A chapter from A course in Language teaching, Penny Ur

1. ENGLISH II
A course in language teaching , Penny Ur

2. » Reading:
» is a mental process.
» is a process undertaken to reduce uncertainty about
meanings a text conveys.
» is the process results from a negotiation of meaning
between the text and its reader.
» Reading comprehension:
» is the process of making meaning from text.
» is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its
meaning.

3. SOME
ASSUMPTIONS
ABOUT THE
NATURE OF
READING
1. We need to
perceive and
decode letters
in order to read
words.
2. We need to
understand all
the words in
order to
understand the
meaning of a
text.
3. The more
symbols (letters
or words) there
are in a text,
the longer it
will take to read
it.
4. We gather
meaning
from what
we read.
5. Our
understanding
of a text comes
from
understanding
the words of
which it is
composed.

8. » 1
» 2
» 3
» 4

9. Some
conclusions
of reading:
When beginning to read a text, or where there is little or no
no helpful context, teachers depend on decoding letters to
understand words. Reading activities should probably stress
reading for understanding rather tha exact decoding of letters
We need to understand some words in order to understand
the meaning of a text, buy by no means all.
Learners therefore will probably read more successfully if
given whole meaningful units of text to read rather than
disconnected ‘bits’.
The ‘construction’ of meaning that occurs in reading is a
combination of ‘bottom-up’ processes and ‘top-down’ ones.
It is difficult, sometimes impossible, to read successfully a
text where our own schemata cannot be brought to bear.

10. • It is generally preferable to begin reading only after the
learners have some basic knowledge of the spoken
language, so that reading becomes as quickly as possible a
matter of recognizing meanings rather than deciphering
symbols.
• I have found it most practical and productive to begin with
single letters, starting with the most common and useful.
• It is, surely, more useful for reading purposes if the learner
knows the most common sound of the letters; its name
can be left until later.
• My own preference is to teach the different forms of the
letters together.
• Alphabetical order can be learned later when the learned
later when the learners need to know it for dictionary use.
Beginning reading: some guidelines

12. » Pre-question.
˃ A general question is given before reading, asking the learners
to find out a piece of information
» Do-it-yourself questions
˃ Learners compose and answers their own questions
» Provide a title
˃ Learners suggest a title if none was given originally; or an
alternative
» Summarize
˃ Learners summarize tne content in a sentence or two. This may
also be done in mother tongue
» Continue
˃ The text is the story; learners suggest what might happend
next

13. » Preface
˃ The text is a story; learners suggest what might happened before
» Gapped text
˃ Towards the end of the text, four o five gaps are left that can only be
filled in if the text has been understood.
» Mistakes
˃ The text has, towards the end, occasional mistakes.
» Comparison
˃ There are two texts on a similar topic; learners note points of
similarities or differences
» Responding
˃ The text is a letter , learners discuss how they would respond or write
an answer

14. » Re-presentation of context
˃ The text gives information or tells a story, learners
represent its content through different graphic
medium.
+Drawing that illustrates the text
+Coloring
+Marking a map
+List of events or items described in the text
+A diagram, indicating the relationships
between items, characters or events

15. Efficient Inefficient
1. Language The language of the text is
comprehensible to the learners.
The language of the text is
too difficult.
Efficient Inefficient
2. Content The content of the text is accessible to the
learners: they know enough about it to be
able to apply their own background
knowledge.
The text is too difficult in
the sense that the context
is too far removed from
the knowledge and
experience of the learners.
Efficient Inefficient
3. Speed The reading progresses fairly fast: mainly
because the reader has ‘automatized’
recognition of common combinations, and
does not waste time working out each
word or group of words anew.
The reading is slow: the
reader does not have a of
automatically recognized
items

16. Efficient Inefficient
4. Attention The reader concentrates on the
significant bits, and skims the
rest; may even skip parts he or
she knows to be insignificant
The reader pays the same
amount of attention to all
parts of the text.
Efficient Inefficient
5.
Incomprehensi
ble vocabulary
The reader takes incomprehensible
vocabulary in his or her stride: guesses
its meaning from the surrounding text,
or dictionary only when these
strategies are insufficient.
The reader cannot tolerate
incomprehensible
vocabulary items: stops to
look every one up in a
dictionary, and/or feels
discouraged from trying to
comprehend the text as a
whole.
Efficient Inefficient
6. Prediction The reader thinks ahead, hypothesizes,
predicts.
The reader does not think
ahead, deals with the text
as it comes.

17. Efficient Inefficient
7. Background
information
The reader has and uses background
information to help understand the
text.
The reader does not have
or use background
information.
Efficient Inefficient
8. Motivation The reader is motivated to read: by
interesting content or challenging task.
The reader has no
particular interest in
reading.
Efficient Inefficient
9. Purpose The reader is aware of a clear purpose
in reading: for example, to find out
something, to get pleasure.
The reader has no clear
purpose other than to
obey the teacher’s
instruction.
Efficient Inefficient
10. Strategies The reader uses different strategies for
different kinds of reading.
The reader uses the same
strategy for all texts.

18. Advanced reading
READING TEXT
AND TASK (1)
This is an authentic-looking
text, made accessible to not
very advanced learners by its
shortness, supporting graphic
devices and carefully focussed
following questions.

19. Text and task 2:
The tasks are appropiate
to this kind of text: the
pre-reading task directs
attention to the absurdity
of the race described;
and the following
question goes more
deeply into the same
issue, inviting analysis
and application to other
life situations.

20. Text and task 3:
The learner is asked to
read, pick out particular
types of information,
draw conclusions and
formulate written
questions: these are then
used as a basis for
interview-type discussion
and further writing.

21. TEXT (4)
The text sets forth a
series of principles,
which are presented
in a format similar to
that of laws.

22. TEXT (5)
A good summing-up
activity might be a piece
of writing, of similar
lenght to the original,
expressing the individual
student’s notion of what
a good marriage is.