EFFECTIVE STRATERGIES ON IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION

KẾ Ự B Ấ Ỉ KẾ EFFECTIVE STRATERGIES ON IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION ( BỆ Ữ Ệ Ể Â Ế Ệ Q Ả Ọ t KỸ Ă Ọ ) , tháng ă 2015 Ô VỀ KẾ k ế : EFFECTIVE STRATERGIES ON IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION ( BỆ Ữ Ệ Ể ĩ Ệ Q Ả Ế Ọ ự pd kế : a pd kế : Â KỸ Ă Ọ ) bả & â a 10 tháng ăm 2014 đế 20 tháng ăm 2015 t Năm 02-07-1978 Nơ t t ú ố 10 ì độ õ 10 p ố N mô C ứ vụ ô tá ế v Nơ làm v ệ a ỉl A Nam õ 10 p ố N ễ Nam - 0917493290 pd kế v a Nam - - ệ ố 10 ệ t ễ Nam ỉ ên ệ t ề kệ I ế đó, đ A ể a ă k ă ố t đò a ỏ ắm bắt ả k ếm 30 % - 40 % t ố đ ểm ất để t ếp ậ t t ứ ó t ể dụ e, ó đặ b ệt v ết Nế p kế â l ă bà t đ vố k ế t ứ mà mì k ô e, ó , đ đ t đ v ết ự tế, đ ó ể úp ì k đ ợ ể ,đ ộ k để ó vố p ú t ì ẽ k ó ó t ể ó tốt, v ết a đ ợ Ngoài ra, mỗ mụ đí đ k a đò ỏ ók ỏ làm t ế để tì t ả m ố (t k t ể , t ,t ă v a k ế A p v ủ độ ả đ ợ v t mt b t áp dụ t đ ề t ô t ú tá ệp ĩ làm t ế để ó t độ đ c â ộ d ứ ủ đề t út k vừa d từ p ía ự ứ ể kế ) t v v k ô ă vớ đ tà l ệ , ; ựp ả ủ để , bà đ Câ tì p ụ vụ tâ ) đ a tốt mụ t k p (t ọ b ệt lớp a đáp ứ vớ k a a b ết k a t k ể k t ú ệm mì mỗ bà đ b í đ k a t tố đa ứ a ẻk ự t II v ă d ệm ỉ t ú óđ ợ ,b d p ă k á mt ợp t độ ệm vụ a đ ỗtợ k bà k ểm t a đá , ó ó kế t ứ á k í t ả má t k ố lớp đă a mỗ bà d vừa ó đ ề áp dụ t bà m k ă ả úp ó v ết l ậ V ệ q ệ d kế e l ả mặt ã ộ - tí - t ế õ ệt a mỗ bà - úp em b ết vệ - ự , ủ độ tự t a ả , tự đ , b ết k a t , tìm tà l ệ p ụ vụ tập ự at ô V ề x ất, k ế Ả KẾ TABLE OF CONTENT PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims: PART B: DEVELOPMENT Roles of reading in language learning and teaching The nature of reading comprehension Kinds of reading comprehension 3.1 According to manners of reading 3.2 According to purposes of reading 10 Conclusion 13 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 14 5.1 Pre-reading 14 5.2 During reading 18 5.3 Post-reading: 19 PART C: CONCLUSION 22 REFERENCES 23 PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale In terms of opportunities, nationally, it can be seen that, foreign language education policy and accompanying student attitudes and motivation have become crucial issues in the national development of Vietnam over the past twenty years Social changes have resulted in the changes in foreign language learning and teaching This choice of English, in particular, has greatly influenced education, especially secondary school English has become a compulsory subject in the state examination In addition to the aim of passing their exams and getting some further studies for their future life, students have a desire to be integrated into the lt e t a e ma ’ v l zat Learning English means learning four related skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing Among these, reading seems to be the leading activity in the process of teaching and learning and it accounts for roughly 30% of total marks in the national exams Reading comprehension is a skill that is learned over time It requires the reader to be able to read fluently, stay focused, and think critically about the book or text in question Unfortunately, many students struggle comprehending texts Some cannot discern the main ideas from the details while others have a hard time understanding what the book is even talking about Therefore, helping students increase their reading comprehension is a key to their educational success or failure As a matter of fact, the question of how to teach reading effectively has been of great concern Therefore, I would like to share with you all some of my strategies to help improve reading comprehension Aims: -Show out the importance of mastering reading comprehension -Provide some suggestions for improvement of reading comprehension for high school students PART B: DEVELOPMENT Roles of reading in language learning and teaching d pe able Reading plays a le pe ple’ l ve It a wa t a e knowledge and experience Through reading, knowledge has greatly contributed to the growth of mankind Reading is the fastest and simplest way to raise pe ple’ ed at d f al level ( de ta d t & ze , 2001) Reading is like opening the ma ’ pa t, w e e t a e ve a a l k la f our present Reading also stimulates the development of brain cells, reinforces language skills, and enhances organizational abilities Where there is little reading, there will be little language learning (Bright and Gregor (1970, p.52-53) In fact, the students who want to learn English as a foreign language has to explore the knowledge of it by reading a lot or throwing himself into a created English speaking environment Only by reading can students acquire the speed and the skills needed for their practical purposes It is difficult in the modern world to anything other than a basic job without being able to read Reading as a skill is the key to an educated workforce, which in turn is the bedrock of economic advancement, particularly in the present technological age Additionally, reading helps form other language skills such as listening, speaking and writing Reading is the best way for students to get used to new vocabulary, concepts, grammar and structures in reading materials The students know how to use them in listening, speaking and writing in a right context and have further practice of the language during the process of learning Through reading, students can understand the use of words and structures in their written forms as well as the connecting devices that link them together Reading mp e e l el te elated w t t e la a e k ll “ e e a e few cases in real life when we not talk or write about what we have read or when we d t elate w at we ave ead t met we m t ave ea d” (Frangoise Grellet-1982, p8) A special relationship exists between listening and reading, which are both receptive phases of language, as opposed to productive phases of speaking and w t I ead le , t de t da e a d a we t e ave t l te t t e tea e ’ e pla at et opinions and exchan e t e wt e al ave t l te t t e t e ’ S met me , t e ave t a d f e d’ l te t necessary information extracted from the debates or discussions to support and defend their own ideas; therefore, reading is not only aimed at improving the t de t’ ead k ll b t t e l te ng skill as well During a reading lesson, students may share what they have read with the partners by discussing, exchanging and arguing In this way speaking is helpful for students to understand the text and at the same time to improve their speaking skill “ e a dw t e t betwee a e ba ead all a dw t t t ve p reading- elated a t v t , w tte w k pa t la l t e ” (R e a d R a effe t ve wa B t ead 1998, p22) F e k a t de t’ reading comprehension After reading the reading text, teachers have students write a summary, reflection or take notes of what they have read As a result, they can use interesting main points in their writing paper later on In conclusion, during the reading lessons, an emphasis is placed on the reading activities, but reading comprehension should not be separated from the other skills The four skills must be interrelated to master a foreign language The nature of reading comprehension There exist different views and definitions of reading comprehension Jermery Harmer (1983, p15) tate t at “Read a e e e d m ated b t e e e a d t e brain The eyes receive messages and the brain then has to work out the f a e f t e e me a e ” According t Edd e W ll am (1984, p.3) “Read at a d ap e w e eb de ta d w at a bee w tte ” S me ave take t e p el k t t at reading involves merely the decoding of graphic symbols and the production of meaning Though there are several and varied definitions of reading, most of us would come to conclusion that reading without understanding is meaningless Reading comprehension has the nature of communication, in which reading acts as means of communication between the writer and the reader Reading comprehension is, in fact, a language processes, not the sum of various decoding and comprehension sub skills In short, reading is the process of e t t t ea t ’ dea a d f mat I a ead le at l, the text is decoded by the students and the product of reading act is communication, their understanding of ideas that have been put in print by the writer As a means of communication, reading is a means of communicating with friends and teacher at school For example, summarizing a text, taking notes of main points in the text or making comments on it in a sheet of paper then comparing with the partners are some useful follow-up activities after reading Kinds of reading comprehension One of the most important points to keep in mind when teaching and learning reading comprehension is that there is not one type of reading but several a d t e’ p p e f ead St de t w ll eve be d eade unless they can adapt their reading skills to their aims when reading In considering the reading process, it is important to distinguish the reading activities according to manners and purposes of reading According to manners, it can be classified into -Silent reading -Reading aloud According to purposes, it can be divided into -Intensive reading -Extensive reading -Scanning -Skimming 3.1 According to manners of reading 3.1.1 Silent reading S le t ead “t e ab l t we mall e a e w e we ead b k, newspapers, road signs, etc It involves looking at black marks on paper and de ta d t e me a e t e ve ” (D ff 1988) Silent reading is widely used in real life in which we not read every word aloud The eyes run from left to right, top to bottom to receive the graphic forms of printed materials and decode them in mind Silent reading is good for reading comprehension because: -Firstly, students can all read at their own speed If they not understand, they can go back and read it again -Secondly, students are, in fact, concentrating on the text and thinking about the meaning Therefore, silent reading is a skill students need to develop 3.1.2 Reading aloud Read al d ee a a wa f ead understand a text but convey informat t w me ep p e “ tj t e el e” (D ff 1981) I other words, it is obvious that reading aloud involves looking at the text, understanding its and also saying it In the classroom, reading aloud can be used to train students in pronunciation, so it can be done by the teacher at the earliest stage of teaching procedure “Be t e e ave t d ve ww t ave al ead lea t” (Natal 1989, p.2) a ated w t t e p ke w d ead al d al ed a a means to make other students keep quiet However, reading aloud is not a very useful technique as Bright and Gregef (1970, p 177) state It interferes with the proper business of the reading lesson which is to create imaginative response in the mind from the visual stimulus of black marks on paper Where it is used frequently it slows down reading speed whereas the objective is if increase it 3.2 According to purposes of reading 3.2.1 Extensive reading It is an activity which frees students from the restriction of class work Students read at their own pace They can choose what to read Extensive reading is an effective way to help students improve their English N ttal (1982, p 8) a t at “ e be t wa t mp ve e’ k wled e f a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers The next best way is to read e te vel t” I 1981, F a l e te t , e all f ellet p e’ ted t t at “E te w plea e I t e ve ead te t f la mea ead m lea this is a fluency activity, mainly involving global understanding For extensive reading, students work on their own reading texts graded to the levels of individual readers They are given opportunities to progress at their own rate The purpose of the extensive reading is to train the student to read quickly and 'fluently in the foreign language for his own enjoyment without the aid of the teacher Therefore, the material for extensive reading should be selected at a lower level of difficulty than that for intensive reading Structures in the text should be already familiar to him, and new words should be introduced slowly in such a way that their meaning can be deduced from the context or quickly ascertained In order to encourage students to read extensively the teacher should be able to recommend to the students extensive reading material which corresponds to their individual ta te a d te e t ” At high school, students often read intensively in the reading lessons, this reading style is suitable for them to learn and practise the language, but it cannot help to train them in fluent reading On the contrary, extensive reading can provide students with fluency in reading Furthermore, extensive reading can supply them with an adequate language environment as well as the enjoyment in reading and in learning a language Therefore, it is necessary for the educational authorities and teachers to incorporate intensive reading and extensive reading into school curriculum 3.2.2 Intensive reading A d t Fa ellet (1981, p 4) “I te ve ead means reading shorter texts to extract specific information This is more an accuracy activity v lv ead f deta l” Intensive reading exercises may include:  looking at main ideas versus details  understanding what is implied versus stated  making inferences  looking at the order of information and how it effects the message  identifying words that connect one idea to another  identifying words that indicate change from one section to another ed e (1985, p 8) t e e t at “I te ta t e t ate e a d k ll t e ve ead le eed t be me provide students with e f l eade ” In intensive reading, students are trained in reading comprehension through the analytical approach to grammar and lexis They are encouraged to infer the meaning of unknown words and structures from the context in the target language For many learners, their purpose in reading English language is not for information, interest, or pleasure, but to learn English So they assume that the appropriate style for them should be slow, intensive reading in order to be sure of not missing any words Materials for intensive reading used by students in class are short stories and extracts from novels or magazines They are chosen according to the level of difficulty of language and for the interest they hold for young people still at school This reading matter is studied in considerable detail a d t elated' t la tea e ’ ta k a e lea de t e tea e ’ da e e ef e, t e t p v de t e t de t with strategies and skills of reading to arrive at a profound and detailed comprehension of the text and how the meaning is expressed 3.2.3 Skimming Skimming is a way of reading that a reader is required to jump through the text, ignoring parts of it for the very general purpose of seeing what it is about, and whether there is anything of interest to him in it The reader skims in order to satisfy a very general curiosity about the text rather than finding the answer to particular questions Skimming is a quick reading to get know the general meaning of a passage , the organization of the passage, the structure of the text a d t e w te ’ p p e Skimming is not an appropriate aim for learners at beginner level It is suitable for the students of the eleventh form or twelfth form especially for gifted students of English At this level skimming helps them to organize their thoughts and specify what information they can get from the reading material; therefore, their subsequent reading is more efficient Activities  Students must locate facts that are expressed in sentences, not single words  To improve skimming, readers should read more and more rapidly, to form appropriate questions and predictions and then read quickly  Pugh (1978) suggests that to assess skimming, after the students have read and completed the assigned questions, further questions may be asked, "beyond the scope of the purpose originally set" (p.70) 3.2.4 Scanning Scanning is, in contrast, described as follows B tem a “t e eade e bel eve ere is on the look-out for a particular item or t e te t” ( ete W a d, 1990, p.83) F e ample, t e name of the scorer in a football report A d t N ttal, 1989 a mea “ la ap dl t a te t e t e to search for specific pieces of information (eg: a name, a date) or to get an initial mp e f w et e t “S a table f w e a eade a e t ve p p e” a te t ve kl de t f d a particular point of information (William, 1986) Activities  Activities may include exercises that are devised by the teacher in which students scan for a single word or specific text  Activities may include exercises that are often carried on as a competition so students will work quickly  Students use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of what a passage is about , activate prior knowledge about the topic of the passage by answering some questions or performing a quiz , anticipate what they want to learn about the top , use titles, pictures, and prior knowledge to anticipate the contents of the text , use key words, that may have been given to them by the teacher, that not appear in the text, that allude to the main idea Like skimming, scanning is a useful reading skill that may be at first strange to a learner who is used to reading everything in a foreign language with the same degree of attention It can be appropriately applied in teaching and learning reading as it can be very useful as a study technique Conclusion All kinds of reading are interrelated Skimming and scanning are all helpful reading skills that enable the readers to read rapidly in order to select some specific information that are worth spending time on Both skimming and scanning are useful skills in silent reading Reading aloud and silent reading can be used effectively for teaching and learning intensive reading but extensive reading is commonly carried out by readers who read for pleasure or further study through silent reading 5 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS According to Cohen (1986), reading strategies refer to those mental processes that readers consciously choose to use in accomplishing reading tasks As Block (1986) defined, reading strategies are techniques and methods readers use to make their reading successful These methods include how to conceive tasks, what textual cues they attend to, how readers makes senses of what they read, and what they when they not understand Often the term skill and strategy are used interchangeably, but there is difference between both of them Strategies can be defined as conscious actions that learners take to achieve desired objectives, but skill is a strategy that has become automatic When reading, readers employ some special skills They are successful in understanding what they read and not depend on how they apply these skills to their process of reading This is the important question for teachers and students in teaching and learning reading skills Here are some useful skills and activities for reading comprehension 5.1 Pre-reading A good reader often predicts what he is going to read In other words, he generally has some expectations before he actually begins reading the text While reading he can understand the text and match the content of the text to his predictions which will change when he gets more information from the process of reading One of the important things for the teachers in the pre-reading phase is to e a e t de t t devel p p ed t ve k ll elp t a e t de t’s attention and interest in the topic The way he introduces the text, the way he asks questions and the way he gives a reason for reading will interest students and motivate their purpose for reading For example, teachers can ask students to predict what will happen at the end of a story or have them explain how they decided on their prediction, which encourages them to make inferences about what they are reading by using the title, subtitles, pictures, maps, diagrams, and divisions within the text to predict content and organization or sequence of information In addition, teachers help to give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text, or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess By answering questions, students get to know the purpose of reading, focus their attention on what they are to learn as well as encourage them to monitor their comprehension The following are some activities I have applied during pre-reading phase at my high school Prediction 1.1 Possible passages Steps: + Choose – 15 key words from the text students will read + Determine categories into which students should sort the words + Tell students that the Unknown Words category is only for terms the group has no idea about – if they have a sense that a word should go in a certain category, they should place it there + Ask students to make a gist statement using words listed above Aim: + engage students in contextual study of vocabulary before reading a passage + help students overview the reading text Sample: (Unit 4- Book 10-Advanced) Possible Passage Word list: Helen Keller, Sullivan, deaf, blind, fingertip alphabet, manual alphabet, Radcliffe College, Braille, remarkable woman Characters Problems Outcomes Unknown words Helen Keller deaf fingertip alphabet manual alphabet Sullivan blind Braille Radcliffe College remarkable women Possible statement: Helen Keller was a deaf and blind child Thanks to M S ll va ’ elp, e ld ma te t e f e t p alp abet a d B a lle S e made every effort to learn and graduate from Radcliffe College Soon she became one of remarkable women in the world 1.2 Possible sentences Steps: + Choose – 15 key words from the text students will read (both unknown words and familiar words) + Ask each student to choose at least two words from the list to make a meaningful sentence that may be found in the upcoming reading + After reading, have students check to see if their "possible sentences" were accurate or need revising Aim: + activate students' prior knowledge about content area vocabulary and concepts + help students overview the reading text Sample:(Unit 10- Book 10- Advanced) Word list: Nam Cat Tien national park, established, central government, ecotourism site, species, visitors, landscape, ecotourism, economy, promote Possible sentences: - Nam Cat Tien national park was established by the central government - Nam Cat Tien national park is considered as an ecotourism site - Nam Cat Tien national park contains many different species of plants and animals - A lot of visitors come to Nam Cat Tien national park because of its beautiful landscape …… Word list Steps: - Write a key word or concept related to the reading material - Ask students to work in groups and list their associations for the cue - Encourage students to make inquiries about the associations for example: clarify t e w d , p v de a e ample, def t , m del … - Ask students to think and talk about the key word Aim: a t vate t de t ’ p k wled e a d p vides a framework for a student- led discussion Sample (Unit 14- Book 10- advanced) World Cup: competition, football, soccer, championship, team, cup, fan, hold, score, footballer, final, match, host country, Pre- questions Steps: - Asks students to work in groups and discuss the list of questions teacher gives Aim: b ld t e t de t ’ te e t a d m t vat a d a t vate t de t ’ background knowledge and make connections Sample: (Unit 14- Book 10- Advanced) T asks students to work in groups and discuss the following questions to see how much they know about soccer and the world cup How often is the world cup held? What does the abbreviation FIFA stand for? When and where was the first World Cup tournament held? Who is considered the all-time best soccer player? When was the World Cup first held in Asia? Is there a World Cup tournament for women? Where and when will the next World Cup be held? 5.2 During reading 5.2.1 Extracting specific information In real life, we often read something as we want to extract some specific pieces of information We read the text as quickly as possible and only concentrate on the particular items that interest us and disregard the other information necessary This skill when applied in reading is often called scanning It e f me ead k ll t at ve ef l f mp v t de t ’ ead speed because a common problem for foreign language students in Vietnam is that they tend to read too slowly in all types This is one of their disadvantages when taking their exam in which reading passage occupies 30% of total marks of the examination paper 5.2.2 Getting the general picture Readers often read something because they want to get the general picture and have a general idea of the main points of what they have read without being too concerned with the detail It is the main point that they are interested in The skill of reading in order to get the general picture is skimming It presupposes the eade ’ ab l t t p k t the main points and discard what is irrelevant In teaching reading skills, skimming is a useful sub skill that also helps to improve t e t de t ’ ead peed e w ll be able t t t e te t e t emel quickly to see what a text is about or how it is organized 5.2.3 Reading for detailed comprehension Reading for detailed comprehension is very common in intensive reading in which students are trained to read the text carefully through the analytical approach to grammar and lexis for detailed comprehension Students have to be able to access texts for detailed information of many kinds By generating questions, students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading Students learn to ask themselves questions that require them to combine information from different segments of text For example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text For upper secondary students, their grammar, the use of words and sentence patterns, so the slow, intensive reading is the appropriate style for them 5.2.4 Reading for communicative tasks As I have mentioned above, reading comprehension has a nature of communication Reading activity is a means of communication between the writer and the reader when the reader decodes what the writer encodes Reading activity a t be ee a matte f “ tamp ” ele ted p e e effe t ve wa t devel p t e lea e ’ la f la a e ab l t It a a eb t t f te an t de t’ communicative interaction about what they have read There are some reading techniques involved in reading for communicative tasks Students can rearrange the text that has become disordered They can this activity in pairs and then the teacher can ask different pairs to read the story out in the correct order In another way, half of the class are told to prepare the questions while the rest is given the te t a d t ld t ead t t at t e w ll be able t a we t e la mate ’ questions The teacher should bear in mind that at the earliest stage of the learning p e ,t e e da l t de t ’ k wled e f E l l m ted d e not mean they cannot communicate effectively with the language they have got It is clear that the lower their level is, the less sophisticated language users they are They can nevertheless be expected to use the language they know for the purposes of communication 5.3 Post-reading: After the lesson, teachers can have students summarize the reading passage, which can help both to clear up any confusion about the meaning of a text and to secure it more firmly in students' memories However, it can take a lot of practice to become adept at writing concise, accurate summaries that focus on main points and eliminate unnecessary information Teachers may provide samples for their students and model their own work, showing how they would identify key points, paraphrase them, and condense them Further, they can assign students to start with relatively short, simple passages before going on to summarize longer and more complicated texts Likewise, teachers ask the students to work in pairs or group, discussing the text and related topics and then report back to the class or give their presentation Probably the most important comprehension strategy of all but one that is surprisingly rare in the nation's secondary classrooms is to give students frequent a d e te ve pp t te t d w at t e 've ead It’ e t e ea straightforward to lead students in focused, informative, and engaging discussions of texts Teachers need to come up with provocative questions, keep the conversation focused, guide it though lulls, and help students to learn and stick to important classroom norms and rules (having to with turn-taking, respecting others' opinions, staying on point, and so on) However, when students engage in high-quality text-based discussions, they tend to come away with much clearer and more nuanced understandings of course materials Moreover, teachers can lead to combine reading with a speaking component For example, students may interview each other or debate about their reading or combine reading with a writing component, for instance, after reading the text, students may be asked to write a report or a reflection Teacher also encourage students to read the texts on the same topic or let students choose the authentic texts from suggestions by the teacher so that students not choose those that are too overwhelming Student take notes main ideas and then write a reflection on what they noticed about their own reading, which allows students to bring more background knowledge to each new text read Often teachers will respond to the students and if so, the student should leave room in the journal for this Some of my proposed activities during post-reading phase as follows 1 Discussion/ debate Discussion is purposeful talk through which students explore their thinking, respond to ideas, process information, and articulate their thoughts in verbal exchanges with classmates and teachers 1.1 Problem solving (unit 4/ Book 11- Advanced) Teacher asks students to discuss in groups, showing some main causes leading to literacy problems and suggesting some solutions 1.2 Agreement or Disagreement with a statement (Unit 5/Book 11- Advanced) Sample: Teacher has students work in groups, express his/ her points of views on beauty contests 1.3 Alternatives ranking Sample: (Unit 1/ Book 11- Advanced) - Teacher prepares handouts including a list of important qualities of a good friend - Students work individually and rank the importance of these qualities - Students work in small groups and share their opinions Important qualities of a good friend: Loyalty, Intelligence, Humor, Honesty, Generosity, Sympathy, Tolerance, Sincerity Summary It is an easy way to have students reflect on what they read and synthesize their thinking A variety of forms for summary can be used based on the format of the text 2.1 completing a plot diagram 2.2 taking notes on a time line (unit3/ Book 10- Advanced) 2.3 using mindmaps ( unit1/ Book 10- advanced) 2.4 filling gaps (unit 12/ Book 10- advanced) Reflection 3.1 Monitor comprehension Steps: Ask students to list three facts they learned from a reading, two questions they had as they read and one thing they found interesting Aims: let students show what they have learned or ask questions about a topic in a simple way 3.2 Response journals Steps: provide journal sheets or booklets with prompting questions that will help structure student responses Aims: + record student feelings, responses, and reactions to reading texts + encourage students to think deeply about the materials they have read and to relate this information to their prior knowledge and experiences Sample: ea e p v de me p mpt t fa l tate t de t ’ ead mp e e a d reflections - ele Kelle ’ eff t t ve me e mpa me t -lessons from the ups and downs in her life PART C: CONCLUSION As reading, one of the receptive skills through which students can widen their knowledge of the target language more than other skills, it is important for the students to have good techniques in reading to become good readers Therefore, it is necessary for the teacher to have useful methods and motivating a tvte mp v t de t ’ ead mp e e In this paper, I have reviewed the role of reading in language learning, the integration of reading with other language skills and the classifications of reading and most importantly made some suggestions for teaching and learning to improve reading skills It is common knowledge that we learn to read by reading a lot, yet reading a lot is not the emphasis of most reading curriculum There is now a considerable evident that the best way to learn to read is to combine both approaches (extensive and intensive reading) in the class For example, where extensive reading is encouraged, the teacher may have all the students read the same text so they can discuss the topic together or learn a specific skill such as writing an outline In a class where intensive reading is mostly used, students may be asked to read texts of their own choosing to report back on, in either an oral or written format It is expected that together with various reading activities listed above can contribute a great deal to students in developing reading comprehension and make students more active in the learning process in order to gain a better result I have tried my best in this study with an aim to share my experience with all colleagues However, mistakes and shortcomings are unavoidable Thus, any remarks will be warmly welcomed Ýkế kế tổ REFERENCES Nuttal.1982 Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language Heinemann Doff.A 1988 Teach English Cambridge University Press Harmer.J 2001 The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman Richard R.Day.1993.New Ways in Teaching Reading Honolulu, Hawaii Munby, John (1968) "Teaching Intensive Reading Skills" in Mackay, Ronald, Barkman, B & Jordan, R.R (Eds.) Reading in a Second Language, Rowley, Mass: Newbury House Publishers Inc Bell, Timothy (2001) "Extensive Reading: Speed and Comprehension", The Reading Matrix, Vol.1, No.1 April 2001 http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/bell/index.html Hafiz, F.M & Tudoe, I (1989) "Extensive reading and the development of language skills", ELT Journal, Vol.43/1, p.5-13 ƠQ Ơ V KẾ (x ậ , , xếp l ) (Ký t , dấ ) ( k ối p ò g GD- T GV MN, TH, THCS) PHÒNG GD(x ậ , , xếp l ) ( p ò ký t , dấ ) KÈ a B Ả t ẽ t lệ t a t ết ọa kế E KẾ k p ượ Sả p ẩm k kèm t e ( ế pk t pd ó) ật t kế ( ế t ự tế ( ế ó) ó) [...]... specific information that are worth spending time on Both skimming and scanning are useful skills in silent reading Reading aloud and silent reading can be used effectively for teaching and learning intensive reading but extensive reading is commonly carried out by readers who read for pleasure or further study through silent reading 5 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS According to Cohen (1986), reading strategies... skills and activities for reading comprehension 5.1 Pre -reading A good reader often predicts what he is going to read In other words, he generally has some expectations before he actually begins reading the text While reading he can understand the text and match the content of the text to his predictions which will change when he gets more information from the process of reading One of the important things... or how it is organized 5.2.3 Reading for detailed comprehension Reading for detailed comprehension is very common in intensive reading in which students are trained to read the text carefully through the analytical approach to grammar and lexis for detailed comprehension Students have to be able to access texts for detailed information of many kinds By generating questions, students become aware of... Reflection 3.1 Monitor comprehension Steps: Ask students to list three facts they learned from a reading, two questions they had as they read and one thing they found interesting Aims: let students show what they have learned or ask questions about a topic in a simple way 3.2 Response journals Steps: provide journal sheets or booklets with prompting questions that will help structure student responses... have them explain how they decided on their prediction, which encourages them to make inferences about what they are reading by using the title, subtitles, pictures, maps, diagrams, and divisions within the text to predict content and organization or sequence of information In addition, teachers help to give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text, or activate the existing... feelings, responses, and reactions to reading texts + encourage students to think deeply about the materials they have read and to relate this information to their prior knowledge and experiences Sample: ea e p v de me p mpt t fa l tate t de t ’ ead mp e e a d reflections - ele Kelle ’ eff t t ve me e mpa me t -lessons from the ups and downs in her life PART C: CONCLUSION As reading, one of the receptive... others' opinions, staying on point, and so on) However, when students do engage in high-quality text-based discussions, they tend to come away with much clearer and more nuanced understandings of course materials Moreover, teachers can lead to combine reading with a speaking component For example, students may interview each other or debate about their reading or combine reading with a writing component,... activate the existing knowledge that the students possess By answering questions, students get to know the purpose of reading, focus their attention on what they are to learn as well as encourage them to monitor their comprehension The following are some activities I have applied during pre -reading phase at my high school 1 Prediction 1.1 Possible passages Steps: + Choose 8 – 15 key words from the text... patterns, so the slow, intensive reading is the appropriate style for them 5.2.4 Reading for communicative tasks As I have mentioned above, reading comprehension has a nature of communication Reading activity is a means of communication between the writer and the reader when the reader decodes what the writer encodes Reading activity a t be ee a matte f “ tamp ” ele ted p e e effe t ve wa t devel p... the questions and if they understand what they are reading Students learn to ask themselves questions that require them to combine information from different segments of text For example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text For upper secondary students, their grammar, the use of words and sentence patterns, so the slow, intensive reading is