Methods of Teaching Reading to Learners

Pupils should learn the reading of some monosyllabic words which  are homophones. For example: son- sun; tail-tale; too-two; write-right; eye-I, etc.

      At the very beginning, the pupil is compelled to look at each printed letter separately in order to be sure of its shape. He often sees words and not sense units. For instance, he reads: The book is on the desk and not ( The book is ) ( on the desk ).

The most difficult thing in learning to read is to get information from a sentence or a paragraph on the basis of the knowledge of structural signals and not only the meaning of words. Pupils often ignore grammar and try to understand what they read relying on their knowledge of autonomous words. And, of course, they often fail, e.g., the sentence He was asked to help the old woman is understood as Он попросил помочъ старущке, in which the word he becomes the subject and is not the object of the action. Pupils sometimes find it difficult to pick out topical sentences in the text which express the main ideas.

         To make the process of reading easier new words, phrases and sentence patterns should be learnt orally before pupils are asked to read them. So when pupils start reading they know how to pronounce the words, the phrases, and the sentences, and are familiar with their meaning.

          Consequently, in order to find the most effective ways of teaching the teacher should know the difficulties pupils may have.

And also during spelling some words pupils also have some difficulties, they have acsents. Some sounds which have in English language may not have in their native language. So that they can not pronounce the words at the first time very well.

For example English language have monoftongs, diftongs, triftongs. Monoftongs in English language express only one sound, diftongs express two sounds, monoftongs express three sounds. Uzbek language have ,, harf birikmasi “. They are ,, ng , ch , sh “ and also they express only one sound. Pupils should more exersises about the sounds.

                             

2.3. How to teach reading

The teacher can use the whole system of exercises for developing pupils’ ability to read which may be done in two forms – loud and silent.

Reading aloud. In teaching reading aloud the following methods are observed: the phonic, the word, and the sentence methods. When the phonic method is used, the child learns the sounds and associates them with graphic symbols – letters. In the word method a complete word is firs presented to the child. When several words have been learnt they are used in simple sentences. ( This method is used in the 5-form English by A. P. Starkov, R. R. Dixon and in teaching English as a mother tongue in England. ) The sentence method deals with the sentences as units of approach in teaching reading. The teacher can develop pupils’ ability to read sentences with correct intonation. Later the sentence is split up into words. ( This method is utilized in the 6-form English by S. K. Folomkina, E. I. Kaar. ) The combination of the three methods can ensure good reading.

Pupils are taught to associate the graphic symbols of words with their meaning already orally. All the analyzers are at work: visual, auditory, kinesthetic. The leading role belongs to the visual analyzer. It is necessary that the graphic symbols ( images ) of words should be fixed in the pupils’ memory. In teaching English in schools, however, little attention is given to this. Pupils are taught how ,, to sound” word rather than how ,, to read “ them. They often repeat words, combination of words without looking at what they read. They look at the teacher. The teacher does not realize how much he hinders the formation of graphic images ( symbols ) in the pupils’ memory by teaching to read in this way.

Reading in chorus, reading in groups in imitation of the teacher which is practiced in schools forms rather kinesthetic images than graphic ones. The result is that pupils can sound the text but they can not read. The teacher should observe the rule ,, Never read words, phrases, sentences by yourself. Give your pupils a chance to read them.” For instance, in presenting the words and among them those which are read according to the rule the teacher should make his pupils read these words first. This rule is often violated in school. It is the teacher who first reads a word, a column of words, a sentence, a text and pupils just repeat after the teacher.

Teaching begins with presenting a letter to pupils, or a combination of letters, a word as a grapheme. The use of flash cards and the blackboard is indispensable.

      Flash cards when the teacher uses them allow him:

   a ) to present a new letter ( letters );

   b ) to make pupils compose  a word ( several flash cards are distributed among the pupils, for example, p, n, e; they compose pen );

   c ) to check pupils’ knowledge of letters or graphemes;

   d ) to make pupils’ recollect the words beginning with the letter shown ( p-pen, pencil, pupil, etc. );

   e ) to make pupils show the letter ( letters ) which stand for the sound [ ou ], [a: ], etc );

       When teaching reading the teacher needs a set of flash cards at hand. If the teacher uses the blackboard instead he can write printed letters on it and pupils can recollect the words they have learnt  orally which have this or that letter, compose a word, etc.

      The same devices are applied for teaching pupils to read words, the task being different, however:

a ) pupils choose words which are not read according to the rule, for example: lake, plane, have, Mike, give, nine;

b ) pupils are invited to read the words which they usually misread:

                yet - let                                cold  - cloud

                form –from                         called – cold

                come – some                      wood – would

                 does – goes                          walk - work

c ) pupils in turn read a column of words following the key word ( see: A. P. Starkov, R. R. Dixon, Fifth form English, Pupil’s Book );

e ) pupils are invited to pick put the words with  the graphemes oo, ow, ea, th,...

   In teaching to read transcription  is also utilized. It helps the reader to read a word in the cases where the same grapheme stands for different sounds: build, suit, or words which are not read according to the rule: aunt, colonel.

        In modern textbooks for the 5th form transcription is not used. It is given in the textbooks for the 6th and the 7th forms. Beginning with the 6th and the 7th forms pupils learn the phonic symbols so that they are able to read unfamiliar words which they look up in the word- list or a dictionary.

      All the exercises mentioned above are designed to develop pupils’ ability to associate the graphic symbols with the phonic ones.

    The structural – information exercises are done both in reading aloud and in silent reading. Pupils are taught how to read sentences, paragraphs, texts correctly. Special attention  is given to intonation since it is of great importance to the actual division of sentences, to stressing the logical predicate in them. Marking the text occasionally may be helpful.

    At an early stage of teaching reading the teacher should read a sentence or a passage to the class himself. When he is sure the pupils understand the passage, he can set individuals and the class to repeat the sentences after him, reading again himself if the pupils’ reading is poor. The pupils look into the textbook. In symbols it can be expressed like this:

T – C – T – P – T – P – T – P – T – C ( T – teacher; C – class; P – pupil ).

    This kind of elementary reading practice should be carried on for a limited number of lessons only. When a class has advanced far enough to be ready for more independent reading, reading in chorus might be decreased, but not eliminated: T – C – P.

     When the pupils have learned to associate written symbols with the sounds thy stand for they should read a sentence or a passage by themselves. In this way they get a chance to make use of their knowledge of the rules of reading.  It gives the teacher an opportunity to see whether each of his pupils can read. Symbolically it looks like this: P – T – S  ( S – speaker, if a tape recorder is used ).

     Reading aloud as a method of teaching and learning the language should take place in all the forms. This is done with the aim of improving pupils’ reading skills.

      The teacher determines what texts ( or paragraphs ) and exercises pupils are to read aloud.

      In reading aloud, therefore, the teacher uses:

a ) diagnostic reading ( pupils read and he can see their weak points in reading );

b ) instructive reading ( pupils follow the pattern read by the teacher or the speaker);

c ) control reading or test reading ( pupils read the text trying to keep as close to the pattern as possible ).

     And also it is very useful method to use a tape recorder during the English lessons. At first pupils read the text from the page or the book, and then they listen to the tape recorder to hear this text. They listen very carefully and attentively and then the teacher give them some time and the pupils write the gist of the text. When the tape recorder is working the classroom must be silent.

    Every pupil has his or her own reading speed during the lesson. Some pupils can understand the full meaning of the text, but some of them can understand only some clear details from the text. At this time the teacher must be attentive to each pupil. Now a days many modern textbooks and dictionaries have their disks for the learners. It is very useful for home reading.

     One person can be able to learn many foreign languages. It is possible. At first the learner study the alphabet of the language, the spelling of all sounds in this language then learn some words from the dictionary. The reading skills of foreign languages may be difficult for the first time, but after much training it will be easier.

      At the 6th form pupils have some difficulties in reading in the English language. They should learn  by heart  some short poems, some short dialogs, some monologs. This is very useful for pupil’s memory in teaching reading and it can improve pupil’s pronounciation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER III. OVERCOME THE SCARCITY AT TEACHING READING

3.1. Methods of Teaching Reading to Learners

At an early stage of teaching reading the teacher should read a sentence or a passage to the class himself/herself. When s/he is sure the pupils understand the passage, s/he can set individuals and the class to repeat the sentences after him/her, reading again himself/herself if the pupils' reading is poor. The pupils look into the textbook. In symbols it can be expressed like this: T - C - T - P1 - T - P2 - T - P3 - T - C (T - teacher; C - class; P - pupil).

This kind of elementary reading practice should be carried on for a limited number of lessons only. When a class has advanced far enough to be ready for more independent reading, reading in chorus might be decreased, but not eliminated: T - C - P1 P2 P3.

When the pupils have learned to associate written symbols with the sounds they stand for they should read a sentence or a passage by themselves. In this way they get a chance to make use of their knowledge of the rules of reading. It gives the teacher an opportunity to see whether each of his pupils can read. Symbolically it looks like this: P1 P2 Pn T (S) C (S - speaker, if a tape recorder is used) [17; 184].

All in all, there are six important methods of teaching reading. They are as follows:

• The alphabetic method or ABC method or spelling method.
• The phonic method.
• The word method.
• The phrase method.
• The sentence method.
• The story method [22; 6].

Let us consider them in details:

 

 

The Alphabetic Method

The teacher teaches the pupils the names of letters in their alphabetic order. S/he also may combine two or more letters to form a word: e. g. i_n=in, o_n=on, o_n_e=one. From ‘words’ it moves to ‘phrases’ and finally ‘sentences’. Thus, the procedure begins from letters and ends in sentences [22; 6].

There are many ways to teach the alphabet and all teachers develop their own style over time. One of the common instructions to introduce a new letter is the following one:

1. Hold up an alphabet letter flashcard so all pupils can see it.2. Chorus the letter 3 to 5 times. Then ask each pupil individually to say the letter.3. Teach the sound of the letter (e. g. "A is for 'ah'. ah - ah - ah"). Chorus again and check individually.4. Provide an example of an object that begins with the letter. Double-sided flashcards with the letter on one side and a picture on the other are great for this. (e. g. "What's this?" (elicit "A"). "And A is for.?" (elicit "ah"). "And 'ah' is for. (turning the card over)"apple!". Chorus the word and check individually.5. Do a final check (T: "What's this?", Ss: "A", T: "And 'A' is for.?", Ss: "ah", T: "And 'ah' is for.?" Ss: "Apple!"). These steps can be followed by 'magic finger', 'pass it', 'find it', 'slow motion' or any other alphabet game (see Addendum 2). Also, the ABC song is a nice way to start and finish the alphabet segment of your lesson [21].

The pros of alphabetic method are that it gives the pupils sufficient opportunity to see words and helps them to build up the essential visual image. However, as it is a dull and monotonous process it appears to be a difficult and lengthy method that does not expand the eye-span [22; 6].

The letters that occur in both languages, but they are read differently, are the most difficult letters for pupils to retain. Obviously in teaching a pupil to read English words, much more attention should be given to those letters which occur in both languages but symbolize entirely different sounds. For example, H, p. (Pupils often read How as [nau]. Therefore, in presenting a new letter to pupils a teacher should stress its peculiarity not only from the standpoint of the English language (what sound or sounds it symbolizes) but from the point of view of the native language as well [17; 180]

Since the 1960s, solid research has shown that the ability to recognize and name the letters of the alphabet upon entry to school is the best single predictor of reading achievement at the end of the first year of literacy instruction. However, it also shows that simply teaching children the alphabet does not guarantee that they will rapidly develop literacy skills. [11; 3]

 

The Phonic Method

Beginning pupils do not understand that letters represent the sounds in words, although they do know that print represents spoken messages [20; 19].

Phonological awareness is the strongest predictor of future reading success for children. No research exists that describes the affects of phonological awareness on reading for adults. However, it is believed that teaching phonological awareness to beginning-reading adults improves their reading accuracy and spelling, especially for reading and spelling words with blends [8; 2]. The skill of matching sounds and letter symbols is called phonics [13; 65].

Phonics, involves learning that the graphic letter symbols in our alphabet correspond to speech sounds, and that these symbols and sounds can be blended together to form real words. Word analysis strategies enable pupils to "sound out" words they are unable to recognize by sight. Explicit, direct instruction in phonics has been proven to support beginning reading and spelling growth better than opportunistic attention to phonics while reading, especially for pupils with suspected reading disabilities. Beginning readers should be encouraged to decode unfamiliar words as opposed to reading them by sight, because it requires attention to every letter in sequence from left to right. This helps to fix the letter patterns in the word in a reader's memory. Eventually, these patterns are recognized instantaneously and words appear to be recognized holistically [8; 2]

After first operating at an alphabetic stage, during which elementary learners recognize words using letters or letter groups but not sound-symbol connections, pupils develop their ability to connect the sounds in part of a word with the letter or letters which go with that sound. They become able to use this knowledge in a new context by analogy. Analogical reasoning is very important in this process. It works initially with two phonological units:

the first phoneme in a word (often referred to as the ‘onset’);

the remainder of the word, the part that rhymes (often referred to as the ‘rime’). [11; 6].

The phonic method is based on teaching the sounds that match letters and groups of letters of the English alphabet. What is important here is that the sounds NOT the names of the letters that are taught. As the sounds that match alphabet letters, the letters are written and illustrated with “key” words to represent the sound [23]. The word is broken into speech sounds. The alphabet may be introduced afterwards. The teacher teaches English through phonetic script, e. g.: Cup-/k/ /^/ /p/ [22; 7].

This phonic method gives the good knowledge of sounds to the learners. It is also linked with speech training and helps to avoid spelling defects. The drawback of the method lies in the facts that meaning is not given priority in this method, words with similar sounds but different spelling confuse the learners. In addition may delay the development of reading words as a whole [22; 7].

 

The Word Method

The word method is otherwise known as “Look and say" Method [22; 7]. The look and say teaching method, also known as the whole word method, was invented in the 1830s and soon became a popular method for teaching reading. By the 1930s and 1940s there was a very strong focus on teaching children to read by this method. In the 1950s, however, it was fiercely criticized in favor of phonics-based teaching. The debate still continues today [7].

The look and say method teaches children to read words as whole units, rather than breaking the word down into individual letters or groups of letters. Elementary learners are repeatedly told the word name while being shown the printed word, perhaps accompanied by a picture or within a meaningful context [7]. By pointing at each word as a teacher reads sentences, children will start to learn each word [16].

The teaching principles of the discussed method are as follows:

• New words are systematically introduced to a pupil by letting him/her see the word, hear the word and see a picture or a sentence referring to the word.
• Flashcards are often used with individual words written on them, sometimes with an accompanying picture. They are shown repetitively to a child until he memorizes the pattern of the word.
• Progressive texts are used with strictly controlled vocabularies containing just those words which have been learned.
• Initially an elementary learner may concentrate on learning a few hundred words. Once these are mastered new words are systematically added to the repertoire. Typically a child would learn to recognize 1,500 to 3,000 words in his first three or four years of school [7].

Pupils should also learn the reading of some monosyllabic words which are homophones. For example: son - sun; tail - tale; too - two; write - right; eye-I, etc. It is advised to use flashcards to encourage young elementary learners to read, such techniques may be suggested:

1. pupils choose words which are not read according to the rule, for example: lake, plane, have, Mike, give, nine;
2. pupils are invited to read the words which they usually misread:

 

yet _ let cold - could

form - from come - some

called - cold wood - would

does - goes walk - work

 

3. pupils are invited to look at the words and name the letter (letters) which makes the words different:

 

though - thought through - though

since - science with - which

hear - near content - context

hear - hare country - county

 

4. pupils in turn read a column of words following the key word (see: A. P. Starkov, R. R. Dixon, Fifth Form Eng lish, Pupil's Book);
5. pupils are invited to pick out the words with the graph emes oo, ow, ea, th,.