CRMEF

Safi

Reading comprehension:
Approaches and pedagogical stages

presented by: RhAFOUL Anoir

 outline

 Introduction:
 Benefits of reading as a skill
 Approaches to reading
 Some skills learners need to
develop for reading effectively
 Practical steps for teaching reading
 Conclusion:
 References:
 Why do we read?

 To look for information (intensive reading)

OR
 To entertain ourselves (extnsive reading)
Benefits and importance of reading as a skill

 Reading gives learners access to information

 It deepens their knowledge and learning insights
 Exposure and interaction with other cultures and
experiences
 Reading is essential to learning
 It is a prerequisite for critical and creative thinking
 Reading different texts boosts the learners’ vocabulary
which s/he will resorts to as part of lifelong learning.
 Creating connection between learners’ expereince and
others.
 Reading and writing are closely related
 Approaches to reading

 Bottom-up processing (decoding)

 Top-down processing

 Interactive approach
 Bottom-up Processing

Reader builds meaning from the smallest units of

meaning to achieve comprehension.

Example
letters  letter clusters  words  phrases 
sentences  longer text  meaning =
comprehension
 Top-down Processing

Reader generates meaning by employing background

knowledge, expectations, assumptions, and
questions, and reads to confirm these expectations.

Example
Pre-reading activities (i.e. activating schema,
previewing, and predicting) + background
knowledge (cultural, linguistic, syntactic, and
historical) = comprehension
 Interactive Approach

Reader uses both bottom-up and top-down strategies

simultaneously or alternately to comprehend the
text.

Example
Reader uses top-down strategies until he/she
encounters an unfamiliar word, then employs
decoding skills to achieve comprehension.
 Interactive Approach

Knowledge base + bottom-up strategies + top-down

strategies = comprehension
 Which model should be adopted?

The reader must be competent in both bottom-up and

top-down processing.
 Interaction (“balance”) of
bottom-up and top-down strategies:
 Interaction (“balance”) of
bottom-up and top-down strategies:

Top-down
 Interaction (“balance”) of
bottom-up and top-down strategies:

Bottom-up Top-down
 Interaction (“balance”) of
bottom-up and top-down strategies:
Bottom-up Top-down strategies
strategies (“whole language”
(“phonics” approach)
approach) ____________
______________ Examples:
Examples:
• using background
• decoding Bottom- knowledge
Top-down
• using capitalization up

to infer proper nouns • predicting

• graded reader • guessing the meaning
approach of unknown words
• pattern recognition from context
•skimming/scanning
 Some skills learners need to develop for reading effectively

Major skills:
 Identifying, understanding, and interpreting diffferent text-
types
 Determining the organiztion of a text
 Summarizing the content of a text

 Recognizing the purpose of a text ( invitation, complaint,

apology, etc)
 Getting acquainted with the various cultural aspects and
accepting cultural differences
 Active reading ( underlining, highlighting, taking notes,
questioning, outlining, comparing,etc)
 Some skills learners need to develop for reading effectively :

Sub-skills:
 Scanning
 skimming
 Explicit understanding of information
 Inferencing / guessing
 Distinguishing between main ideas and supporting details
 Identifying the cohesive devices and their function
 Infering word meaning from context
 Transcoding information into tabular forms: tables, diagrams,
etc.
 Steps for teaching reading
How?
??
Pre-reading stage:
It aims at:
 brainstorming the ideas in the text

 Activate learner readers’ schemata

 Semanticmapping
 Previewing the title
 learner generated
questions
 vocabulary exploitation
 Picture stimulus
 Theme discusion
 Stages for teaching reading comprhension

I. While-reading stage:
 Tasks to focus on fast reading for gist ( skimming)
 Check text against predictions made before hand
 Tasks to focus on fast reading for specific details(scanning)

 Tasks to focus on meaning ( general meaning)

 Tasks to focus on meaning ( finer points, more intensive
comprehensive understanding)
 Tasks to focus on individual language itmes, e.g. Vocabulary,
grammar exercises, deriving meaning of words from context
 Stages for teaching reading comprhension

II. Post-reading:
Follow-on task: role play, debate, writing, personalisation, etc.
Conclusion:

How much do you

read?
 References:

 Aebersold, J. & Field, M. L., (1997). From reader to reading

teacher: Issues and strategies for second language classrooms.
New York: Cambridge University Press.

 David, N. (1999).Second Language Teaching and Learning.

Heinle and heinle publishers.

 English Language Guidelines for secndary schools: Common

core, first year, and second year baccalaurete(2007)

 Jim, S. (2005). Learning teaching. Macmillan.