M a education paper-v methods of teaching english

3. B i. Silent Reading: 
Reading is a decoding process. A complex process, it involves many physical, intellectual and 
often emotional reactions. It entails the ability to recognize graphic symbols and their 
corresponding vocal sounds.
Three important components mark the reading skill:
1. Recognition of graphic symbols 
2. Correlation of these symbols with formal linguistic elements 
3. Correlation of these symbols with meaning. 
There are two kinds of reading skill: the skill of reading silently and the skill of reading aloud. 
The greatest amount of reading that is done is silent. The skill of silent reading however varies 
from person to person according to each person’s requirement. 
There are five uses of silent reading namely: 
1. To survey the materials to be studied ( to look through indexes, chapter headings and 
outlines) 
2. To skim 
3. To familiarise oneself with the material and its thought content
4. To study the material in depth 
5. To study the language in which the material is written from a literary or linguistic point 
of view. 
Teachers of language must pay special attention to silent reading since it allows the learner to 
read a lot with speed. Further, all the important study skills require quick, efficient and 
imaginative reading which is made possible by silent reading rather than loud reading. 
Reading is easier when the learner is trained to comprehend the patterns of relationship between 
words, semantic and lexical. These patterns of relationships may be described as:
1. The relationship between the author and the text 
2. The relationship between the reader and the text 
3. The relationship between the text and culture. 
Thus, silent reading presupposes knowledge of the cultural value of words and expressions and 
the ability to identify the thematic content of the text.

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The teacher therefore must select reading material for silent reading judiciously and teach the 
learner the mechanics of silent reading. The learner must not only be trained to increase the 
speed of reading but also follow three basic rules, namely, 
1. No muscular articulation of words using the lips and tongue should be done while 
reading 
2. Word by word reading must be avoided in favour of meaningful combinations of words 
and phrases 
3. Movement of the head must be discouraged; the eyes must scan from left to right until the 
end of the row. The focus should be on the visual perception of words and phrases. 
There are thus five types of silent reading: survey, skimming, superficial reading, content study 
and linguistic or literary study, all of which encompass reading for meaning. 
Silent reading allows learners to study the text at their own pace with time to focus on meaning, 
slowing down on encountering difficult parts, and skimming or even skipping the easy or 
obvious parts.