Effective strategies on improving reading comprehension

Some some tips to do multiple choice questions better Read the question before you look at the answer.. According to the passage, how do memories get transferred to the STM?A They revert

3.1 How to prepare for this task:

3.2 How to do this task

3.3 A model reading text

4 True/ False/ Not given

4 1 The question types

4.2 Some tips to get the highest

4.3 Some examples of how the questions work

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I INTRODUCTION

“So it is with children who learn to read fluently and well: They begin

to take flight into whole new worlds as effortlessly as young birds take to the sky.” —William James

This saying has stated the vital role of reading in teaching and learning English as a foreign language In fact, there has been a lot of recent research that suggests that students will benefit greatly from a strong focus

on reading because it not only helps develop the language skills but also has

a contribution on cognitive development Without the ability to read, which

is highly valued for personal, social, and economic well-being, students are placed at a disadvantage in almost every educational and “real world” setting

In recognition of its significance, educators have given priority to this skill not only in the process of designing teaching and learning materials but also in assessment tests and in all important exams Noticeably, reading skill always occupies 38% of the total mark in university entrance exams and 25

% in national examinations to choose the most advanced students

However, this skill is also the most challenging to all learners, especially the ones in majored classes because the tasks assigned require both extensive and intensive knowledge about a variety of different topics as well as the excellent master of words and structures in corresponding contexts Thus, it has even been claimed that the key to success in tests and exams lies much in reading well and that knowledgeable teachers who provide quality instruction are crucial to helping students become successful readers Duffy-Hester (1999) perhaps stated it best when she noted the role the teacher played in helping learners to read: “I am convinced that the teacher is more important and has a greater impact than any single, fixed reading program, method, or approach” (p 492)

As teachers of English in a gifted high school, we are always trying to develop new teaching methods to motivate my students and facilitate their reading process Our purpose in this paper, therefore, is to attempt to answer the questions “What teaching comprehension strategies must teachers of

reading be able to perform and how are these strategies effectively applied in gifted classes?”

Within the limited scope of one paper, we focus mainly on four main types of reading comprehension tasks that are often included in exams for advanced students namely multiple choice, gap-text, headline matching and True/False/Not given Typical models and really useful tips will correspondingly be covered so that teachers will have a specific and comprehensive view of how to conduct them successfully To achieve this purpose, we have carefully studied language teaching approaches as well as relating materials Especially, the knowledge, experience, and cooperation of all teachers in our group have helped to fulfill this paper

The study is divided into 3 main parts Part one consists of the general introduction of the study Part two deals with the four main types of reading comprehension tasks with samples and strategies Part three is the conclusion with the summary of the study ending with suggestion for further research Hopefully, our paper will be a useful reference for teachers of English to have highly productive reading periods

II CONTENT

1 MULTIPLE CHOICE

1.1 Question types

1.11 Detail/Fact

• According to the passage

• According to paragraph 1, why/what/which

• The author's description of mentions which of the following

1.1.2 Negative Fact

• All of the following are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT:

• According to the passage which of the following is NOT

Factual and Negative Factual questions ask about specific details and facts that are often provided in a single line of text Sometimes you will be directed to the paragraph that contains the answer.

1.1.3 Inference/Implication

• Which of the following can be inferred about

• In paragraph 3, the author implies

You will have to make connections and assumptions to answer this style of question Unlike factual questions, answers will not often be found in a single line of text.

1.1.4 Vocabulary

• The word in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

• When the author says is she means

The meaning of the term is often understood by reading the surrounding text You will not be asked to define vocabulary that is uncommon, subject related, or cannot be understood in context.

1.1.5 Author purpose

• In paragraph 5, why does the author discuss

• The author mentions as an example of

These questions ask you to do things such as figure out reasons why certain topics are discussed or certain examples are provided Again you will be asked to make assumptions.

1.1.6 Reference questions

• The word in paragraph 3 refers to

These questions generally ask you to identify a noun or phrase that a pronoun is referring to.

1.1.7 Insert sentence to the reading

• Look at the four squares that indicate where this sentence can be added to the passage Where would the sentence fit best?

These questions require that you look for transitional phrases or other hints

to figure out where the additional sentence belongs Make sure that the position you choose for the new sentence makes sense by reading the sentence before and after After you have made your choice, read all three sentences to yourself to check if the paragraph flows well.

1.1.8 Simplify the sentence

Which of the following best provides the important information in thehighlighted sentence from the passage Incorrect answer choices leave out essential information or change the meaning of it

When answering this question make sure that you do not choose a sentence that is slightly incorrect All of the important information from the sentence must be in the simplified sentence.

1.2 Some some tips to do multiple choice questions better

Read the question before you look at the answer

Come up with the answer in your head before looking at the possible answers, this way the choices given on the test won't throw you off or trick you

Eliminate answers you know aren't right

Read all the choices before choosing your answer

If there is no guessing penalty, always take an educated guess and select

In a question with an "All of the above" choice, if you see that at least two correct statements, then "All of the above" is probably the answer

A positive choice is more likely to be true than a negative one

Usually the correct answer is the choice with the most information

Take the time to check your work before you hand in the answer sheet

1.3 Example

Read the following passage Answer the questions and check your answers

Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds

When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased

from the memory How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area The brain has a filter which only allows stimuli that

is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory

There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memory The most accepted theory comes from George A Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity

of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar information together By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage

When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal" By repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear When a pen and paper are not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number

instantly.* Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory.* A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal" *This involves assigning semantic meaning

to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories

*Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting The more cues a person is given

(such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization

1 According to the passage, how do memories get transferred to the STM?A) They revert from the long term memory

B) They are filtered from the sensory storage area

C) They get chunked when they enter the brain

D) They enter via the nervous system

Explanation:

• Choice A is the opposite of what happens.

• Choice C is what a person should try to do when memorizing

• Choice D is not mentioned.

The correct answer is B This is a factual question.

2 The word elapses in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to:

The correct answer is A.This is a vocabulary question.

3 All of the following are mentioned as places in which memories are stored EXCEPT the:

C) sensory storage area D) maintenance area

Explanation:

• Choice A is mentioned in the first paragraph.

• Choice B is mentioned in the second paragraph.

• Choice C is mentioned in the first paragraph.

The correct answer is D This is a negative factual question.

4 Why does the author mention a dog's bark?

A) To give an example of a type of memory

B) To provide a type of interruption

C) To prove that dogs have better memories than humans

D) To compare another sound that is loud like a doorbell

Explanation:

• Choice A is incorrect because it is not the "reason" the author

mentions it

• Choice C is not mentioned.

• Choice D distracts you because both are mentioned as examples.

The correct answer is B This is an author purpose question.

5 How do theorists believe a person can remember more information in a short time?

A) By organizing it B) By repeating it

C) By giving it a name D) By drawing it

Explanation:

• Choice B is what regular people think is true.

• Choice C is not mentioned.

• Choice D is a type of cue for retrieval.

The correct answer is A This is a factual question.

6 The author believes that rote rotation is:

A) the best way to remember something B) more efficient than chunkingC) ineffective in the long run D) an unnecessary interruption

Explanation:

• Choice A is contradicted by "not an efficient way".

• Choice B is incorrect because these two terms are not compared.

• Choice D is illogical.

The correct answer is C This is a factual question.

7 The word it in the last paragraph refers to:

The correct answer is D This is a reference question.

8 The word elaborate in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to:

9 Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?A) The working memory is the same as the short term memory

B) A memory is kept alive through constant repetition

C) Cues help people to recognize information

D) Multiple choice exams are the most difficult

Explanation:

• Choice A is mentioned in paragraph one

• Choice B is mentioned in paragraph three (though an interruption will destroy it)

• Choice C is mentioned in the last paragraph

The correct answer is D This is a negative factual question

10 Which of the following best provides the important informaton in the highlighted sentence from the passage Incorrect answer choices leave out essential information or change the meaning of it

A) Prompting is the easiest way to retrieve short term memory after an

extended period of time

B) A memory can be retrieved by prompting, in a case where it has been rarely used

C) It's easier to remember short term memories than long term memories due

to regular prompts

D) Recalling a long term memory that is often used is easy, while forgotten memories often require prompting

Explanation:

• Choice A changes the meaning of the information.

• Choice B leaves out essential information about the long term

memories that are used often

• Choice C changes the meaning of the information.

The correct answer is D This is a sentence simplification question.

2 GAPPED TEXT

The gap filling is a challenging exercise for any level students

A reading gap fill is one task students may get in a large numbers of test, not only at school exams but also at international ones

There are two common types gap filling in reading tests, inclusing filling words or phrases in the and putting missing sentences into the text The following discussion will deal with each type seperately

2 1 Gapfill of words/ pharses

In regard to this type, there are two smaller ones:

Type 1 - those with a given list of words or pharses to choose from to fill in the gap

Type 2 - those where you fill the gaps with words or pharses from the reading passage

Gapfill tasks Type 2 are, naturally, more difficult than gapfill tasks Type 1 The text of a gapfill task Type 2 is always a summary of part or the whole of a reading passage On the other hand, a gapfill task Type 1 may or may not be a summary of part or the whole of a reading passage

Reading Gapfill Method – for Type 1

Step 1 First, read the instructions You need to know if the gapfill is a

summary of part or of the whole of the reading passage; if so, you will need

to refer to the passage You also need to know if you can use a word from the list of words more than once

Step 2 Next, read the example and cross the answer to the example off the

list, but only if you cannot use a word from the list more than once

Step 3 Then, scan or skim the gapfill text quickly for a general

understanding of the text

Step 4 Now work out the parts of speech for each of the words in the given

list Place a letter standing for the part of speech next to each word in the list If the item in the list is a phrase, you should determine the kind of

phrase (noun, adjectival, adverbial, prepositional etc.) If a word can function as two parts of speech, e.g as a noun and a verb, write down both.

By distinguishing the words or phrases according to their function as parts of speech, you need only search through similar functioning words when considering a word or phrase for a gap In this way, you considerably shorten the time required to find the words or phrases that are possible correct answers

Remember, if the word either side of the gap:

…is a noun, the answer could be an adjective (usually before the gap)

… is a verb, the answer could be an adverb

… is an adjective, the answer could be a noun (or an adverb if after the gap)

Do not forget this structure: (pro)noun + (be) + adjective

E.g She is happy.

Note that an adverb may precede the adjective in the above structure

Step 5 Now turn to the first gap in the task, and try to work out the full

meaning of the sentence it is within You may need to read the sentence before and after, too

Step 6 Next, work out the part of speech for the gap Do so, by closely

examining the words that come both before and after the gap

Step 7 Then search only through the words in the list that can function as

the same part of speech as the missing gap word Look for all the possible answers that you think could fit in the gap Make no final choice just yet There are usually two or three similar words that could be correct Write them all above the gap

Step 8 Refer to the reading passage to help you choose possible answers for

the gap if the gapfill text is a summary of part or all of the passage

Step 9 Complete steps 5 to 8 for each gap in the task.

n – noun v – verb a – adjective adv – adverb

p – preposition pp – past participle ‘-ing’ words c - conjunction

Step 10 Choose a final answer from the words chosen for each gap Cross

off the incorrect answers, do not write them on the Answer Sheet, for you will not be correct if you give more than one answer

Reading Gapfill Method – for Type 2

Step 1 First, read the instructions You need to know if the gapfill text is a

summary of part or of the whole of the reading passage

Step 2 Next, read the example for information about the topic of the

summary

Step 3 Then, scan or skim the gapfill text quickly for a general

understanding of the text

Step 4 Now locate the answer to the example in the reading passage.

Step 5 Place the summary across the passage to find out where the answers

to questions may be found It is often possible to divide the summary into parts that correspond to various paragraphs or sections of the passage In this way, it is possible to shorten the area of the passage in which to look for particular answers

Step 6 Now turn to the first gap in the task, and try to work out the full

meaning of the sentence it is within You may need to read the sentence before and after, too

Step 7 Next, work out the part of speech for that gap Do so, by closely

examining the words that come both before and after the gap

Step 8 Then, examine the keywords/phrases to look for in the passage, and

locate them in the passage

Step 9 Choose the word that best suits the gap, remembering that the words

you find in the passage may not be in the words form you require You may need a noun, but the word given in the passage might be an adjective In which case, you must change the form of the word to the word form required

in the gapfill text

Step 10 Complete steps 6 to 9 for each gap in the task.

Example

Reading Passage

on plane was, the country where the plane was registered or the country where the crime was committed In 1963, at the Tokyo convention, it was decided that the laws of the country where the plane is registered take precedence

The frequency of air rage has expanded out of proportion to the growth of air travel Until recently few statistic were gathered about air rage, but those that have been indicate that passengers are increasingly likely to cause trouble or engage in violent acts For example, in 1998 there were 266 air rage incidents out of approximately four million passengers, a 400% increase from 1995 In the same period American Airlines showed a 200% rise Air travel is predicted to rise by 5% internationally by 2010 leading to increased airport congestion This, coupled with the flying public’s increased aggression, means that air rage may become a major issue in coming years Aside from discomfort and disruption, air rage poses some very real dangers

to flying The most extreme of these is when out of control passengers enter the cockpit This has actually happened on a number of occasions, the worst

of which have resulted in the death and injury of pilots or the intruder taking control of the plane, almost resulting in crashes In addition, berserk passengers sometimes attempt to open the emergency doors while in flight, putting the whole aircraft in danger These are extreme examples and cases

of air rage more commonly result in physical assaults on fellow passengers

and crew such as throwing objects, punching, stabbing or scalding with hot coffee

Look at the words in the table and decide which word will fit in the reading gap fill summary Type the word into the gap (when you have completed it you can click below to reveal and check your answers).

predicted rose incident passenger found assault established occurring hoped increased injury passengers Summary

The first time that an (1) _of air rage was recorded was

in the 1940’s, but the passenger was never actually charged for an offence because there were no clear rules in place to specify where to prosecute It was later (2) _that it would be the country where the plane is registered Air rage has (3) significantly since this time, growing

by a staggering 400% from 1995 to 1998 Air rage is (4) to be

a major problem in the future as air travel increases, as do levels of aggression Angry (5) _can put everyone in danger including the pilots, the crew and the other passengers, with some form

of (6) being the most common consequence

Reading Gap Fill Answers

The first time that an incident of air rage was recorded was in the 1940’s, but the passenger was never actually charged for an offence because there were no clear rules in place to specify where to prosecute It was later established that it would be the country where the plane is registered Air rage has increased significantly since this time, growing by a staggering 400% from 1995 to 1998 Air rage is predicted to be a major problem in the future as air travel increases, as do levels of aggression Angry passengers can put everyone in danger including the pilots, the crew and the other passengers, with some form of assault being the most common consequence

Reading Gap Fill Answer Discussion

It must be the plural as it is being used as a general noun For the singular,

an article would need to have been used

(6) Assault

If you put 'injury' this is wrong as the reading does not say people are commonly injured, but it does refer to assaults You can get assaulted without getting injured

2.2 Missing sentences

Like ordering paragraphs, to put missing sentences into a text students have to work like a detective and look for clues This example, and the tips that follow show students how

Example

Usually these streets were full of busy people (Missing sentence)

It was completely quiet on the streets outside Guy thought it was strange _ Now they were completely empty The snow that had fallen looked like a carpet Outside looked like inside.

Discussion

The missing sentence refers back to a previous sentence as there is a

reference to streets (these streets) The missing sentence refers to the

next sentence too In the missing sentence we know that usually the

streets were full This links to the following sentence as now they (the

streets) are empty They refers back to a plural noun (the streets).

Suggested strategies:

 Read all the sentences taken out of the text

 Read the text and match the sentences with the gaps you are sure about

 Read the sentences before and after the gap carefully There will always

be a link between these sentences and the missing sentence

 Look for reference words What do they refer to? Typical reference

words include:

 personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)

 possessive pronouns (my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our,

ours, their, theirs)

 demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)

 Look for discourse markers such as in addition, however, as a result,

then, etc

 If you are not sure which sentence goes in the gap, leave it and move on

to the next

 If you think there are two possible sentences for one gap, write down

both answers and check again later

 Write down all the possibilities for each gap If you make the wrong

choice at the beginning, this may affect the rest of your answers

 You don’t have to read the text in order You can move backwards and

forwards to different paragraphs

 There may be extra sentences you don’t need But remember, there will

always be a link between the correct missing sentence and the text

3 HEADLINE MATCHING

In this exercise, students are presented with s series of short texts from which the tittles or headlines have been removed These are given in a separate list and students have to match the headlines and texts Here are some strategies that can help you to answer the questions:

3.1 How to prepare for this task: