UNIT 8: LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE.

READING
COMPREHENSION: EXTENSIVE AND INTENSIVE READING.
WRITING: FROM INTERPRETATION TO PRODUCTION.

1. WRITTEN LANGUAGE
Speech uses phatic substance and writing, graphic substance. Speech is
considered to be part of an interaction which both participants are present
and the speaker has a specific address in mind. On the other hand, in
written language the producer is distant from the receiver and sometimes
even do not know who the receiver is. While speech is time-bound and
dynamic, writing is space-bound and static.
So writing allows repeated reading and close analysis. It needs careful
organisation and structured expression. Some words must be avoided when
the meaning relies on the situation.
Ambiguity must also be minimised in writing, as there is no possibility of
asking for immediate explanation.
Some constructions might be fond only in writing (formal) and others, in
speech (slang, swear words, )

2. LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE IN THE FIRST LANGUAGE

There are many different methods to teach reading:
Phonic approaches try to identify the regular sound/letter relationship.
Permitted vocabulary is restricted.
Global approaches try to recognise individual words as wholes without
breaking them into constituent letters or sounds. It is based on meaning.
Nowadays there are some mixed schemes, integrating the strength of each.
Fluent reading needs some strategies:
Rapid and selective techniques (scanning)
Silent techniques (skimming)
For writing is necessary to acquire the motor skill of sequencing letters,
using different shapes and sizes, word spaces, spaces between lines,
margins, etc. But writing is more than that automatic exercise, it is the
ability to use the structures of the language in an appropriate and mature
way.
There are different stages of writing acquisition:
a. Basic motor skill and principles of spelling system are developed.
b. Using the writing system to express what they can already say in
speech.
c. Writing and speech split up, and writing develop its own pattern and
organisation.
d. Writers can make stylistic choices and develop a personal way of
expressing.

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3. LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE IN THE SECOND
LANGUAGE
Reading is to distinguish the meaning of a chain of words in a text, quite
quickly.
English spelling is different from sounds, so words and structures must be
worked first in an oral way.
Before reading, children must know most of vocabulary structures and have
some knowledge about the topic, culture and situation.
Reading techniques
Children need some techniques in order to get the maximum information
from a text with the minimum of misunderstanding:
Extensive reading: getting a global picture, a clear idea of the overall
meaning of the text (skimming)
Intensive reading: paying attention to the details, getting particular
points (scanning)
Having an interpretation of the text based on readers own experience.
Guessing many unknown words by simply studying the context.
Predicting what they are going to read next, recognising discourse
linkers (although, but,)
Inferring opinion and attitude, based on the recognition of linguistic
style and appropriate purposes.
After reading comprehension learners must interpret the text:
Picking the authors intention
Distinguishing facts and opinions
Finding relations with personal experience.
Reading activities (three stages)
Pre-reading tasks: to familiarise with the topic. Looking at previous
knowledge. It is necessary to create expectations in order to increase
their interest. They will read to confirm expectations and that is
motivating. (describing photographs or covers of the text, informal
dialogues about the topic, prediction of the content, giving a tittle, )
While-reading tasks:
Skimming: reading a text to get the gist of it (suggesting
the tittle of the passage, matching text tittles with series of
short texts,)
Scanning: extracting specific information from the text
(underlining information required, completing an
information form, classifying under different headings, tick
in a list of objects already read, )
Combining both, skimming and scanning (answering
questions, describing main characters physical and
emotionally, completing a drawing, anticipate actions,)

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 Making inferences: recognising opinion and attitudes
(questions of possible interpretations)
Post-reading tasks: the main aim of these activities is to internalise the
language of the text (crossword, drawing comics, role play, carry out a
survey, summarise, change the end, continuing the story, preparing a
similar text, boarding games,)

4. WRITING: FROM CONTROLLED PRACTICE TO FREE

PRODUCTION
Traditional methods used writing to fix linguistic forms in memory. There
was no intention to teach the learner to express anything of himself through
the new language.
Nowadays we need to identify the needs of communication of our pupils.
Our pupils will spend most time completing tightly controlled written
exercises. Sometimes they might be encouraging to produce free writing.
Writing needs some abilities:
Graphical or visual skills: includes spelling, punctuation, capitalisation
and format.
Grammatical skills: to use successfully a variety of sentence patterns.
Stylistic or expressive skills: to express precise meanings in a variety of
styles and registers.
Rhetorical skills: cohesion and links of parts of the text into logical
sequence.
Organisational skills: sequencing the ideas, summarising relevant
points and rejecting irrelevant information.
Writing activities might be these ones:
For practice:
Making lists, personal vocabulary
Completing crosswords
Matching labels to pictures
Classifying words under headings
Writing speech bubbles for cartoons
Explaining surveys or questionnaires
Correcting mistakes
Copying sentences that have been matched
Answering questions
For communication:
Writing games (descriptions of famous people)
Exchanging letters (playing a role)
Story construction (small pieces of paper)
Writing reports and advertisements)

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Correction of written work can be done by both, teacher and pupil. The
teacher must show positive aspects, showing the pupil where the work was
effective and where it was not.
The teacher can underline the error and write in the margin the type of error
it is: concordance, wrong word order, unclear meaning,