Bringing text analysis to the

language classroom

Presented by :
Abdellatif Kamal Samar Samir
Abdelmalek Rajouani Souhaila-Hayam Dahdouh
Mohamed Drissi Youssef Houssayni
Mohamed Ennaji Youssef Moutaouakil
Outline

I. text analysis in improving reading comprehension:

 1-why knowing about text analysis?
 2-how can text analysis help us improve our reading ?
 3-what are the analysis activities related to reading?
a. Narrative text
b. Descriptive text
c. Argumentative text
 4-The use of context in teaching vocabulary.
Outline

II. Text analysis in enhancing writing.

 Does knowing about text analysis enhance our writing skills ?
 How can we bring text analysis to writing as a skill?
 Analysis activities which can develop writing.
III. Text analysis in enhancing listening
 Text analysis mechanisms for improving the listening skill.
 Analysis activities for a better listening experience
Introduction

“In the humanities, we do not teach the

answers, rather, we teach students
how to ask good questions. »
I- Text Analysis for improving
reading comprehension.
Why knowing about Text Analysis?
 Students will be aware that textual analysis is the examination of
how and whether a piece of writing or speaking achieves its aims,
whether these are rhetorical and persuasive or aesthetic.

 Students will be able to create a sense of paying substantial

attention not only to what information a poem, political speech, or
scientific essay conveys, but to how it goes about doing so (by
mobilizing particular metaphors, through plain speaking, via flowery
language, by calling on scientific authority, or other mechanism).

Note: that close reading leading to summary does not on its

own constitute textual analysis.
When students know about text analysis, the intended aim is
to :

 Develop higher-order reading skills

 Train them how to read attentively,
 Think critically and analytically,
 Produce and evaluate interpretations,
 Assess evidence, and to deploy it effectively in their own
work.

 These abilities are not only necessary for academic

success, but also for full participation in civic life at every
level.
So how, in details, can text analysis
help us improve our reading?
By achieving educational goals/outcomes.

Students reading skills will:

 Develop their high order reading mechanism, i.e. learning to read closely and
attentively, to pay attention to details, and to grasp the larger argument or fuller
implications of a text.

 Develop their ability to think independently, to understand and analyze the

arguments of others, and to argue persuasively themselves.

 Learn to assess textual evidences such as report texts and informational texts
 Learn to deploy these textual evidences in their incoming readings.

 Develop their critical thinking and interpretive skills, learning to think rigorously
and analytically as well as imaginatively and creatively about written texts.
What are the analysis activities
related to reading ?
Before moving to the activities that can
be brought to classroom, we should shed
some light on the characteristics of these
activities, in other words, how should these
activities be, in order to develop our text
analysis skills.
 The teacher's fundamental task is to get
students to engage in learning activities that
are likely to result in achieving [the intended
learning] outcomes. It is helpful to remember
that what the student does is actually more
important that what the teacher does.
(Schuell, 1986, p.429)
Every learning activity in your unit should be:

Intentional

Meaningful

Useful.
 Intentional:

Each learning activity in your unit should

be aligned to the general subject of the
unit, as well as to the more specific
learning outcomes of each session or
lesson that you teach. The intent of the
activity is then clear to both you and your
students.
 Meaningful:

It is equally important that each activity is

meaningful, and ensures student development
and advancement through the unit. Activities
should build on previous activities and avoid being
repetitive, they should enable students to engage
with and develop their skills, knowledge and
understandings in different ways. Meaningful
activities engage students in active, constructive,
intentional, authentic, and cooperative ways.
 Useful:

Useful learning activities are ones where the student

is able to take what they have learnt from
engaging with the activity and use it in another
context, or for another purpose. For example,
students are able to directly apply the skills or
knowledge they acquired to an assessment task, or
to the next activity in your unit, and why not in their
lives outside schools as well.
Activities for :

 Argumentative text
 Narrative text
 Descriptive text
 Argumentative text

In argumentative texts, the text analysis

constitutes referring back to a text to find
evidences to support a conclusion. Evidences
can be both direct or implied, with implied
evidences being the more challenging.
Students new to this concept, especially
younger or “less advanced” students, will
struggle with this skill unless the teacher
successfully scaffolds by developing
analysis activities in order to make students
familiar with the mechanisms of an
argumentative text, in order to easily
identify it, and eventually produce it.
Through students reading, they should make sense
of how to give an argument.

a
statement

arguments :
expressing
opinion causes and
reasons
examples
to support
the
arguments.
Example of an activity:

Students begin by reading through the text,

skimming it for the main claims and the overall
organization of the text.
After they have skimmed through the text once,
they will have to reread it more closely
highlighting the following elements:
1- Main Claim
2- Evidence/Subclaims
3- Counter-claims or concessions
4- Quotations
Once they have identified the claim, work
backwards. In their own words, they will annotate
the text using the comments in order to answer
the following questions:

 What is the implied question or line of inquiry to

which this text is responding?
 What terms or words are particularly important in
qualifying this claim and making it more specific?
 Make a list of terms that link the argument from
beginning to end through repetition or extended
definition.
Another example of an activity in the form of questions
targeting the features of an argumentative text such as :

 how are the ideas linked and arranged?

 what style of language is used? (Formal, informal)
 how the text is structured? (Organisation, cohesion and unity)
 what are the reasons or claims the author used? how did he
present them?
 how did the author defend his thesis?
 have a look on the writing and say how it influences others
thoughts and ideas?
 what are the facts the author used? And what relevant
examples he brought?
By knowing these text analysis mechanisms
related to this text type, the argumentative
writings help students to develop critical
thinking and research skills, as well as the
ability to develop and logically defend a
position, despite opening the horizon for
them to master the art of argumentation.
 Narrative text:

 Students need to know how narrative texts work and how to read
them, because stories are used for many important purposes. The
purpose of narrative text is to entertain, to gain and hold a
reader's interest; however, writers of memoirs and novels often
relate complex stories that examine universal ideas, events, and
issues. In addition, speakers, advertisers, and politicians use stories
to persuade us to accept or reject an idea.

Students should read for a purpose not just to read for the sake
of reading. And by having a purpose in mind, students will be
eventually analysing the text . So how can teachers trigger this
ability in students readings?
 Teacher will ask students to:
 Think carefully about the beginnings and endings of
sections of the text, and, about the opening and closing
of the work as a whole.
 Why did the author choose that specific title for his/her
work ?
 Identify common themes, repetitions, and patterns.
 Categorize elements, tone, and narrative style.
 Are there any specific details that trigger to you any vivid
memories or strong emotions?
 What is the message the author is trying to deliver to you
as a reader by triggering those memories and emotions ?
 Question the author:

 Focusing on a segment of text, the students

respond to teacher questions such as the following:
 What is the author trying to say?
 What does the author mean by this?
 o Why is the author saying this?
 What is the author getting at?
 During Reading
the teacher can:
 Remind students to use
comprehension strategies as they read
and to monitor their understanding.
 Ask questions that keep students on
track and focus their attention on main
ideas and important points in the text.
 Focus attention on parts in a text that
require students to make inferences.
 Call on students to summarize key
sections or events.
 Encourage students to return to any
predictions they have made before
reading to see if they are confirmed by
the text.
Students, with some help from the
teacher, can:
 Determine and summarize important ideas
and supportive details.
 Make connections between and among
important ideas in the text.
 Integrate new ideas with existing
background knowledge.
 Ask themselves questions about the text.
 Sequence events and ideas in the text.
 Offer interpretations of and responses to
the text.
 Check understanding by paraphrasing or
restating important and/or difficult
sentences and paragraphs.
 Visualize characters, settings, or events in a
text.
 After reading
After reading, the teacher
can:
 Guide discussion of the reading.
 Ask students to recall and tell in
their own words important parts
of the text.
 Offer students opportunities to
respond to the reading in
various ways, including through
writing, dramatic play, music,
readers' theatre, videos, or
debate.
Students, with some help will
be able to
 Evaluate and discuss the ideas
encountered in the text.
 Apply and extend these ideas
to other texts and real life
situations.
 Summarize what was read by
retelling the main ideas.
 Discuss ideas for further
reading.
 Directed Reading and Thinking Activity
(DRTA)

 This procedure focuses on reading as a thinking process. Its intent is to

teach children to make predictions throughout reading.
 Before reading, the teacher asks students to form a purpose for reading
and to make predictions about the content of the story to be read.
 During reading, the teacher stops students at strategic points in the
story to ask students to make additional predictions and to verify, reject,
or modify their purposes and predictions.
 After reading, the teacher asks students to find and read aloud any
part of the text that supports their predictions. Students must use the text
to explain their reasoning and to prove the accuracy-or inaccuracy-of
their predictions.
 Descriptive text

 students know that descriptive texts are closely related to

the category of narrative since both of them appeal to
their imagination as readers through their senses.
 Yet, the key difference is that descriptive texts focus on
image while narrative texts focus on actions.
 Descriptions can enrich the text by offering a wide range of
details (qualities, properties ,characteristics …)
Teachers can ask the following questions :

 what is the text about?

 what is the purpose of the description?
 how the text is organized?
 What is being described ?
 How is it being described (characteristics , quality …)?
 what are the language features included in the text?
 identify the used tenses, types of adjectives, noun phrases and
comparisons.
 how the sentences are structured?
what are the figures of speech used in the text?

why do you think the author is describing that

object/person?

read the text again and extract words of description and

categorize them.

What are the expressions repeated in the text?

how can the context help us in our descriptions of objects or

people. ?

was the author able to create the image in your mind?

Teaching vocabulary in
context
The Widow Douglas she took me for her
son, and allowed she would civilize me;
but it was rough living in the house all the
time, considering how dismal regular and
decent the widow was in all her ways; and
so when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit
out.
Types of context clues:

Definition/Explanation clues
Synonym clues
Antonym clues
Example clues
 Definition/Explanation clue

While planning the party, Jane was prudent with

the guest list, acting with great caution and care
not to invite anyone with whom she wouldn’t want
to jump around in a bounce house.

His emaciation, that is, his skeleton-like

appearance, was frightening to see.
 Synonym Clue

The mountain pass was a tortuous road,

winding and twisting like a snake around the
trees of the mountainside.

The harlequin , like the circus clown , was a

fool who loved to perform.
 Antonym Clue

 When the light brightens, the pupils of the

eyes contract; however, when it grows
darker, they dilate.
 The children were as different as day and
night. He was a lively conversationalist, but
she was reserved and taciturn.
 Example Clue

 Piscatorial creatures, such as flounder, salmon,

and trout, live in the coldest parts of the ocean.

 Celestial bodies, including the sun, moon, and

stars, have fascinated man through the
centuries.
II. Text analysis in enhancing
writing
Text Analysis and Writing Skills
How can knowing about text analysis
make us aware of how and what we
write?
As we all know writing is result of thinking; it
is a reflection of how somebody thinks. So it
is the constant exercise of seeing how
other authors think and then training the
students to do the same and eventually
produce it in the form of writing.
Students, can learn language rules,
vocabulary words, and even how to structure
essays. Yet, Learning how to develop ideas in
writing is what proves most difficult for them.
So here comes text analysis in order to sweep
the dust over our awareness of how we
manage to produce a meaningful and well-
structured piece of writing.
Students can start improving their writing
and critical thinking skills by reading.

Students, however, should not read without

a goal in mind. Students need to be active
readers by studying how other writers build
their arguments. In other words, they should
consider the critical thinking of each author
they have read.
How can we bring text analysis
to writing as a skill?
Maybe you have already noticed that we use
"critical thinking" in reading which will eventually
help us in sharpening our writing skills. By talking
about “critical thinking”, we are referring to text
analysis with all its mechanisms.

Sometimes the writer might think "Oh! I have the

topic sentence, I have the supporting ideas." But
there is no depth of thought.
How do you analyze, interpret and
explain all these ideas? And how can
you make what you write worth
reading
 While reading, we should pay attention to
the following:

How is the content organized?

How crucial is the context for the reader’s understanding?

How is the writer connecting his/her ideas?

What kind of language the writer has used and why?

When students question these things, they
are already building an awareness of the
text and they start to notice and analyze it
in depth. Also, it helps students develop
their critical thinking.
All the results the students will come up when
performing critical thinking will be utilized in
enhancing their writing skills.

For example : when students question how

the context is used in the text and they
decipher it's significance it will have an
impact on their writings. They will manage to
contextualize what they write to add extra
meanings.
 The Process of bringing text
analysis to reading in order to
enhance writing
we should have in mind three criteria of
analysis:

Objectivity

Structure

Implications and inferences

 Objectivity

In this step, do not try to evaluate , criticize or counter

the author’s perspectives or arguments until you have
read the text all the way through once, focusing
exclusively on comprehension.
This is the step at which you should answer the
“What” questions: What type of literature is this?
What is the author ‘s purpose and what exactly is s/he
saying?
 Structure

Start by determining the role each paragraph plays in the

structure of the piece, and recognizing how the paragraphs
relate to one another. Is the author making a claim and
backing it up with examples? Is he creating an analogy, then
explaining its application?...
In this step, you should be answering the “How” questions:
How is the author using word choice, logic and sentence
structure to create a certain mood achieve a certain effect
and make certain points? How do the parts of the text
combine to create the whole?
 Implications and Inferences

Ask what experiences, emotions or events might

have led the author to form the ideas he is
expressing. Consider the text’s overall tone or
mood, and identify the words or images the
author uses to create that mood. Compare and
contrast the text with others about a similar topic.
In this step you should be answering the “Why”
questions: Why does the author believe or feel
what he does? Why does the text have the
impact it does?
Text analysis and writing analytically go together.
Getting better at one makes you better at the other,
and both are essential to developing the mental habits
of a disciplined, imaginative and good writer
Analysis activities which can
develop writing
What is the argument that the writer is making?
What evidence does the writer use? How does
the writer present their ideas?
How is the writer connecting their ideas?
How does the writer evaluate information?
 Text marking: (Find and underline parts of the text that
have a particular meaning or contain particular
information.)
 Text segmenting and labeling: (Break the text into
meaningful chunks and label each chunk.)
 Table construction: (Draw a table. Use the information in
the text to decide on row and column headings and to fill
in the cells.)
 Diagram construction: (Construct a diagram that explains
the meaning of the text. For example, draw a flow chart for
a text that explains a process, or a branch diagram for a
text that describes how something is classified.)
 Questioning: (Answer the teacher's questions or develop
questions about the text.)
 Summarising and production.
III.Text analysis in enhancing
listening
What are text analyzing mechanisms in
listening?

What are the analysis activities which

students can perform when brining text
analysis to listening lessons ?
 1.Predicting content

Imagine you've just turned on your TV. You see a

man in a suit standing in front of a large map with
the symbols of a sun, clouds and thunder. What do
you imagine he is about to tell you? Most likely, this is
going to be a weather forecast. You can expect to
hear words like 'sunny', 'windy' and 'overcast'. You'll
probably hear the use of the future tense: 'It'll be a
cold start to the day'; 'there'll be showers in the
afternoon', etc.
How can students practice predicting
content?

Watch or listen to a recorded TV program

or clip from YouTube. Pause after every
few sentences. Try to predict what is going
to happen or what the speaker might say
next.
 2.Listening for gist

 Imagine you are a superhero flying in the

sky. From that height, it is possible to see
what the entire area is like, how densely
populated it is, the kind of houses in each
area.
When listening, it is also possible to get the
‘whole picture’ but with one crucial
difference: information comes in a
sequence. And in that sequence of
information, there are content words (the
nouns , adjectives and verbs) that can
help you form that picture. We often call
this listening for gist.
Practise listening for gist !!

Students can find a short video with subtitles on

a topic that interests them. They can use the title
to help them predict the content and then listen
out for the content words. Then, they should Go
back, and listen again with the subtitles. And
ask themselves the following : How much did
you understand the first time?
 3.Detecting signposts

Just like the traffic lights on roads, there

are signposts in language that help us
follow what we're listening to. These words,
which link ideas, help us to understand
what the speaker is talking about and
where they are taking us. They're
particularly important in presentations and
lectures.
 For example, if a university lecturer says: 'I am
going to talk about three factors affecting global
warming…' then later on you might hear the
phrases 'first of all', 'moving on to' and 'in summary'
to indicate the next part of the talk.

 Other words and phrases can function in a

similar way. For instance, to clarify ('in other words',
'to put it another way'); to give examples ('to
illustrate this', 'for example'), and so on.
Practise detecting signpost

 Students find an example of a business

presentation or lecture and see how many
signpost phrases they can identify (listen more
than once, if necessary). Then keep on
checking.

 Tip: In their notebooks, group signpost

phrases according to their functions, and
continue to add new expressions as they come
across them.
 Listening for details

 when listening for details, you are interested in a specific

kind of information – perhaps a number, name or object.
 Practise listening for details

Students should decide on a type of detailed

information they want to practice listening for
and watch programs where they would expect
to get that information.
Tip: If students are taking a test, as soon as
they get the question paper, they should
skim through the questions, underline the
important words and decide what kind of
detail they need to identify in the listening
text.
 Inferring meaning

technique of inferring
meaning: using clues and
prior knowledge about a
situation to work out the
meaning of what we
hear. Similarly, we can
infer the relationship
between people from the
words they use, without
having to find out directly.
Example:

A: Tom, did you do your homework?

B: I did, sir, but the dog ate it.
A: That's a terrible excuse. You'll never
pass your exams if you don't work harder.
 Practice inferring meaning

Students find a YouTube clip from a

popular television show, for example
Friends. Now, rather than watch it, they
just listen to the dialogue. And answer the
following questions