IMPORTANCE
OF READING
The skills of language learning namely listening, speaking, reading and
writing are interrelated. Out of these reading is, perhaps the most useful
skill a school can attempt to teach. Dr. west’s new method is actually based on
the principle of developing the reading skill. Reading is considered as the
most important tool for academic success. Speech precedes reading and reading
gives the input for writing. In his essay “On
Studies” Lord Bacon has rightly pointed out, “Reading maketh a full man”.
In fact good habits of reading promote self-confidence on the part of the
reader and develop his personality. In the words of Kitson, “Reading is by far the shortest road to learning to speak
and write a language”. In the opinion of Trivedi
and Gnanchi, “In fact the
education of a child is imperfect unless he is equipped with the ability to
read. The intellectual advancement of a child is strictly limited if he is
unable to read”.
Mechanism
of Reading
While
reading our eyes do not move smoothly along the printed line. Rather they move
in jumps with brief stops in the midst of the jumps. In other words, the eyes
move along the printed line in jumps stopping momentarily at the end of every
jump. And we o not read when the eyes are in movement. We read only when they
stop.
Eye-span
The number of words read in one complete movement of the eye is called
the eye-span. The difference between
a fast reader and a slow reader is that the former has a larger eye-span than
the latter. The fast reader, in one movement of the eyes, recognizes and reads
phrases or even sentences. But the slow reader fails to recognize even one r
two words at a time.
Aims
of Teaching Reading
Reading
is taught in school with the following aims in view.
1. To
enable pupils recognize words.
2. To
enable them understand the meanings of words, phrases and sentences.
3. To
enable them react to what has been read.
4. To
change ideas and behavior of the pupils.
SUB-SKILLS OF READING
Reading involves a number of sub-skills.
1.
Global
Comprehension: In reading a text for meaning, it is
desirable to go from the ‘whole’ to the ‘parts’ and not vice versa, as
unskilled readers tend to do. A poor reader will pick up information from the
text in small bits and pieces, as he/she reads from the word or one sentence to
the next and try to assemble the bits together. An efficient reader, on the
other hand, will first try to form an overall ‘picture’ of the entire text.
2.
Understanding
the Plan of the Text: A good reader usually reads a text
more than once in order to understand it adequately. The first reading is done
at speed, with the intention of making a ‘general survey’ of the text. Then the
reader returns to the text as many times as needed in order to fill in the
details.
3.
Making
Predictions and Informed Guesses: An unskilled reader
plods through a text laboriously, trying to get the meaning of every word. The
skilled reader, after reading a few sentences, paragraphs or pages, is able to
form a fairly accurate picture of what the author is trying to say and is able
to ‘hop’ and ‘skip’ through the text, omitting quite substantial portions of it
without missing important information.
4.
Local
Comprehension: After reading through the text quickly
to form an overall impression, one should focus on the details of the
information provided by the writer, which will generally be located in
different parts of the text.
5.
Guessing
the meanings of Unfamiliar Words: Good readers tackle
unknown words in a text by trying to guess their meanings from the context. It
is not possible to look up the meanings of all unknown words in the dictionary.
If the reader attempts to do that the flow of reading is interrupted. However,
this is possible only when the text does not have too many difficult words.
6.
Skimming
and Scanning: ‘Skimming’ a text means going through it
quickly to get an overall idea of the context. We are not interested in details
or any specific information while skimming. ‘Scanning’ on the other hand,
involves searching the text for specific piece of information in which the
reader is interested.
7.
Understanding
Discourse Markers: Discourse markers are ‘signposts’
provided by the writer. These are used in a text to indicate sequence of ideas
and signal the writer’s point of view. Understanding the writer’s use of
discourse markers is an important sub-skill of reading. These signposts are
helpful because they indicate to the reader the relationship between two parts
of the text.
8.
Understanding
the Organization of a Text: Every text contains a
number of different ideas. Which are presented in different parts of the text.
The manner in which different ideas are related to each other in a text is
referred to as the structure or organization of a text. This is controlled by
the topic, the writer’s purpose and the audience that he/she has in mind. A
good reader should be able to trace the organizational pattern in the text.
9.
Note-Making:
Note-Making
is a sub-skill of reading that is highly useful for study purposes. It involves
understanding the organization of the text and being able to identify the main
points and the supporting details, in skeleton or outline form.
TYPES OF READING
Reading is basically
divided into three types depending on the amount of sound that is produced
while reading. This may be referred to as sound-based
reading. The three types of sound-based reading are:
SOUND
BASED READING
1. Reading
Aloud
Reading Aloud means
reading outwardly so that others may hear what one reads. The pupils should be
taught to read aloud at the early stage. By reading aloud the pupil makes a
conscious effort and as such concentrates better on what he reads. Mistakes in
pronunciation can be easily detected and corrected at once. Moreover when the
pupils read aloud correctly they get mental satisfaction. It is used while
reading prose.
While teaching reading
aloud to the pupils the teacher has to bear in mind the following.
i.
The pupils should be able to read
clearly and distinctly with proper pronunciation, stress and intonation. Every
sound should be clearly produced. It should be means of improving the
pronunciation of pupils.
ii.
The pupils should derive pleasure from
reading. It should give them a feeling of mastery over the language.
iii.
It should serve as a test of the pupil’s
comprehension of the passage. If the pupil can read aloud and well, it can be
presumed that he is following the passage.
iv.
Reading should be in a natural tone of
voice. It should not be done in an affected tome.
v.
The reading matter should be appropriate
to the mental level of the pupil and should be known to him.
vi.
There should be ample language
background before reading aloud is practiced.
2.
Loud Reading
Whereas Reading Aloud is practiced while reading prose, Loud Reading is
practiced while reading poetry. Loud reading means reading noisily. Loud
reading is used while reading poems especially while reading in chorus. Several
voices produce much more noise than a single voice. Loud reading produces a
heightened aural effect which is essential for the appreciation of poems. It
also helps pupils in getting the poems by heart easily.
3.
Silent Reading
Silent Reading, as the
name itself suggests, is that type of reading where the learner reads
everything quietly. He is not expected to move even his lips. Silent reading is
useful at the advanced stages of learning a language. It is possible to go
through a lot of reading material only through silent reading.
Importance
of Silent Reading
Silent reading is faster
and saves time. It helps in greater assimilation of information and ideas
because it enables attention to be concentrated on meaning rather than on
pronunciation, intonation, stress etc. it keeps the whole class busy and active
at the same time and ultimately prepares the pupils for library reading on
their own. According to Morri
“Silent reading paves the way for the assignment of individual method of study.
Reading as an end in foreign language may be confined to silent reading”. In
the words of A.W. Frisby, “While
reading aloud has its uses few pupils will have much need of it when they leave
school. We must teach the skill of silent reading as soon as possible since it
is useful to our pupils throughout their lives”.
Reading is further
divided into three more kinds basing on the type of content that is read. It
can be termed as Content Based Reading.
The three types of content based reading are:
1.
Intensive Reading
The other name for intensive reading is studying. This refers to the
study of the detailed class reader by the pupils. This type of reading is done
mostly when the pupils prepare for the examinations. In order to have a clear
understanding of the detailed textbook, the pupils have to study the prescribed
lessons in the textbook in a detailed manner. This type of reading is done
through thinking deeply. Hence it is also called as Critical Reading.
2.
Supplement Reading
Supplementary Reading
refers to the reading of the supplementary or non-detail readers in the
classroom under the guidance of the teacher. The purpose of supplementary
reading is to supplement the work of the intensive reading. It is generally
introduced at the middle and the high school stages. The detailed reader is
usually accompanied by one or two supplementary readers. As these readers
contain interesting reading material the pupils are encouraged to go through
them and attain a lot of vocabulary.
3.
Extensive Reading
Reading of any other
material other than the prescribed text book and the supplementary reader comes
under extensive reading. For example, reading of the newspapers and books
borrowed from the school library or public library is regarded as extensive
reading. This type of reading is voluntary reading.
METHODS OF TEACHING READING
There are different methods of teaching reading right from the Letter or
Alphabetic Method to the Story Method. These different methods of teaching
reading are broadly divided into two categories namely Analytical Methods and
Synthetic Methods. Those methods which concentrate on the individual letters
and sounds are known as analytical methods. Synthetic methods, on the other
hand, deal with the entire word, phrase, sentence or story.
ANALYTICAL METHODS OF TEACHING READING
1.
The Letter or Alphabetic Method
This is the oldest method of teaching reading. It assumes that
familiarity with the forms and names of letters helps learners in recognizing
and pronouncing words. In learning such a word as cat, the learner repeats the familiar letters c-a-t until he senses the pronunciation of the word or until
he is told how to pronounce it. Thus letters are combined into syllables and
words. Words, in turn, are combined into phrases and sentences.
Drawbacks
of the Method
1.
It is a long and tedious method. It
provides no pleasure in reading to the learner.
2.
English alphabet is incomplete. There
are only 26 letters to represent 44 sounds.
3.
There are several letters which
represent more than one sound. This leads to confusion.
4.
When individual letters are combined
they do not give the sound of a word they represent for English is an
unphonetic language. For example, when the letters d-o-g are combined they should actually give the sound deo-gee and not dog.
5.
It is psychologically unsound.
Individual letters of the alphabet have no meaning for the learner.
6.
Eye-span reveals that we recognize the
whole word when we read something. But this method does not recognize this
fact. Prof. Welton observes, “The
Alphabetic Method insists upon a child attending separately to a dog’s head,
body, legs, tail etc. before allowing it to apprehend and name the animal as a
whole”.
2.
The Phonic or Syllable Method
This method is based on a firm sound system. Each word is broken up into
its basic speech sounds. First the different sounds are taught to the pupils.
They learn the alphabet afterwards. They are taught sounds of vowels and
consonants and then how to associate these sounds with symbols. Later words are
formed from these sounds and finally sentences.
Merits
of the Method
1.
It improves the skill of oral reading of
the pupils.
2.
It brings rationalization of the
approach to the symbols of the language through pertinent sounds.
3.
It lays down a firm foundation for
speech training.
Drawbacks
1. Silent
letters are a common feature of the English language. They cannot be taught or
explained through this method. For example k
in know, h in hour and b in doubt
2. Homophones
also create difficulty for the pupils. Eg. Cite,
site, sight.
3. Psychologically
too this method is unsound for here we begin with parts and then reach the
whole. This retards the reading speed on the part of the learners.
4. In
opinion of A.W. Frisby “It
encourages the bad habit of reading one word at a time. This causes extra eye
strain and renders understanding of the passage difficult”.
3.
The Phonetic Method
In this method phonetic symbols are learnt first and words later on.
This is a difficult method. It is unpsychological too as attention is concentrated on individual
sounds but not on words.
SYNTHETIC METHODS OF TEACHING READING
4.
The Word Method or Look and Say
Method
P.C. Wren calls this method
as the one and only rational method
of teaching reading. It is called as word method for here the unit of teaching
reading is a word. The word is learnt not as a make use of the eye as well as
the ear. For example, to teach the word tiger,
a flashcard having the picture of a tiger and the word tiger printed on it is taken. The learners look at the picture and say
the word. That is why the method is also known as the Look Say Method.
Merits
of the Method
1.
This method is psychologically sound for
it takes the word as unit of reading.
2.
It proceeds from the concrete to the
abstract.
3.
It is interesting and attractive for
pictures are used here.
Drawbacks
1.
All the words, especially the abstract
ones cannot be taught through this method for they cannot be explained with the
help of pictures or subjects.
2.
It does not give skill in deciphering
new words.
3.
Individual words may not convey the
exact meaning because words attain their meanings in context.
5.
The Phrase Method
The Phrase Method is a compromise method between the Word Method and the
Sentence Method. H.E. Palmer is a
staunch supporter of this method. Psychological findings have proved that the
eye takes in a convenient group of words rather than a word or a sentence. The
phrase fulfils this demand of the eye-span. In the words of Menon and Patel, “The phrase Method is based on the assumption that phrases
are more interesting than words and place emphasis on meaning. It is believed
that since good readers recognize groups of words at each fixation of the eyes,
the phrase method should foster rapid growth in efficient reading”.
6.
The Sentence Method
This is called sentence method for here the unit of reading is a
sentence. It is a natural method because children love to speak sentence.
Moreover words have meanings in context and contexts are provided by sentences.
By reading sentences the pupils acquire fluency of speech and facility in
writing. Ryburn is a staunch
supporter of this method. In the words of Schonell
and Free, “One of the greatest
values of the Sentence Method lies in the help it offers to the pupil from the
context and from the continuity of meaning that can be embodied in the
material”. According to Anderson and
Dearborn it helps to prevent word by
word reading.
Merits of the Method
1.
This method will be interesting for the
pupils as they learn complete and meaningful sentences.
2.
As the method stresses the meaning of
what is read it develops an intelligent reading attitude and a keen interest in
reading.
3.
It also paves the way for speech
training.
Drawbacks
1.
For the beginners it becomes difficult
to read the whole sentences.
2.
Teaching the letters of alphabet through
this method is a difficult and tedious process.
3.
Properly selected and graded material of
textbooks is needed to make the method a success. But such textbooks are not
available.
7.
The Story Method
This method is based on story telling. The teacher tells a story to the
class with the help of a picture or a series of pictures. After careful
listening the pupils reproduce the story either individually or in groups. The
teacher writes on the chalkboard the story given by the pupils. The written
story is now recognized as a whole. The pupils then recognize sentences in the
story separately and some sentence cards are made and later phrases and works
are listed out.
The merits and drawbacks of this method are similar to those of the
Sentence Method.
SOME COMMON PROBLEMS WITH READING AND REMEDIES
The skills of language learning are four-fold namely listening,
speaking, reading and writing. These skills of language learning should be
developed among the pupils by giving each one of them equitable importance. But
it is a matter of common observation that some of them are given more importance
at the expense of the others. It is found that reading skill among the pupils
is neglected for more importance is given to the writing skill because it is
important from the examination point of view. The pupils have to write by way
of answering the questions.
In addition there are certain factors which hamper the development of te
reading ability on the part of the pupils. These factors may be broadly divided
into three categories namely Physiological,
Psychological and Environmental.
1.
Physiological
Factors
If
the pupils suffer from certain physical deformities, this badly affects their
reading ability. Children who are physically challenged feel shy to do anything
for fear of being heckled by their peer groups. Apart from such children,
I.
Children with hearing problems, those
who are semi-deaf, cannot hear properly and such cannot differentiate among the
different sounds properly.
II.
Children with defective vision cannot
identify the letters and words correctly and such as such fail to read
properly.
When the teacher happens to identify
children with the above problems, it should be immediately brought to the
notice of the school authorities and the parents so that they may take
necessary action to rectify the defects on the part of such pupils.
III.
Children who suffer from certain
neurological problems like Alexia and
Dyslexia fail to identify the words
properly and utter their respective sounds correctly.
a) Children
who suffer from Alexia, popularly known as word blindness, cannot identify the
word as a whole. They fail to recognize even the simplest of words as wholes
and read them by spelling them letter by letter. Alexia is due to partial brain
damage. In extreme cases children understand the meanings of words but fail to
read them aloud.
b) Dyslexia
is a slight disorder of the brain that makes reading and spelling difficult. It
is of two kinds.
i.
Reversing the letters while reading, for
example, b for d, p for q and vise
versa. For example, children who suffer from dyslexia may read duck as buck, pick as qick and
the like.
ii.
While writing children write act for cat, xob for box, god for
dog, neg for pen etc.
2.
Psychological
Factors
If children suffer from emotional imbalances, their reading ability will
be negatively affected. Extreme cases of extrovert
and introvert, submissiveness or aggressiveness hamper the development
of proper reading skill among the pupils. In case of intelligent children whose
reading ability is very high anxiety
plays a very vital role. Sometimes when the pupils fail to read and if they are
put to shame either by the teachers or by their classmates they withdraw
permanently from reading. Hence the teachers should be very careful with such
children. Their maladies should be detected early and necessary remedial
measures to get rid of these problems slowly through counseling.
3.
Environmental
Factors
Over-crowded classrooms, unventilated rooms, lack of discipline or over
discipline, use of false methods of reading etc. influence negatively the
reading habits on the part of the learners. The saying goes, “A sound mind in a sound body”. Hence
anything good can take place in a convenient and comfortable atmosphere.
Environment greatly influences the emotions of the learners. As such proper
environment should be created for learning in schools.
Apart from the three major factors discussed above, certain bad habits
of reading also hamper the reading ability on the part of the learners. These
bad habits should be detected early and remedied. The following are a few of
such habits.
a)
Moving
the Head
It is quite common among children to move their heads from side to side
while reading. This slows down the reading speed. It is a fact that one reads
with one’s eyes but not with the head though the eyes are located in the head.
This habit should be arrested on the part of the children and they should be
trained to read by moving their eye and not by moving their heads.
b)
Pointing
with the Finger
Some pupils read by placing their pointing fingers underneath each
letter of the word or each word of the line while reading. This is a very bad
habit which negatively affects recognition of the reading material and arrests
the reading speed. Finger pointing is a common problem in the early stages of
learning to read. One way of rectifying this defect is providing the young
readers textbooks with bold print.
c)
Sub-vocalization
This happens when the
children are asked to read silently. This is partly due to the reason that the
children are taught to read aloud before they are taught to read silently. Old habits hardly die. Hence even when
the children are asked to read in perfect silence, some of them fail to do it properly.
They read murmuring the sounds or at least they move the lips while reading
which reduces the reading speed considerably. Proper remedial measures should
be taken in such cases on the spot.
d)
Regression
Regression means going back for one could not understand properly what
one has read. The child who fails to grasp the meaning goes back to the first
and begins to read from the beginning once again. This very badly affects the
reading speed on the part of the learners. This should be checked early and
proper instructions should be given to the children to arrest regression.
