Reading matters: What is reading?
Author: Adrian Tennant
Introduction
Reading in the EFL classroom takes many forms, but is often used as a way of
introducing grammar or vocabulary items. The ‘teaching’ of reading has found its
way into many classes, but often just in terms of teaching (or practising)
techniques such as skimming and scanning. In some classes students are asked to
read out loud, turning what is fundamentally a private receptive activity into a
more public and production-orientated activity. This type of reading is often
decried as not being realistic (i.e. not what we do in real life). However, that
isn’t really the case as there are often instances in real life when we read
things out to each other (bedtime reading to children, reading a short article
out at the breakfast table, reading a menu at a restaurant – for example, when
we find something interesting or when we want to discuss what we might eat or
drink).
Another thing we must remember is that many people claim that they do not read
much in their own language. In fact this isn’t really the case. It’s simply that
most people equate reading with reading novels and long texts, whereas we spend
a lot of time reading in our L1 (first language) – we read instructions,
recipes, messages (especially text messages), emails, information about what’s
on TV, etc.
So, for whatever reason and in whatever way we ‘do’ reading in the class,
reading is not uncommon. But what exactly is reading?
Anchor Point: 2 What is reading?
At the most basic level reading is the recognition of words. From simple
recognition of the individual letters and how these letters form a particular
word to what each word means not just on an individual level, but as part of a
text. In English, as in many other languages, different combinations of the same
letters can be used to form different words with completely different meanings.
So, the letters t c a, can make cat (an animal that goes miaow), and act (which
has a number of meanings from do something to behave in certain ways, to perform
in a play or film). Recognition of the actual word is not enough on its own to
constitute reading.
Understanding what we are reading is key and is certainly the main point of
teaching reading in a class. It’s not much good if our students simply stare at
a text and say ‘Well, I don’t understand it, but it looks nice!’ However,
understanding a text is quite a complex issue and something that we will try and
examine in the rest of this article.
Anchor Point: 3 Why do we read?
There are a number of reasons why we read and this will often influence what we
read and how we read it. We might read for pleasure. In this case it is most
likely that we will be reading a book of some sort, maybe a novel, or perhaps a
poem. We could also be reading the lyrics to a song and our reasons for reading
it may be slightly more complex than simply for pleasure. We could be reading it
because we have heard the song, but didn’t quite catch the words. Or perhaps our
children are listening to it, but we are worried that some of the lyrics might
not be suitable. Or perhaps we want to be able to sing along and so we’re trying
to learn the words (maybe so we can impress our friends).
In other words, there might be multiple reasons why someone might read a text.
But working out the purpose is a key factor when it comes to teaching reading.
Why we are reading something will make a difference to how we read it, and in
what depth. So, a mother checking whether the lyrics of a song are suitable for
her children to hear will most likely be looking through the text for particular
words or phrases she thinks are inappropriate. On the other hand, someone trying
to learn the lyrics by heart will probably read the same lines a number of times
(and may even read them out loud to try and reinforce the words).
We must also bear in mind the purpose of the text from the writer’s point of
view. Texts don’t exist in a vacuum; somebody wrote the text and they had a
reason for doing so. It could be that the writer’s and the reader’s reasons are
the same, or similar. But it is equally possible that the two have different
purposes. The writer has a message they want to convey and they encode this
message in the words and style they choose. The reader then tries to decode the
message by reading the same words. This encoding and decoding doesn’t simply
exist on the level of meaning, but also on the level of why the text was
written.
Anchor Point: 4 Does reading in a foreign language
differ from L1 reading?
At first glance the question seems rather silly. Of course reading isn’t
different, whatever language you are reading in. The text might be written using
a different alphabet or characters, it might be written from right to left, or
bottom to top, but fundamentally the same processes are going on. Well, at one
level this is certainly true, but it may well be that we are not really
conscious or aware of how we are reading in our own language. Reading was a
skill we developed as we grew up and as we became acquainted with different
types of text. Once we start seeing these texts in a foreign language we are
unable to decode the message. The problem is probably not that we are not using
the correct techniques, but that we are unable to recognise the words and
meaning. This causes us a big problem.
The problem is that we begin to panic. We start to try and use different
techniques and strategies to understand the text. We start to read every word in
a way that we wouldn’t if the text was in our L1. We start to focus on aspects
of the text, such as grammatical construction, something we probably wouldn’t do
if it was in our L1. By doing this we find reading difficult and we become
frustrated. So, it might not be that reading is inherently different between L1
and L2, but that doesn’t negate the fact that we probably have to teach (and
relearn) all the strategies we already employ when reading a text in L1.
Anchor Point: 5
How does all this impact on our classroom teaching?
When we are teaching reading in class we have to begin by asking ourselves a
series of questions in order to make the lesson as effective as possible. It is
not good enough to just hand the students a text with a set of questions, ask
them to read the text and answer the questions and think that we are actually
teaching them something. Any learning that takes place in such a lesson will be
incidental and not because of the teaching.
So, planning our reading lessons is essential, and we need to make sure that our
aims are clear and that the text and tasks are appropriate. In many cases we can
relate our questions to what we do in real life with the type of text we choose.
In other words, what do we read in real-life situations? Why do we read these
texts? What is the purpose of the writer and of the reader (us in this case)?
How do we read the text in order to get what we need from it?
Let’s have a look at a couple of examples.
A timetable:
So when we teach how to read the text in class we want to try and replicate as
much of the real situation as possible. Firstly we need to give the students
information as to where they are, what their destination is, etc. We may also
want to focus their attention on the context and we could use a short listening
text where someone is doing exactly what they will do – trying to find their
train. Finally, we can give them a copy of the timetable and a short time limit
in which to find the relevant information.
A postcard from a friend:
The way we read the texts is different because the purpose is different. The
strategies we employ are designed to get the information we want from the text
in the most effective way. It is not simply a matter of skimming or scanning,
but a set of far more complex things. For the timetable we are using some
top-down strategies. We know where we are, where we want to go and when. We’re
not really trying to find out any new information, but simply trying to confirm
whether what we want to do is possible. On the other hand, in the second text we
may know our friend has gone on holiday and we may even know where, but
hopefully the rest of the information is new to us – although not too full of
surprises (and fitting the conventions expected).
Therefore, in the classroom, we need to mirror these real-life texts and
strategies. We need to help our students use the right approaches to reading
even if the language is new or difficult. To do this we need to ask questions
and promote awareness, and not simply employ basic comprehension questions that
often focus on language rather than on the skill of reading.
Anchor Point: 6
Some practical ideas
1. What’s the word?
Choose a text (it doesn’t have to be long) and copy it out onto an OHT. Either
blank out the words you want students to predict by covering them with pieces of
paper or type it out so the words you want your students to guess always begin a
line, so you can reveal the text line by line. Display the text and have
students read it and predict the words. They can do this either by writing the
words down, whispering them to a partner, or shouting out their guesses. After
each guess, reveal the correct word. There is no need to check how many students
got it right as you will be able to see by their reactions.
Rationale: As we saw in the example of the postcard, predicting the next word or
phrase is a typical strategy employed when we read certain texts. In many cases,
when students are reading a foreign language, they stop predicting and start
reading every word and this slows them down. Developing predicting skills
enables students to become more confident in their ability to read.
2. What does it mean?
Choose a text (this could be one from the coursebook). Type it out but change
some of the words into nonsense words. Ask students to read the text and work
out the meaning of the nonsense words. They might want to start by working out
what part of speech the words are – noun, verb, adjective, preposition, etc.
Then, rereading the line around the word, they try and work out the context.
You can do this type of exercise with a complete nonsense text, for example a
poem like Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. Give students the first verse of the
poem and ask them to read it. Then ask them the following questions:
What were the toves like?
(Answer: slithy)
What did they do? (Answer: gyre and gimble)
Where? (Answer: in the wabe)
Who or what were mimsy? (Answer: the borogoves)
What did the mome raths do? (Answer: outgrabe)
Rationale: At first glance students will say ‘I can’t do this!’ but after
focusing a little they will realise that they can. The lesson is that it is
possible to decode things and make some sense out of them through our knowledge
of the structure of language. Students will learn that they do not need to
understand every word, and that if they really want to understand a word they
need to look at it in context.
3. What’s the purpose? – One
Choose a number of short texts; they could be just a couple of words long. Put
students in pairs and give them a copy of the texts. Ask them to read each one
and answer the following questions:
Where would you read / see such a text?
What kind of text is it?
What does it mean?
What are the key words or phrases?
Texts could be things like:
Rationale: Identifying the type of text and where you might read it supplies the
reader with some context. From this context the reader can guess what some of
the text will be about – top-down – and then looking more closely at the words
can fine-tune the meaning – bottom-up. This mirrors what we do in real life when
we read such texts.
4. What’s the purpose? – Two
Choose three different text types such as a timetable, a set of instructions for
an electrical appliance like an iron, hairdryer, DVD recorder and a letter. Give
the students the three texts and ask them to work in pairs and answer the
following questions:
What kind of text is it?
Who wrote it and why (purpose)?
How can you tell what kind of text it is?
How would you read each text?
Rationale: This is an extended version of the previous activity. In addition to
the aims from the last activity there is also the added angle of thinking how
they (the student) would read the text. Thinking about reading, rather than just
answering comprehension questions, enables our students to become better readers
and, ultimately, to choose the best strategies for reading different types of
text.