BUN frie READING SKILLS in a foreign language Christine NuttallMacmillan Heinemann English Language Teaching, Oxford ‘A division of Macmillan Publishers ‘Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 0.435 24057 9 © Christine Nuttall 1996 Chapter 130. Charles Alderson 1996 Design and illustration Macmillan Publishers Limited 1998 "sens tiene ina Penne Firs edition 1982 Allrihts reserved: no part otis publication may he reproduced, stored int retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission ofthe Dublishers. Designed by eMC Design, Bromham, Bedford Cover photo by Mogey Mlustrated by Kathy Baxendale, Roger Courthold and Clyde Pearson Tes aor ant pushers wish thank thetowing for permission o reproduce their materials and for providing lustrations: Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhlis for the extract from Ne Tulevat Takalsin by ¥. Kokko (1954);The Language Centre, University of Malaya Press/"Thomas Nelson and Sons La forthe extracts from ‘Reading Projects: Sctence (199, an Skills for Learning: Reading for Academie Study (1979); Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd for the extract from Principles of Human ‘Knowledge by George Berkeley (1849), Andre Deutsch for the extrac fom The ‘Suffrageof Elvira by V. S. Naipaul (1960 Collins Publishers for the extracts from Life (on Barth by David Attenborough Collins/BBC 1979), Oxford University Press forthe extracts from Reading and Thinking in English: Discovering Discourse and Reading ‘and Thinking in English: Exploring Functions © The British Counell 19%, Singlish in ‘Scetal Studies by J.P. B. Allen and H.@. Widdowson © OUP 1878 ané English in Education by B. Laird © OUP 197; William Helnemann Lta and Pantheon Books for the extract from The Night Lords by Nicolas Freelin (1973); AD. Peters and Cofor the extract from The Data Bank Society by M. Warner and Mi, Stone (George Allen and ‘Unwin, 187); The Holgate Sehool, Nottingham forthe photograph from the Times Educational Supplement 24 April 19a); Hetnewarn Raseational Rooks efor the ‘extract from Reasons fer Reading by E. Davies ana N, Whitney (1960) Cambridge University Press for extracts from Task Reading by B, Davies ot al. (1860)and ‘Authentic Reading by C. Walter (192) Printed in Hong Kong 2003 2002 2001 2000 1989 1211109876543Contents Preface to thefirstedition ie Preface tothe second edition fe Pre KO ems a Chapter) Whatis reading? 1 Chapter? Textand discourse 20 Chapter Approaching reading in theforelgn language classroom 30 Part Two Reading skills and strategies Introduction 40 Chapter4 Efficient reading 44 Chapter Wordaattackskills 62 Chapter Reading for plain senso 78 Chapter7 — Understanding discourse 100 DTei nr wae eR Ty Introduetion 125 Chapter 8 Anextensive reading programme 127 Chapter 9 Planning readinglessons 149 Chapter 10 Selecting texts 170 Chapter 11 Questioning 181 Chapter 12 Other kinds of reading task 192 Chapter 18 The testing of reading by.J. Charles Alderson 212 Chapter 14 Theteacher as reader 220 Appendix A: ‘Texts 232 Appendix B: Extracts from reading courses 243, ‘Appendix C: Lesson plans 283 Appendix D: Usefuladdresses 261 Key totheactivities 262 Select bibliography 267 Subjectindex 273 utPreface to the first edition ‘0 v00K af this kind owes its existence to asingle writer, and my debt to many others willbe immediately obvious, Firs and foremost is the influence ofthe students and teachars with whom [have worked. To them, especially those at the Advanced Teacher Training College in Winneba, Ghana, Ishould liketo dedicate the books «small return forall they have given tome. {tis impossible tomention here all those who deserve acknowledgement: the books 1 Ihave read, the universities that have guided me, the eolleagues who have shared their experience so generously. Thelr contribution has been so great that itssems ‘impertinent that my own name should appear on the ttle page. Hhope they will collectively accep this recognition that 1am deply aware of all owe them and profoundly grate [Imast, however, specifically mention certain materials produced as result of the ‘current renewal of interest in foreign language reading, For many insights and ideas for types ot reading task, [have drawa freely on English in Focus (OUP), Foundation ‘Reading (Chulalongkorn University Languagelnstitute) Reading and Thinking in English (OUP) and Skis for Learninee University of Malaya/ Nelson) Without the stimulusof these materials, this book would have been very different and much the poorer. Forkelp specifically withthe text ofthis book, should ike to thank Alan Moore and ‘John Moore or their time and trouble and their excellent suggestions; the publishers {or their unfailing helpfulness; and finally, Gil Sturtridge and Marion Geddes for ‘thelr support, without which the book would mat have been written Preface to the second edition ‘nen familiar with the first edition of this book will find many changos n his one, the most obvious being the way the material is organized, It is now divided ‘into three parts. The first presents the principis (about reading, texts end teaching) ‘which underlie the way the book appreachesits subject; the second part looks more closely at some ofthe theoretical issues and how they afTect reading teaching; and the thir, greatly strengthened by Charles Aldersan’s chapter on testing, focuses onthe ‘importance of extensive reading, the chotee ofzatorials and the way courses and Jestons are planned, taught and assessed, The requence of chapters has been altered torit in with this new division; people used to ie first edition may findthis initially annoying, but hope the result will ultimately rove easier to use. Another obvious chango is the addition of activities; thoy are Intended to contributo ‘othe exposition inthe toxt, so !hoperondars will make use of them. There isakey to some of tem atthe end ofthe book, ‘There are also changes Inthe substance ofthe book. Since the frst edition, an ‘enormousamount ofrelevant materia] has appeared, some of which I have managed to road, Most of thas strengthened rather thar changed my views of reading, but in Some instances has le to differences in emphasis in this edition ‘Thave, for instance, come to recognize thatthe schema however much debated in ‘cognitive psychology) offers a conventont tramawork for dealing with ssues of ‘presupposition, prediction, inference and soon; and thatthe notions of top-down and bottom-up processing are likewise useful in disuesing the way wevesd. These, andother ideas drawn trom discourse analysis and pragmatics have influenced my ‘thinking. especially since the mid-eightios, whon T taught related courses in the University of Edinburgh and learned a great deal from both students and colleagues. ‘Some changes in this edition result from earlier misealeulations of emphasis; for Instance, Fhad not intended the Issues of reading speed and readability measures to figure so prominently inthe first edition. The cautions included there were barely ‘noticed I hope in this edition thatthe emphases better reflect my thinking. tt ‘remains, however, a regret that despite the much enlarged extent ofthe book, there still ems tobe no room for aproper treatment either of Literature or ofthe teaching foflitenacy in foreign langage Inspite ofthe currency of other opinions, Ihave saen no reason toalter my view that a ‘good reader is one who can interpret the textas the writer Intended. This isnot to claim that meaning Is unproblematic, and eorainly not to hold thatthe reader must aaccodeto the writor's intention. Lam allfor teachingritical reading (and Lagroe that TThave not given ifthe prominence i deserves). However, reader response theory in its more extreme forms is not, in may view, a helofal influence in considoring the sort oflearners for whose twachers thls bok I Intended: principally those whose language proficiency still hinders them from making plain sense ofthe text. Reeders tay interpre exis asthey choose, but few wil share their views ifthe interpretation {is the result of imorance or incompetence. Elin Spolsky!says, ‘understanding ddoeso'tentall accepting’ Tagree, and would like fo turn theremarkon its head, and claim thot rejecting entails understanding. Many reading text books have gone ut of print since the first edition, and sadly this ‘meludes some excellent materials. have kept ome of them in Appendix B and inthe bibliography. because Ihave found nothing comparableamong current titles. Some very good new materials have bocome availabe, however, and many are listed and referred te In response to requests, Ihave inchided some sample lesson plans, which T fervently hope willnot be treatod as models’ ut this means that we have less oom for extracts from published materials, As they ae a major souree ofnew ideas for teaching, Ihoporeadors will seek out theso marorials for thomselves. ‘There is now asection called Further reading atthe end ofeach chapter anda much ‘enlarged bibliography to support it. The chart comparing levels of graded readers has eon omitiod, because It rapidly becomes outa? date and does not seem to have been suc used, Finally, atlast there isan index. [ope it wil more than compensate for the much less detailed tale of contents, Many people have helped me with this second eition, Iam most grateful for the ‘commontsof reviewers and others, ana to Neville Grant, Bran Tomlinson and, above all, Norman Whitney for his very thorough comments. fam notably indebted tothe colleagues and students whohave influenced my thinking over the last twelve years, ceseclally Charles Alderson, Joan Allwright, Liz Hamp-Lyons, Jeremy Henzel! "Thomas, avid Hill, John Holmes, the late Betty Morrish, Hugh Trappes-Lomax, ‘Blizabeth White and - though they may not remember - Malcolm Coulthard and “Michael MeCarthy. Charmlan Harrison, Joana Riggand Edward Ullendorit have patiently allowed me to try out ideas on them and many other frlonds and relations ‘have been tolerant of my recusiveness while the book was being re-written. T would, Ike to thank ther al‘The revision could not have been undertaken without the library facilities made available to me by the Moray House Collegeof ducation, the University of| Einburgh (especially the Institute for Applied Language Studies andthe Edinburgh Project on Extonsive Reading) and the University of Lancaster (especially the Institute fr English Language Education an the Charlotte Mason Collegeof ‘Bducation). Some of he ibrary staff have been helpful far beyond the call of duty and Tam very grateful to them, Finally, Imust acknowledge the excellent advice, hard work and moral support provided by the publishers, particularly Jil Florent of Heinemann and Louise Elkins and Damien Tunnaelife of Phoenix Publishing Serviees; also dasignor Mike Cer for hs skill and patience. They have encouraged me over many a had patch and, ifthe book proves io be usoful. much ofthe eredit should goto them. For thedefielencies that remain of which Lam probably moreamare hen anyone, Taccept ful, responsibility. cEN September 1094 Anote on gender Asti tedious fo repeat fe o she and not almays possible fo use a neutral plural, 1 have adopted this policy: a writer ora teacher isreferred toas she,a reader ora student isroforred toas he, Thevo are arbiter decisions and earry no hidden messages, Anote o the reader Ifyouare daunted by the length ofthis book ry reading Part 1 to introduce yourselto the baste principles and then move straight m Part 3 which is concerned with classroom application of these principles. Later you can return to Part 2for further details if you wish Anote about the activities ‘Answers/explanations for some ofthe activites are provided in the key (p28). This is Signalled by akey symbol Omg atthe headof the activity, Abbreviations used in the text EFL/ELT/ESL/ESP English asa Foreign Lenguage/Enelish Language Teaching/English asa Second Languaye /English fr Specific Purposes SPER Bainburgh Project on Extensive Rexding (see pl21 and Appendix D) FL foroignlanguage 11 rstlanguage mother tongue, naziveianguage) 12 second! language McQ — multiple choice question OHP overhead projector OWT overhead projector transparency SPQ_ signpost question SQIR study, question, read, recite, review (see p28) WR true/falsoquestion wpm words perminuteTAROT Chapter 1 What is reading? us nook is about reading foreign language, and particularly about reading English asa foreign or second language EFL/ESL). We shall bedealing mainly \with the place ofreading ina teaching programme; whother its possible to teach people toread isa vexed question, but | belive we can a east help them to lean, “The book makes practical suggestions forthe classroom, butitalso reflets the view tha, inthe reading class, the most important thing is that both the teacher and the student should understand the reading process. I certainly seems to be true that ‘some ofthe things that happen in classrooms may interfere with reading rather than promote it So this firstpart outlines a vies of raiding which wil be more thoroughly ‘explored in Part Two and will underie the practical suggestions in Part Three. Defining reading Ditforent people use the term reading in diferent ways, whieh ean eause much confusion. $0 we had better start by makingsure that we are thinking about the same ‘thing when we use the term. As first step, would be useful fo find out wal your own ideas are about reading, so please do Activity 11 before turning the page. Activity 1.1 Whatisreading? ‘Take a plove of paper and write down abrief definition ofthe term reading, Don’t takemore than five minutes over this Don't turn the page until you have written your definition of reading.Chantor Wats reading? ‘What sort of definition ld you give? Did you vse words from one af hese groups? 44 decode, decipher, identify ete 1b articulate, speak, pronounce, te ‘¢- understand, respond, meaning, oe ‘Lookingat the idvas refieted in those three groups will help to clarify the view af ‘reading that is central to this boo. ‘Teachors whose definition includes the eas flected in group a arefocusing on the first thing ofall about reading: unless we can recognize the written words, we cannot ‘evon bogin to road, This certainly importan: we know that good readers are able to ‘dent words very rapidly, and helping learzers to do this isa key task for teachers ‘fearly reading. But itis debatable whether specific traning ean Improve word ‘recognition at later stages which are our concera inthis book ~and no suggestions are offered. Its more likely that speed cores from massive amounts of practice, ‘which we discuss in Chapter 8. "The words in group b reflect a common exporioncs: ina great many classrooms, the reading lesson is used as.an opportunity fo teach pronunciation, practise fuent and ‘expressive speaking, and soon. For early readors, again, reading eloud is important they have to discover how writing isassoctatel with the spoken words they already use. Butthis stage does not last long. What is ‘ieTunetion of reading aloud afer that? ‘We shall return fo this question later. ‘Before we deal with the words in group ¢, it would be helpful to do Activity 12 Activity 1.2 What have you been reading? ‘Take flve minutes to ls all the different kinds of things you have read in theast few days, nang languaye. Remember to include things like these: ‘© telephone directory Statistics label on meaicine bottle ‘engagement diary street map letter © timetable ‘9 instruction eatet “notice ‘© application form Finally, categorize the items on your list according tothe language they were written {n. How many were written in English (or whatever foreign language you are {nierested in)? And how many ofthese were directly concerned with your teaching? Reasons for reading Reading in different ways for different purposes ‘Think about the things you listed in Activity 12, Why did youread each one? What did _you want to got from it? Was it only informaticn? What abou the letter fram home?Reasonsfor reading ‘The detective novel? You will find that you had variety of reasons for roading, andi ‘You compared notes with othe people, you would find different reasonsagain, ‘Now think about the way you read each item. How did the various reasons influence this? Do you read a telephone directory the ime way asa poem? How about astreet ‘map ora diagram? Reading these is very uni readinga book, “The way you tackled each text was strongly influenced by your purpose in reading, Quickly scanning. page to find someone's telephone number is very different from ‘perusinga legal document, You probably noticed big differences in the speed you Used. Did you alsofind that in some eases you read silently while in others you read aloud? What were the reasons tha le you toarticulate what you read? Fer most of ws, reading aloud ls uncommon outside the classroom, Reading for meaning ‘Whatever your reasons for reading excluding any reading for language earning), i {snot very likely that you were interested inthe pronunciation of what you read, and even les likely that you were interested inthe grammatical structures used. You read because you wanted to got somothing rem the writing, We will al this the ‘message: it might have been facts, bt could just as wll havo been enjoyenent, ides ‘feelings (trom a family letter, for insta), Whatever it was, you probably wanted to got tho message thatthe writer intone, ‘You were interested in what the writing meant; hence the sort of worl found in groupe on y2 turn out tobe the important ones ifwe are trying tomakea definition ‘that eovers most authentic reasons for reading. (By authentic mean reasons that ars concerned not with language learning but with the uses of reading in our dally lives ‘ould theelasercom ) ‘The view of reading offered inthis book is essentially concerned with meaning, specifically with the transfer of meaning fro mind o mind: the transfer ofa messaze from writer to reader. As we shall see, its nat quiteas simpleas that, but we exelude ‘ny interpretation ofthe word reading in which moaning isnot contra We shall explore how we get meaning by reading, andhow thereader, the writer and the ext ‘ach contribute tothe process, Why do people read foreign languages? Perhaps the advantages of knowinga foreign language are clear to your stadents— better obs, access toliterature or whatover. Reading usually recognized asa necessary part of these activities. However, the only foreign language tems you have read recently (your list m Activity 2) were directly eoncemed with your teaching, t may be that you, and your students too, donot really need to read that language excopt for classroom purpores. Italsts thocase, we must not be surprised ifstudent motivation is low. This is & ‘major problem for many language teachers: the motivation of needing to read is, powerful. However, you ean also motivate stutents by making thei foreign language ‘reading interesting in itsel."Mhe language isalive-itsusers have the same variety of ‘urposes for realing as anybody has when reading thelr mother tongue and this fact can be used by teachersto increase motivation, ‘Teontond that by treating eadingas apurpocfil activity, we can make teaching ‘more purposeful and classes Tivelier, even In the dificult circumstances just outlined Ityou teach in such eircamstanoos, please suspend your disbelief for the moment meChapter Whats rentng? are going to discuss the way reading works when Its used for real fe purposes, and thls should givo you a better understanding of t. Later (mainly in Part Three) we shall explore ways of using this understandingtolelp students read beter, whether this isa matter ofreal necessity or justan examination quirement. Getting a message froma text ‘We shall assume, therefore, that reading has ove overriding purpose: toget meaning froma text, Other ways of looking at reading wil noteoncern us, Our business With the way areader gets message from a text So we will begin by establishing what we ‘moan by a mossago Reading and the communication process Figure gives avery simple mode! of the process of communication, encoding cocina ton SENDER RECEIVER, ‘encoder ‘decoder weer reader speaker stoner Figure? The communication proces On the left isthe writer: but since she (we will nake her a woman) could equally wel speak her message, we will use the more goneral arm encoder for her role. The encoder has a message in mind (it may be an idea, a fact, feeling, etc) which she ‘wants somebody olse to share. To make this possible, she must first pat it into words: thats, she must encode it. Once encode, itis avallable outside her mind asa written ‘or spoken text. The text is accessible tothe mint of nother person whoreads Or hears it,and who may then decode the message itconiains. After being decoded, the ‘message enters the mind ofthe decoder and eormunteation is achieved. ‘Obviously this model is co simple, for things can go wrong atany stage. That is why there lea question mark in the dovodor's mind, for wo cannot bo sure he (wo Will make ‘hima man) his received the message intended. However, the process isclear enough {orus to say that reading means geting out of fe text as nearly as possible the message the writer put into it. (ow we respond to this meaning sehether, for Instance, we accop it, reject itor transform it using our own imagination is ‘another matte) We need to consider further the parts played by the writer, the ‘reader andthe ‘ext; and we wll start with the reader,Roding and thecormmuoiction process Is the reader's role passive? ‘igure? illustrates one fry widely held view ofreading. Figure? Oneviewoteacng ‘The text is ll of meaning like ajug ful of weter; the reader's mind soaks It up Like a sponge. In this view, the reador'srale is pass.ve;al the work has been done the ‘writer and the reader has only to open his mind andet tho meaning pour in, ‘Why do wo reject this? One reason i that it seldom happens like this. Not all the ‘meaning in the text actually sets into the reafr's mind. The figure should show at Teast some ofthe water trickling down the reader's face. The fact that the meaning is {in the text is unfortunately no guarantee tha the reader will get It out, for we know from experience that a text that seems easy to one person may seem difficult 0 another What makes a text dificult? ‘Tothrow some light on this question, we willexamine in Activity 1.8 some texts that ‘many people would find difficult, Do this before reading the comments that follow. Activity 1.3 Difficult texts Hore are four texts that you may find dilficul: to read. They are difficult in different ‘ways; study each in turn and decide in each case what makes the text difficult. {2 Istuin erdang tarnmikuun loppupaivana Titinkanssa Kokkolasta Syriskylaan kulkevassa injarautossa, Ol kirpes pakkasiima, taivas ol kinks, j aurinko eit |umihangilej ten poikki puiden pitkedsinisiavaroja. From Kalco, ¥, 1954 Ne Tula Takatin (Warne Seder OY) 'b_ Inthe first example, a carbon anion is formed thats stabilized by resonance (electrons detcalized over the carbonyl gtoup and the a carbon ator. In the Second case, a carbon anion is formed thats stabilized by the electron ‘wathdrawing inductive eect of the thee hlcrnes. From University of Malay Language Cente 1979 Reading Projects Scene (University of Malye ressNcaon) e ’(Chapter Whar retina? Ideas imprinted on the senses are real things, or do realy exist, this wedo not deny, but we deny that they can subsist without the minds which percelve ther, or that they are resemblances of any archetypes existing without the mind: since the very being of a sensation or idea Consists Ir eng perceived, and an idea can be lke nothing but an idea, From Betkle, 6, 1949 Princes of Human Knowiedge (Nelson) 4 Cavorting inthe vicinity ofthe residential area populated by those of pscatoral {vacation the miniscule crustacean was enmeshed ina reticulated object with interstices between the intersections ‘Thisactivity demonstrates some of the ways Ia which texts can be difficult. ‘Ifyou found text a difficult, ts probably bocsuse you are not familiar with Finnish, ‘the code (iclanguage) in which itis written. $a prerequisiteforsatisfactary ‘communication isthat writer and reader should share thosame code. The ‘implication for foreign language teaching donot need pointing out ‘Text is dificult for someone who, lIke mo, knows ttl bout sclence, It would not help if looked up some ofthe words ina dictionary, because T should not understand the definitions. The only thing that would help is achemistry course, The dificult here depends on the amount ofprevious knowledge the reader brings tothe text, ‘The vocabulary used in texte isnot particularly elficult, bit many peoplefind that stsmessage eludes them. Even if you havea vegue idea wit it isahout, you probably cannot explain itelonrly unless you have reada good deal more by Bishop Berkeley (who wrote ft and thought carefully about hisarguments. For the diicuty lies notin ‘the language, and not inthe knowledge therosder requires, but in the complexity of the concepts expressed. (On the other hand, vocabulary i the only source of difficulty in text dsinee you can “translaie'it intoexiremely simple nglish am the message isnot challenging ‘intellectually. or readers whose vocabulary limited, this is more ike the problem. oftexta than bore: the writer's code is only partly the sameas the reader's Shared assumptions From these examples of textual difieully, weean see how important iis thatthe ‘reader and the writer should have certain things in common ifeammanication isto take place. The minimum requirement is thatthey share a code: that they write and “understand the same language. Textd also shows that they should have in common 2 similar command of the langage: for example, ifthe reader's vocabulary isfar smaller than the writers the text will behardto understand. In foreign language reading, this problem is basie and familia. A more interesting requirement is that readerand writer should share certain assumptions about the world and the way it works ifthe writer expects the reader to havea basic understandingof chemistry, thetext wil not be readily understood by ‘anyone who lacks this. More insidious, the writer may expect, ar even intend, the reader to share her views (moral, politcal or whatever), So problems arise when there isa mismatch between the presuppositions ofthe writer and those of ther ‘Naturally thore always isa mismatch of somekind, No two people have identical ‘experiences so the writer Is always likely to leave unsaid something thatshe takes {or granted, butthe reader does not. der,Theroteofte schema ‘Area of shared assumptions wirter Reader Fgue3-Presupsastion and eanmunicabon Figure3 is. simple way ofshowing how, for any two people, some kinds af experience are shared while others arenot. The shadedarea where the circle overlap represents ‘what the two poople have in eommon. In this area isall the knowledge including ‘knowledge ofanguage ~ that they share. Italso Includes more intangible things ike aititudes, beliefs, values and all tho unspoken assumptions shared by people brought ‘upin the same society. Inthe unshaded areas are the things nat shared: te ‘experiences and knowledge that ae uniqueto each individual The role of the schema ‘The kinds of assumption wo make about the world dopend on what we have :perienced and how our minds have organized the knowledge wo have got from ou ‘experiences, A useful way of thinking boul this provided by schema theory. A schema (plural schemata) isa montal structure. It isabstract because it es not relate toany particular experience, although itderives from all the particular experiences We have had. Ieisa strueture because i is organized; it neludes the relationships betseen its component parts. There is much debate about the precise nature ofschemata, but this need not concer us. or our purposes, itis enough t© recognize the schema as a useful concept in understanding how weare able ‘interpret texts ‘The way we interpret depends on the schemata activated by the text; and whether we interpret succesfully depends on whethor our schemata are sufficiently siaila to ‘the writer's, We wil lustre this by an example. How do we make sense of tls text? ‘The.bus careered along and ended up in the edge. Several passengers were hurt The driver was questioned by the police, |Wemake connections between the three sentences because wehavea schema about ‘uses this inclues the fact that buses carry passengers, a that a bus has a driver. ‘once we take it that the passengers mentioned were in the bus and not ina carthat Inappened tobe tere) and that the drivor was the bus driver, not from another vehicle, Yet the sentences do not actually tellus these things: we are making assumptions based on experience, Another component of our bus schema Is that buses run on roads: thus we assume thatthe bus was careering along road, eves though no road is mentioned, This ‘means that ourread schema is hovering a theback of our minds incase of need; and tho road schema for some readers will inelute components such as walls, hedges, fences, whieh mark the limit ofa road. Thess readers willeasily visualize the bus going foo fast, leaving thoroad and erashing into the hedge that hordered it ReadersChapter What ie reeding? \whose experience (and therefore whose rad sthema) does not include hedges along roads will perhaps have difficulty here. Finally, we wllJo0k at our driver schora; this will for most of us include the idea that the river is responsible for the safety ofthe vhicle driven. Hence weare not ‘surprised to hear thatthe police questioned him (probably our schema sees bus driver as male}. Nor would we be surprised ifthe next sentence told usthe driver was arrested, because we probably havea schema :ssoclating poliee questioning with ‘lt, How nice, therefore, to confound our expzctations with this final sentence: ‘She was later congratulated on her quick thinking and skilul handing ofthe bus ‘when the brakes failed ‘Yes, the driver was a woman. For readers who had not considered this possibility ‘thelr bus driver sehema wil change toaccommodate it. This another way of saving ‘that thoy have oarnt something rom their reaing. Schemata ae built up {earn experiences; new experiences, including those derived from reading, change existing schemata. Soa schema grows and changes throughout our ives, for as longas we retain the capacity to learn. ‘Thus eadingat the same time makes use ofexisting schemata and modifies them. In ‘responsive reader -one whois alert and actively processing tho oas in tne text ~ the relevant schemata are activated. That means they are ready tobe ealledon to explain unstated relationships eg that the brakes are te bus brakes) and also liable tobemodified by new ideas. Presupposition ‘The idea that past exporience gives rsato knowledge organized into schemata makes ‘teasy tose that many connections between fects can be left unstated in texts. We did ‘ot need to be told that the driver was the bus driver, thatthe hedge ran alongside the road; such connections are conveitonal,auoutatic, for target readers thats, the readers for whom the wrter Intends the tex). Its equally oasy to soo that thore may be problems for readers who donat share the relevant Schema. The writer will not waste time spelling aut factsand relationships {hat she assumes are already in the reader's mind. So thereader may be let with too litle information to make sonso ofthe text. Eitierhe does not have the schema stall, (eghehas no idea what a hodgo is), or is schera is significantly different from the wrlter's (og his road schema doesnot include the idea of hedgos). ‘Because presuppositions are unstated, readersare often unaware of them. This ‘makes them difficult to deal with; perhaps the reader hasan uneasy impression that he does not fully understand th text but he earnet locate the cause. Readers who are aware ofthe potential problem are halfway o solving if; they ean scrutinize the text {or unstated assumptions and try to identify th mismatch that has produced thelr «ifmeulty. Activity 1.tis intended to help you to recognize the kinds of presupposition ‘that ean underlie texts so that you.can help your students todo the same. Activity 1.4 Identifying presuppositions ‘Study the following short texts and try to identity, foreach one, the presuppositions ‘that underlie the text andthe assumptions the writer makes about the reader. ‘a Red-wattled Lapwing: In general shape not unike the European Lapwing and {ound in similar types of country. (Rroma handbook of bird identification)Presuppesition 'b_ The biggest problem in getting animation accepted has been the ides that ‘animation’ means Walt Disney. (From anarticle about animation in films) © Rubber futures closed the morning easier at the lows and mostly fram 0.70 to 0.80, pence per kilo down on yesterday. Turnover was 188 lots of 15 tonnes, including 26 kerb trades and two options. (From anewspaper business page) 4. Total movement of the belt should be approximately 10 mm midway between the pump and jockey pulleys when checked with normal wrist effort. (Prom acar tsee's handbook) ¢ Itwas a puppy. tiny rickety puppy, many starved; a loose rbby bundle on the ‘ground. It made no noise. I tried tft tse up. ft only collapsed again, without complain, without share, (Prom Naipaul, V.8, 1959 The Sufrage of Efvira (André Deutsch) ‘We will consider in turn each text in Activity 14. Remoraber that my own experience and culture make it difficult forme to see the texts through the eyes ofa forelgn ‘student: you may have found difficulties in the texts that Ihave not noticed, In Texta the difficulty is straightforward: the texts no use to readers who have no ‘Enropean Lapwing schema, ie who donot know what this bird looks Ike, nor in what sortof country itis found ‘Tounderstand Text b, the reader noods a Walt Disney schema that inludes thefact that he is the best known producer of animstea films; Dut im order toaee that this contributes toa ‘problem’, the reader must aloshare-or at least recognize—the ‘implied view that Disney films are in some way undesirable, ‘Text erelies heavily onthe reader's knowingthe code having the schemata sssociated with th tochnieel jargon (urures easier los, oven, berb trades, opens) ‘and also wider schema relating othe way rubber and ather commoditios are dealt with, For instance, is 18 lotsa big turnover not? Are ots always of 15 tonnes? (Presumably noi, since itis specifically mentioned; in that case, what isthe Significance?) And soon, ‘The advioe in Text does not help me to chee my fan belt, though that was its Durpose. Why not? Thi writer too expects moto understahd the code, including the abbreviation and the technical terms (bel, e:). Lam also expected ta know what wrist ‘effort is ‘normal, and what sort of movementof the belt is involved, (Where do [puta ruler tomeasure 10mm?) Regrettably, my car engine échema includes none ofthese. inally, Text e. This is more complicated, bocause it isattitudes that are presupposed. CCulturelly determined schemata often differ not merely in the facts sssociated with thecentral eoncopt (og whothor roads are bordered by hedges or not), but also inthe ‘may diferent societies view (hese cts. Anexamples the seheraa for"sunsthine’ ih {he mind of «native ofthe northern countriee(omething tobe sought) and in the mind ofsomeone from the tropis (somethingta be shunaed, ‘The writer of Texte expects us to share his attude ta the puppy; readers from some cultural backgrounds have interproted ita disgust (misied by words ike many), {ailing to tune into the sympathy signalled by tiny, starved, and the half admiring {description ofthe puppy's sticism and determination. No doubt the British tendency tobe sentimental about animals influences my own view: but the puppy daes become ‘thehero ofthe book, so I suspect thwauthor shares it In this example the assumptions reso deep that they receive only tho slight! Linguistic expression.(Chapter What erecting? Total understanding? ‘The final example in Activity 1. indicates the importance of background in understanding. People of similar background tond to have similar schemata; for ‘hem, the shaded area in Figured - the common ground ~ is much bigger than for people coming from different backgrounds, ‘The greater the sizeof the shaded area, the easier communication Is; readers whose Janguage and background differ from the writer's ean expeet a more difficult task. On {he other hand if they are similar, the readers likely to interpret the test without conscious effort. There are still dangers of misintorpretation, however: careless reader may read into the text meanings that are not there, simply because his sonse of having much in common with the writer is sostrong, Such a reader assumes thatthe ‘extent ofthe common ground is greater than actually is. \Whon writers make similar false assumptions about the extent to which waders are likely to share thelr knowledge, beliefs, etc, readers may be consciousof having to ‘struggle to understand, and sometimes thoy may fail. In fact, the widaty different ‘backgrounds male more obvious a fact that we sometimes forget: that we can never understand one another completly. Except inthe most sovnroly scientific writing, this seems inevitable, because al of us-however much we have in common have «tterent experiences whieh make us soe things differently. But ofcourse one reason for readings that we want to understand other people's ideas; if we woreall identical ‘there would beno point in most communication. Fortunately, for mast purposes, the “understanding need not be complete but the fet that we cannot get inside the ‘writer's mind is no excuse for not doing our best to understand what she wants to say. -fweare having a conversation, we can stop the other person and ask for explanations and examples whenever weed them. The writer, however, is seldom available for consultation, s0 when we have difficulties in reading, the only way we canask ‘questions is to interrogate the text iso, Tisisexaetly what good readers do, the Way they read has indoed been described as ‘active interrogation ofa text. Active Involvement of the reader ‘We can now begin to see why the model of reading shown in Figure? was ‘unsatisfactory. Te meaning is not lying in the text waiting to be passively absorbed ‘On thecontrary the render isactively involved and often has to work to get the ‘meaning out, ‘A mode! ike Figure 4is nearer the truth: it showea view of reading in whieh the reader canbe seen approaching meaning actively. The reader on te left isfindinglittle eed, and accepting frequent not fully successful temps as the normal price oe fad for leaning. ‘Your attitude to students who are unsuccessfulneetstorefeet spirit of common ervieavour, notassessment. Mator of fact and gentle recognition of error achieves more ‘than criticism or condemnation, an the snoner the students follow your example in ‘thot attitude to one another, the sooner val earning wll begin. We alllear from one ‘another's attempts, and we lear more rom those whieh are imperfect, bcatse that is ‘where you can use scaffolding to push the students towards their ‘next stp level. Learner training ‘Much of what Ihave suggested you do in the classroom can be summed upas learner training: a consetous attempt on your part to ezuip the students to make a conscious attempt on their part to find out what eps nan ta rend better, so that they ean adopt successful strategies fr tekling texts. Obvioisly this should start as soon a8, possible. It takes time (patience and tenacity a-e use qualities for a teacher), but it ‘works, provided you adopt the kinds of lassreom procedure describedabove end elsewitere in thebook, and provided you makesure thatthe stadenis always tunderstand the point of what they re doing, Many students havenever taken charge oftheir own learning, nor experienced critical thinking before. They find it dificult, at firs, but berating and powerful once they have learnt howto ot; and you may ‘berewarded by seeing them develop remarkably, achap Approaching reading in the freon language classroom Equipping students for the future CConseious development of reading skils is Important because we are trying to eaup students for the ture. It impossible o fam Tiarize them with every text they will fever want tonead: bur what we can doisgive tiem techniques for approaching texts of Variouskinds, tobe used for various purposes, That isthe essence of teaching reading. ‘Teaching students just how to read Text Ale rot teaching them how to read. However, the generalized skills of reading ean only be asquired through practising the specific sills requited for neading Toxt A, Toxt Band so an. One of ur responsibilities sto ‘make sure that the bridge is built between the pecificand the general. And one way bf helping the student to generalize his skills to make sure that he reads Totand has alot of practice in using the skills with varied materials Intensive and extensive reading ‘Most ofthe reading skis are trained by studying shortish texts in detail. Butothers require the use oflonger texts, eluding complete books. These two approaches are ‘described traditionally as intensive and exteasive reading. Ofcourse there are not Just two contrasting ways ofreading butan ifinite variety of interrelated and Overlapping strategies. Intensive and extensive reading are complementary and oth are necessary, as wellas other approaches which ft into neither category. Intensive reading "The labels indicate a eifference In classroom proceduress wells a difference in ‘purpose. Intensive reading involves approaching thetest under the guidance ofa ‘teacher (the right kind of guidance, as defined earllar or a task which forces the student to focus on the text, The aim isto arviveatan understanding, not only of what thetext means, but oFhow the meaning s profuced, The how" is as important as the “what, for the intensive lesson is intondod primariy to train strategies which the student an go on to use with other texts Skills-based and text-based teaching ‘Within intensive reading, afurthordatinetin can be made betwoon skills based and textbased teaching. tna skills-based lessan,the intention iso focuson a particular ll, eg inference from context In arder to develop this, number of texts may be used, each offering opportunities to practise “he sill. Other aspects ofthe texts will, ‘ot bedenlt with unless they contribute to the specificobjectiveaf the lesson. A text- ‘based lesson, on the other hand, is what we usually have in mind when referring to ‘an intensive reading lesson: the text itself isthe lesson focus, and students ry to ‘understand itas fully as necessary, using all he skills they have acquired. Weneed both approaches, and others, Skids based and text-based teaching are complementary, as intensiveand extensive readingare. Extonsivereading and dealing with longer texts Itisoften assumed that in order tounderstand the whole (eg. book), we must first ‘understand the parts (sonteaces, paragraphs, chapters) of whieh itis made up. However, we can in fact often understand a ext adoquately without graspingevery part oft students have to be encouraged te develop tisfacilty. Tis suggests we ‘ought topay attention toextensiveas well asintensive reading. 8Iniensow and extesioereading Moreover, longer textsare lable to get forgotten in the elassroom, since i iseasier to handle oct texts whieh can be studied in lesson or two, But the whole isnot just thesum ofits parts, and there are reading strategies which ean be trained only by practice on longer texts. Sonning and skimming, the use ofa contents ist, an Index and similar apparatus, are obvious ones. More complex and arguably more important are the ability to discern relationships betwen the various parts ofa longer text, the contribution made by each tothe plot or argument, the accumulating evidenceata ‘writer's point of view,andso on "Those are matters which seldom get much attention except in the literature clas, but ‘they apply to reading any kind of book. They cannot be ignered i students are to Decome competent readers. ‘But clas time is always inshort supply and theamount ofreading needled toachieve ‘ueny and efficiency is very great much greater than most students will undertake ‘fet to themselves. So we need to promote reading out of elass. Some suggestions about how sucha programme might be organize. are made in Chapier & Further reading ‘On the use of reading to promote language development, see Chapter 8 Further ‘Reung. Johns and Davies 1983 makes the distinetion botweon texts as Vehicles for ‘information and as linguistic abjects. (On theteacter's role, see Richards 190 Charter. On the principles of teaching reading, see Smith 1963 Chapter 2; Williams 188. Wood 190 explains the concepts of scaffolding and tho"zone of proximal develorment (efmy "next stp’ level, Krashen’s “+1 QGrashen 1085, 1908), Prabhu’s ‘reasonable challenge’ (Prabhu 1967) Calrney 3960 and Mallett 1997 also discuss theso, andthe related importance of txt talk ‘These concepts derive trom Vygotsky 1978 Practical applications include the ‘apprentieshp’ approach (Harrison and Coles 1660; Waterland 1968) and ‘tex talk’ approaches, eg Lunzer eta 1984, which includes illuminating trenseriptsofreadinglossons. Onlezrner training see Bs and Sinclair 19%, Transeripts and think-aloud proteeals such as Astanian 186, Block 1605, 199 show he need to develop the metacognitive skills. On metacognition see also Dav les 1985, Wray 1984; Carrell tl 1966; Casanave 1988; Spires 1880; Henshaw 181. ‘On the treatment of longer texts see Collie and Slater 1967Introduction -y Pax'Two we examine in more deal the various skills and strategies a reader needs, and suggost ways of developing thom Reading skills? ‘A great deal oftesearch effort has tried to deny a eatalogue of reading skis and ¢establlsh thelr relationships with one another, but the issues remain controversial and this book does not address them. 1a any ease it is gonerally agreed that, if Individual skllsexist, they work together and are inextricably linked. Can Instruction aimed at developing individual resding skis be justified? ‘Most people avcopt that we eanat ast identify certain strategies whichreadersean, ‘makeconscioasuse of when readingdificult texts. Probably thebestway tozequire ‘these issimplytoread andread. However, there evidence that strategy tralning(or skillteaching- the termsare often used interchangeably helps. (See es Kern 18, Pressley otal 189, Moran and Willams!995) What wecan safely laim{sthatcertain kindsofpracticeare intuitively plausibleand seom tohelpstudentstoread more ettectively Strategies of practice ‘Whether is one skill or many, readings impsoved through practice; so strategies of practice occupy much of oar tention in this book. We aso look at some of tho underlying theory because teachers and to some extent students) need to understand ‘tin order to make proper use of strategies and se the point of practising them. "The stratogios to be covered arediverso. ‘To red efficiently involves both the physical stratopios ofrending flexibly and the study strategies of making the most ofall the information the text offers- titles, diagrams, index and soon (Chapter 4) The most challenging part of this book. however, deals with the strategies needed for tackling tents that aredilficultin one way oF another. Problems in understanding texts ‘We need to know what students are likely to find difficult, so that we an help thom tackle texts independently. Chapters, 6and deal with the sort of difficulties that ‘occur and with tho kinds of tasks that may be wseful. For practical reasons, the ‘examples are limited to English, though similer principles apply inany language. ‘As we havo seen, it is possible to have a pretty z00d idea ofa writer's mossage without ‘understanding the plain sense of every sentence, but it snot possibleto be sureaf it, nor to respond fully. We discuss dificutiosafostablishing the plain sense in Chapter 0dealing with vocabulary, and Chapter 6 dealing with syntax. including cobesion, ‘Bven when the plain sense ofevery sentonco:s understood, the reader may sil be tunable to make sense ofthe text a8 a whole. Bven Ll readers have this problem, which ‘conoems the interpretation of value (not so much what the writer says as why she saysit) and the relationships betweon different parts a text, or et ween reals, \writor and text, We deal with these in Chapte:7, Stadentsnaturally often have Aimicalties with the eoneeptual content of texts, particularly ithe tope Is unfemiliar or if writer and reader are from different cultures but these are mostly outside tho ‘scope ofthis book. Aspects ofthe cultural backgronnd may well nved explaining, and ‘many teachers (especially those teaching languages for specie purposes - SP and so ‘on) find themselves willy-nilly teaching concepts well. However, concept formation ‘s arguably not the job of the language teacher and weshall give very ite attention, Teaching text attack skits ‘Students need a range of strategies to deal with texts. As we want them toconfront problems instead of running away from them, we refer to these as atéack skills, borrowinga term from mother tongue teaching. ‘The first stop i to Identify the sources of potential trouble, Most studentsare well s, youwill see thatthe donot move ‘continuously along the line tut eaverthedistarce in several jumps, called fixations. stImprove reaang spe ‘A good reader makes fewer fixations than a pyor one; his eye takes in several words at ‘atime. Moreover, they are not just random sequences of words: an efficient reader ‘chunks text into sense groups, units of meaning exch consistingof several words, ach chumnkcis ten in by one fisation ofthe eyes. Soa good reader may chan: ‘The good old man raised his hand /in blessing ‘Or hemight manage with only two fixations for this short sentence. He would certainly not chunk lke tis: The good fold man raised his hand in blessing, Nor would he read word by word. ‘The words ofa text are like jigsaw puzzle piees. Often you can soe that several pieces fit together. so you can build up various parts ehunks ~ofthe pleure separately After that you ean fit together Whole chunks without payingattention tothe small, pieces that compose them. Clearly iteeds les effor to fit together afew larger ‘hunks than 819% of small ploces. Inthe same way, a god reader takos in the sense ofe whole chunk without pausing to consider the individual words. Itis quicker tofit together the sense of two or three ‘chunks than todo the same with allthe separsto words thet compose them, So the larger the sense groups the reader ean tak in, the more easily he will turn them into ‘coherent messages. ‘The student's problem is often that he doesnot know the target language well enough tochunk effectively. Many students read word by word, especially ifthe texts ficult, a toeneourage good reading habits. alt of practice with easy texts is needed, Thare is never enough time fr this nthe classroom, so this is yet another ‘portant purpose foran extensive reading programme Chapter) ‘Training students take in longer chunks Opinions differ about how far itis possible to train students to recognize sense groups ‘and taken longer chunks at each fixation. Geitins them to skim through the text. ‘fore beginning to read i properly may help by giving rough idea of what Its ‘bout; this may reduce the need fora word by word approach. There are also exercises that some claim are helpful for example 1 Tests aroset out innarrow columns with ae sense group on each line. The student tries to force himself to make one fixation for each line for example by ‘moving his inger down the centre of the column and making his eye fallow it. In this way itis hoped he will accustom hiecoif totakingia increasingly long chunks of text at single eye fixation, 2 Youcan prepare similar materia (using the column layout) for use on OUP, covering the text with amask that you then move dawn the text torwveal each ‘consecutive line atthe speed you consider appropriate 8 Practice material is available on film and computer with one sense group displayed _tatime, thorate of presentation being stocdily spoded upas the student's skill increases. Inthe ease of computers, the student can often contro the spaed himsel, 55Chapters Bficiontreading ‘However. the physical act of taking Inthe sense group isnot the sameas assimilating ts moaning, Wo shall return to this point later. Choosing texts for speed practice "The time needed to read atoxt depends on its linguistic difficulty and onthe density of the information it carries, text is dense when the minimum murmber of words expresses the maximum amountof information. A dense text i usually more dificult ‘ofollow than one which presents information in amore extended was. ‘Studonts need the security of familar language and concepts when they begin work ‘onskimming, scanning and faster reading. The material used needs to be well below ‘the level ofthe current language textbook; to begin with, it should contain no language difficulties tall. ‘When students accept that they really ean get the gist without reading every word, youcan moveto similar exercises using slightly more dificult material. The next thing sto prove that unfamiliar vocabulary isaften no bar to comprehension. You may have to deal wth guilt felings about skipping unkown words instead of looking thom upin the dictionary; this is alt with at greater length in Chapter 5. Ifthe text contains more than afew new words,or is dificult in other ways, ts dangerous to make students try to ruad It fas. Its simply not possible to read fst, ‘andalso with understanding, ifthe text is beyead their language proficiency or ‘contains eomplex ideas. Ifthey are obliged to study itor professional purposos they will haveto learn how to use skimming and scanning, and the other short cuts outlined earor inthis chapter, to identify the parts they need to read with are, ‘What speeds should be expected? Since it is obviously more difficult fora student to improve his reading speed in a fovelgn language than in the Li, and much rskler, You may wonder if tshould be aitempted, ‘tused tobe claimed that people could read at several thousand wordsa minute, but today we recognize that this is an extreme form of scanning, not reading proper. Such ‘exaggerated claims are unhelpful, but students can usually makeand maintain significant improvements in speed once they realize that this is possible and usefUl Progress may be particularly strkeing whore irital speeds arovery low. ‘SeGondary school pupils in countries where Brglish is second language may read at 120-160 words per mine (pr) before traning, University students in similar areas may read at about 20 wpm, but have been found to study at rates as slow as 60 wom: ‘presumably the texts weredificultand had to be understood thoroughly. University students in countries with little tradition of reading may read as slowly as 40 wpm ‘oven in their LL A theee etdents oan make significant advances mn peed after ‘raining; doubling the ate is not uncommon. An average inerease isabout 30 per vent. (Comparisonsare meaningless unless you know exactly what is being mezsured, But ‘tmay be useful to lziow that an L speaker of English, of about average education and intelligence, reads at about 200 wpm, The range among Ll speakers Is wide: rates of up tc. 800 wpm and dovn to 140 wpm are not uncommon,“improving red spect ir tins ret ct Finding out students’ reading speed First get the students’ co-operation by explaining the programe this is important. Most people are keen tofind out about their reading speed, and motivation plays an important part in improving spoods. Honesty Iseasential if you are to get reliable results so individual results need not be mae publicand must not count towards assessment; hence cheating is polntless, ‘Begin by finding outhow fast your students read now. This will show the sizeof the ‘problem and later their improvement can be measitred. Choose ashortish unfamiliar ‘ext tha is not difficult forthe students (preferably with no new worl), Gout the ‘number of Words ini. Devise straightforward questions on it~ preferably fiver ten, sothat the percentage answered correctly is easy to calculate. Multiplechoice oc ‘ue/false are the simplest to handle (see Chapter 1). Explain how the activity will bo organized (se below) and/emphasize that nobody ‘must start reading until you are realy. Then giveeach student acleary legible copy ofthe text with the number of words stated, and finally give the signal to start. ‘While the students read, your Jb isto indicate the time that elapses. Prepare a chart ‘onthe blackboard or OHP, 2s shown below, tocaver the time you consider the slowest ‘students will need to read the text. The figures represent ten-second intervals, 12 3 4 5 6 amine T 8 9 1 1 12 @minutes) andsocn. ‘Stand boslde the chart where every student can see it and keep count ofthe time (you ‘eed timepiece that indicates sooonds). Move a pointer along the rows of figures as each ton-second interval lapses. ‘When the stucent fnishesreading, he immedistely looks at your pointer and notes the time itshows. For instance, iit is pointing athe has taken | minute seconds ie 60 seconds) to read He cen then ealeulatehis reading speed in words per minute by Means ofa simple equation: nber of words in the text {is the number often second intervals he needed to read the text is the number oftensecond intervals ina minute ‘isthe reading speed in words per minute (wpm), Forexample, ithe text contains 250 words andthe time taken to read it is 0 seconds (ight ten-second intervals) the equation will ra 250+ 8x6 = 1675 ‘The reading speed is 1876 wpm. ‘The procedure is more complicated to explaln than todo! Irecommend a tral run witha short text before the first eal test, ea thst everyone understands what to do, ‘You donot want the results tobe compromisedby people not doingit properly. One {ely bitch is that some students will not know haw to set about reading quickly; ‘earlier practice with texts onthe blackbosrd or OHP, with you moving a pointer down, ‘the lines at reasonable reading speed, may help them totealize what Is neded ‘After the first test, give regular reading speed tests during the course so that each student can observe his own steady improvement and you ean monitor thoffvets of Your teaching: Remember though that improval speed cannot be measured if you give ‘increasingly eificult txts, so for progress estsusea simllar level af text throughout sChaptors Rint reading Balancing speed and comprehension [After noting the time taken, the student answers the questions. When everyone has finished, you ean discuss the answers students mark thelr own (sine they ean cheat ‘only themselves) and weigh the score against their reading speed. ‘Asreading is partly a physical sil, to someesxtent speed can be improved without reference fo comprehension, However, speed is worthless unless the reader ‘understands what he reads. That is why we measure comprehension. BUt {nterpreting the results is problemetie. Which isthe hetter reader; one with. score of 400 por cont anda reading speed of 140 wpm, or ane with a score of 70 per eentanda speed of 200 wpm? And what seare isto he considored adequate? The general view ‘seems tobe that about 70 percent isenoagh. ‘Wenced not be to concerned with such problems; as we saw, they depend partly on ‘te reader's purpose and thenature ofthequestions. An apparent target of less than 400 per cent worries some people, butt would be misleading to think thatthe aim isa ‘comprehension scare of 70 per cent. The purpase is quite different: it isto increase ‘Speed ano achieve this we are prepared - temporarily, and only in speed:training, ‘exereises to aocept some reduction in compretensfon. The expectation i that ‘eventually both speed and comprehension will Merease. In the reading programme as ‘whole, comprehension remains the overriding consideration. Reading habits in the LT ‘We noted that some students donot read offielontly even in their L1, This hinders the evelopment ofeficient reading inthe foreign anguage, for there isa strong transfer ‘of reading habits from one language to another. ow readers manage to bring their forelgn language speeds upto anything like their [Lt speeds. Butithe 1 isnot much read, and if ad L1 reading habits have developed, tention tL reading isa useful preliminary. especially where the writin system is Similarto that ofthe target language. Improved reading habits can then transfer Toreign language reading Faulty reading habits ‘Mhobooks listed in Further reading include teciniques that can be adapted to speed {ajning in ang language, Some were written with earners of English asa foreign language in ming, but others are fr Ll readers, so we need to treat cautiously comet the suggestions made about faults in reading technique ~someof which are net ‘sccepted by Ll teachers either. Por instance, soveral early reading habits are alleged o slow down the reader when ‘hey persist into later stages of reading. One ofthese is subvocaltzing, that is, forming the sounds of the words you are reading. and even murmuring them sloud. "This giveselementary L1 readers the support ofthe spoken language, with which they are more familiar, Understandably, forelgnlanguege readers also value this support. “Like reading aloud, subvocallzation is much shower than silent reading the eyes ‘move faser than the tongue), 3 effieient readers do no subwocalize. But we should be ‘Cautious in urging students o break the habits itjustapointiess defect leftover from ear reading ays, or ist a symptom of secure command of the language, a prop that they still need? ‘Similar criticism is made of finger-pointing sich as children use tofix their 58Improving sing need tring retin set ‘concentration onthe word they are deciphering, Again, this slows down the reading it thetinger points wordby word. A better idea istouse acardboard guide as described below), but fingers can also bemace to move swiftly ifthe student realizes his can help him, ‘The habit is particularly common when the Lt and foreign language writing systems Aitter. Choosing texts with large type may help io eradicate It Perhaps youcan use a large typeface for materials you prepare yourself, or an enlarging photocop ie. You ‘may be surprised how much more confidently students tackle txts in oversize type (books prepared for visually handicapped Li retders are popular). Another often-criticized habit isthe oceurrence of regressive eve movements, that is, the eye movingback tocheck provious words instead of sweeping steadily forwards ‘Naturally this makes reading slower. Howover,as we saw in Chapter 1 ashiled ‘reader continually modifies his interpretation as he reads, Todo this he may have to returnto earlir parts of the text and reinterpree them. In this ease, regression isthe sign ofan active and responsive reader, not an incompetent or insecure one. ‘Thus, urging students to move their eyes continually forward is technique tobe applied with caution. tt may be helpful, but pointless regressions can probably be eliminated by practice with easy material. in any ease, atadents need to know that sificuit material may positively roquire regressions, o they should not be afraid to egress when the aim iscomprehension rather than sped. Caution Allthese habits can slow down areador, so atudents need to be aware that efficient readers seldom use them, But any reader faced with dificultmaterial makes use of {hem occasionally. So mseeure students shouldnot be harassed. With improved. ‘reading skills and increased confidence, these habits willeventually disappear naturally, Some approaches to improving reading speed Using a card guide ‘Most of us do not have acosss to the specialized equlpment that exist to force students toread ata given rate, without regressions, by exposing text briefly, abitat atime, However, a similar effect can be obtained by usizga cardboard mask which the student moves down the page ashe reads, ‘This can be simply a piece ofcard about the same width as the page: You hold it just above the first Line and then, as you road, move itdown the page a the desired speed, ‘This focuses the eyes onthe line immediately helaw it and discourages rogrosons (Many students place the cart below'the line, butthis interrupta the sweep of thecye fromone line tothe next) ‘Slightly more sophisticated is ext out mask (soe Figure on pi) designed to reveal the wholo of ne line and the frst few words ofthe next. The aye passes without a ‘break trom one line to the next, as tae hand moves the mask down the page. sini a mask means that students control their own speed, but they do in fact usually ‘move the mask quickly enough toforce up their readingrate, ane the contra they ‘exert may tselPbe motivatingChapiorh Reient rendting duel was un Ike fis. The two prinopals woul J stand opposite Figure 9 ask to promote easing speed Projected texts Slides and particularly overhead projector (OHP) transparencies ofr advantages; ‘the projected text holds readers’ attontion and improves concentration. Itis| ‘impossible for them touse finger-pointing, andyou may be able to spot those with, problems such as subvocalizingor using head movements (slower thaneye ‘movements and therefore more inefficient andquite needless). Use ofthe dletionary ‘salso made impossible. "The major advantage is that you have completecontrol. First, speed: you can use a ‘mask (on the OHP or, less eonveniently,on thesereen),as ust describod, (0 oxpose as ‘much or as litte ofthe text for as longa you w:sh. Second, the sequence or instance, ‘you can expose questions before, during or after the reading ofthe text. The same text ‘canbe briefly exposed fora scanning task and later projected again for other purposes. ‘Computers and other machines Sophisticated machines (such as tachistoscopes) are now rather out of favour but ‘compuiters ean play valuable part in helping students to read mace quickly Programs areavailable which allow you to type in texts (and questions) of your choice {or students to use for speed practice; so you eaa ensure thatthe practice material is suitable ‘The text is displayed ata speed selected by you orby the student (which may motivate ‘him, Twolnodes of controlling speed are possible: the whole text (or as muchas fitson ‘thesereen) may be offered, al then serolled af the sereen ata steady rate. Alternatively, the text may be presented chunk by chunk, each in turnflashed onto the ‘eroon fora given length of tm. Another variation isto prosont the toxt ina narrow ‘column (es shown on p55) to encourage the studont to uso ust one fixation per line. ‘The challenge ofthe moving text is reportedly motivating, and the reader's progress {s charted without theneed for tediouscalculations, since the computer takescare of ‘those. The computer Is very worthwhileadjunet toa speed reading programme for ‘hose whocan afford it ‘A speed reading programme In spood exercises ofall kinds, students shouldbe urged to bet thelr own records, not tocompete with one another. There sno sensetryingto rea faster than someone ‘lee, BU there Ismaueh sense in tying to Improve your own performance, and slmost ‘everyone iscapable ofthis 6Improving reading pees reine rent sees ‘Students should keep a record oftheir progress, especially ifyou set up regular rogramme of speed training. You must be prepared for plateaus which normally ‘eeur now and again, when no progress ismace. Tn goneral, speed steadily improves, Aespite occasional falls because of dificult material or an offday, and tis this, ‘goneral tendency that counts and gives satisfaction and continual motivation, ‘Remember tha ll tho texts used should be of similar difficulty, otherwise speeds will vary withthe text and the resulsof the training will not be ideatifable, Areminder Ifyou cennot organize a regular programme, atleast alto students about reading ficiently and give them practicoin some ofthe strategies we have consdered: larifying thelr reading purpose, choosing the right materials, adjusting their reading style to the purpose (skimming, seannig and so on), increasing their speed ‘and making use of al the resources the ext provides. Abovoall, make sure they realize thatlexibilt Is the sign of effective reading, and that there is no merit in ‘reading something carefully ifthey can get the result they wantin half the time, Further reading On different types ofreading soo Davies 1985. On study skills training see og Glendinning and Holmstrom 1802; Smith and Smith 1900; Fairbairn and Winch 190% Northeze 1960, Wiliams 1999 gives guidance ot how to use a ibrary, Melle! 1982 ‘seusses similar training inthe Junior school. Quirke al 1985 Appendix tI gives full aecountofEnelish punctuation, Onreading speed training see de Leeuv 1990 nd, for foreign learners, Mashack 1876: Fry 1868, Fora critical survey, Banton Smith 19 jastillas good as any the absence of recent titles indicates diminished interest in te topic. On eve movements see eg Oaxhilland Garnhaen 189, aChapter 5 Word attack skills ‘The vocabulary problem ‘ocx students probably consider not havinga big enough vocabulary thelr main (robiem in reading, [elas boon suggested that moderate Ll readers can recognize bout Ry thousand words yt foreign language syllabuses present only a fee Jhundied words year. Even granted different interpretations of'a word’, knowing ‘iar and soon. the difference isenormaus. Hew can students cope witha learning, problem ofthis sizo? Dictionaries and informants Students whomeet a word they cannot interpret are likely frst toask what it means, ‘whichis fine a long as an informant is available, but not practical a the basts for Indopondent study, So most students turn tothe dictionary. This is perfectly natural and in some circumstances advisable. Nevertheless, on ofthe first things tobe sald ‘Shout ditionary is don tuse when you aroTcading. The resson is simple: many ‘Sfadontsuse it far too much. Sometimes they are urged to look upevery new word. ‘This chapter explains why thls might be undesirable. Tewould be idiotic to ban the {se of istionaries, but Ike many useful tools they can be dangerous. Learning how touse them properly isan important part of ary vocabulary development ‘programme, Weshall return to this ater (979) ‘Aareat many words are learnt from reading. However, students who keep looking up ‘how words read much less effectively. very time you break off fo consult a Dictionary, you slow down your feadingand interrupt your thinking, which shoul petollowing the development of thought inthe text, A competent reader can cope with ‘ocasional intercuptions, but constantly referring to@ dictionary makes effective reading impossible Freeing students from the dictionary Howcan you fre students from dependence on dictionary or an informant? First, {ind most Important, you ean make sure that they read agrest deal more. The Lt ‘eader did nt learn his ity thousand words by being taught them; most were learnt ‘by meeting them in context, Usually this involved assimilating the meaning PF Mully after frequont oneounteré. in theraseroom., students simply do mot ot ‘tnough exposure for this natural assimilation to be possible. Therefore sohutions Ghutside the elassroom must be found. extensive readine programe isthe single ‘host effective way of improving vocabulary. Iisretatively easy t organize, enjoyable {orthestudents and extremely costafective.(See Chapter 6.) Second, you ean provide a programme of orgsnized vorabulary development:showing Students how the vocabulary fhe languages structured, how words relate to one nother, how to make proper use ofa dictionary, and soon, Some publications which ‘this for English are listod in Further reading ‘Third, you can follow the suggestions in thischapter, which focuses onthe place of aActive, necptoe md thrones soar vocabulary ina reading programme. 1 wil nothelp much {tyour students! ‘vocabulary is really Wouk; for that purpose the wo oarllo stratagles are more appropriate ‘When wediscuss reading skills, we often assitne thatthe reader's vocabulary Is ‘adequate’ a slippery concept to which we shall return; It has been suggested that vocabulary of about five thousend words is needed to start independent reading. This Isbevond the reach of most students; we might settle for about two thousand words as nacceptable threshold for thesortof work wewanttodo~not independent reading, Dat preparation for lt, sing carefully chosen texts. even this is beyond your students, youmay have to amphasize language development initially, boceuso you cannot develop reading skills with texts that are loaded with unfamiliar words, ‘Batnaturally wedo not expect students to know every word inthe test. How should ‘thoy deal with :hounknown ones? Which can be skipped without losing the mossago? Its such questions that we consider ir this chapter. Lexical items ‘This chapter wil often rofr to ‘words, for brovty, but mostof what is sald applies to ‘any lexical item. This can be loosely dofined zsawordor group of words with a meaning that needs tobe learnt asa unitary whole that would, for example, need ‘separate entry ina dictionary. Itis useful to thnk of new levieal items, rather than new words, as the things the student must learn, ‘There are two reasons for this. First, some lexical lems consist of more than one \word:for instance, a phrasal verb is single leical item, although itcan consist of several words: fake i, put up with, etc. Second, some superficially identical words represent more than one lexical item: for instaneo, the spalling sate ropresonts ‘several lexical items, among them the past tons of see and the word that means a too! {oreutting wood. Discussing what is and isnot a lexical item would take us oo far from our purpose. It Js enough fo stress that what readers have to deal with are units of meaning, Students ‘nood to be aware that those may be packaged as one wordor several, and that some ‘words that look alike have different mesnings. Active, receptive and throwaway vocabulary ‘Not all wordsare equally important. A primary attack skills identiving the words ‘that ean be ignored, so that the other words that really stand in he way of| ‘comprehension can be tackled by some of the strategies described below. ‘Ifyou examine your own L1 vocabulary, you wil find two catogories of known words: ‘an active vocabulary of wards you know well enough to use yourself, anda receptive ‘vocabulary of words you recognize and ean respond to but eannot eonidently use. ‘Thisis equally true ofa foreign language. [tis important for stadents to become aware of tls - perhaps through considering thar own Ll vocabulary ~and to ‘recognize that receptive vocabulary becomes available for active use naturally fit is Important, by being frequently encountered incantext. This may make their attitude tonew words moreeelaxed. a