Learning to read = reading to learn How teaching reading strategies work in large mixed ability classes 1

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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http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

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


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


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


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


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


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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THINK-PAIR-SHAREWhat other materials do you see everyday which could be used to promote language?

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REFLECTION



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



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

Documents

Learning to read = reading to learn How teaching reading strategies work in large mixed ability classes 1