Techniques of Teaching Reading Skills at Intermediate Level By Mihaela Ochiana 1 CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: PRELIMINARIES………………………………..3 1.1. Defining concepts ………………………………………………….4 1.2. Reading in the light of different learning theories ………………....6 1.2.A. The Grammar Translation Method ………………………....6 1.2.B. The Oral Method …………………………………………....7 1.2.C. Total Physical Response ……………………………………8 1.2.D. The Silent Way …………………………………………......9 1.2.E. Community Language Learning …………………………..10 1.2.F. Suggestopedia ……………………………………………. 11 1.2. G. The Natural Approach ……………………………………13 1.2. H. Communicative Language Technique ……………………14 1.2. I. The Lexical Approach ……………………………………..20 1.3. Receptive vs productive skills …………………………………....21 CHAPTER 2: TEACHING READING AT INTERMEDIATE LEVEL …………………………………………………….….....24 2.1. Objectives of reading …………………………………………..……26 2.2. Reading comprehension …………………………………………......29 2.3. Types of reading ………………………………………………..…...31 2.4. Reading materials …………………………………………………...35 CHAPTER 3: STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING READING ………………………………………………………..43 3.1. Pre-reading activities ………………………………………………..45 3.2. While-reading activities ……………………………………………..50 3.3. Post-reading activities …………………………………………….…58 3.4. Reading silently, aloud and in chorus ……………………………….71 3.5. Examples of reading lessons ………………………………………...73 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………..82 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………..84 2 ARGUMENT After being involved in the educational process for over 25 years, we have dealt with different learning situations and outcomes and we have become aware of the direction in which teaching a foreign language is lead to by the educational system. For example, all the national exams stress on reading comprehension and speaking tasks starting from a given passage. Moreover, all the proficiency test for EFL include reading comprehension exercises and all the units in our approved textbooks are usually introduced by a reading activity which is either the starting point for teaching another skill, or the goal of a lesson. When teaching EFL in large and mixed ability classes with intermediate level students, the teacher is faced with different reading comprehension ‘bad’ habits. Some students transgress the poor reading skills from L1 into L2, some others tend to stress on reading word by word and on understanding the text at the vocabulary level, ignoring comprehension at the level of ideas and meaningful content information. Either way, the students’ performance in the reading tasks is poor and by noticing this, we considered that it is us, the teachers who should look into this issue more carefully and possibly answer to some questions related to teaching reading. We intend to deal with this topic by starting with a theoretical introduction to teaching reading skills presenting reading in the light of different learning theories. 3 CHAPTER 1: PRELIMINARIES What is language teaching and what does it involve becoming a profession in contrast to a job? Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language defines language as a ‘body of words and the system for their use common to people of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural This means that language is a social and cultural phenomenon and its acquisition is a process that requires time, attention, practice and motivation. The second language acquisition in a native country and especially in the classroom implies the presence of a teacher who makes use of different methods and approaches in order to stimulate and facilitate the learning process. There are three essential elements in the activity of teaching: the language to be learned, the learning process and the educational purposes of the enterprise. The term ‘language teaching’ is strictly linked to that of methodology which is a branch of pedagogy dealing with the analyses of subjects to be taught and of the methods of teaching them. It refers to the collection of principles and procedures that make up a particular way of teaching. When teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) one should consider the place of English among other languages. Although the number of its native speakers is less than in the case of other languages, English has become a lingua franca, an international means of communication between speakers whose native languages differ, but who can still produce and understand messages by using English as a second language. Nowadays the non-native English speakers outnumber the native speakers. This popularity of English and the need to learn it and use it is due to a wide range of factors: history, economics, travel, cultural discourse, information exchange between countries, institutions and within the academic world and globalization. In this context, whatever the purpose of teaching and learning English as a second language might be - be it for all-general knowledge, or for specific purposes (ESP), like Business English, English for Aviation, EAP (which is English for Academic Purposes), EST (English for Science and Technology) etc – those involved in this process must use the specific tools in order to develop an inner understanding of this language as well as a cultural awareness. In the following section we’ll revise these tools, the defining concepts of TEFL methodology. 1 Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, Gramercy Books, New York, 1997, p382 4 1.1 Defining concepts English language teaching as a science works with concepts as method, approach, curriculum, syllabus, technique. A method is a generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials. They are almost always thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contexts. Approaches to teaching English are theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings. An approach describes a model of language competence and the way in which the students acquire their knowledge. In a way , we may say that an approach is the conceptual part of a method, the latter being the practical realization of the former, as it also includes references to the syllabus organization, to the roles of the teacher and of the learner, types of activities and suggested input to be taught. The most popular EFL methods and approaches that were used in the past decades and some of which are still used to a certain extent are: the Grammar-Translation Method, The Oral Method, Total Physical Response, The Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Suggestopedia, The Natural Approach, Communicative Language Technique and The Lexical Approach. Curriculum and syllabus are designs for carrying out a particular language program. Features include a primary concern with the specification of linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials to meet the needs of a designated group of students in a defined context. The curriculum describes the teaching, learning, and assessment materials available for the course of study. Harmer considers that syllabus is the way in which the language to be taught and the skills that the teacher concentrates on are organized. Some syllabuses are just short lists of grammatical structures or functions. Some others are much more detailed, containing lists not only of 5 language, but also of topic and subject matter or activities and tasks. ‘We need to consider these various The term technique refers to any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives. For example brainstorming the students’ vocabulary on a certain topic in order to activate their previous knowledge on that topic and introduce new terms before reading a text is a pre- reading popular technique. The sequencing of more such techniques during a stage of the lesson (i.e. pre-reading stage) or during the whole course (i.e. pre-reading, reading, post- reading, evaluation and feedback) represents the procedure that the teacher uses in that specific course. 2 Harmer, Jeremy (1991): The Practice of English Language Teaching , Longman, London, p.25 6 1.2. READING IN THE LIGHT OF DIFFERENT LEARNING THEORIES 1.2. A.The Grammar-Translation Method This is an old traditional method, which is based on the concept that a foreign language should be taught in order to read literature in the original language, but which lacks other uses of a foreign language, for example communication. Somehow learning and teaching English would resemble learning Greek or Latin, both of which are dead languages. The importance of ELT would be reduced to reading fragments of literary texts, teaching grammar deductively, that is by presenting the grammar rules and examples, and thus it was considered that foreign language learning would help students grow intellectually while the conversation during the course would be in the native language. Sentences and longer texts are translated both to and from the learner’s first language and long lists of words are commonly memorized without being used in contexts. As all the conversation during the course is in the native language, the teacher does not have to be able to speak the target language in order to teach it. This method was also called the Classical Method and there is no wonder why the contemporary methodologists banish it from the classroom. ‘It is hard to decide which is more surprising - the fact that this method has survived right up until today or the fact that it is still used for the study of languages that are very much alive and require competence not only in terms of reading, writing and structure, but also speaking, listening and interactive communication. How has such an archaic method, remembered with distaste by thousands of school students persevered?’ According to this method not only was it recognized that the students would probably never use the target language in communication, but it also had a restrictive view upon culture, which was supposed to consist only of literature and the fine arts. Moreover, reading and writing are considered the primary skills that the students should focus on, but pronunciation, speaking and listening are given little or no attention at all. From the perspective of teaching reading, this method might have been successful decades ago when the teacher was supposed to be the only authority in the classroom, but in the present political, social and mental context of globalization, we consider it obsolete 7 and pointless. It may be the easiest method to use by a teacher as it does not require careful preparation, but it is also the least successful because it does not motivate the students who may easily get bored and become undisciplined. Moreover, the students get a wrong idea of what a language is, they will see it as reduced to a collection of words. 1.2. B. The Oral Method In contrast with the previous method, this one is said to result in rapid acquisition of speaking and listening skills, thus reading is subsidiary. The Oral Method is also called Situational Language Teaching because much attention was paid to the role of vocabulary and of the reading skills through a situational approach. It appeared in USA during the World War II, when the military operations required foreign languages speakers at fast speed. The "Army Method" [as it was also called] was suddenly developed to build communicative competence in translators through very intensive language courses focusing on aural/oral skills. Palmer, the initiator of this method, and other British linguists consider speech as the basis of language and vocabulary as an essential component of reading proficiency. They conceive grammar as the underlying sentence patterns of the spoken languages structures. In opposition to the Grammar-Translation Method, the Oral Method emphasizes the communicative competence, the fact that spoken language is the first step in teaching a foreign language, therefore the material is taught orally before it is presented in written form. The target language is the language of the classroom and new language points are introduced and practiced situationally. The vocabulary should cover the essential topics and the grammar should be taught following the principle that simple forms are to be taught before complex ones. However the grammatical explanation is minimal, as grammar is taught more by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation. After a sufficient lexical and grammatical basis is established, reading and writing is introduced. In other words, the teacher always presents new vocabulary items and structures within sentences and does not explain their meaning to the learner either in the native 8 tongue or in the target language. The learner is expected to deduce the meaning of a structure or word from the situational context. The student’s capacity of mimicry, memorizing and habit-forming is crucial, while the teacher serves a model that masters the text book and corrects both pronunciation and grammar mistakes at all costs. As stated in its very name, this method is mainly oral, it makes use of many visual aids and pays little attention to writing. Reading skills are not at all a basic concern of this method, but since language labs, repetitive drills and dialogues are on focus, reading comes as a secondary helping tool in order to achieve the communicative competence of the learner. Most of the times, the printed word is kept away from the student for as much as possible. However some psychologists remarked that the repetitive drills do not help the student learn the language patterns inherently, but mechanically, therefore the linguistic competence is limited. 1.2. C. Total Physical Response Similarly to the Oral Method described above, this one has little emphasis on the reading skills and on the writing ones, as it stresses on speaking and listening through achieving oral and physical tasks. This is a method developed by the American psychologist James Asher. It is based on the idea of coordination of speech and action and attempts to teach a foreign language through physical activity. For example, during the primary phases of learning, the student is asked to physically respond to commands. This idea is to be found in the principles of the Total Physical Response, in the sequence of the learner’s skills that are to be acquired, comprehension ones precede the productive ones. The skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills, in teaching a foreign language, as meaning is more important than form. Grammar should be taught starting from concrete nouns and imperative verbs without recourse to abstractions. The learner’s stress should be minimized through games and a relaxed atmosphere that might facilitate learning, because the lower the stress, the greater the learning. Next >