Materials & tasks design for

teaching reading & writing

5121: ELT MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT & EVALUATION
Instructor: NGUYEN THUY DUONG
READING TASKS
Agree? or Disagree?

Ê We need to perceive & decode letters in order to read words

Ê We need to understand all the words in order to understand

the meaning of a text

Ê The more symbols (letters or words) there are in a text, the

longer it will take to read it

Ê We gather meaning from what we read

(cont.) Can you read it?

à We can read words without necessarily being able to identify

& decode single letters.

à Instead, we read a word by fitting its general visual shape into

a comprehensible context.

(Ur, 1996)
Agree? or Disagree? à Conclusions

Ê Little or no helpful context à decode letters. Meaningful

context à bring one’s own interpretation of words.

à Reading tasks should:

§ stress on reading for UNDERSTANDING rather than
DECODING LETTERS.
§ NOT insist too strongly on learners to understanding every
word

Ê The more independent units in a text, the longer it takes to

read

à Reading tasks should give Ss whole meaningful units rather

than disconnected bits.
(cont.)

Ê Construction of meaning = ‘bottom-up’ + ‘top-down’

processes
Different types of reading

1. Intensive: usually a classroom-oriented activity in which

students focus on the linguistic or semantic details of a
passage.
§ Goals:
ü comprehension of the text
ü construction of the texts (genre features, topic types)
ü language-focused learning:
o sound-spelling relations (teaching phonics, teaching spelling
rules, reading aloud);
o vocabulary grammar & cohesion
ü reading strategies (guessing from context, using a dictionary,
simplifying difficult sentences, taking notes)
 Different types of reading (cont.)
2. Extensive (sustained silent reading): incl. reading for pleasure: reading large
amount of materials for enjoyment.
§ Goal:
ü to read relatively quickly, to understand general ideas.
§ Benefits:
ü support reading comprehension development
ü provide learners with exposure to new and old vocabulary (language
development)
ü facilitate the development of reading fluency (fluency development)
§ How to make extensive reading effective:
ü density of unknown words should not exceed 1 for every 50 words of text (Hu &
Nation, 2000).
ü for less proficient learners: simplified/graded readers with controlled
vocabulary.
Reading Principles (Harmer, 2009)

1. Encourage students to read as often and as much as possible.

2. Students need to be engaged with what they are reading.

3. Encourage students to respond to the content of a text (& explore

their feelings about it), not just concentrate on its construction.

4. Prediction is a major factor in reading.

5. Match the task to the topic when using intensive reading texts.

6. Good teachers exploit reading texts to the full.

Reading tasks – Sample task 1

No difficulty in answering the Qs,

BUT:
- Do you understand the passage?
- What do you think about these
comprehension Qs?
Reading tasks – Sample task 2

- What do you think about

these comprehension
Qs?
- Does this type of reading
comprehension have any
disadvantages?
Reading tasks – Sample task 3

- The reading was more purposeful

- Ss feel more motivated to read
- T knows how well Ss read
Reading task suggestions (Ur, 1996)

Ø Pre-questions Ø Mistakes in the text

Ø Do-it-yourself questions Ø Comparison

Ø Provide a title Ø Responding

Ø Summarize Ø Re-presentation of content

(through different graphic
Ø Continue medium)
Ø Preface
Reading task suggestions
(Harmer, 2009)

Ø Jigsaw reading

Ø Reading puzzles

Ø Using newspapers (e.g., match headlines or pictures with articles)

Ø Following instructions (e.g., read a manual: match instructions with

pictures)

Ø Poetry

Ø Play/film extracts

Ø Predicting from words and pictures

Fluency development: Read faster!

Activities:

Ø Speed reading (http://www.readingsoft.com/)

Ø Repeated reading

Ø Paired reading

Ø Skimming

Ø Scanning
What are good reading speeds? (words
per minute)

Reasonable goals for S/FL learners who read

material that contains NO unknown vocabulary
and grammar:
Ø A good oral reading speed: ~150 ws/min.

Ø A good careful silent reading speed: ~ 250 ws/min.

Ø A good skimming speed: ~500 ws/min.

(Nation, 2009, p. 72)

Writing tasks
Reasons for teaching writing

Ø Writing gives Ss more thinking time for language

processing than spontaneous conversation.

Ø Writing-for-learning vs. Writing-for-writing

à Writing tasks depend on the types of writing Ss are

involved in.
Writing process

Ø Planning

Ø Drafting

Ø Reviewing & editing

Ø Producing the final version

Writing suggestions
(Harmer, 2009)
Ø Instant writing (e.g., T dictates half sentences for Ss to complete)

Ø Use of music & pictures

Ø Use of newspapers & magazines (e.g., Ss analyze how headlines are

constructed à write an article about a real or imaginative event)

Ø Use of brochures and guides

Ø Poetry

Ø Collaborative writing

Ø Writing to each other