Top 10 Tips: Reading

Top 10 Tips: Reading
Students often find it difficult to engage with reading and writing instruction and practice,
particularly when large, intimidating texts are involved. This is the first in our series of
insight blog posts, aimed at helping teachers to overcome this problem. Here are the Top 10
Tips for Reading, from teacher-trainer Zarina Subhan.
What does reading really mean? To your elementary students it involves letter recognition
and decoding the letters so they can decode words. To your advanced students its a
process of decoding ideas which may be stated directly, or a process of reading between
the lines. Either way, your students are practising a form of decoding.
This decoding is a perfect way to expose them to vocabulary because its embedded in a
context. This technique is similarly useful for grammar study, but whether it is vocabulary or
grammar that we highlight, this is a chance for students to see models of language that they
can then put to use in conversation or writing tasks.
In our L1 we read for information, whether its following signs at an airport, or doing an
internet search to find a relevant article online. When reading in English, its important to
maintain a purpose for reading the information. We need to remind ourselves as ELT
teachers that our students are not English language specialists; 9 out of 10 are very likely
studying English because its on the school timetable, or someone has decided for them that
its best they take English classes. So dont treat reading as the teaching of vocabulary and
grammar structures, because that wont be what persuades them to read.
So what can we do to encourage our students to read? Try these top 10 tips:
1. Get that schema warmed up

Always warm up students background knowledge (known as schema/schemata) first.
We cannot guarantee that our students all have the same knowledge on a topic or
theme, so it is important to get everyone to the same point. Images are an ideal way to
gather together what your students know - and allow time for a quick brainstorm where
they can discuss their thoughts first.
Copyright Oxford University Press
2. Get them using all the clues, in true Sherlock Holmes style
Focus on headings, images and subheadings (if there are any) to help students to predict
what the topic or content might be about. This stimulates ideas further and prepares
them to read, allowing for a subconscious awareness of what type of vocabulary might
be found. This also illustrates that a handful of words can help us understand and that
we dont need to know every single word to appreciate a piece of text.
3. Peer checking
After their first reading of a text, get students to discuss it with each other. Speaking
about something you have just read helps to clarify your understanding because you
cant explain something until youve understood it. Youll also find that students
voluntarily re-read sections to make sure theyre explaining their thoughts correctly. It
also allows them to get help with sections they may not have understood well when
they read it themselves.
4. Question their understanding
To reinforce the main ideas of a text, ask questions that check understanding of the
context, rather than finer details. If we focus on overall comprehension, we encourage
students to skim the text to find areas that are relevant to questions, rather than them
reading in detail.
5. Word recognition
The quicker we learn to read, the more efficiently we can get information, so it is helpful
to encourage this in L2 as well. Have a competition to train students to see a
word/collocation/phrase in the text. Project a text onto your whiteboard and bring a
group of students to the front of the class. You say a word that is in the text and they
have to point to it.
6. Speed them up
Get students to time themselves reading a text so they have a record of how many
words they read per minute. Then, at intervals throughout the academic year, give them
a similar text, in both length and complexity, to see how they progress. In each instance,
ask questions that bring out the main points of the text after, so you know that they are
not simply glancing at the words, but actually reading them!
7. Recall and highlight words
Once the context has been understood, highlight vocabulary by using flashcards. Use
different coloured cards to differentiate between different parts of speech - main verbs
could be on a green coloured background; auxiliary verbs on yellow; nouns on blue, etc.
If students are in groups, get them to take turns to give a definition, synonym or
antonym.
8. Recall and highlight structures
Take sentences from the text and write each word on a separate card, jumbling them up
into the wrong order. Then, get students to place them in the correct order. This could
be done in groups or on large flashcards at the front of the class. Do these with useful
sentences, or ones that include important phrases so that they are subconsciously
reinforced.
9. Lure them into reading
Have lots of reading material available - pamphlets, brochures or graded readers for
students to pick up and read. This can play on students curiosity and encourage reading
in L2 for pleasure as well as for information.
10. Nurture a love of reading
Finally, get students to find a piece of text on a topic of their choice and have them talk
to you about it and why they chose it. If you dont have time to do face-to-face
interviews with each student, they could record themselves talking about it and send it
to you as an mp3 recording, along with a link to the text.
As Krashen said, Reading is good for youReading is the only way we become good
readers, develop a good writing style, an adequate vocabulary, advanced grammar and the
only way we become good spellers. (1993:23)
With all these benefits, reading is something we need to ensure is developed, but without
necessarily making students aware that all the above is going on. Its like enjoying a meal who wants to be told about all the nutritional value of everything you eat when you can
enjoy the taste?!
Reference
Krashen, S. (1993) The power of reading: Insights from the research. Englewood, Co.:
Libraries Unlimited.
Develop

Top 10 Tips: Reading

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Top 10 Tips: Reading

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Top 10 Tips: Reading

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Top 10 Tips: Reading

1. Get that schema warmed up

Copyright Oxford University Press

Copyright Oxford University Press

Copyright Oxford University Press

You might also like