Learning to read = reading to learn
How teaching reading strategies work in large mixed
ability classes
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Your trainers
(Rebecca) Chen Zehang Wendy Arnold• MA in Teaching English to Young
Learners (TEYL – York)• PCEd (HK)• Freelance teacher, trainer, writer,
researcher• IATEFL’s YLT SIG committee• Specialist in reading for young
learner literacy• 15 years experience teaching
Chinese young learners
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• MA in English Teaching (PRC-BNU)
• PhD in e-learning & teacher education (UK-Nottingham)
• lecturer in BNU & special lecturer in University of Nottingham
• teacher trainer, material writer, researcher
Overview Identifying reading strategiesUnderstanding why the right
reading level is importantApplying reading strategiesDeveloping learner materials to
use as reading resources3
Reading strategies• THINK-PAIR-SHARE-SMALL GROUP
What do you know?How do learners learn to read?In Chinese? In English?
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Work with a partner. Take it in turns to read Part A) and then Part B)
Part A)• Your enquiry about the use of the entrance
area at the library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material to be displayed.
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Part B)
• Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and Social Security and other authoritative bodies are usually displayed in libraries, but items of a disputatious or polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered individually.
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Think-pair-share
What do you think this text means?
Simplify it.7
Plain English!Thank you for your letter asking for
permission to put up posters in the library. Before we can give you an answer we will need to see a copy of the posters to make sure they won't offend anyone.
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/
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Reflection
• Do you understand what you were reading?• When you are reading this text, what reading
strategy are you using?• Do you find this text interesting?• It is likely this text will be ‘low interest’ and
‘high ability’!• Success in learning to read necessitates ‘high
interest’ and ‘low/right’ ability texts.
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What is reading?
‘Reading is much more than the decoding of black marks upon a page; it is a quest for meaning and one which requires the reader to be an active participant’ (Cox 1991)
The reader needs to:1)Crack the code or decipher the print (decode)2)Reading is about making sense which ‘powers
learners learning’ (making meaning)3)Reading brings together text to be decoded and
understood and a reader has to engage actively with both these processes (Kelly 2008)
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SUMMARY
The purpose of reading is to make sense.
If you can’t do this, then you are not reading material at the right level!
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Identifying reading strategies• Semantics (语义学) – making meaning
from text eg.THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Once upon a time there was a fungo who lived in a huy singo.
The huy singo was built high up in some grantins.
READ the text. What is this about?12
Identifying reading strategies• Semantics – making meaning from text and
visuals
The fungo’s huy singo was very deep.It had to climb up the high grantinsquickly so that the tinnies did noteat it!
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Semantics
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Identifying reading strategies• Syntactic (句法) – grammar
Once upon a time there was awhite fungo. It could run fast.
THINK-PAIR-SHARE Learning point?Adjective + nounVerb + adverb
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THINK-PAIR-SHARE
Common errors – WHY are your learners doing this?
Bear Father He running fast.I very much like chocolate.
Syntactics
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Identifying reading strategies
THINK-PAIR-SHAREYou have used two processes which are
necessary for reading.1) DECODING = saying words2) making meaningCan you have decoding without making
meaning?CAUTION: reading out words DOES NOT MEAN UNDERSTANDING THEM
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Identifying reading strategies
• Graphophonic (字形与字音) = linking letter and sound
Understanding that not every word in English can be ‘sounded out’ but it is a good place to start!
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Identifying decoding strategies
• Graphophonic can be divided into 3 sections1)Synthetic phonics (综合式字母拼读) =
each letter has a sound2)Analytic phonics (分析式字母拼读) =
seeing patterns in words3) Whole words = high frequency words which
need to be memorised
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Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii
ce ge
ci gi
ch gh
Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qu/qu Rr
rhph
Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww
wh
Xx Yy Zz
sh th
SYNTHETIC PHONICS
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Blending sounds for reading
di
plo
do
cus
di plo do cus
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Blending
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Segmenting (断开) sounds for writing
stegosaurusHow many syllables can you hear?Clap them!
Where do the syllables fall?
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Segmenting
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Alliteration (头韵)
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Alliteration is when you make a list of words with the same initial sound e.g. /g/ it DOES NOT need to make sense
green grass glass gun gap goes galloping
THINK-GROUPThink of a sound which your learners have problems with and brainstorm as many words as you can with this initial sound. Practice saying it!SHARE – GROUPSay your alliteration words to another group.Listen to their alliteration words!
Alliteration
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Tongue twister alliteration – practising the sound /p/. Say the tongue twister!
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepperIf Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepperWhere’s the peck of pickled pepper, Peter Piper picked?
THINK-PAIRMake your own tongue twister alliteration! Choose one sound and see how many words you know with that sound – it does NOT have to make senseSHARE it with another PAIR
Alliteration
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Analytic phonics
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WORD FAMILIES OR RHYMING WORDS(change the vowel)THINK-PAIRRead out the words in the –at family. Now make up new words in the other families – they DON’T have to make sense!
- at -et -it -ot -ut
batcatdatfatgathatjatkatlat
matnatpatrat
ReflectionHow could you use this with your learners?
Analytic phonicsMaking rhymes
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There once was a very old catWho liked to sit on a ................He didn’t like fishFrom a dirty ...........But loved to drink milkWhen sitting on ............
THINK-PAIR
If you are teaching learners to rhyme how could you start to help them to complete this rhyme? How could you help them understand the semantics (meaning)?
VIDEO CLIP
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Rhymes
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Understanding the high frequency words that need to be learnt
the that not look put
and with them don’t could
a all were come house
to we go will old
said can little Into too
in are as back by
he up no from day
I had mum children made
of my one him time
it her then Mr. I’m
High frequency words contd/…was what do get if
you there me just help
they out down now Mrs.
on this dad came called
she have big oh here
is went when about off
for be It’s got asked
at like see their saw
his some looked people make
but so very your an
Masterson, J Stuart, M Dixon M Lovejoy S (2003) Children’s Printed Word Database: Economic & Social Research Council funded project R00023406 - Primary National Strategy UK
Whole words – high frequency
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THINK-PAIRWhich words might cause a problem? Why? What could you do to help learners remember them?
High frequency words – learning them
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GROUPING by type and initial sound
TheThenThemThese TheyThatThanThisThose
WhatWhenWhereWhichWhoseWhy
By rhyme
SeeMeBe
By size
AnAtAsOnToGoBy
By type = pronoun
HeSheIWeYou
Learning vocabulary
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity activity with your learners?
Consider – THINK-PAIR-SHARE
You need to .... a word before you can .... it
You need to .... a word before you can .... itYou need to .... a word before you can .... it (Linse 2005)
read hear say write
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Developing learner materials to use as reading resources
You need to .... a word before you can read it
THINK-PAIR-SHAREWhat learner materials can you use to promote reading?
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Developing learner materials to use as reading resources
THINK-PAIR-SHAREWhat other materials do you see everyday which could be used to promote language?
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Developing learner materials to use as reading resources
You need to .... a word before you can write it
THINK-PAIR-SHAREWhat learner materials can you use to promote reading and writing?
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REFLECTION
How can you use this activity with your learners?
Developing learner materials to use as reading resources
THEORY:If a learner can write language then they can read it. By reading the text they have written they are making meaning and developing their language ability.
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Learners need EXPLICIT instruction on:1)Graphophonics or sounds so they can BLEND sounds and read or DECODE words2)Semantics so they can MAKE MEANING or MAKE SENSE of words3)Syntactics so they can be accurate in speaking and writing
BUT
Conclusion
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Conclusion
4) They need to HEAR words before they can .... them
5) They need to SAY words before they can .... them
6) They need to READ words before they can ... them
7) A mixed ability class is an advantage because ...
8) A large class is an advantage because ....
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Thank youWendy Arnold and Rebecca ChenInvitation to all to join IATEFL YLT SIG discussion group – Just send an empty message to:[email protected]
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ReferencesLinse, C (2005) Young Learners. New York:McGraw Hill
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Masterson, J Stuart, M Dixon M Lovejoy S (2003) Children’s Printed Word Database: Economic & Social Research Council funded project R00023406 - Primary National Strategy UK
USEFUL WEBSITES
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids.htm
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