Minggu, 30 Juni 2013

Reading Seminar on TEFL


Reading Seminar on TEFL

1.1  Introduction
Reading is one of the most beneficial and feasible activity that human can do. It means through reading a person is going to be able to discover new ideas, concepts, places and people. Some people even describe reading as a journey that start as the opening of a page, and finishes as the last page is turned. The reason why reading is so important is because reading is relaxing to our mind and soul; it is a way for children to reach out to the world, and it improves our thinking process. Besides, people can gain information about everything all around this world. It means that reading can help people open the world only through some pages.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr. Seuss
1.2  Article
A.    Definition of Reading
·         Reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information (Anderson et al., 1985). (http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/teach/def.html)
·         Reading is the process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction among: (1) the reader's existing knowledge; (2) the information suggested by the text being read; and (3) the context of the reading situation (Wixson, Peters, Weber, & Roeber, 1987, citing the new definition of reading for Michigan). (http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/teach/def.html)
·         Reading is the action or skill of reading written or printed matter silently or aloud. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.com/answer.com)
·         Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_(process))
B.     What can you do to become a better reader?
·         Strategies to become a better reader.
Here are important reading strategies students can use before, during and after reading:
a.       Before Reading
Predict what the book is about from the title.  Set a purpose for reading.  Example:  I am going to read this book because I want to learn more about animals. Take a picture walk through the book.  Ask, what is happening in the pictures?
b.      During Reading
Ø  Visualize - make a movie in your head just like you do when listening to a story.
Ø   Question - think about the story, asking yourself who, what, when, where, why, how.
Ø  Clarify - understand new words - figure out words using print strategies.
-          Use finger to point under each word to keep track of where you are reading.
-          Use beginning sounds to figure out words.
-          Use ending sounds to figure out words.
-          Use pictures on the page to help figure out a word.
-          Use word chunks (group of letters in a pattern like _ack, _ight).
-          Look for a smaller word within the word.
-          Read to the end of the sentence.  Sometimes the word that
makes sense pops right up!
-          Reread the sentence or passage to increase understanding.

Ø  Make predictions - "What happens next?"
Ø   Make connections
-          What other story is like this one? (Text to Text Connection)
-           Have you felt the same away as a character in the story?  Did something similar happen to you? (Text to Self Connection)
-          Does it help you think about something in real life not directly connected to you?  (Text to World Connection)
c.       After Reading
Ø  React - What did you think of the story?
-          How did it make you feel?
Ø  Summarize
-          What was most important in the story?  One way to do this is to think:
§  Someone
§  Did something
§  But (there was a problem
§  Then (the problem gets solved)
§  Finally (what happened at the end?)




·         What good readers do before, during and after reading?
a.       Before reading
Ø  Set a goal
Ø  Preview the text
Ø  Predict what the text will say
b.      During reading
Ø  Reading sequentially, skimming some parts, focusing on others.
Ø  Rereading some sections.
Ø  Make notes
Ø  Tone into main ideas and ideas related to the goal
Ø  Check and adapt predictions
Ø  Monitor and repair comprehension
Ø  Connect to the world knowledge to make inferences
Ø  Paraphrase and summarize passages
Ø  Respond to and evaluate text
c.       After reading
Ø  Reread selectively
Ø  Summarize
Ø  Reflect
Ø  Thinks about how information might be used in the future





C.     What makes a reading text easy or difficult?
·         What makes a reading text easy?
a.       Generally, reading texts are easier if :
Ø  They contain 'simple' language-structure and vocabulary familiar to the students.
Ø  They are short: simple sentences.
Ø  They are clearly organized e.g. There is a straightforward storyline or a clearly signposted argument.
Ø  They are factual.
Ø  They are in Standard English with no specialized vocabulary.
Ø   The topic is concrete and familiar.
Ø  There is support in the way of layout, tittles, pictures, graphs, etc.
b.      The factor that makes the reading text Easy to understand are:
Ø  Legibility
If the printed or the copied of the reading text is good, the type-face easy to read, it will be make the student’s mood nice and they will have more spirit to read it.
Ø  Familiar word
If the words which content in the reading text easy or familiar with the student, she will have more feeling to read and they will easy to understand the reading text.
Ø  Interesting topic
An interesting topic can make the student attention focus on reading text. They will easy to understand the main or the point and the story of the reading text about.

·         What makes a reading text difficult?
a.       Most of your reading difficulties will be caused by a problem on the list below:
Ø  The text has many unknown words.
Ø  The text has long, complicated sentences.
Ø  The text is about a topic you know nothing about.
Ø  The text is about a topic you find boring.
Ø  The text has small print, long paragraphs, no pictures.
Ø  The text has been badly written.
Ø  You are feeling tired.
Ø  You are distracted.
Ø  You don't know the important cohesion markers.
Ø  You don't know why you have been asked to read the text.

b.      The factor that makes the reading text difficult to understand are:
Ø  Illegibility
A first, obvious difficulty relates to the legibility of a text. The students may have problems that are caused solely by the fact that what they are trying to understand has been poorly printed or copied, is badly set-out or is in a very small type-face.
Ø  Unfamiliar Words
A written message may be difficult to understand because it contains many words that are unknown to the student. In the following text, for example, the instruction is simple but the language in which it is expressed is not familiar.



D.    What are the different ways of reading?
·         There are three different types of reading skills:
a.       Skimming is reading rapidly for the main points.
b.      Scanning is reading rapidly to find a specific piece of information.
c.       Extensive reading is reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaning.
d.      Intensive reading is reading a short text for detailed information.

·         There are some styles of reading which we use in different situations:
a.       Scanning: for a specific focus
The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing.
It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if they're going to be useful to you:
Ø  The introduction or preface of a book.
Ø  The first or last paragraphs of chapters.
Ø  The concluding chapter of a book.
b.      Skimming: for getting the gist of something
The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine: you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to skim:
Ø  To preview a passage before you read it in detail.
Ø  To refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail.
Ø  Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is right for you.


c.       Brown (1989) explains that intensive reading "calls attention to grammatical forms, discourse markers, and other surface structure details for the purpose of understanding literal meaning, implications, rhetorical relationships, and the like." He draws an analogy to intensive reading as a "zoom lens" strategy. 
d.      Brown (1989) explains that extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a general understanding of a text."

E.     Reading Exercises
·         There are some exercises of reading activities:
a.       Fill the gap.
b.       Find topic sentences.
c.       Irrelevant sentences.
d.      Speed reading.
·         There are some exercise of reading activities:
a.       Picture and sentences matching.
b.      True/false reading.
c.       Rearrangement items.
d.      Cloze procedure.
(Heaton, J. B.1975. Writing English Language Tests. London: Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers.)
F.      Mention and explain some techniques in teaching reading!
·         There are some techniques in teaching reading:
a.       Word analysis
b.      Oral reading
c.       Silent reading
d.      Reading comprehension
CHAPTER II
SUMMARY
2.1  Definition of Reading
Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning through the dynamic interaction among: (1) the reader's existing knowledge; (2) the information suggested by the text being read; and (3) the context of the reading situation.
2.2  What can you do to become a better reader? (before, during and after reading)
a.       Before reading
Ø  Set a goal
Ø  Preview the text
Ø  Predict what the text will say
b.      During reading
Ø  Reading sequentially, skimming some parts, focusing on others.
Ø  Rereading some sections.
Ø  Make notes
Ø  Tone into main ideas and ideas related to the goal
Ø  Check and adapt predictions
Ø  Monitor and repair comprehension
Ø  Connect to the world knowledge to make inferences
Ø  Paraphrase and summarize passages
Ø  Respond to and evaluate text
c.       After reading
Ø  Reread selectively
Ø  Summarize
Ø  Reflect
Ø  Thinks about how information might be used in the future



2.3  What makes a reading text easy or difficult?
a.       What makes a reading text easy?
Ø  It contains 'simple' language-structure and familiar words.
Ø  It is short: simple sentences.
Ø  It is clearly organized e.g. There is a straightforward storyline or a clearly signposted argument.
Ø  It is factual.
Ø  It is in Standard English with no specialized vocabulary.
Ø  The topic is concrete, familiar and interesting.
Ø  It is legibility.
b.      What makes a reading text difficult?
Ø  The text has many unfamiliar words.
Ø  The text has long, complicated sentences.
Ø  The topic of the text is not interesting.
Ø  Readers are feeling tired.
Ø  Readers don't know the important cohesion markers.
Ø  Readers don't know why they have been asked to read the text.
Ø  The text is illegibility.

2.4  What are the different ways of reading?
a.       Skimming
Skimming is reading rapidly for the main points. It is used for getting the gist of something. The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine: you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to skim:
Ø  To preview a passage before you read it in detail.
Ø  To refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail.
Ø  Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is right for you.


b.      Scanning
Scanning is reading rapidly for a specific focus or points. The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing. It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if they're going to be useful to you:
Ø  The introduction or preface of a book.
Ø  The first or last paragraphs of chapters.
Ø  The concluding chapter of a book.
c.       Intensive Reading
Intensive reading is reading a short text for detailed information.
d.      Extensive Reading
Extensive reading is reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on overall meaning.
2.5  Reading Exercises
a.       Fill the gap.
b.       Find topic sentences.
c.       Irrelevant sentences.
d.      Speed reading.
e.       Picture and sentences matching.
f.       True/false reading.
g.      Rearrangement items.
h.      Cloze procedure.
2.6  Techniques in Teaching Reading.
a.     Word Analysis
Word analysis, or phonics, involves teaching the alphabetic principle: learning that the graphic letter symbols in our alphabet correspond to speech sounds, and that these symbols and sounds can be blended together to form real words. Beginning readers should be encouraged to decode unfamiliar words as opposed to reading them by sight, because it requires attention to every letter in sequence from left to right. This helps to fix the letter patterns in the word in a reader's memory. Eventually, these patterns are recognized instantaneously and words appear to be recognized holistically (Ehri, 1992; Adams, 1990).
b.    Oral Reading
Oral reading is a technique for improving word identification skills in context. It is an instructional strategy that can help students improve a variety of reading skills, including fluency.
c.     Silent Reading
Sustained silent reading (SSR) is a form of school-based recreational reading, or free voluntary reading, where students read silently in a designated time period every day in school. An underlying assumption of SSR is that students learn to read by reading constantly. Successful models of SSR typically allow students to select their own books and require neither testing for comprehension nor book reports. Schools have implemented SSR under a variety of names, such as "Drop Everything and Read (DEAR)" or "Free Uninterrupted Reading (FUR)".
d.    Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension can simply be defined as understanding what you are reading. Essentially reading comprehension works by series of cognitive processes.
e.    Communicative approach
The communicative approach to language teaching has given a different understanding of the role of reading in the language classroom and the types of texts that can be used in instruction. When the goal of instruction is communicative competence, everyday materials such as train schedules, newspaper articles, and travel and tourism Web sites become appropriate classroom materials, because reading them is one way communicative competence is developed. Instruction in reading and reading practice thus become essential parts of language teaching at every level.




CAHPTER III
CONCLUSION

3.1  Conclusion
Reading is one of the most beneficial and feasible activity that human can do. It is through reading that a person is going to be able to discover new ideas, concepts, places and people. Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning through the dynamic interaction among: (1) the reader's existing knowledge; (2) the information suggested by the text being read; and (3) the context of the reading situation. We do reading to open the world.













REFERENCES
Heaton, J. B.1975. Writing English Language Tests. London: Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers.











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