Developing the

reading skill Fernanda Guadalupe

Garcia Cabrales
Victoria Fernandez
Ramirez
WHAT IS IT?
• Decoding: translate a printed word to
It refers to the ability to understand
a written text. It is also a cognitive sound.
• Comprehension: Understanding a
process of decoding symbols to
derive meaning from text. message through text.
• Retention: keeping something
(information) from the text.
 Why is it
important?
Motivation
• Ss need to understand written
messages such as: texts, signs,
adds, websites, etc.
• Ss find it enjoyable when they can
understand things such as songs’
lyrics, novels, social media
messages, etc.
Also…
• Ss will need different tools in
their linguistic toolbox to
comprehend texts with
different writing styles,
content and levels of
complexity.
Three Reading 2. Evaluative
skills. comprehension. Make
judgemntes about facts
presented in the text.

1. Literal comprehension.
3.Inferential comprehension.
Identify simple facts.
Connect the text to other
writing passages.
 How to develop In class reading
activities should be:
the reading skill?
• Be aware of the need of a well • Interactive
developed reading skill
• Interesting
• Include reading activities in
class • Student-centered
• Helpful
 Some techniques are:
Also, in class reading
activities should…
• Light reading
• Have a clear aim: why are
you reading?
• Word by word reading
• Have a follow-up activity • Reading to study
or task
• Speed reading
• Have a pre-thought
technique
 Which reading • Identify the topic of any text;
• Skim until they get the
techniques should be • Gist (general understanding) of any text.

taught? •
•
Scan, also
Do in-depth reads for details and finally
The technique you apply will • Interpret longer texts with more complex
concepts.
depend on the text, the objective
and the ss’ needs.

However, you can apply

techniques so Ss can:
 TIPS

For Students For teachers

• Underline or highlight important sentences, • Up-front planning is crucial. What are Ss going
key words and definitions. to read? Why?

• Use special marks on the margin to indicate • Start easy. simple tasks/ follow-up activities.
importance, relevance, or reference to other • Different S-S interactions: start with group
parts . work, then pair work, and last individual work.

• Take notes in a notebook. • Provide clear instructions. Assign time for

completion of the task.
• Draw visual representations of the text like
drawings, charts and graphs, etc.
 Activities
Each reading activity should have a
pre, while and post task. Some
activities are…
• Putting paragraphs in order.
• Missing sentences
• Matching headlines to paragraphs
• Filling –in a table
• True/False questions
• Multiple choice questions
• Visual representations of a text
 PRE READING ACTIVITIES

These activities are intended to prepare the

learners.
With these, students get meaningful pieces of
information that they will encounter later on.
They provide the first steps in order to develop
skills in anticipation and prediction for the
reading, activating background knowledge so
they can interact with the text.
WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES

The aims of this stage are to help students to

understand the specific content and to
perceive the rhetorical structure of the text
(Celce-Murcia, 1991). With these tasks teachers
take the learners through the reading and they
interact in the text.
POST- READING ACTIVITIES

Post-reading tasks are

intended to verify and expand
the knowledge acquired in the
reading. These last tasks also
lead the learners to discuss and
analyze issues presented in the
reading.
 References:
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngextre
meex plorer/pdf/effectivepractices.pdf
• http://ababasoft.com/words/scanning.html
• https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-englis
h/esl-reading-comprehension-strategies/
• https://www.researchgate.net/post/what_is_r
eading_skill_and_its_significance
• http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Medina-Coffee.ht
ml
• https://highlandliteracy.com/reading-2/before-
reading/