Unit 11 Teaching ReadingGROUP MENBERS:ContentsThe Nature of Reading How do we read? How do we read? What do we What do we readread? ? Strategies involved in Strategies involved in reading reading comprehension comprehension The role of vocabulary in reading The role of vocabulary in reading Principles and models for teaching reading Principles and models for teaching reading ContentsPre-reading activitiesPre-reading activities While- reading activitiesWhile- reading activitiesPost-reading activitiesPost-reading activitiesConclusionConclusion The Nature of ReadingThe Nature of Reading Reading is an active process. It constantly involves guessing, predicting, checking and asking oneself questions. Reading is the ability to understand the written words and respond to them in proper ways. Reading means getting meaning out of a given context.How do we read?1. Reading has only one purpose, i.e. to get information.2. Reading is a silent activity. Reading aloud does not help much with comprehension.3. Reading with a purpose is more effective than reading without a purpose.4. When we read, our eyes are constantly moving from letter to letter, word to word and sentence to sentence.5. Reading is an individual activity.6. We need to know all the words in order to understand a text7. We read everything with the same speed.8. When reading in a foreign language, we mentally translate everything in order to understand.9. It is helpful to use a dictionary and note down the meaning of all the new words while reading.10. The lack of cultural knowledge may affect the rate of reading comprehension.11. Possessing a large amount of vocabulary is the key for reading comprehension.12. Reading can best be improved by being engaged in reading and reading more. Tasks should help develop students reading skills rather than test their reading comprehension. The teacher should help students not merely to cope with one particular text in class but to develop their reading strategies and reading ability in general so that they are able to apply the strategies or skills learned in class to tackle other texts they encounter outside class or in the future.PWP三阶段英语阅读教学模式三阶段英语阅读教学模式是我国中小学英三阶段英语阅读教学模式是我国中小学英语阅读教学中普遍被采用的教学模式，主语阅读教学中普遍被采用的教学模式，主要属于要属于“自上而下自上而下”或交互作用的阅读教或交互作用的阅读教学模式，具体属于哪种阅读教学模式主要学模式，具体属于哪种阅读教学模式主要根据阅读文本体裁和教师的教学活动设计根据阅读文本体裁和教师的教学活动设计而定。三阶段即读前（而定。三阶段即读前（pre-reading)pre-reading)、读、读中（中（while-reading)while-reading)、读后（、读后（post-post-reading)reading)三个阶段。三个阶段。Pre-reading activitiesPooling existing knowledge about the topicPredicting the contents of the textSkimming or scanning the text for certain purposesLearning key words and structuresAimsTo facilitate while-reading activitiesPre-reading activities123PredictingPredictingSkimming and scanningSkimming and scanningSetting the sceneSetting the scenePredicting is an important reading skill, which can make reading more intriguing and purposeful .Therefore, it is likely to result in better comprehension compared with the situation where the learner starts reading with a blank mind.Three ways of predictionPredicting based on the titleGood titles always contain the most important information of a written text.Look at the three titles in the box below and predict the contents of the texts. When you are ready, join another pair an d compare your predictions and the clues that helped you to make the predictions. A Nation of Pet-LoversSave the Jungle: Save the WorldPolice Hunt for ChildTo begin with, students may not be good at predicting. If so, the teacher can help them by asking certain questions. For example, for each of the three texts above, we can ask these questions:Text 1: What is a pet? What are pets for? Why do people love pets? Are there any problems with pets?Text 2: What is a jungle? Where can you find jungles? What do you think has happened to the jungles?Text 3: What happened to the child? How do you think the parents would feel? What could the police do?Three ways of predictionPredicting based on vocabularyThe teacher also asks students to write down the words that they think will appear in the text, according to the topic suggested by the title.Directions: Ask no less than 5 questions based on the title of the text. Also write some possible words you expect to appear in the text. Pre-questions1.2. .3. .4. .5. . Possible words mentioned Predicting based on the T/F questionsThe teacher gives students some true or false statements. Students predict if these statements are true or false. Then they read the text to check if they have made the right predictions.Setting the sceneGetting the students familiarized with the cultural and social background knowledge relevant to the reading text.Setting the scene by relating what students already know to what they want to know.Using visual aids to setting the scene, such as real objects, pictures, videos episodes and multi-media materials,etc.SkimmingReading quickly to get the gist,i.e. the main idea of the text.Ask general questions which allow students to focus on one or two things.Provide 3-4 statements and one of them represents the main idea, ask students to read the text and decide which statement is the correct one.Provide subtitles for different parts of a text and asks students to put them in the right place.ScanningRead to locate specific information. The key point is that the readers has something in his mind and he should ignore the irrelevant parts when reading. Besides,we can also ask students to scan for vocabulary which usually have certain semantic connections with the theme. Though teachers pre-teaching,students will facilitate the reading tasks that follow.ScanningWhats more, students can also scan for certain structures,for example, tense forms,discourse connectors,or particular sentence structures,which can serve as the basis for grammar study.Should pay attention to following things:Set a time limit;Give clear instruction for the taskWait until 70% of the students finishScanningMake clear how you are going to get feedbackMake sure that answers to the scanning questions are scattered throughout the text rather than clustered at one place.Different texts offer opportunities for different kinds of exploitation. Yet a reading passage in traditional reading comprehension textbook has generally been exploited by means of mutiple choice quesstions,T/F questions, open questions, parahrasing and translation.While-reading activitiesWhile-reading activitiesIn this section we will look at some different ways of exploiting texts focusing on the process of understanding rather than the results of reading.Information presented in plain text form dose not facilitate information retention. When information in text form is transferred to another form, it can be more effectively processed and retained. The way to transfer information from one form to another is called a transition device Transition deviceCOMPLICATEDINPUT(SI) TRANSITIONDEVICE(TD)OUTPUT(TD)Its function in teaching reading can be illustrated in the following diagram:Most of the transition devices make use of visual aids so that information in text form is visualized. Research has shown visualization can help second language learners to comprehend meaning while reading (Tomlinson, 1998).Pictures Chronological sequenceTree diagrams Cyclic diagrams Notes(taking notes while reading) TablesPie chartsMaps FlowchartsDrawings Bar chartsSubtitles(provide subtitles) Below are some transition devices that are often used in teaching:Example1It is very important that students fill out the table while they are reading rather than after they finish reading. A Follow-up output activity can be conducted based on the results of the while-reading activity. For example, the teacher can ask student to compare. Purposes of transition device:1.Focus attention on the main meaning of the text.2.Be able to simplify sophisticated input so that it becomes the basic for out put.3.Allow the students to perform tasks while they are reading.4.Highlight the main structural organization of a text /part of a text, and show how the structure relates to meaning.5.Involve all the students in clearly defined reading tasks.6.Precede one step at a time(easier tasks before more complicated one.)7.When a TD is completed, use it as a basis for further oral and/or written language practice.Reading comprehension questionOne of the most frequently used methods in teaching reading is asking students to answer comprehension questions. Nuttal suggests that we can classify questions according to the kind of information that they require students to get from the texts, or the kind of thinking that we wish students to engage in. She lists five types:Questions of literal comprehension. These are questions whose answer are directly and explicitly expressed in the text.Questions involving reorganization or reinterpretation. These questions require Ss to put literal information together in a new way or reinterpret it.Questions for inferences. They require Ss to consider what is implied but not explicitly stated.Questions for evaluation or appreciation. Such as making judgment about what the writer is trying to do and whether the writer is biased or dishonest.Questions for personal response. The answers to these questions depend most on the readers reaction to the content of the text.Understanding references:All natural language, spoken or written , uses referential words such as pronouns to refer to people or things already mentioned previously in the context. Some students have difficulty in following clearly the references in the text. So the teacher should find ways to help Ss find the meaning of the references in the context.Making inferencesMaking inferences, which means reading between the lines, is an important reading skill. It requires the readers to use background knowledge in order to infer the implied meaning of the author. Making inferences is actually the process of relating the given information to what we have known about the world.Sometimes, inferences can be made only after we have read the whole text and reinterpreted the text.Summary on while-reading activitiesNow, We have looked at a number of while reading tasks. Of course, you cannot use all of them at one time or with one text. You need to choose from them the ones that best suit your students as well as the materials that you are using. Post-reading activitiesIn this area, teachers have to be most inventive or imaginative .They have to design tasks which are relevant to the text being studied and appropriate to the students level. The tasks can fulfil several functions, whether they are used in an extensive or an intensive reading context.At the post-reading stage, teachers often rely upon reading aloud, asking comprehension questions or asking students to paraphrase sentences of a text. Sometimes sentences by sentence translation is conducted. We consider these activities inadequate to fulfil the functions of post-reading tasks. Post-reading tasks should provide the students with opportunities to relate what they have read to what they already know or what they feel. In addition, post-reading tasks should enable students to produce language based on what they learned. DiscussionRole playGap-filling RetellingWritingPost-reading activitiesDiscussionDiscussion in class is quite often used as a way of exploiting reading texts and used for exchange of personal opinions with a question likewhat do you think of.?It can also be used as a basis for other activities, such as problem-solving, the ranking of alternatives, deciding upon priorities, ect. Stages of role-playDefining the roles and setting up goals.Grouping students and assessing roles.Preparation:a) whole class brainstorm possible questions;b) students playing the same roles go into a group to work out the questions.Role play in pairs/groups.Class viewing/ demonstration.Teacher gives feedback based on active monitoring.Gap-filling The teacher provide the Ss with a summary of the text, leaving some blanks for them to fill in, encourage students to use as many different words or expressions as possible.The teacher provides key words and phrases and Ss retell the story according to these words or asks them to retell from another characters point of view.RetellingWritingThe Ss are asked to write something based on what they have read. For example:Produce a tourist brochure for a place described in a text.Produce an advertisement for a product described in a text.Re write a story from another characters point of view.Write a short summary of the text.ConclusionThe teaching of reading should focus on developing students reading skills and strategies and on maintaining students motivation for reading, which can be achieved through pre-, while-, and post- reading for activities.The purpose of teaching reading is to guide students to learn to read so that they can read to learn in the future.Remember: it is important to make reading an enjoyable and fruitful experience for the students.Thank You!