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Reading

By : Wikipedia

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) and/or constructing meaning. Written information is received by the retina, processed by the primary visual cortex, and interpreted in Wernicke's area.

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas.

Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representations of language), and comprehension. Readers may use morpheme, semantics, syntax and context clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema (schemata theory).

Other types of reading may not be text-based, such as music notation or pictograms.

Reading text is now an important way for the general population in many societies to access information and make meaning.

History

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (October 2008)

Although reading print text is now an important way for the general population to access information, this has not always been the case. With some exceptions, only a small percentage of the population in many countries was considered literate before the Industrial Revolution. With the use of computers where people read news and texts online, a new word has been coined -- "screening" -- to mean "reading" on a computer screen as opposed to reading on a paper surface^{[citation needed]}.

Reading skills

Skill development

Main article: Reading education

Other methods of teaching and learning to read have developed, and become somewhat controversial^[1]:

• Phonics involves teaching reading by associating characters or groups of characters with sounds. Sometimes argued to be in competition with whole language methods.
• Whole language methods involve acquiring words or phrases without attention to the characters or groups of characters that compose them. Sometimes argued to be in competition with phonics methods, and that the whole language approach tends to impair learning how to spell.

Learning to read in a second language, especially in adulthood, may be a different process than learning to read a native language in childhood.

There are cases of very young children learning to read without having been taught.^[2] Such was the case with Truman Capote who reportedly taught himself to read and write at the age of five. There are also accounts of people who taught themselves to read by comparing street signs or Biblical passages to speech. The novelist Nicholas Delbanco taught himself to read at age six by studying a book about boats during a transatlantic crossing.

[edit] Methods

Reading is an intensive process in which the eye quickly moves to assimilate text. Very little is actually seen accurately. It is necessary to understand visual perception and eye movement in order to understand the reading process.^[3]

There are several types and methods of reading, with differing rates that can be attained for each, for different kinds of material and purposes:

• Subvocalized reading combines sight reading with internal sounding of the words as if spoken. Advocates of speed reading claim it can be a bad habit that slows reading and comprehension. These claims are currently backed only by controversial, sometimes non-existent scientific research.
• Speed reading is a collection of methods for increasing reading speed without an unacceptable reduction in comprehension or retention. It is closely connected to speed learning.
• Proofreading is a kind of reading for the purpose of detecting typographical errors. One can learn to do it rapidly, and professional proofreaders typically acquire the ability to do so at high rates, faster for some kinds of material than for others, while they may largely suspend comprehension while doing so, except when needed to select among several possible words that a suspected typographic error allows.
• Structure-Proposition-Evaluation (SPE) method, popularized by Mortimer Adler in How to Read a Book, mainly for non-fiction treatise, in which one reads a writing in three passes: (1) for the structure of the work, which might be represented by an outline; (2) for the logical propositions made, organized into chains of inference; and (3) for evaluation of the merits of the arguments and conclusions. This method involves suspended judgment of the work or its arguments until they are fully understood.
• Survey-Question-Read-Recite-Review (SQ3R) method, often taught in public schools, which involves reading toward being able to teach what is read, and would be appropriate for instructors preparing to teach material without having to refer to notes during the lecture.
• Multiple Intelligences-based methods, which draw upon the reader's diverse ways of thinking and knowing to enrich his or her appreciation of the text. Reading is fundamentally a linguistic activity: one can basically comprehend a text without resorting to other intelligences, such as the visual (e.g., mentally "seeing" characters or events described), auditory (e.g., reading aloud or mentally "hearing" sounds described), or even the logical intelligence (e.g., considering "what if" scenarios or predicting how the text will unfold based on context clues). However, most readers already use several intelligences while reading, and making a habit of doing so in a more disciplined manner -- i.e., constantly, or after every paragraph -- can result in more vivid, memorable experience.

Assessment

Reading rate

Further information: Speed reading, English language learning and teaching, and Proofreading

Average reading rate in words per minute (wpm) depending on age and measured with different tests in English, French and German.

Note: the data from Taylor (English) and Landerl (German) are based on texts of increasing difficulty; other data were obtained when all age groups were reading the same text.

Rates of reading include reading for memorization (fewer than 100 words per minute [wpm]); reading for learning (100–200 wpm); reading for comprehension (200–400 wpm); and skimming (400–700 wpm). Reading for comprehension is the essence of the daily reading of most people. Skimming is for superficially processing large quantities of text at a low level of comprehension (below 50%).

Advice for choosing the appropriate reading-rate includes reading flexibly, slowing when concepts are closely presented, and when the material is new, and increasing when the material is familiar and of thin concept. Speed reading courses and books often encourage the reader to continually accelerate; comprehension tests lead the reader to believe his or her comprehension is continually improving; yet, competence-in-reading requires knowing that skimming is dangerous, as a default habit.

The table to the right shows reading-rate varies with age ^[4], regardless of the period (1965 to 2005) and the language (English, French, German). The Taylor values probably are higher, for disregarding students who failed the comprehension test. The reading test by the french psychologist Pierre Lefavrais ("L'alouette", published in 1967) tested reading aloud, with a penalty for errors, and could, therefore, not be a rate greater than 150 wpm.

Types of tests

• Sight word reading: reading words of increasing difficulty until they become unable to read or understand the words presented to them. Difficulty is manipulated by using words that have more letters or syllables, are less common and have more complicated spelling-sound relationships.
• Nonword reading: reading lists of pronounceable nonsense words out loud. The difficulty is increased by using longer words, and also by using words with more complex spelling or sound sequences.
• Reading comprehension: a passage is presented to the reader, which they must read either silently or out loud. Then a series of questions are presented that test the reader's comprehension of this passage.
• Reading fluency: the rate with which individuals can name words.
• Reading accuracy: the ability to correctly name a word on a page.

Some tests incorporate several of the above components at once. For instance, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test scores readers both on the speed with which they can read a passage, and also their ability to accurately answer questions about this passage.

[edit] Effects

Intelligence

Studies have shown that American children who learn to read by the third grade are less likely to end up in prison, drop out of school, or take drugs. Seventy percent of prison inmates score in the bottom quarter on reading tests. Adults who read literature on a regular basis are nearly three times as likely to attend a performing arts event, almost four times as likely to visit an art museum, more than two-and-a-half times as likely to do volunteer or charity work, and over one-and-a-half times as likely to participate in sporting activities. Literacy rates in the United States are also more highly correlated to weekly earnings than IQ. A graph showing this relationship is shown here. Reading books is generally regarded as being a relaxing pastime, while at the same time requiring the brain to process text so it can be stimulated. Because of this it is sometimes considered to cause at least a temporary increase in one's mental faculties.^{[citation needed]}

Lighting

Reading requires more lighting than many other activities. Therefore, the possibility of comfortable reading in cafés, restaurants, buses, at bus stops or in parks greatly varies depending on available lighting and time of day. Starting in the 1950s, many offices and classrooms were over-illuminated. Since about 1990, there has been a movement to create reading environments with appropriate lighting levels (approximately 600 to 800 lux).

Speaking

One Disastrous Performance - The Public Speaking Lessons of Bobby Jindal
By Aileen Pincus

A once little-known senator from Illinois became living proof of the power of one great speech to launch a national political career. We've now had a painful reminder of just the opposite: a disastrous speech that may dim the national spotlight for an un-tested speech-maker.

Governor Bobby Jindal had his national debut February, delivering his party's response to the President's first speech to the joint Congress. It wasn't just that Jindal suffered by comparison to the accomplished communicator-in- chief (he did), but that he failed by any measure.

The popular Louisiana Governor, touted as the "rising star" of his party, not only fell miserably short of communicating his message. Both stylistically and substantively, Jindall proved, in just one amateurish, jarring performance, he was not ready for the national stage.

Jindall's mistakes were numerous and they were devastating. Chief among them:

• Tone-deafness: In an apparent effort to overcome his 'first geek' image, the Governor tried on a new, folksy demeanor. Not only did the result appear staged and uncomfortable, it had the unfortunate effect of branding him un-statesmanlike. Call this the Al Gore lesson: Seek to show you are comfortable in your own skin. Don't confuse public speaking performance with acting.

• Message-deafness: Jindal's speech seemed oddly disconnected from all that preceded it. A lengthy introduction juxtaposing the president's immigrant roots with Jindal's own seemed out of place given the urgency of the crisis he was there to address. His on-going criticism of big government, coming as it did from the governor of a state receiving billions of federal dollars in Katrina aide, coupled with finger-wagging lessons on clean government from a state not known for it, only further strained his credibility. Lesson learned: Get the right messages. Warning: Proximity to the speechmaker may cause blurred vision. Seek an objective critique outside the inner circle.

• Image-deafness: For all the hype surrounding President Obama's "natural" talents as a communicator, his is a learned skill, honed most recently over a grueling, two-year campaign. Jindal's attempts at imitation were painfully unsuccessful. His hallway walk to the camera was awkward, the standing delivery painful to watch, the disconcerting hand motions, sing-song delivery, and tentative voice at best amateurish. Lesson learned: Play to your strengths. Imitation is not flattering for the one doing the imitating. Find your leadership communication style, work on it, own it.

Whether Jindal will recover from his stunningly poor performance is yet to be determined. What is certain is the continued and dominant role powerful public speaking will play, even in this digital age.

Aileen Pincus is a former television reporter and senior senate aide, now founder of The Pincus Group, a communications firm providing training and strategy to clients worldwide. http://www.thepincusgroup.com

Aileen Pincus is President of The Pincus Group Inc., an executive coaching firm offering training in presentation, speech, media and crisis communications. She can be reached at http://www.thepincusgroup.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aileen_Pincus

Listening

The Challenge of Teaching Listening Skills

By Kenneth Beare, About.com

Teaching listening skills is one of the most difficult tasks for any ESL teacher. This is because successful listening skills are acquired over time and with lots of practice. It's frustrating for students because there are no rules as in grammar teaching. Speaking and writing also have very specific exercises that can lead to improved skills. This is not to say that there are not ways of improving listening skills, however they are difficult to quantify.

One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn't understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying translate a specific word. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves.

They key to helping students improve their listening skills is to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time.

I like to use this analogy: Imagine you want to get in shape. You decide to begin jogging. The very first day you go out and jog seven miles. If you are lucky, you might even be able to jog the seven miles. However, chances are good that you will not soon go out jogging again. Fitness trainers have taught us that we must begin with little steps. Begin jogging short distances and walk some as well, over time you can build up the distance. Using this approach, you'll be much more likely to continue jogging and get fit.

Students need to apply the same approach to listening skills. Encourage them to get a film, or listen to an English radio station, but not to watch an entire film or listen for two hours. Students should often listen, but they should listen for short periods - five to ten minutes. This should happen four or five times a week. Even if they don't understand anything, five to ten minutes is a minor investement. However, for this strategy to work, students must not expect improved understanding too quickly. The brain is capable of amazing things if given time, students must have the patience to wait for results. If a student continues this exercise over two to three months their listening comprehension skills will greatly improve.

Writing

The Bridge to Powerful Writing and Increased Test Scores: Skills and Effective Methodology for Teachers by Barbara Mariconda Your class has just finished an intensive unit on tall tales, or perhaps an author's study. You've read numerous examples of vivid, powerful writing, discussed these, pointed out the salient characteristics, listed the aspects of story that really brought them to life. All in all, an extremely rich, satisfying, language arts experience. So motivating, in fact, that you decide a terrific culminating activity would be to have students use what they learned as a jumping off point for creating stories of their own. Give the children an opportunity to apply the stuff of good writing to their own writing - using literature as the jumping off point.

Your students begin the writers' workshop with a little less enthusiasm than you anticipated. Some students get off to a great start, but are "finishing" fifteen minutes later. They seem resistant to revision - after all, they're "done." Others spend an inordinate amount of time "thinking" about what to write about and cannot seem to put pencil to paper. Another student has visited the pencil sharpener about seventeen times, grinding the offending pencil into a stub. Meanwhile, some students, claiming to be involved in a "peer conference" are disrupting the class with chatter, another is "illustrating" while another is reading the latest Harry Potter book, looking for inspiration. Still other students launch into creative, but rambling tales that become near epics, from which a successful conclusion seems impossible. A number of students have their hands raised, or approach your desk, all wanting your attention and input at the same time. You have a knot in your stomach and are overwhelmed by the sense that things are spiraling out of control. Three weeks later you've managed to conduct individual conferences with only a handful of students; you're needling, redirecting, challenging, and somehow it doesn't seem as though much progress has been made. The luster has gone out of this project that seemed so bright at the start. The students are bored, you're frustrated and most everyone in the class looks forward to being done with it.

Does this scenario sound familiar? What exactly is it that can bridge the gap between great literature and its application to student writing?

The answer is twofold -- skills and a practical methodology that works in the real world of the classroom.

There is a common misconception that if we read a lot, talk about what we read, and then provide plenty of outlets for writing, that in the process, good writing will emerge. Truthfully, for the extremely well-read, self motivated, or innately gifted writer, there is some possibility of this. However, for most students and teachers, something is missing. Simply encouraging students to engage in "free-writing" followed by a conference is not enough to produce a community of strong, enthusiastic writers. What is missing are specific instructional strategies designed to teach the specific skills inherent in powerful writing!

During the whole language era, the idea of teaching discrete skills took on a negative connotation. Somehow, practicing specific writing skills seemed to suggest "basel-izing" the writing process. This was unfortunate, because, in all art forms - in music, theater, the visual arts, and in writing, powerful communication is delivered through carefully honed skills. For example, a talented pianist did not become proficient by simply sitting down and "just playing." A skilled teacher will provide the young pianist with age appropriate, stimulating pieces of music, as well as scales, arpeggios, and exercises to strengthen the fingers and build dexterity. The student learns how to read notes, hear pitches, and learn musical expressiveness through carefully planned exercises and etudes. All of this "skill-work" does not hamper creativity; rather, it provides a vehicle for the successful expression of creative, personal musical thought, sentiment, and intention. In other words, the skills disappear in an invisible support and delivery system that informs and empowers the musician. The same thing is true in writing.

What are the skills necessary to inform and empower good writing? In narrative writing (writing characterized by a main character who experiences a significant event or problem, within a setting, who grows or changes in the process), the skills necessary to shape and support a story are as follows:

- an entertaining beginning that draws the reader in and gets the story rolling; - powerful elaborative detail that focuses on story critical characters, settings, and/or objects;
- a sense of suspense or anticipation which builds story tension, and inspires the reader to read on;
- a single, significant main event (problem, adventure, or life-changing experience); and
- a conclusion which draws the main event to a close and an extended ending which demonstrates how the main character has grown or changed.

Once the basic skills are identified, educators need to have a practical, effective methodology for teaching these skills. The methodology needs to be based on solid educational theory and needs to be proven successful in the real world of the classroom. During an instructional improvement program at our school (Mill Hill School in Fairfield, CT) designed to improve student writing, we developed a methodology for the delivery of these key writing skills for our students in grades 2 - 5. The methodology involved whole class instruction, delivered minimally twice a week for 30 - 45 minutes. Whole class instruction provided consistency and assured experiences for all students, that was often lacking in the teach-on-demand scenario common in the writers' workshop conference model. There are also many other benefits associated with whole class instruction. These include a greater level of directed conversation between students about writing, and opportunities for the class as a whole to benefit from the writerly conversations.

The whole class instruction looks like this:

1. INTRODUCE/DEFINE SKILL through the use of literature. (Middle grade novels provide the best examples of all of the key skills.)

2. MODELING - The teacher models the skill in isolation, asking productive questions and "thinking out loud" as an author. (The quality of the questions you ask will determine the quality of student responses. This also is the most powerful method of building vocabulary.)

3. GUIDED PRACTICE - Provide students with an opportunity to practice the skill you've modeled. This is a "before and after" revision exercise. Circulate and offer suggestions, share strong examples and excellent attempts.

Steps 1, 2, 3 are repeated numerous times before step 4: Application.

4. APPLICATION - Students apply the skill to a process piece or a timed prompt.

*Most important step!

This methodology made the teaching of writing more manageable, provided a common vocabulary for writing, ensured a greater level of objectivity and accountability, established a powerful reading writing connection, and ultimately nurtured a community of confident, enthusiastic writers. In fact, during the five years we spent developing the specific skill lessons and delivering these skills through the methodology described above, our narrative writing scores for our fourth graders on the Connecticut Mastery Test improved dramatically:

YEAR Percent of students at goal:
---------------------------------
YEAR 1 47%
YEAR 2 65%
YEAR 3 75%
YEAR 4 81%
YEAR 5 92%

These results were not limited to Mill Hill School. In Wilson's Mills School in North Carolina, as well as in districts in Rhode Island and Alberta Province Canada, to name just a few, when this approach was used consistently, similar results were common. More importantly, students began to become confident, enthusiastic, lifelong writers, and teachers began to feel successful and fulfilled as the facilitators of a practical, effective instructional program that gets results. Eventually, the lessons and methodology became available through an educational consulting firm and publisher, Empowering Writers.

So now think back to the frustrated, disillusioned teacher and class first described and imagine how her scenario would be different using the Empowering Writers methodology.