READING SKILLS IN THE MALAYSIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

WHAT IS READING? The ability to successfully generate meaning from text WHAT IS THE GOAL OF READING? Comprehension

What is reading?
Reading is a process. On the simplest level, it is the act of recognizing and understanding written or printed verbal symbols (that is, receiving and sorting out information from the printed word.) Making meaning

What is fluent reading?

The ability to read at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension

Building Reading Fluency

Fluency is defined as reading at an adequate rate with adequate comprehension. Few reading texts focus on the development of fluency. The more text a student covers, the faster their language skill improvement and the better their comprehension.
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Factors that influence reading comprehension

The reader The text - Interaction between the reader and the text (Texts that interest the readers) Strategies Schema Purpose of reading (Task based) Fluency (pupils ability)

Definition of a Beginner
Can understand very short, simple texts a single phrase at a time Understand messages on postcards Recognize familiar words, names, and basic phrases related to common, everyday situations Follow short, simple written directions.

What kind of strategies do you need to equip your pupils with in order to help them achieve the goal of comprehension?

What is strategic reading?

The ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading

Anderson, N. J. (2003). Exploring Skills: Reading. In D. Nunan (Ed.), Practical English Language Teaching (pp. 67-86). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Reading involves various subskills:

Skim and scan for specific information List main ideas and supporting details Make inferences Predict outcomes Draw conclusion Sequence Locate cause and effect relationships Synthesize and evaluate text

Reading in the KBSR and KSSR

TUTORIAL TASK 1: You are to have both the KBSR and KSSR syllabus for your tutorial sessions. In groups, state the objectives and discuss the reading programme in the Malaysian Primary English Language Syllabus

Explicitly Teach the Reading Strategies

Activate prior knowledge Ask questions (Forms of questions) Identify main ideas Scan for specific information Skim for main ideas Focus attention on vocabulary development Use word list in the syllabus

 Select most useful family words ; ( e.g. friends, friendly, friendship) Teach synonyms Teach antonyms

Select Appropriate Materials

Remember to choose materials with your students interests in mind. Readability Suitability Exploitability

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Understanding Tasks and Materials

Activation of Background Knowledge

Good readers connect new information gained by reading with what they already know. By making these connections, comprehension increases. Always try to bring what the students already know to their attention before reading new material. Study the textbook examples copied from various materials to see how they activate schema, teach vocabulary, and teach explicit strategies.
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Provide Both ER and IR Instruction

Textbooks for classroom reading instruction focus on Intensive Reading. The challenge is bringing Extensive Reading to the classroom and providing a link between the two.

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Focus Attention on Vocabulary Development

Review the General Word List Select Most Helpful and Teach Their Family (friendship, friendly, befriend) Teach Their Synonyms Teach Their Antonyms

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Explicitly Teach Reading Strategies

Language classrooms should not only teach content, but also learning processes. Do not overwhelm students with too many strategies. Focus on 5 or 6 and give lots of practice.

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Balance Bottom-up, Top-down, and Interactive instruction

Beginners, however, need a strong bottom-up component. Often, little class instruction is given to systematic phonics instruction.
GUIDELINE: 50 % bottom-up 30 % top-down 20 % interactive

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Inside and Outside the Classroom

Inside the classroom, reading instruction should focus on the development of reading and comprehension skills through explicit strategy instruction and practice. Outside the classroom students should be doing Extensive Reading.

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TUTORIAL TASK 2
DISCUSS: The strategies that can be used to teach reading for young learners. In your group, select a short text and prepare a suitable activity to develop reading comprehension skills in your reading lesson.

Some Activities..
Read and correct , Pupils correct mistakes Read and draw. Read and guess, Read and match. Read and reorder. Read and sort.

EXAMPLE: Events Chart

TEXT
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WHO?

WHAT?

WHERE?

WHEN?

WHY?

Relation:
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Relation:
3

Relation
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Main point:

Well I hope you now understand a bit more about teaching of reading!