Interesting ways to teach Reading

1

• Interesting ways to teach Reading
• Andrew Hipperson

2

• About Me

From Brighton, on the south coast of England
Degree in International Relations
Cambridge RSA CELTA in 1992
Worked in Greece, Italy, the UK and the South
Pacific 1992-2000
Worked with EFL, ESL, EYL, ESP and EAP
3

• About me in Makassar

RSA DELTA in 2000 before coming to Makassar
Director of Studies at EF Makassar 2001-2007
Worked at IALF Jakarta and took IELTS examiner
license
Vice Principal at Makassar International School
Sep. 2007
Working to obtain Cambridge International
accreditation
4

• The challenge

My text book is full of great authentic texts, of
all different kinds and on interesting themes.
However
These texts are not always exploited well by the
tasks that accompany them. The potential for
reading skills development is lost. Some of the
problems are
not motivating
insufficient
unprepared
dont involve the other skills
We need to use tasks and activities that get the
most out of the text. If the book doesnt provide
them, lets find our own. Lets try some ideas with
the following text taken from an SMA textbook
5
(No Transcript)
6

• Some basic principals

Dont enter the text cold. Before giving out
the text, warm up the class with fun and
productive activities on the texts theme and
vocabulary. Have a ten-minute rule.
In the reading stage, read several times, each
time for a different task.
Providing more fun and motivating tasks provides
a stronger reason to read. Avoid overusing the
read text then answer the questions-type task.
Doing tasks in pairs and competing with other
pairs is another way of increasing motivation.
Start with surface tasks and proceed to deep
reading tasks
Integrate lots of opportunity for speaking about
the text and make other stages (e.g. checking
answers) cooperative
7

• A basic lesson scheme

Pre-Reading Warm-up Tasks
Short competitive games focusing on the theme and
exploiting vocabulary that will be met in the
text.
Surface Reading Tasks
Short (time limit) reading tasks focusing on
general ideas in the text on a global level and
practising/developing surface skills such as
scanning and gist reading
Deep reading Tasks
Longer reading tasks focusing on the finer
language detail in text and skills such as
searching for specific information or inferring
meaning from context and co-text.
Follow-up tasks on text reconstruction ,
vocabulary and speaking
Tasks aimed at vocabulary range expansion and
text memory tasks providing the opportunity to
speak and to use the new vocab.
8

• Pre-reading tasks

Picture activity
A pairwork puzzle race , short discussion or
brainstorm of a picture associated with the
text.
Vocabulary game (anagrams)
A pair work race to unscramble five anagrammed
words in the text (e.g. iverr, gtiw, istryht,
ickytr, eoftrs)
Vocabulary game (definitions)
A pair work race to describe 5 words from the
text. These words could be written on cards held
by St.A to be turned over and described one at a
time and given to St.B if he guesses the word
properly. It could also be done as a back to the
board competition.
9

• Surface reading tasks

Scan to order
Students speed scan text to find the order of
appearance of 5 words (possible words from
previous warm-up activity) . This practises the
scanning skill.
Listening pick-up scan
Teacher reads out the text. Students, standing in
small group circles, race to bend down and pick
up word cards on the floor as they hear the word.
The first exposure to the text is in listening
form, rather than reading. The words used could
also be from the previous warm up activity.
Ordering lines
Pairs race to order the lines of the text cut up
into slips. This practises the skills of deducing
from context and co-text.
10

• Deep reading tasks

Comprehension Questions
This is the stage that the book usually provides
tasks for. They are usually in the form of
comprehension questions, T/F questions. This a
vital activity, but a way to make this more
varied and motivating
Ask pairs to read the text and write their own
questions. Once they have written five questions,
they test another pairs knowledge of the text.
11

• Follow up tasks

Oral Cloze
Teacher reads aloud text and stops every 3 or 4
words. Students listen and try to guess next word
after a stop. This can later be done between St.
A and St. B themselves, without the teacher. This
tests listening and vocabulary (especially
collocation) skills
Recounting text from memory
Students in pairs try to re-tell the text to each
other from memory. This is a good grammar task,
as it forces students to grammar up ideas
remembered.
Vocabulary games
Play silent speech or back to the board with the
words met in the text, as a form of vocabulary
review and fun close to the lesson.
12

• Other points

Some of the activities involving movement have
added multiple-intelligence learning advantages.
Think positioning and seating to enhance
pair-work and competition in tasks
Reading outloud is great phonology practice, but
an unnatural reading activity.
13

• Goodbye

I hope this presentation can be of benefit to you
as teachers. A sample reading lesson plan
including the activity types I have discussed
will soon be available for download from
www.anglia-sulawesi.co.uk I wish you luck in
your future endevours.