I want to know your opinion on learning English trough reading passages. We do not learn the grammar specifically but just try to know what kind a reading passage is.
I guess from the reading we are able to learn about the vocabulary, and the structure of some sentences can be learned from it too. Do you think it is an effective way to learn English?
This question is from Gus, Indonesia
Comments
joe
In my opinion, reading has a very significant place in learning English. If you just observe in your own class, you will find that ardent readers are better and more proficient in English. However, I think in an English classroom, only reading for the sake of reading is not sufficient because if you want to extend the learning from reading to written response then learning grammatical structure of the text and vocabulary is inevitable. As far as improving vocabulary is concerned, it goes without saying that reading plays a very vital role in it. To make the most from your reading passages, plan the reading activity around a theme. Plan some pre-reading activities like a group discussion about the theme. Ask the students to use different reading strategies like skimming the text, KWL techniques, etc. Teach the grammar structure and vocabulary relating to the text. Finally make the students apply their learning to write down a similar text.
Afshin Vatandoost, Iran
Texts could be used for a variety of purposes in teaching. In addition to reading skills such as skimming, scanning, intensive reading and so on, there are activities which could exploit a text to the best of it. This is referred to as "textploitation" by Ray Parker, the widely recognised teacher trainer. We could use a text as a medium to engage the students and generate interest in the lesson of the day. We might as well decide to either establish a preliminary familiarity with a certain structure by exposing our students to it through a text or simply reinforce it by telling our learners to underline the structure in that text. Vocabulary expansion is another use we could safely associate with a text, believing that contextualisation is a principle in teaching and expanding vocabulary. Some teachers even use a text to evaluate and enhance their students' pronunciation by having them read the text aloud. These are only a few of the things we could do with a text, so the question is what couldn't we do with a text?!
Benqdad Abdelkrim, Morocco
I reckon that reading is a very integrative activity though it is purely a receptive one. Reading can enhance the acquisition of vocabulary and some sub-skills such as inferencing, skimming...etc. However, it's not really enough to rely on it exclusively to learn English as some other skills ( speaking, listening) will be undermined. Together with reading there should be other activities to have a balance along the four skills of language.
Deniz, Turkey
Reading is a good way to learn many things but technically it is a receptive skill; so as we all know language is a whole and should include production and communication. As a result, although reading is beneficial, some other elements should be added to teaching vocabulary, structure etc.
George Steed, Polska
Understanding text context is the major problem that L2 students seem to have. I have students who can sight read but cannot answer simple questions about that text when queried. I use very simple paragraphs. I ask questions that are simple and can be answered by re-reading the text. Example: Text - Mary is a nurse. She works in a hospital. Questions: Is Mary a nurse? Where does Mary work? If the student can't answer the question, I have him/her read the text again. We do this over and over! I think that L2 teachers need to be 'super basic' until the student can actually understand and demonstrate that he/she comprehends the text. We use L1-L2 dictionaries as well as pictures. Another reading lesson can be a set of instructions to do something.
Ali H. Raddaoui, Tunisia
I have a number of suggestions for you relating specifically to readings with a story line. These suggestions are pretty simple to implement for the most part, but they have the advantage of making students go through the text a number of times, each time looking for one piece of the puzzle, until eventually they form a full picture. I would ask students these questions:
Eventually, when you have all these diagrams on the board, or perhaps only with reference to the time line enriched with places, names, actions, etc, ask students to close their books, look at the board, or the screen, and compose an oral text, based on the time line. To help students who are not very likely to do this oral activity, ask students to stand up and compose the text orally, and speak all at once. The teacher can also stand as a model.
Sloane, Malaysia
I've come across books on intensive and extensive reading while doing my diploma in TESL and I do believe in the merits of reading. Perhaps you can read up on those.
Most important, the reading material has to be of high-interest, is stimulating and does not contain too many new / difficult words and the student / child is made to enjoy the activity, maybe given in short bursts of time, interspersed with reinforcement worksheets? Try leveled-reading books. I did. Learning how to read well early has helped my daughter immensely. She is many years ahead of her age even when taking placement tests in English for native speakers and surprisingly, is able to perform extremely well on sections on Grammar with only a 1-time familiarisation exercise. She has yet to be taught any grammar or pronunciation (to me, she is impossible to teach) but she instinctively knows when a word is misspelled, mispronounced and can match parts of speech to their example, despite speaking, reading and writing in 3 languages fluently.
Heath, China
One of the biggest differences between L1 and L2* learning is that most people have read and heard millions and millions of different texts. Many people believe that this is the most obvious reason why learners of second languages never quite get to the same level as native speakers - because it is quite impossible, even with intensive courses over a long period of time to make up for 20 years worth of input.
Due to this, it seems highly likely that just through reading (or listening) we learn a great deal about vocabulary and structure, and many EFL experts recommend that all students of a second language should 'read for fun'.That said, however, many experts do believe that actively paying attention to vocabulary and structure is still beneficial. I'm not sure I agree with them, but what I would suggest is:
For vocabulary
For structure: