Topic:
Modern methods and techniques of developing reading skills
Plan :
1.Theoretical background of teaching reading
2.The integration of reading skills
3.Organizing appropriate reading stages
Theoretical background
Concept defining
A dictionary definition of reading goes like this:
“[Reading is] the action or skill of reading written or printed matter silently or
aloud.”
The above definition is deficient. It does not mention that reading has a purpose.
We usually read for a purpose. For example, people read to follow instructions, to
find specific information, to get the main idea of a text, to be entertained, etc.
In addition, many things are involved in the reading process. To start with, we
proceed to read a text, not like a tabula rasa; we are not empty vessels. Readers have
prior knowledge that helps them fill the gaps while reading a text.
Readers actively make sense of the text. This is
exactly what schema theory
contends.
Schema theory
Schema theory tries to explain how readers utilize prior knowledge to
understand and get new information from the text (Rumelhart, 1980).
The theory
claims that written text does not carry meaning by itself. It only guides readers to
retrieve or construct meaning from the structures or patterns of this prior knowledge.
These structures are called schemata (singular: schema).
A
text about transportation, for example,
would trigger our schematic
knowledge about the different types of transportation:
Transportation
Land
Air
Water