UNIT – 1 – READING SKILL

1. READING SKILL

Reading is a basic life skill.  It is a cornerstone for a child’s success in school, and, indeed, throughout life. Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfillment and job success inevitably will be lost.  –Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading 

Richard Anderson and the Commission on Reading define reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts.  Skilled reading is

• constructive: learning to reason about written material using knowledge from everyday life and from disciplined fields of study;
• fluent: mastery of basic processes to the point where they are automatic so that attention is freed for the analysis of meaning;
• strategic: controlling one’s reading in relation to one’s purpose, the nature of the material and whether one is comprehending;
• motivated: able to sustain attention and learning that written material can be interesting and informative; and
• a lifelong pursuit: continuous practices, development, and refinement. 

Reading skills lead a person to interact and gain meaning from written language. There are several components one must master which lead to independently comprehending the intended message being relayed in the written content. First is phonemic awareness which is defined by

the National Reading Panel as “recognizing and manipulating spoken words in language” (Whalon et al. 2009). Next is phonics defined by the same group as “understanding letter-sound correspondences in reading and spelling” then oral reading fluency which is “reading text with speed, accuracy, and expression.” The forth component is vocabulary defined as “understanding words read by linking the word to oral vocabulary” and lastly is comprehension defined as “directly teaching students to be aware of the cognitive processes involved in reading”

Reading is a complex “cognitive process” of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). Reading is a means of language acquisition, communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis. Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe. Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations. There are no concrete laws in reading, but rather allows readers an escape to produce their own products introspectively. This promotes deep exploration of texts during interpretation. Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech) and comprehension. Readers may use context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema (schemata theory).

OBJECTIVES OF READING:

A general English language program should focus on the four basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in addition to providing instruction in grammar and vocabulary. How this is done varies from school to school, resulting in different levels of integration. Sometimes a single textbook is used because each chapter addresses multiple skills. Other times a separate book is used for each skill area. Whatever the material is, the main objectives for reading remain the same:

• Read to activate and reinforce other skills (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing). In the same way that oral dialogues, short compositions, and listening activities do, reading can put into practice grammatical structures, new lexical items, and elements of pronunciation. Reading can also offer good writing models.
• Reading to become a better reader. Reading is a skill in itself, and the advantage of working with adult language learners is that they are usually literate in their native language. This means that they are able to transfer advanced reading skills to the second language classroom.  Reading in English can activate and develop these skills, making the students better readers in both languages. Reading skills include: skimming, scanning, predicting, and reading for detailed comprehension.

Read to develop critical thinking skills. This is important to address because when teaching English for general purposes, it can be easy to dismiss reading as an activity

• more suited for an academic environment. In all situations, critical thinking skills aid communication. From having a phone conversation to writing a business plan, people need to prioritize, make conclusions, draw comparisons, make inferences, etc. Reading can provide opportunities to utilize and sharpen such skills.
• Read for enjoyment.  Students should ideally discover not only the usefulness but also the pleasure of being able to read in a second language.

IMPORTANCE OF READING SKILLS:

Reading permeates every educational content area. The sequencing, decoding and comprehension skills necessary to read provide a foundation for learning. Early literacy development is particularly important to the growing learner. Skills such as alphabetic awareness and print knowledge in children under age 5 closely connect to later learning, according to the International Reading Association.

Whether you are engaged in a novel, pouring over a newspaper or a just looking at a sign, reading skills allow you to interpret and become engaged in the world around you. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “Reading is the single most important skill necessary for a happy, productive and successful life.” Developing those skills takes active engagement from an early age.

1. Reading to Learn

Children today have many opportunities to gather information. Books are not the only tools children are exposed to. Using a smartphone, reading from an electronic tablet or researching on a computer has opened the floodgates for finding and accessing information. A student with the reading skills necessary to access and use information is not just learning to read but also reading to learn. With proper reading skills, he or she can explore topics ranging from how spiders spin silky webs to the details of the Wright brothers’ first flight in North Carolina.

1. Creating Lifelong Readers

Fluency, decoding and vocabulary development are needed to comprehend written material. Readers use these skills to interpret and understand written words on a page. They read often from a wide variety of materials. They read to find out more about the world in which they live and use that information to improve their lives. Lifelong readers think critically about what they’ve read and make connections to their own lives. They apply their skills in language and writing development.

1. Long-Term Implications

Reading skills are “essential to function in our society,” according to Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, speaking before a congressional subcommittee in 2002. Alexander stated that many children living in poverty lack

the skills that will allow them to become lifelong readers. A person with low reading ability may not be able to read signs, understand medical information or prescription directions or apply for jobs that require basic skills tests. Per a survey conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a child’s third grade reading proficiency is an indicator of future achievement. If a student is not developing adequate reading and writing skills by that age, he or she is more likely to encounter “ongoing academic difficulties in school, failure to graduate from high school on time and chances of succeeding economically later in life.”

1. Successful Students

Whether the author is writing to inform, persuade, give directions or entertain, he or she is communicating to his or her audience. A person who can read has the ability to empathize with and connect to the characters in a story. A reader builds background knowledge about many different subjects that he or she can later use. Students with the necessary reading skills can later develop writing and language skills necessary for academic and professional success.

ADVANTAGES OF READING:

A book is our best friend. In our society we have friends and foes. Even the so-called friends can cheat us in times. However, books are our never-failing friends. Just like a good friend, it gives us company during idle time. A good book guides us in our lives.

Books are the voices of wisdom, past and present. The knowledge stored up in them invites us and gives us joy.

We read books not only for instructions but also for entertainment. It is the most harmless occupation for using time in a productive manner. The bookshelves are the standing source of joy to all book-lovers. To an educated man there is no pleasure comparable to the pleasures of reading books. Books provide us with varieties of entertainment. Some give us loud laughter, some a smile and some only an unexpressed joy.

Books help us forget for a while the cares and anxieties of daily life. Those who can read books are lucky indeed. A reader of books forgets his worries for the time being and finds pleasure from it. Money cannot buy peace of mind. Power cannot heal our sorrows. Books can, when all other fail.

A book is the windows to the outside world. The books on traveling can take us into the jungles of Africa, to the desert of Sahara, to the top of Everest or to the ice-fields of the Arctic. And all the while we can relax in bed or on armchair.

A book can put us in the time-machine. It can take us the great minds of the past and the present. Books on antiquity bring vividly to us the world of the past. We go back in thought to the dim, old days of the past.

Books can broaden our mind and gladden our heart. We see into the secrets of life and universe in the books on science, religion and literature. We love books for all these reasons.

Knowledge itself is also a great source of pleasure. Books on expeditions and adventures fire our imagination. Detective stories give us thrills and keep us absorbed. From all these we derive both pleasure and surprise.

However, there are numerous books and we need choice of books. We do not have enough time and energy to read all these books. We know, good books ennoble our minds, while bad books pollute it. Our time is precious; we cannot waste it by reading trash. So, we should read those books which may be our best companions, which can enlarge our vision and make our life more meaningful.

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE READING:

1. Reading at university = reading with a purpose

Successful study at university is often about meeting competing demands and deadlines, so you need to get the most out of your reading in the limited time available. Before you begin, make sure you have identified a) the purpose for doing the reading and b) what you need to achieve.

Always read with a purpose in mind. Before you begin, you should have an idea of why you are reading and what you are looking for/ what you want to achieve. Are you reading:

• to locate specific information?
• to understand difficult ideas?
• to gain an overview of something?
• to enjoy words and descriptions (as in poetry and some prose)?
• to relax and escape into a novel?

Think about the way you would read to get a broad idea of what an article might be about, compared to how you would read to understand a complex and detailed concept – you might use previewing for the first task and intensive or critical reading for the second (more about this in the Reading Strategies section).

Working out why you are reading something (what you need to achieve) will determine the way you will read it (or which reading strategies to use).

Be selective about what you read

Uni study requires a lot of reading within a limited time, so it is important to be selective about what you read. You need to make decisions about what is essential.

• Establish which readings are required for your particular course and which are suggested (not compulsory). In some courses required readings take the form of a Course ‘Reader’ or textbook, in others your lecturer/ tutor will indicate what is essential.
• There will be times when you need to read an entire article or chapter in detail. At other times you may be looking for specific information relating to an assignment topic and only a couple of pages or even a couple of paragraphs in a text will be useful. Once you locate the parts of a text that are going to be most relevant you may not need to read the rest.

How to select?

• Know what you are looking for (i.e. have a purpose)
• Identify key words to help you search
• Look for these key words when browsing the table of contents and index of a book for relevant pages
• Obtain an overview to further narrow down the ‘possibly useful’ field.

1. Focus on the question/ task

• Ask yourself what it is you must find out. Identify questions you want to answer; actively look for those answers and evidence to inform them.
• Identify a few topic key words to look for. Your assignment questions usually have these.
• If you are reading for a specific assignment, read with a copy of the question/ task on hand so you don’t waste time reading irrelevant material.

1. Before you read, establish what you already know

Any prior knowledge of a topic you are reading about, and linking new material with your past experience will help you read more effectively.

• Ask yourself what you already know or think about this topic (from lectures, from other reading, from what you have heard or seen).
• If you have a reading list, select a source that might offer a good starting point. If the topic or material is new, begin with a general introductory text and read slowly.
• Read any related questions to the reading before doing the reading; they may be questions at the back of the chapter or the essay/assignment question.
• Identify your expectations – what do you think it will be about?
• Ask yourself questions about the topic. Change the title, headings and subheadings into questions or ask yourself what you want to find out.

You will remember more if you read with questions in your mind, rather than adopting the ‘sponge’ approach – simply trying to absorb everything.

Break reading into manageable segments

If you are finding reading overwhelming, break the reading up into manageable segments (e.g. chapters, individual articles, a specific number of pages).

• Identify your purpose and the time you have available
• Set yourself a goal (for example, decide to read for a set length of time or a certain number of pages).
• Reward yourself with a break when you’ve completed it.
• The tasks and goals may be large or small, depending on what needs to be achieved.

i.                    Keep track of what you read

 

Always note where information and ideas come from. Record details of author, title, place of publication, publisher and date so that you can find the text again if necessary. Always record page numbers with any notes you take.

HOW TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS:

“There is a total incompatibility between the joy of reading, a vagabond experience, and the experience of reading in order to answer questions, and explain what you understood.” – Rubem Alves, Brazilian educator.

Here are the seven strategies for reading improvement:

1. Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will be motivated to understand. You will feel satisfaction in accomplishing a task that you enjoy, and which you consider meaningful. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.

2. Read material that is at your level, or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a conventional dictionary is tedious, and the results of the dictionary search quickly forgotten. It is better to stay within your comfort zone and keep reading. Soon you will be able to take on more difficult content.

3. Learn to read in depth, stay on the same subject for a while. If you are familiar with the subject you are reading about, you will understand better. Do not just read short articles. Commit to books. Stay with one author for at least one book. If the subject matter is new to you, you should even try to read a few different books or articles about the same subject, before you move on. This way you will meet the same vocabulary and ideas often, helping you to learn. You will also be able to get deeper into the subject and your reading confidence will grow.

4. If you have trouble reading, listen first. Many great works of literature were written to be read out loud. Learn to appreciate the art of the narrator. Listen to audio books or audio files of the material that you are reading. This will help make difficult content seem more familiar. If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.

5. Let your imagination get involved. Good readers get engrossed in their reading and let it trigger their imagination. Learn to enjoy your reading without asking too many questions or analyzing too much. It will just spoil the sensual enjoyment of the reading experience. You do not need to predict or analyze. Just enjoy and look forward to absorbing the information, ideas and thoughts expressed by the writer.

6. Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way. Neither you nor a teacher needs to “monitor” your understanding. Learn to enjoy reading, even while feeling that you do not fully understand or remember what you have read.

7. Recognize that the key is to read a lot. You may develop a system for keeping track of new words that you encounter in your reading, using lists, or Flash Cards, or other memory systems available on the Internet or elsewhere. However, the main growth in your vocabulary and reading skill will come just from reading as much as you can. So learn to enjoy reading and read a lot. Keep reading, and you will become a better reader.

Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or manual, or report or other material that have to read for school or work, you may need to underline, take notes, and read some parts over again, in order to retain what you are reading. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the cognitive techniques you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.

BARRIERS OF READING:

• Lack of grammatical and linguistic competence:

Many people cannot read effectively because they fail to decrypt grammatical and lexical units of language in the text. They lack the ability to differentiate and recognize the words, sentences, expressions, used in the text. It hampers the process of reading. The reader may stop reading further if he fails to understand the text grammatically.

• Lack of motivation:

Reading for information and knowledge requires motivation and discipline. Many people think reading as boring and time consuming task. Lack of proper motivation and goal may create barrier to reading.

• Lack of concentration:

If the reader lacks concentration while reading, he just will turn pages after pages without much comprehension. Reading is psycholinguistic process. It requires careful attention of the reader.

• Proper light and ventilation:

A reader has to struggle a lot to read in dim light or dark rooms. If proper ventilation is not there in the reading room, reader may feel suffocated or tired.

• Size of the book:

Normally, people prefer reading small size articles and texts. If the book contains volumes of pages, it decreases the interest of the reader.

• Articulating the words and sentences loudly:

Many readers have habit to articulate loudly or murmur the words in the text. They buzz each word which creates a barrier to speed reading.

• Putting finger, pen or any object on the words and sentences while reading:

Many people put their finger or pen on the text while reading. They move the finger or object from word to word which lowers down the process of reading.

• Narrow eye span:

Many readers read the text into independent eye shift between each and every word. They have narrow eye span. It not only decreases the speed of reading but also affects the comprehension. Shorter the eye span, slower the speed and comprehension. Readers require proper training and techniques to expand their eye span.

SKIMMING AND SCANNING:

Skimming And Scanning: Two Important Strategies For Speeding Up Your Reading

They are each used for different purposes, and they are not meant to be used all the time. They are at the fast end of the speed reading range, while studying is at the slow end. 

People who know how to skim and scan are flexible readers. They read according to their purpose and get the information they need quickly without wasting time. They do not read everything which is what increases their reading speed. Their skill lies in knowing what specific information to read and which method to use.

What Is Skimming?

Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because you don’t read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. Skimming takes place while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas.

How to skim.?Many people think that skimming is a haphazard process placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you don’t read everything. What you read is more important than what you leave out. So what material do you read and what material do you leave out?

Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.

At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or events. Continue to read only topic sentences, dropping down through the rest of the paragraphs, until you are near the end. Since the last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion or summary, you should stop skimming there and read in detail. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read in detail. If while skimming, you feel you are grasping the main ideas, then you are skimming correctly.

When to skim. Because skimming is done at a fast speed with less-than-normal comprehension, you shouldn’t skim all the time. There are many times, however, when skimming is very useful.

Suppose you are taking a presentation skills class and have to deliver an oral report in a few days about the first computers ever made. You locate six books and four newspaper articles about this topic. Because you must be ready soon, you do not have time to read each word, but you need a large quantity of solid information.

Skimming will help you locate the information quickly while making sure you use your time wisely. It will also increase the amount of usable material you obtain for your research.

Suppose you have an exam in a few days. You need to review the material you learned, but you don’t want to reread everything. By skimming, you can quickly locate the information you haven’t mastered yet and study only that material.

While reading, ask yourself the following questions to help you decide whether or not to skim. If you answer yes to any of these, then skimming is a useful tool.

1. Is this material non-fiction?
2. Do I have a lot to read and only a small amount of time?
3. Do I already know something about this?
4. Can any of the material be skipped?

If you have sufficient background knowledge or believe you don’t need the information, then skip it! That’s right—don’t read it at all! Believe it or not, skipping material may sometimes be the best use of your time. Just because someone wrote something doesn’t mean you have to read it.  If you pick and choose carefully what you skim and skip, you will be pleasantly surprised at the large amount of information you can get through in a short period of time. 

 

What Is Scanning?

Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike skimming, when scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. You scan when you look for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry.

How to scan.  Because you already scan many different types of material in your daily life, learning more details about scanning will be easy. Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate material, and knowing how the information is structured before you start scanning is essential. The material you scan is typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by category, or textually. Alphabetical information is

arranged in order from A to Z, while chronological information is arranged in time or numerical order.

Information can be also be arranged in non- alphabetical order, such as a television listing, or by category, listings of like items such as an auto parts catalog. Sometimes information is located within the written paragraphs of text, also known as a textual sense, as in an encyclopedia entry.

Learning to use your hands while scanning is very helpful in locating specific information. Do you do anything with your hands to locate a word in a dictionary? To find a meeting time on your calendar? To read a train or bus schedule? Using your hand or finger is extremely helpful in focusing your attention and keeping your place while scanning a column of material.

    Your peripheral vision can also help you scan effectively. When your hand moves down a list of names, you see not only the name your finger is pointing to, but also the names above and below. Let your eyes work for you when searching for information.

    Keep the concept of key words in mind while scanning. Your purpose will determine the key words. Suppose you are looking for the time a train leaves from New York City for Washington, D.C.The key words to keep in mind are “from New York City” and “to Washington,D.C.” If you are looking for the cost of a computer printer with the code number PX-710, the key word to locate in a list of many printers is “PX-710.”

When to scan?

You scan when your aim is to find specific pieces of information. If you were doing the research for an oral presentation, you could scan the index of books, web sites, and reference materials. You would discover whether they contain any information you want and the pages where the information can be found.

In the past, you probably scanned without knowing you were doing it. Now with the information provided in this section, you can use scanning more intentionally and frequently. The more you practice, the more effective scanning will become. Finally, the most important benefit of scanning is its ability to help you become a more flexible reader. Scanning adds another high gear to your reading.:

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SKIMMING AND SCANNING:

Skimming is about going through the whole article, whereas scanning is just finding out the specific text or pattern. Therefore, scanning requires a higher understanding of word recognition than compared to scanning. Unlike skimming, in scanning the reader is already aware of the text he wants to search in the document. However, in skimming, the reader usually has no or little idea about the document. Skimming is more about reading and understanding, whereas scanning is all about searching or finding. Therefore, both are different from each other.

Comparison between Skimming and Scanning:

	Skimming	Scanning
Definition	A technique for fast reading. A reader reads the article in order to get the general idea of it.	A technique in which a reader tries to search a particular text or word in the document
Requirement	Ability to go through the article quicklyAbility to understand what can be relevant and not in reading	Ability to find quicklyUse of fingers can be effective while looking for a  specific informationFocus on key words
Purpose	Generally to get the general idea of an articleTo sample a book before actually purchasing it	Generally to search a telephone number from a listTo find a particular quotation in a book
Method	Read the title carefullyFirst paragraph and introduction need to be read carefullyEmphasis on the reading of first sentence of every paragraphHeading and sub headings should be readPictures, charts or graphs should be noticedWords or phrase that are italicized or boldface must be noticedSummary or last paragraph is important to understand the conclusion	Reader must be clearly aware of the specific information that needs to be searched in the documentClues must be used to find the answer – like if one is searching for a date, then only numbers should be looked forHeadings can be helpful in suggesting the location of the desired informationOne should be careful in reading and skipping the sections of the passage