are particularly important for accessibility purposes. Users of an application need
to input text for the system to identify them. Text is also used to create a digital signature,
such as in passwords.

4. Images

Digital image files are needed to create videos and animation. A user would sooner go to a
website filled with colourful photographs than one that contains only text elements. Familiar
image formats include jpeg and png. These formats permit editing. Images are created by
graphic designers using various software.

5. Audio

Voiceovers comprise a tremendous number of the types of multimedia components. Audio

files include background music and special effects. Any audio in an application is designed
to improve a user’s experience.