The role of language integration in english teaching and learning

INTEGRATED READING TEACHING TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Introduction Page Chapter Development Section Literature review I Reading skill in English II Integrated language skill activities Section Suggested activities Chapter Conclusion References 13 35 36 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Rationale Teaching English involves four skills speaking, listening, writing and reading The four skills are closely related However, in secondary school teaching focuses mainly on reading skill and it is often taught separately From my point of view, the reading text should be exploited more effectively Therefore, I would like to use the post reading stage to exploit the texts in order to teach skills in integration, to bring life into the lessons, to bring the lessons nearer to students’ interest Aims of study The three main objectives of this study include - to review some literature related to the reading skills and skill integration - to suggest some techniques in order to enrich post-reading activities - to provide some lesson plans where the techniques are applied Scope of study The object of my study is just gifted students in an underprivileged province As a result, the suggested activities can be applied to teaching reading in the similar context CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT SECTION Literature review I Reading skill in English The nature of reading Reading is always a necessary activity in both real life and in language learning and teaching Much effort has been spent on finding out the nature of reading However, there is not yet a unique definition of reading The most simple and perhaps provisional definition of reading is that of Karlin He claimed that reading is a process of converting the print-graphic symbols into meaning Manthody, E and Gricharts, J (1974:92) provided a more specific definition: “reading is an active, interactive, productive and cognitive It involves an active search for information and interaction with the text, it requires the constant constructive involvement of the reader in what he is doing and it demands the use of higher order mental ability.” Sharing the same opinion, Frank Smith (1985:102) added that “reading is understanding the author’s thought” In conclusion, all of the definitions involve the recognition of words and the production of meaning They are the basic elements of reading process Types of reading 2.1 Skimming and scanning Skimming is the technique of reading for general sense or the gist of the text The reader wants to know what is in the text but on a rather superficial level Skimming is most useful at the pre-reading stage It programs the reader’s brain Thus, at the while reading stage, he will be able to read faster, to understand the material better and so to remember it longer It is recommended that skimming complex passages first in 30 to 60 seconds Skimming involves steps: Read the title  Read any subheadings  Look at pictures, charts, etc that are included  Read the first paragraph  Look for the main points of each paragraph (usually in the first or last sentence)  Read the last paragraph Scanning is looking for specific information in a reading passage Scanning saves the time and directs the reader to useful information Low, M.G (1965:7) figured out secrets to good scanning: Look for the key words or phrases (date, number, ect) If you can not find them, try other words which mean the same 2.2 Intensive and extensive reading Intensive reading activities aim at helping students not only in the detail comprehension of short texts but also in the interpretation of the writer’s intention In general, intensive reading is often less encouraging because it is expected that the whole material is to be dealt with in detail and all structures are to be explained Consequently, it takes too long and interest is surely lost In contrast, extensive reading activities are more enjoyable They are often employed while reading for pleasure or reference 2.3 Silent and aloud reading There is no doubt about the efficiency of silent reading over aloud reading in accomplishing most of the reading tasks Silent reading focused on the meaning of the text, thus, students would be more concentrated on the comprehension and understand the text better Aloud reading slows down the reading speed considerably Some students have the habit of vocalizing with or without realizing its danger In fact, most of us speak at about 100-125 words per minute This is much slower than we want to be while reading In order to break this habit, try to push yourself read faster than you can vocalize II Integrated language skill activities Speaking and listening 1.1 Reading the text aloud We must distinguish reading texts in phonetic intonation and reading texts in ordinary spelling Only the formal one needs practicing because it gives extra practice in pronunciation, word stress and rhythm Students and teachers have a chance to check students’ pronunciation Aloud reading should be practiced after students have fully understood the texts Thus it should be left until teachers have presented and students have practiced all new language items: structure, vocabulary, etc Before asking students to read aloud a text, the teacher can read the text once or can play the tape if available After that he gives students time for preparation (about minutes) The preparation is really important because if students are asked to read aloud without readiness, they are often so discouraged and nervous that they can not make a meaning speech, mispronouncing some words, reading too fast, phrasing improperly which leads to wrong use of pause Aloud reading can be employed in almost every text in the book However, it would be more interesting and purposeful if it is used as the post reading activity Besides, oral reading can provide students with a chance to share information One student can bring to class a text whose topic is somehow related to that of the text they have learned For this kind of oral reading, it is not necessary for teacher to read first and to give the whole class time for preparation However, the student who is in charge of oral reading surely needs to prepare carefully at home Teachers may ask some students to select texts in advance as home assignment, choose the most suitable one, and give time for them to present in front of class At that time, the whole class practice their listening skill, indeed active listening This work can also be done in-group These students will prepare his passage at home and then in class they work in-group, each student reads his/her part in order to make a meaningful message After students read texts orally, it is necessary for teachers to give their comment on students’ intonation, stress, pronunciation, rhythm, and to write the words which students mispronounce and the sentences they use wrong intonation in the blackboard for further practice However, it is worth mentioning that the oral reading is employed at the post reading stage The text for oral reading should not be too long and time-consuming If the text is from the course book, teachers should choose a short paragraph If the material for oral reading is from other resources, the text must be short enough (about 200 words) In the schools where tape recorders are available, students’ performance can be recorded and played back for children to listen They then compare between their voice and the voice in the tape record provided before by their teacher It is good way for students to self-correct 1.2 Discussion Classroom discussions are one of the most important ways students come to understand a subject Discussion serves diverse social as well as academic purposes Through discussion, teachers and students establish a supportive environment for learning Students also reveal themselves and teachers can build bridges from what students know to what they need to know The form of discussion is diverse When a student are new to a topic, discussions are used to help learners actively understand new concepts, comprehend the content of text and its important terms Discussion can also be called for when the content is suitable for students to link the topic mentioned to the real world Thus, the second form of discussion will be suitable for the post reading stage However in order to have an effective discussion teachers must encourage full participation from their students Firstly, analyzing the classroom climate and building cooperation need to be done The classroom climate which has great impact on students’ reason for working (or not working) together can be explored through observation, personal interview or even surveys The focus is in the degree to which students see themselves as members of class learning community, the amount of cooperation in a classroom, the positive or negative mood of students Basing on the result, teachers designs which techniques and types of discussion are used Cooperation is also essential for effective classroom discussions to build cooperation among students and students, students and teachers Teachers can take the following steps: - Establishing norms concerning group responsibility, responsiveness to others and cooperation (rather than competition) - Coping with conflict: in classroom discussing, conflicts are almost certain However, it is essential that teachers talk about conflicts in a positive and productive manner rather than communicating prediction for failure For example, teachers should not give statements like: “ I knew I shouldn't have put you in with that group." “/ knew you shouldn't handle if\ “You never gets the right answer” Instead, teachers reminds their students of norms they have set up ‘I am quite surprised that you really forgot some of the rules we made for how we treat one another Let's start again and let us see if we can it better." Discussion can be held in small groups or whole class The whole class takes the forms of lectures: with teachers talking, asking questions, offering feed back and students responding and listening Another form of whole-class discussion involves students asking each other questions and offering responses in a whole-class setting It can be used as a vehicle for reasoning, generating ideas or forming conclusions Whole class discussion takes a short amount of time, which is shorter than small-group discussion does and easier to manage In comparison with the whole class discussion, the proportion of members who actually participate in the small group discussion is larger However, when choosing this type of activities, teachers have to face with another difficulty It is very difficult to organize and manage small group discussion as well When organizing small group discussion, teachers bear in mind the number of students in that class, the size and shape of the classroom In almost Vietnamese schools, a small classroom (25m2) holds 45 - 50 students Therefore, there lacks space for each group In these classes or students can make an optional group Teachers also have to choose who should be in one group Mixed groups are always better than homogenous group because mixed groups provide various opinions But Vietnamese teachers generally not make a new arrangement, they select students who sit next to each other into a group Arranging students in that way can not form a fixed group That which form of discussion is chosen is totally based on the content goals which teachers want to achieve According to content goals, discussion can be categorized into types: topic discussion, debate (issue-oriented) and problem solving 1.2.1 Topic discussion Topic discussion helps students comprehend the content of the lesson, apply what they have learned, relate his own knowledge and experience to material This type of discussion mainly focuses on the content of the text with consideration for implications of the content in the outside world This activity can be done is pair or group of or students If students’ level of English is low, their background knowledge is limited and the topic is quite complicated, the teachers need to give some suggestions or elicit some responses from the good students 1.2.2 Debating Debating helps students appreciate not only the author’s perspective but also other students’ point of view During debating, students listen to others’ beliefs and feeling about a topic; they analyze, evaluate and even change their own ideas as a result In this discussion, the content is only the reason for issues to emerge In this activity, teachers can use both small group discussion and whole class discussion In the case that much time is left, teachers need also to expand some words concerned in word study part There are different ways to hold this type of discussion: - Teachers let their students discuss in pair in minutes and then ask two or three pairs to present - The teacher may ask students to discuss in-group of or in minutes and then select students who are “For” forming a group and the rest forming another group Then let each group in turn express their opinions When one student from “For group” shows one advantage, the students of “Against group” surely want to argue This makes discussion exciting and meaningful However, in this case teachers must work hard to control the discussion To prevent students from overexciting teacher needs to ensure that students argue in a polite manner However, there is one advantage of this type of discussion The whole class discussion itself can not encourage the timid students Thus, teachers should pay more attention to them Teachers may elicit their response like “What you think? What about you? 'We may wish to listen to another voice?” For ……………………… Against ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… ……………………… 1.2.3 Problem-solving ……………………… Problem-solving is a specific form of discussion in which students read and study in-depth about a problem emerging from the text and device a number of possible solutions This activity does not focus on the text, therefore, students hardly directly make use of the knowledge they have read and learned from the text This type of discussion requires students’ wide background knowledge and language knowledge As a result, solving problem is suitable for schools or class specializing in English teaching 1.3 Text retelling It is a type of text reproducing exercises which converts reading vocabulary into speaking one Before this type of exercises is attempted, the basic structures of the language must have been mastered According to William Mackey (1965), this activity may follow these steps - Ask students to read silently the passage - Make them close their books and listen to you reading the same passage - Call on one or two of them to say in their own words what they have just heard ' Thus the activity can be used in teaching the post reading After finishing the while reading stage, teachers read aloud the text again or play the tape And then teachers let students to prepare for minutes Before retelling text in front of the class it is not necessary for students to represent all the information given in the text, just the decisively influencing content of the text 1.4 Listening 1, 4.1.Listening and response during discussion Discussion provides students with real t-life listening situations During this activity students are always motivated to listen to their friends hin order to show their cooperation, to get information their partner gives and their partner’s opinion as well All these make the conversation go on Listening to friends during discussion has both good side and bad side Firstly, during these activities students are always clear about the content of what they are going to listen to, who is going to speak with what sort of voice Secondly, the speaker is always visible and directly interacting with the listeners, which facilitates the decoding process of his listeners At least, students can make use of nonverbal language used by the speaker Moreover, the speaker’s presence also catches listeners’ attention However, listening to friends during discussion has its limitations to some extent For example, noise during discussion prevents students from catching the speaker’s voice Besides, the speaker’s errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammatical structures may be imitated by others Furthermore, the discourse will not be repeated hence, no explanation and comprehension check can be made after the discussion finished Therefore, teachers should bear in mind this feature while managing discussion They may record the students’ discussion, the whole class one, then play back for students to self recognize their mistakes and correct them While students report their discussion, teachers should not pay too much attention to the speaker but checking others’ response to encourage the whole class to listen actively to the speaker or teachers may ask students to paraphrase the speaker’s speech and then check the writing of some students 1.4.2 Listening to texts in the course book After students have read through the text, they understand its content in a general way Thus, asking students to listen to the text at the post reading stage does not provide them with practice in listening comprehension This activity just helps students to practise their pronunciation and intonation Jamie Foxx: Never underestimate your power, never underestimate what you can do! Andrew Garfield: So, join me, and be a superhero Emma Stone: Use your power at earthhour.org Andrew Garfield: Use your power at earthhour.org Jamie Foxx: Use your power at earthhour.org WHILE READING Earth Hour is an annual event which asks people to switch off all lights and use no electricity for an hour The aim is to get people thinking about the planet they live on and the energy they use What is Earth Hour? Earth Hour is an annual global campaign that encourages people and businesses around the world to switch off electricity at the same time for one hour Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million people in the city of Sydney turned off all non-essential lights for an hour Since then it has grown to a massive global event In 2013, millions of people in 7,000 cities and towns around the world switched off their lights for 60 minutes at the end of March Every year landmarks and well-known buildings around the world such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Petronas towers in Malaysia, the UK Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Empire State Building take part and ‘go dark’ for Earth Hour The campaign even went into space when astronauts reduced power on the International Space Station in 2011 Who organises Earth Hour? Earth Hour is organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) It was started by Andy Ridley, originally from Britain, who is executive director of Earth Hour Global, WWF He came up with the idea of Earth Hour because he wanted to raise awareness of environmental issues by asking people to something positive to help the planet Switching off the lights for an hour can make a small difference to the amount of energy we use but Earth Hour is also a symbolic event to make people think about the problems of climate change Why March? The end of March is around the time of the spring and autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively, so sunset times in both hemispheres are at similar times This means that a global ‘lights out’ event has most visual impact at this time of year UK events In 2013 in the UK, the pop group McFly gave a live acoustic performance (using no electricity!) dressed in panda costumes (the WWF’s logo is a panda) for Earth Hour Celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Raymond Blanc created special recipes for families to prepare and eat by candlelight Actors and TV personalities including Kevin McCloud and Miranda Richardson recorded Rudyard Kipling's famous Just So Stories for families to listen to by candlelight As well as famous London landmarks such as Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace switching off their lights, there are many other events around Britain On the WWF’s interactive map you can see which people, businesses, schools, organisations and landmarks are taking part this year and what they are doing Read the text about Earth hour and the exercises to check your understanding Circle True or False for these sentences Earth Hour events are held every year True False Earth Hour started in Malaysia in 2007 True False Famous buildings switch on their lights for Earth Hour True False The World Wide Fund for Nature started Earth Hour to make people think about environmental issues True False It is spring in both the northern and southern hemispheres in March True False The WWF is represented by a panda True False British families are encouraged to use candles instead of electric lights for Earth Hour True False The WWF asked Facebook users to make panda teddy bears True False Check your understanding: gap fill Complete the gaps with a word from the box 2011 2.2 million 2013 special food panda selfies the WWF 7,000 Stories _ people in the city of Sydney turned off all non-essential lights for an hour in 2007 _ cities and towns around the world turned off their lights for Earth Hour in 2013 The international Space Station participated in Earth Hour in _ Andy Ridley works for _ and was born in Britain McFly performed without electricity in the UK for Earth Hour _ Gordon Ramsay helped families to make _ for Earth Hour _ by Rudyard Kipling were recorded for Earth Hour in 2013 The WWF asked Facebook users to take _ to help promote Earth Hour Check your understanding: matching Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a–h next to the numbers 1–8 1…… switch off a participate 2…… take part b black and white bear 3…… come up with c turn off 4…… raise awareness d when day and night are the same length 5…… sunset e inform people 6…… landmark f very well-known building or place 7…… panda g when the sun disappears 8…… equinox h invent Answers Check your understanding: true or false True False False True False True True False Check your understanding: gap fill 2.2 million 7,000 2011 the WWF 2013 special food Stories panda selfies Check your understanding: matching c a h e g f b d POST READING Discussion Earth Hour 2014 will be held on Saturday 29th March between 8.30 p.m and 9.30 p.m in your local time zone Will you take part? Vocabulary Box Write any new words you have learnt in this lesson Play the song • Ask the students what they remember (if anything) about the song from the Earth Hour video (The song is ‘Feel again’ by OneRepublic.) • Play the song (e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tMKO_9SD1Y) and ask the students to write any words that they hear Students compare words with a partner Did they hear the same words? • Play a lyrics version of the song (e.g., http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz1wRwD3eYM) Students check their words with the song lyrics as they listen and watch If your class likes singing you could play the video again for them to watch, listen and sing along • Did the class like the song? In pairs or threes discuss why this song was chosen for the Earth Hour video READING CLIMATE CHANGES In this lesson students will gain an overview of what climate change is They will read some short texts, exchange information and make notes They will also learn some useful vocabulary on the topic PRE-READING Warmer: ‘What are the most important issues facing your country or town at present?’ Give students a couple of minutes to discuss in pairs, and then feedback as a class Give out Worksheet ‘Taking notes’ Students choose which notes are better and why Worksheet 1: Taking notes What is climate change? To understand climate change, it’s important to recognise the difference between weather and climate Weather is the temperature, precipitation (rain, hail, sleet and snow) and wind, which change hour by hour and day by day Climate is the average weather and the nature of its variations that we experience over time The greenhouse effect is the natural process of the atmosphere letting in some of the energy we receive from the Sun (ultraviolet and visible light) and stopping it being transmitted back out into space (infrared radiation or heat) This makes the Earth warm enough for life For several thousands of years the atmosphere has been delicately balanced, with levels of greenhouse gases relatively stable Human influence has now upset that balance and, as a result, we are seeing climate change Look at the notes two people took about the article Which you think are better and why? Example or example 2? Discuss with your partner Example To understand climate change, it’s important to recognise the difference between weather and climate The greenhouse effect is the natural process of the atmosphere letting in some of the energy we receive from the Sun For several thousands of years the atmosphere has been delicately balanced, with levels of greenhouse gases relatively stable Example • weather/climate different – short term vs long term • Greenhouse effect – natural process, keeps earth warm enough! • people upsetting balance – climate change Answer: the second set because they don’t just repeat sentences from the text, they use bullet points, shorthand and their own words) WHILE READING Read and taking notes Worksheet 2: How are we causing climate change? Human activities, like travelling by car, eating hamburgers or heating water in the home have led to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, causing an enhanced greenhouse effect and extra warming As a result, over the past century there has been an underlying increase in average temperatures which is continuing Globally, the ten hottest years on record have all been since 1997 What will happen if we don’t reduce emissions? If emissions continue to grow at present rates, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is likely to reach twice pre-industrial levels by around 2050 Unless we limit emissions, global temperature could rise as much as °C above pre-industrial temperature by the end of the century and push many of the world’s great ecosystems (such as coral reefs and rainforests) to irreversible decline Even if global temperatures rise by only °C, 20–30% of species could face extinction We can expect to see serious effects on our environment, food and water supplies, and health But isn’t the climate always changing? Yes There is natural variability in Earth’s climate but the current climate change is very unusual as it is not exclusively part of a natural cycle Natural factors include volcanic eruptions, aerosols and phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña (which cause warming and cooling of the Pacific Ocean surface) Natural climate variations can lead to periods with little or no warming, both globally and regionally, and other periods with very rapid warming However, there is an underlying trend of warming that is almost certainly caused by man’s activities Do climate scientists really agree about climate change? Yes The overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree on the fundamentals of climate change — that climate change is happening and has recently been caused by increased greenhouse gases from human activities The core climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was written by 152 scientists from more than 30 countries and reviewed by more than 600 experts It concluded that most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in man-made greenhouse gas concentrations Are you sure there’s a link between temperature rise and CO2? Yes Temperature and CO2 are linked Studies of polar-ice layers show that in the past, rises in temperature have been followed by an increase in CO2 Now, it is a rise in CO2 that is causing the temperature to rise Concentrations of CO2 have increased by more than 35% since industrialisation began, and they are now at their highest for at least 800,000 years When natural factors alone are considered, computer models not reproduce the climate warming we have observed Only when man-made greenhouse gases are included they accurately recreate what has happened in the real world Has global warming stopped? No The rise in global surface temperature has averaged more than 0.15 °C per decade since the mid-1970s The 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 1997 Global warming does not mean that each year will necessarily be warmer than the last because of natural variability, but the long-term trend is for rising temperatures The warmth of the last half century is unprecedented in, at least, the previous 1,300 years How can I help? Over 40% of current CO2 emissions are caused by the choices we make as individuals Simple actions can save money and energy; and there are many things you can to reduce your CO2 emissions, from switching off electrical appliances when they are not being used to insulating your home properly and walking instead of driving one short trip a week, taking the train instead of flying or putting in energy-saving light bulbs in your home Find out how you can make a difference on Act on CO2 website Answer questions with notes only Students hand in the reading passage Worksheet 3: Mingle What is climate change? How are we causing climate change? What will happen if we don’t reduce emissions? But isn’t the climate always changing? Do climate scientists really agree about climate change? Are you sure there’s a link between temperature rise and CO2? Has global warming stopped? How can I help? POST READING Match the words from the texts to the definitions below Worksheet 4: Climate change vocabulary climate change carbon dioxide greenhouse gases atmosphere extinction ecosystems rise greenhouse effect electrical appliances emissions global warming The process in which gases in the atmosphere trap the sun's heat The types of gases that trap the sun's warmth in the atmosphere A greenhouse gas with the chemical name CO2 A change in the earth's climate over a period of time When the average temperature on Earth is getting hotter A verb or noun which is a synonym of increase The scientific word for ‘air’ Greenhouse gases caused by human activity A system of plants and animals living together 10 When a type of plant or animal disappears completely 11 Televisions, fridges and other electrical goods Answers The process in which gases in the atmosphere trap the sun's heat - greenhouse effect The types of gases that trap the sun's warmth in the atmosphere - greenhouse gases A greenhouse gas with the chemical name CO2 - carbon dioxide A change in the earth's climate over a period of time - climate change When the average temperature on Earth is getting hotter - global warming A verb or noun which is a synonym of increase - rise The scientific word for ‘air’ - atmosphere Greenhouse gases caused by human activity - emissions A system of plants and animals living together - ecosystem 10 When a type of plant or animal disappears completely - extinction 11 Televisions, fridges and other electrical goods - electrical appliances Test your partner on these words Say the definition and your partner has to say the word Discussion: In groups, learners make a list of things they can to help reduce climate change, and feedback to the class READING CONSUMER SOCIETY PRE-READING Arrange the words in the correct order Give student pairs/groups the cut-up quotation below and ask them to order it to form the original quotation Show the quotation on the whiteboard and ask them what it means Ask them who they think might have said the quotation Answer: Gandhi There is enough on earth for everybody ‘s need but not for everyone ‘s greed Which items are most essential for your life and which would you most like to have? Consumer goods A coat A pair of trainers Levi’s jeans Water A CD player A pair of jeans A dental check up Paper A restaurant meal A telephone Jewellery Gold-coloured laces in your trainers Food An appointment at the hair salon Paracetamol Shampoo An iPod Beer Toothpaste A packet of M&Ms Cushion covers WHILE READING Table mats which match the curtains Read the text and answer the questions Consumer society By Julie Bray If we only bought things we needed, there would be enough for everybody What we need? What you need depends on how old you are and your way of life If we don’t need to buy so much, we don’t need to work so much We can take part-time jobs or reduce our working day from hours to hours Some people are leaving very well paid jobs to live a healthier life in the countryside or a more exciting life abroad This is called ‘downshifting’ Parents can spend more time with their children and the unemployed are given more opportunities to work If we start to respect saving the earth more than spending money, we will become ‘conservers’ When we are conservers, we try to choose environmentally-friendly products which are durable and last a long time We may find growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes more rewarding than buying them What was the best thing you bought last week? Could you choose from lots of different types? We like having a choice of what to buy People who buy things are called consumers Consumers have choices We usually choose the colour, taste, smell or size of what we buy, but there are other choices we can make The following questions will help you to consider these choices Where was it made? If you don’t like the place it was made, you might decide not to buy that particular product A lot of people don’t buy products from certain countries when they don’t like the way the country is run Was it made in a factory or on a local farm? If the product was unbelievably cheap, the people who made it might not have been paid much Who made it? Do you know? If a friend made it, you probably like it more and you will want to keep it for a long time If it was made by somebody who enjoyed making it, the quality and the design are probably better Or does it look like it might have been assembled in a large factory? There are children in Asia who make Santa Claus dolls for European children to play with The children who make the toys don’t celebrate Christmas because they are not Christian; they think of the dolls as work Would it be better if the children in Europe made their own Christmas dolls? What is it made from? One of the places where we want to buy expensive luxuries is at the airport’s duty-free shop Next to the chocolate and cigarettes, there are beautifully-shaped bottles and compact boxes full of perfumes and creams which promise to make you look and feel more beautiful If you look at the ingredients you will find that the perfumes are mainly alcohol and the creams are mainly made of petroleum! Almost all products are sold in packaging Some products have too much packaging, creating more rubbish and using up resources Some use recycled packaging, which is better for the environment Next time you go shopping, think about what you really need to buy Don’t deprive yourself of things you like, but decide what you should buy before you go out, so that you won’t be influenced by advertisements or promotions If it is more expensive to buy goods which don’t have much packaging and things which are more durable, buy less If you can choose to work less, decide which things you would like to make, or grow yourself Even though you have less money, your life will become richer! Reading comprehension questions What is ‘downshifting’? What is the definition of ‘conservers’? What is the definition of ‘consumers’? What criteria we use when we make choices about buying things according to the article? What are perfumes and creams usually made of? What will happen to us if we have less money according to the article? POST READING Discussion task • In pairs ask students to discuss the following questions: What parts of the article did you agree with and why? Did you find any parts of the article stupid? Would you describe yourself as a conserver or a consumer? Why? Would you be prepared to ‘downshift’? Why? / Why not? CHAPTER CONCLUSION In conclusion, the role of language integration in English learning is now clear It is the teacher’s job to integrate language component such as grammar and vocabulary and language skills including speaking, writing, etc in teaching reading skill Then learners are exposed to authentic language in reading text and are involved in meaningful post reading activities where the language will be actively used By this way, the language learnt becomes not just a subject of study but a real means of communication In other words, integrated reading hopefully results in the sustainable development of the reading skill and other skills as well While applying the method, teachers should bear in mind the following principles Reading skill – not a separate chunk Reading should not be taught in the discrete chunks but integrated with other skills as a whole If students use the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing naturally in the process of solving problems and completing tasks, they will develop these skills better than if the skills are isolated Comprehensible input with scaffolding Teachers provide texts with rich input, appropriate context and support, to make that input comprehensible to learners, and appropriately and increasingly more challenging Actually, English learners cannot learn from language they not understand Thus, a too difficult reading passage by no means does any good to their language development REFERENCES Karkin, R Teaching elementary reading Harcourt Brace Jovanovic Publisher, 1971 Low, M.G Thresholds in Reading Heinle and Heinle Publishers, 1965 http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/earthhour ... I Reading skill in English The nature of reading Reading is always a necessary activity in both real life and in language learning and teaching Much effort has been spent on finding out the nature... not being used to insulating your home properly and walking instead of driving one short trip a week, taking the train instead of flying or putting in energy-saving light bulbs in your home Find... production of meaning They are the basic elements of reading process Types of reading 2.1 Skimming and scanning Skimming is the technique of reading for general sense or the gist of the text The reader