Didactics II
‘Teaching and learning in the language classroom’,
Hedge, T.
CHAPTER 6: ‘READING’
6.1 Introduction: Making sense of a text
In recent years, the term interactive has been used to describe the second language
reading process. The term can be interpreted in two ways:
The first interpretation of the term refers to the dynamic relationship between the reader
and the text as the reader struggles to make sense of it. In trying to create meaning from the
text, the readers are actively involved in an active process, a process which is called by
Goodman ‘psycholinguistic guessing game’. In this game, the reader combines
information from the text with knowledge that s/he brings with him/her when reading it. That
is why, reading can be seen as a kind of dialogue between the reader and the text or even
between the reader and the author.
When a reader gets involved in the process of reading, s/he uses at least six types of
knowledge, which are:
1. Syntactic
2. Morphological
3. General world
4. Sociocultural
5. Topic
6. Genre
So, it can be seen then that the second interpretation of the term refers to the interplay
among various kinds of knowledge that the reader employs in moving through the text.
Syntactic and morphological knowledge are to do with the language itself, they help to
decode the language of a text. For that reason, they are called linguistic or systemic
knowledge.
At the same time, general world, sociocultural, topic and genre knowledge are called
schematic knowledge and they enable the reader to work with the language of the text in
order to interpret its meaning.
In connection to this, the term top-down processing has been used to describe the
application of prior knowledge to working on the meaning of a text. The term bottom-up
processing has been used to describe the decoding of the letters, words, and other
language features in the text.
These two terms might be useful in reflecting the processes in reading, but it is worth
stressing that the processes are in constant interplay. Second language pedagogy, these
days, works on the assumption that second language readers will need help with both and
that classroom methodology needs to pay attention to both.
6.2 What do we know about the process of second language
reading?
6.2.1 In what ways is reading an interactive process?
SCHEMATIC KNOWLEDGE
This term refers to the kind of knowledge that is activated by certain words in the text or in
the material surrounding the text.
There is research which shows that reading methodology needs to pay attention to activating
schematic knowledge before reading, as it is facilitative of the reading skill. Before teaching
how to use schematic knowledge effectively, the readers need to have a certain level of
language competence.
Certainly, schematic knowledge is not the unique requirement for enhancing reading. Each
reader will use a mixture of processing strategies in relation to a particular text and topic.
Teachers will need to combine their awareness of what happens in the reading process with
knowledge of their students in order to decide appropriate goals and procedures for the
reading lesson.
Others suggested that formal schemata, i.e., the knowledge of the kinds of rhetorical
organization used in English texts, can facilitate reading. By using formal schemata, readers
can retrieve more information from the text.
LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE
Language knowledge enables readers to work on the text at the level of syntax and
vocabulary. A fluent reader has good knowledge of the language structure and can
recognise a wide range of vocabulary automatically.
However, an EFL reader will have difficulties in processing text which contains unfamiliar
aspects of the English language. For example, inability to understand the cohesive devices
in a text will impede understanding the functional relationships of sentences. This seems to
confirm the hypothesis that foreign language readers are partly dependent on processing
syntactic structures successfully in order to get access to meaning.
Vocabulary is another major component of reading ability with which language learners will
experience difficulty, but the degree of difficulty will vary with the demand of the text, the
reader’s prior knowledge, the degree of automaticity the learner has achieved in general
word recognition, and the learner’s first language.
How can we teachers help learners develop their reading skill? Encourage them to develop
strategies for guessing word meanings from contextual clues and background knowledge.
6.2.2 In what ways is reading a purposeful process?
Lunzer and Gardner propose various reading styles with the objective to show that different
purposes for reading determine different strategies in approaching texts and also different
rates of reading.
- Receptive reading (is undertaken, for example, when a reader wants to enjoy a short
story or follow a line of argument in a newspaper editorial)
- Reflective reading involves episodes of reading the text and then pausing to reflect
and backtrack. (retroceder)
- Skim reading is used to get the global impression of the content of a text.
- Scanning involves searching rapidly through a text to find a specific point of
information.
- Intensive reading involves looking carefully at a text.
It has been claimed that reading should have a purpose from the beginning. Such purpose
can be:
- to get information;
- to respond to curiosity about a topic;
- to follow instructions to perform a task;
- for pleasure, amusement, and personal enjoyment;
- to keep in touch with friends and colleagues;
- to know what is happening in the world;
- to find out when and where things are.
Some, or all, of these purposes may be real-life ones for many language learners because
English is part of their environment, or because they have immediate needs such as
studying in English or using it in professional life. Even where it is difficult to identify any
needs, there may be strong motivational reasons for giving students a range of purposes for
reading and, consequently, for presenting them with a variety of texts.
Equally important, it is to recognize that one text may be read in a variety of styles, and that
readers will have different purposes at each stage of the reading process and will apply the
appropriate strategies.
6.2.3 In what ways is reading a critical process?
Critical reading views reading as a social process. From this perspective, texts are
constructed in certain ways by writers in order to shape the perceptions of readers towards
acceptance of the underlying ideology of the text. For example, the use of “we” to create a
bond with the reader and also show the reader and the author of the text are of the same
opinion. The adjectival choice or choice of reporting phrase also denote the writer’s attitude.
Those who advocate the development of critical reading skills as part of the reading
curriculum argue that the ability to read critically depends on an awareness of how elements
of language can be manipulated by the writer, and that language learners need to build this
awareness. Critical reading pedagogy requires close scrutiny of the language in order to see
what the writer means by the text. There is a particular concern in the case of language
learners: such language awareness should be an important educational goal in the first and
second language because such learners are vulnerable and likely to accept the writer’s view.
It is also difficult to envisage a procedure for selecting texts in which the teacher can hardly
avoid implying value judgement.
6.2.4 What is the role of extensive reading?
There is a lack of consensus as to the definition of “extensive reading”.
1) But an ideal characterization might include the following:
- reading large quantities of material, whether short stories or novels, newspaper and
magazine articles, or professional reading.
- reading consistently over time on a frequent and regular basis.
- reading longer texts (see point A)
- reading for general meaning, primarily for pleasure, curiosity, or professional interest.
- reading longer texts during class time but also engaging in individual, independent
reading at home, ideally of self-selected material.
2) Another way of characterizing extensive reading is to contrast it with intensive
reading. Intensive reading involves reading not more than 1 or 2 pages. It involves
close study and familiarizes students with the features of written English.
3) The aim of extensive reading is to present learners with large numbers of L2 input
with few or no specific tasks to perform on this material. The pedagogical value
attributed to extensive reading is based on the assumption that exposing learners to
large quantities of meaningful and interesting L2 material will, in the long run,
produce a beneficial effect on the learners’ command of the L2.
The strongest argument as to the rationale for extensive reading is the role it plays in
a) developing reading ability. Clearly, authentic reading texts will provide an authentic
reading challenge but graded material can also be useful. For example, a series of
graded readers provide unfamiliar vocabulary at each level to practise inferencing
strategies and dictionary skills, but not in such quantity as to cause demotivation.
b) A further argument proposes learners in programmes of extensive reading with the
purpose of developing reading autonomy.
c) One last argument put forward is that extensive reading increases a student’s
exposure to English. This particular rationale can be appreciated immediately in
relation to vocabulary learning: learners can effectively understand, through reading,
which words are appropriate in which context.
The opportunities that extensive reading affords learners of all ages and levels of
language proficiency makes it a useful resource. Learners can build their language
competence, progress in their reading ability, become more independent in their
studies, acquire cultural knowledge, and develop confidence and motivation to carry
on learning.
With young learners there’s an added value: it contributes to the curriculum objective
of encouraging critical thinking and positive attitudes towards imaginative experience.
6.3 What are the implications for the teaching of reading?
6.3.1 How do we establish goals for the reading classroom?
A set of general learning goals for the reading component of an English language course
could include:
● to be able to read a range of texts in English
● to adapt reading style according to range of purposes and apply different strategies
as appropriate
● to build knowledge of a language, which will facilitate the development of greater
reading ability
● to build schematic knowledge in order to interpret texts meaningfully
● to develop awareness of the structure of written texts in English and to be able to
make use of rhetorical, discourse features and cohesive devices in comprehending
texts
● to make a critical stance of the content of texts
The teacher’s responsibility in helping learners achieve these goals will be:
● to motivate reading by selecting or creating appropriate texts
● to design useful reading tasks
● to set up effective classroom procedures
● to encourage critical reading
● to create a supportive environment for practising reading
It is worth stressing that each learner will have different strengths to build on and different
weaknesses to overcome. Therefore, there can be no single, set, rigid methodology for
reading.
6.3.2 What criteria do we use to select reading texts?
For a start, interest will be a key criterion in selecting texts for learners. So teachers can ask
students to find themselves the texts which they think will be of interest for the class. It is
also possible to discover the reading interests of learners through a reading interest
questionnaire, which asks learners about which genre they like for example.
Another factor to be considered is variety: of topic, of length of text, of rhetorical
organization and of reading purpose.
Finally, it is important to mention that it will be necessary to create an authentic reason for
reading a particular text. If reasons for reading are missing from the textbook tasks,
teachers will have to create themselves purposes which will motivate learners to read.
6.3.3 What kinds of tasks help to develop reading ability?
It is now standard practice in the design of reading tasks to use a three-phase procedure
involving three stages:
● Pre-reading stage
During this stage, learners are encouraged to do a number of things:
- to become oriented to the context of the text
- to tune in to the content of the text
- to establish a reason for reading
- to express an attitude about the topic
- to review their own experiences in relation to the topic
- to activate existing cultural knowledge
- to become familiar with some of the language in the text
In this way, teachers activate both their schematic and systemic knowledge and ensure a
purposeful reading.
● While-reading stage
While-reading activities have been used since the adoption of the idea of reading as an
interactive process, which has happened very recently.
During this stage, learners are encouraged to do a number of activities so as to be active as
they read:
- follow the order of ideas in a text
- react to the opinions expressed
- understand the information it contains
- ask themselves questions
- make notes
- confirm expectations or prior knowledge
- predict
● Post-reading stage
During this stage, learners will perform activities that will tie up with the reading purpose
already set, and will check and discuss the activities done while reading. After that, a wide
range of activities focusing either on the content or on its language.
Clark suggests a useful way of involving students in the design of post-reading questions.
Students work in small groups to check their understanding and to construct key questions.
The teacher elicits the questions from the groups, corrects them and then the class selects a
set of questions which students answer in groups.
This procedure suggests a collaborative classroom work. And this kind of peer
interaction can be highly motivating.
Now, what about the teacher’s role in reading activities?
It is to provide materials, design activities, and then to step back. The teacher should act as
organiser, guide and evaluator.
6.3.4 Can we help students to read critically?
Wallace has suggested a framework of questions for critical reading based on Kress,
which will enable readers to identify and resist the values underlying a text:
- Why is this topic being written about?
- How is the topic being written about?
- What other ways of writing about the topic are there?
- Who is the text’s model reader?
These questions will certainly help readers to challenge the ideology of the text.
Teachers who wish to explore critical procedures can use text comparison as a basis for
critical reading. For example, they can use articles on the same news item from newspapers
with different political leanings, to help students to appreciate how the use of language
creates a different impression of the same event.
To conclude, developing critical thinking is especially important these days because there is
a lot of information on the Internet and so students need to evaluate the information they
find there very carefully.
6.3.5 How can we encourage extensive reading?
There are two major vehicles available for extensive reading:
● The use of class readers
By using this vehicle, the teacher chooses a book and each student has a copy. The teacher
also formulates a programme over a specified period to involve preparatory activity,
intensive reading of extracts in class for strategy training, individual silent reading in class
and reading at home with exercises set by the teacher and follow-up work.
This vehicle is mostly favoured by teachers who wish to retain a degree of control in
checking reading, who need to keep up incentives for reading, or who see it as a structured
phase before promoting more individualised learning.
● The use of class library
By using this vehicle, the teacher argues that a box of thirty different readers for a class of
thirty students provides so much more potential than a class set of the same reader.
Hicks provides a typical argument:
‘The last thing I wanted was to give the same book to the whole class and expect the same
enjoyment. The students browsed freely amongst the shelves of their level and picked out
what they fancied. If they didn’t like it after a page or two, they could put it back, no question
asked, and select another’.
My opinion:
I personally believe that letting students choose freely what they want to read is much more
motivating and engaging for them than imposing on them what to read. But, I think that
before giving them such freedom, teachers should work with one or two texts with the whole
class so that they show students how and what they expect from them when carrying out an
extensive reading. Teachers can use the questionnaire to select a story that is of the interest
of their students. Once the students are used to reading and know what they are expected to
do, teachers can move on to using the method of the class library. As with any other activity,
moving slowly from controlled to freer activities is just the right thing, and with extensive
reading there is not any exception.
6.3.5.1 Selecting material for extensive reading
Simenson classifies materials for extensive reading into three types:
● Authentic (not written for language learners and published in the original language)
● Pedagogic (specially written for language learners with various types of control
placed on the language)
● Adapted (adapted for language learners from authentic texts)
For teachers of students with more advanced levels of language proficiency, there may well
be authentic material to hand. However, for teachers with learners at lower levels of
language proficiency, the choice seems limited to pedagogic or adapted texts.
6.3.5.2 Supporting extensive reading
There are two ways of supporting extensive reading:
● Interviews
The teacher provides time for short interviews with individuals about their reading. The
teacher recommends books, advises on reading problems, suggests activities and
encourages learners to reflect on their reading by discussing the books they have read.
Interviews are a great chance to interact meaningfully in English.
● Syndicates
The teacher divides students into groups and then the members of a group read different
books and share their experience. The outcome is generally a peer conference in which the
students can take on roles of asking questions as well as answering them.
Reading syndicates usefully combine the motivation of self-chosen books, genuine
classroom interaction among changing groups of learners, and potential student
recommendation of books to their peers.
6.4 Conclusion
The reading lesson should aim to build learners’ ability to engage in purposeful reading, to
adopt a range of reading styles necessary for interacting successfully with authentic texts,
and to develop critical awareness. This implies developing competence in the foreing
language, awareness of the structure of written texts (formal schemata), and knowledge
about the world (schematic knowledge). It also implies developing confidence in using these
to create meaning from a text. Both competence and confidence involve preparation and
practice in the supportive environment of the classroom and persuasion to carry on reading
in English outside the classroom.
