Understanding Reading Approaches: A Comprehensive Exploration
Introduction
Reading is a fundamental skill that opens doors to knowledge, imagination, and understanding. It is not merely the act of decoding words but a complex cognitive process that involves comprehension, interpretation, and critical thinking. Over time, scholars, educators, and researchers have developed various approaches to understanding and teaching reading, each with its theories, methodologies, and philosophies. In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the diverse reading approaches, examining their principles, techniques, and applications.
Historical Perspectives
The history of reading approaches is deeply intertwined with the evolution of education and literacy. From ancient civilizations to modern times, societies have developed different methods for teaching and learning to read. Early reading approaches often focused on rote memorization and recitation, with religious texts playing a central role in many cultures. As societies progressed, the emphasis shifted towards phonics-based instruction, which teaches students to decode words by recognizing letter-sound relationships.
During the 20th century, significant advancements in psychology and education gave rise to new theories of reading. Behaviorism, spearheaded by psychologists such as B.F. Skinner, emphasized the role of reinforcement and conditioning in learning to read. The cognitive revolution of the 1960s and 1970s brought attention to mental processes involved in reading, leading to the development of cognitive strategies approaches. These approaches emphasized the importance of metacognition, or thinking about one's thinking, in reading comprehension.
Traditional Approaches
Traditional reading approaches, such as phonics and whole language, have long been at the center of debates in education. Phonics instruction focuses on teaching students the relationship between letters and sounds, enabling them to decode words systematically. Proponents argue that phonics provides essential foundational skills for reading fluency and comprehension. However, critics contend that it may lead to overly mechanical reading and fail to address higher-level comprehension skills.
On the other hand, the whole language approach advocates for immersion in authentic reading experiences, where students learn to read by engaging with real texts in meaningful contexts. This approach emphasizes comprehension and meaning-making over decoding skills. Advocates argue that whole language fosters a love of reading and develops students' natural language acquisition abilities. However, critics argue that it may neglect explicit instruction in phonics and leave struggling readers behind.
Emerging Approaches
In recent decades, new approaches to reading instruction have emerged in response to changing educational paradigms and research findings. Balanced literacy, for example, seeks to integrate the best elements of phonics and w
2. Learning Competencies:
1. Examine the relationship between
text and context of a literary material.
2.Analyze the literary meanings in
context through through the use of
critical reading strategies.
3.Write a critical paper using contextual
reading approaches of literature.
3. Literary Criticism
• Literary criticism is basically like taking
a magnifying glass to a piece of
writing.
• It's like figuring out the hidden puzzle
pieces the author placed within the
story.
4. two types of reading approaches
TEXTUAL READING
APPROACH
CONTEXTUAL READING
APPROACH
• the reader concentrates on the
structure of the text rather than
the deeper meaning beyond its
context.
• emphasis on analyzing the
author’s creativity, arrangement
and style, personal use of
language in which the author
conveys the message.
• Dives deeper, considering the
bigger picture.
Analyzes the text within its context,
including:
1. Author's background and purpose
2.Historical and cultural influences
3.Social and political climate of the
time
4.Reader's own experiences and
knowledge
5. TEXTUAL READING APPROACHES
PHILOLOGY RHETORIC STYLISTICS SEMIOTICS DECONSTRUCTIONS
• Meticulously
reconstructs
and analyzes
historical texts
to understand
their original
meaning and
context.
• Analyzes how
language is
used to
persuade,
inform, or
entertain an
audience.
• Analyzes the
specific
choices an
author makes
in language
(syntax,
vocabulary,
figurative
language) and
how these
choices shape
meaning.
• Examines all
signs and
symbols
within a text
(words,
images,
sounds) and
how they
create
meaning.
• Challenges
traditional
interpretations of
texts by
questioning
assumptions,
revealing
underlying
contradictions,
and exploring
multiple
meanings.
6. CONTEXTUAL READING APPROACH
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM HISTORICAL CRITICISM
• readers need to gain
insights by the
knowledge of the
author’s life.
“ You are what you
write.”
• readers needs to investigate
the social, cultural, and
intellectual context of a
literary work.
“How does the literary material
created impact and effect to its
original readers.
7. CONTEXTUAL READING APPROACH
FEMINIST CRITICISM FORMALIST CRITICISM
• readers examine ways
in which the literary
material reinforces
the oppression of
women in all aspects
of life.
• readers look at the form,
structure and imagery of the
text in order to determine
how such elements work
together with the content to
shape its effects upon
readers.
8. CONTEXTUAL READING APPROACH
PSYCHOANALYTIC
CRITICISM
• criticism for
interrogating all societies
and their texts in terms
of certain specific issues
including race, class, and
attitudes and norms
shared within a given
culture.
• readers look at the
psychological state of the
character
• analysis of fictional
characters using the
language and methods of
psychology.
MARXIST LITERARY
CRITICISM
9. • PSYCHOANALYSIS as BASIS OF PSYCHOANALYTIC CRITICISM
Freud believed that all emotions, thoughts, and behavior are
buried deep inside the unconscious mind. As a result, early
childhood or past events can shape your present feelings or
behavior.
