PREFACE

• Every academic year a new group of prospective teachers enrolls in courses that are designed to help them become good English teacher. Before teacher training these students have had many experiences that are linked to English and its teaching and learning. These experiences have shaped their views of English and thus

• influence their receptivity to new knowledge during their studies. In addition, their views of English affect their teaching at school in the future and ultimately also their pupil’s views of English teacher are discussed.

• I thank Mrs. Alfino merio madam for helping me toget the up-to-date information and gave inputs from her where ever necessary for completing topic

“Professional growth of English teacher”.

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IntroductionMeaning and definition of reading skillThe reading skill pyramidCharacteristics of readingCharacteristics of reading Objectives of teaching EnglishImportance of teaching readingTypes gathering skillSkimmingScanningSQ3R Techniques

study skill

Introduction Reading is part and parcel of our lives. From

the moment we get up in the morning till we go to bed we read something or the other. In the modern world, it is difficult to live without reading anything. Sometimes we come across an illiterate looking at the picture on a hoarding on the road and trying to understand what is conveyed by the picture. Can we say that this illiterate is reading the picture?

Meaning of study skills Reading is one of the important skills in

language learning. Lord Bacon remarked ‘Reading maketh a full man, writing an exact man and conference a ready man’. The education of a child is incomlete if he does not have the ability to read.

Definition According to W.S. Gray “Reading is a form of

experience. It brings us in contact with the mind of great authors, with the written accounts of their experiences made by them in various field”.

Characteristics of readingThe characteristics of reading are as followsReading is purposeful.It is selective.It is based on text.It involves complex cognitive skill.It is based on comprehension.It can be oral as well as silent.Its speed varies according to the content and

its objectives.

Objectives of teaching EnglishThe objectives of teaching English are as

follows:To enable the students to read with correct

pronunciation.To enable the students to read with fluency

and accuracy.To enable the students to interpet the words

and sentences of the passage.To enable the students to read with proper

articulation stress and intonation pattern.

Contd…To enable the students to read with normal speed.To enable the students to read with comprehension.To inculcate the habit of reading.To enable the students to take pleasure in reading.To establish the relationship between spoken words

and printed words.To enable the students to coordinate the functions

of the sensory organs i.e. sight, hearing and speaking.

To side their “eye span”.

Importance of teaching reading It is a source of recreation. It is a source of education. It helps us to get all the important information

of the new world. It makes a person knowledgeable. It is one of the important skills of language

learning. It enhances vocabulary. It helps during the process of speaking.

Types gathering skillsReading can be classified into the following 6 types.1. Oral reading or reading aloud2. Silent reading3. Intensive reading4. Extensive reading5. Supplementary reading6. Library reading.1. Oral reading (reading aloud) Reading aloud involves look at a text, understanding it and

also saying it. The main purpose of reading is not just to understand the text, but also to convey the information. Such reading involves reading articles from the newspaper to a friend, reading a notice or a message to the students etc.

Oral teaching should be introduced only when enough practice has been given in oral work. Thus it should be done after two or three months of oral practice of words which are generally found in readers.

Aims of oral readingThe aims of oral reading To enable the students to read with expression. To enable the students to read with correct articulation, stress,

intonation and rhythm. To test student’s knowledge of pronouncing words, phrases and

sentences. To enable the students to comprehend the meaning of the text. To give them practice in oral reading. To prepare them for silent reading.

2.Silent reading Silent reading or reading for meaning is the

activity we normally engage in when we read books, newspapers, articles, posters etc. It involves looking at sentences in a text and understanding the message they convey. In silent reading, the teacher should ask the students to read without making sound, whispers, murmurs or even moving their legs.

According to Morrison “loud reading students should be followed by silent reading”.

Aims of silent readingThe aims of silent reading are as follows:To enable the students to read without sounds or

moving lips.To enable the students to read with fluency and

speed.To enable the students to read with comprehension.To increase the vocabulary of the student.According to Rhyburn “the aims of silent reading

are it gives pleasure and profit, to be able to read for interest and to get information”.

3. Intensive Reading Intensive study involves the learner to understand and

examine the text in detail. It’s aim is the study of sentence structure, assimilation of language and getting information. Students learn to read carefully with concentration to extract the main ideas.

Aims of intensive reading To improve the knowledge of the students and to gain

command over English. To develop the habit of thinking in English. To increase the active vocabulary of the students. To develop a taste for English language. To enable them to speak English correctly.

4.Extensive reading Extensive reading involves reading in quantity without

bothering to check every word or structure. The main purpose is helping the students to read English fluently without the help of a teacher.

Aims of extensive reading To grasp the meaning of the passage as quickly as possible. To increase positive vocabulary. To develop a taste for reading. To inculcate a habit of reading for pleasure and profit. To understand the subject matter without any difficulty. To develop the power of concentration. To develop the habit of silent reading. To promote self-study.

Skimming Skimming is an activity in which the readers

eyes run over a text quickly to get a general idea or gist of it. This is what we do when we go to a library. We pick up a book, look at its title page, the contents and the back cover, flip through the pages, have a glance at the introduction or preface and then decide whether we want to borrow the book or not. That is, we skim through the book and try to find out if the book is worth borrowing or not.

Scanning While skimming is reading for a general

idea, scanning refers to reading for specific information. While searching for the time of departure of a particular train, we do not read the timetable in its entirety. We just run our eyes through the timetable quickly till we locate the time of departure of the particular train. That is, we scan a book or a text in order to find out a particular piece of information.

Types gathering skill (SQ3R) TechniqueSQ3R stands for the initial of the five steps in studying a text: Survey Question Read Recall ReviewWe shall discuss each of these steps in the given order. Survey Survey refers to a quick glance through the title page, preface, chapter heading,

etc. of a text. By surveying a text, a student will be able to gauge the main ideas in a text. Besides the another’s name, date, and place of publication, the title page can give a student an idea of the general subject area and the level of focus in that particular text.

The table of contents, a preface or foreword in a book would give the reader an idea of the themes deal with in the text and how they are organized. A survey of the index or a survey of the bibliography tells you immediately whether the text contains what you need.

Question Your survey of a text wil make you raise some questions regarding the text. (We

are involving you in these activities so that you can design similar activities for your learners.)

These are general questions. But when you turn to particular chapters or sections of book you may have more specific questions in your mind. Sometimes, your questions may coincide with the questions raised by the author. Here is one example in the form of an activity.

READ We need to advocate a critical approach in reading a text. Unless we read with

a critical frame of mind, the questions we formulate can never be answered satisfactorily. But we should encourage our students to read a text over and over again, each time for a different purpose. It is not advisable to make notes along with the first reading. We may have the tendency to take down the author’s idea and opinion, not comparing them with our own. If we have the habit of underlining key words while reading, we can concentrate on those parts, which are relevant and critical for our purpose.

Review Reviewing is critically examining a book against the

backdrop of current thoughts and ideas. The purpose of reviewing in this final stage of reading is to check the validity of all the steps. Whether we have made a proper survey, asked the right questions, read critically and recalled the most relevant issues. Therefore, at the review stage, we need to repeat the last four steps: Survey, question, read and recall. When we are training our students to read and write on a particular theme of topic, we may have to guide them to refer to other books and articles on the same topic. In other words, they have to “review the literature” on the topic of their interest before expressing their point of view. Therefore, “review” sharpens the faculty of critical reading.