Research of Teaching Methods of English Reading

   
                          四川省珙县上罗中学：          喻萍
 

 
Research of teaching methods of English reading
 
 
Chapter I  Introduction
 
 
Learning foreign language through language vehicle is mainly about to gain and exchange information. Nowadays science technology is well developed, reading is obviously the chief way from which we gain and exchange message. Reading is one of the important links in teaching of a foreign language .It gives learners important and sufficient materials for language input, and it is the foundation to improve students’ listening, speaking, writing and translation abilities. So in various grades of English tests, reading stands at the top of the world. Because of this some teachers and scholars begin to research new teaching methods of English reading in order to improve students’ reading comprehension level. Here, I want to express my own meager opinion according to some certain reading theories. 
 
Chapter II  The present situation of teaching of English reading
 
A ）The relationship between reading and linguistic competence
In Clarke’s opinion, reading can be divided into scanning, skimming, comprehensive reading and evaluated reading. Linguistic competence refers to understanding and mastering of vocabulary, structure and the text .We may gain information and improve linguistic competence as well by effective reading .On the contrary improved linguistic competence will be the reason for raised reading efficiency. These two are interacted and inter-promoted. Therefore, in teaching of English reading, we cannot lay particular stress on only one of them.
B ）Problems in teaching of reading and the reason
However at present there is a general tendency in teaching of English reading, which is laying more stress on grammar and syntax analysis than on the connotation of the reading passages and the training of the reading skill and ability. Because of this in various exams students do better about the questions, which directly come from the literal meaning of the material than the inferential ones. It reflects their poor reading comprehensive competence.
It is related to our traditional reading concept. By which reading is limited in the linguistic area. And it is thought to be a process that readers understand the literal meaning of the text through receiving information of word marks, using knowledge of lexicology and grammar. Under the guidance of traditional reading theory, in teaching of English reading it naturally forms the teaching model, which neglects the feeling of individual but serve the faith to the text as the tallest or only goal. No matter what the type of the article is and how the students feel, it is okay if they know what the author said. 
C） The disadvantages of traditional teaching model 
Certainly, This kind of teaching model led these evils below:
1. Dull and boring. 
Readers’ motion, interests and feelings were removed away. Reading became a mechanical and rigid process. And for the students it was the task and burden which were given by force. Thus it easily leads to disobedience.
2. Low comprehension level
It coursed low comprehension level. Many works especially the excellences, which had abundant and important intention besides the information delivered by letters and words. If we just pay attention to the comprehension of literal meaning and get rid of the others, the implication meaning above the words and author’s opinion cannot be real understand. That is to take the branch for the root. For short, the murder was the mechanism and limitation of the traditional reading theory.
D） The importance of suitable reading theory
With the development of psychology and linguistics, the research to reading comprehension concept become further and further. Choosing a suitable one to improve students’ comprehensive competence become one of the great important contents to English teaching quality improving of reading. In fact while reading, readers have an active and creative competence of thought. For one side, they can polish the delivered materials by synthetically use of varied knowledge, and understand what information the words express. For another readers may arouse their interests, feelings, desires, morals and values to deduce, appraise and appreciate the significance that the material conveys. And finally they will produce their own point of view and conclusion. 
 
Chapter III  Cognition of reading comprehension process
 
A）Research of reading comprehension process
By means of research and discussion, the linguists concerned that reading is not a passive process. It is not the knowledge that learners can learn from the reading materials without paying any effort. And it is not enough to know the words. On the contrary, reading is an active psychological course that readers have a mutual exchange with the author. Reader is not the only passive receiver but an active participant who brings all positive force of thought like vision, memory and imagination, through using the knowledge of linguistics identification ability of forms, experiences of reading and skills he has had. In the final analysis, reading is actually a process, which utilizes the existed knowledge of mind purposely and continuously, chooses and infers the information and meaning of the material, and finally come up to understanding. It is a course to solve the problems passively. Consequently, the actual sense of reading is a kind of creation and a complex process of thought.1 After the research of various phenomenon in reading comprehension psychologists mentioned a number of teaching models. Those can be divided into three types:
B） Reading models
1. Top-down   
We can also call it text-based mode. It was mentioned by P.B.Gough in 1972, who was an American psychologist. For this method, reading was regarded as a process that human felt and identified the letters, words and some larger units, and associated the information continuously.2 Readers have to follow the fixed order, begin with the identity of words and phrases, and then transit to understanding of paragraphs and the whole passage step by step. However it puts undue stress on information which import by the sense of sight, and neglects the effect of context .The teaching of English reading which based on this "top-down "model pay much attention to the understanding of letters, words, and sentences while neglect the textual teaching and speed training .As a result, students read inefficiency, absorb little and comprehend the entire meaning superficially 
2. Bottom-up
We can also call it reader-based model, which was mentioned by Goodman in 1967. In “Reading a psycholinguistic guessing game” he pointed out that reading was a process that reader utilized a band of cognition and tactics which based on the hint of the material, to forecast, cheek out and amend the reading material, moreover to rebuild the sense of which convey in his mind.3 He thought based on the information gained from the reading comprehension, reader may forecast the sense which author will express. When the forecasting was proved through the further reading, new forecasting would be born. Otherwise if it failed reader had to absorb more information to amend the forecasting. Reading was that of a process which making and checking forecasting continuously. This method emphasizes reader’s mental activity; stress the background knowledge affection but neglect the effect of visual information. This leads to another extreme. Teaching of English reading based on this model do well in speed training while ignore the accumulation of language knowledge. As a result, there is a hinder for the students to improve their reading ability 
3. Interactive 
With the development of mental cognition of reading more and more experts tend to make a combination of the former two. Therefore, a new mode called “interactive” was born. It was mentioned by Rumelhart in 1977. This kind of method believed that reading was actually an interactive process which contained various language knowledge such as words, vocabulary, sentence pattern and meaning. For the information delivered by sight, readers’ initiative and knowledge and existed experiences, “interactive” model ignore none of them. It held identical views with psychology about reading process. Consequently, it was valued universally and made a great affection about teaching of English reading. But whether it is good for today’ students that is a question. From 1980s training of reading skills and tactics were stressed meanwhile it pay much attention in textual teaching and the accumulation of language knowledge and culture background information.
C） Demands for students
Reading as it is an extraordinary difficult course of physical and mental so that it demands us not only to recognize the language marks correctly, but also to use the knowledge of language and non-language, and to understand the meaning of the words as well. Otherwise we can exchange ideas successfully with the author. So in order to comprehend an article correctly, besides the vocabulary and grammar readers have to have multiple skills in the course of reading, such as infer and verify; induce and conclude; criticize and appreciate. By this we can say reading is not a single process to recognize the language marks but a complex process of thought that consists of many skills. 
 
Chapter IV  The factors of affecting reading effect
 
A） The necessity of research
Foreign language is a subject that as the purpose, to teach students how to use it. The use of language itself must be a psychological phenomenon, so the process of using language may be the course of psychological activity. There are kinds of factors which influence the reading effect such as intelligence of students, physiological condition, interests and personality, social economy, the culture background and the base of language and study methods. Any of them can do harm for students to improve their reading ability. So as a foreign language teacher, we ought to have due knowledge about psychology; know the psychology features of language activities and the regularity of learning foreign language; and analyze the factors which influence the improving for students’ reading skills. 
B） Main factors 
1. Intelligence levels of students
Inherently, every child has the due potential of intelligence, but the play of the potential is affected by the postnatal living environment. Some is good for the improving of intelligence; some is harmful. Teachers should have known their living environment at home, so that they can evaluate their standard of intelligence objectively. To a general extent, when students study in school teachers are taking a role of environmentalist who try to create an environment that is good for the improving of their intelligence. Although they can’t enlarge their potential they can help them for exploitation and achieve the reasonable level as soon as possible. 
2. Reading interests
Reading ability is closely related to interest of reading. It is the key of which teaching will be success or fail. The more readers are interested in, the stronger motive power become. And it is more favorable to wide reading, skill improving and fostering and improving reading habits. Interests are the internal motive of reading loving. But interests are not been born, it need to be cultivated and developed consciously. While doing this, teachers should notice all these factors: age, sexual distinction, intelligence, social economy, culture background and the reading material. To teach students in accordance with their aptitude.
3. Characteristics of students
For another, students’ personality is also an important element which affect teaching of reading. The ones who are outgoing, natural, brave and have strong will always can undertake and adopt various tasks of learning and teaching methods. They have less psychological barriers and are brave enough to overcome the difficulties. The ones who are calm, timid and inferior are always incompatible with surroundings. They have great worries in study, and cannot concentrate their attention, and show discouragement when get into trouble and have a snail walk in study improving. On the contrary, poor result would restrict personality perfecting and affect their attitude about society. If the vicious circle exists in a long run, it must lead to a grave consequence. It is teacher’s responsibility to teach students in accordance with their aptitude, and encourage poor ones’ confidence, and gradually make them overcome the shortcoming of nature. To accomplish any task of learning, students have to get ready with knowledge, physiology, and psychology. The teachers who teach reading, should make sure the exact time for teaching different skills. Too early, students cannot follow; too late, that is a waste of time. Furthermore, students’ initiative will be wreaked. Neither of them is helpful for raising reading efficiency. 
4. Education background
Students’ culture background mainly refers to the educational accomplishment of the people surrounded, and the educational atmosphere of living environment, which make a notable influence for learning of English reading. If living with well educated people, they can borrow their knowledge, experiences for learning of reading; and they can widen their vision of all subjects at any time and anywhere; and decrease the suitable obstacles when they are reading types of works. The educational atmosphere of social environment makes an imperceptible influence for the improvement of reading ability. Otherwise, if students live with the poor educated ones, there may be less way for background knowledge absorbing. And they can hardly take the advantage of their knowledge accumulation. As a result, those will have poor reading ability.
C） Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude
Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude that is the crux of teaching of reading. In view of the differences of individuality, teachers should analyze the various factors which restrict students’ improving of teaching ability and the effect degree for different students. Using different methods and demands to teach different ones. Those are what teacher’s duty. In one word: teacher should act according to the principles of keeping their interests and confidence. For some good fetching experiences and methods, we should borrow and learn, but every school has its own concrete features. There are some differences in condition, power of teacher and supplies, and the intelligence of students. Consequently we cannot follow their old way blindly. The differences of the students remain the same in one school. There, what we should do? Proceed from reality of the students in your school, seek truth from facts, and make your own teaching plan, and sum up your teaching method. 
 
Chapter V  The problems needing attention in teaching of reading
 
A） Goal and assignment in teaching 
When we research the teaching method of English reading, it is necessary to know what the goal is and what the assignment of teaching is. For our Chinese students, teaching of English reading should achieve the following purposes:
1. Raising students’ linguistic competence. 
Here, the linguistic competence we mentioned refers to not only the reading ability, but also some other basic abilities. Such as the enlarging of vocabulary, being familiar with and mastering various sentence patens and linguistic phenomenon, comprehending the register of common used words and some other relation of language usage extensively and deeply.
2. Widening students’ background knowledge. 
Here the background knowledge refers to the background of English literature and common knowledge as well. The common knowledge mentioned related to sociology, psychology, international politics and economy, medical science, education and technology.
3. Foundation-laying
Reading class should provide sufficient materials and lay a solid foundation to improve listening, writing and translation. It is indubitable, without reading as the basis the other sides can hardly achieve a high level. From that, we may find the importance of reading and the relationship between reading and other subjects.
B） The problems needing attention
Based on the points of teaching aims and assignment, we have to pay attention to the following affairs in actual teaching process of English reading:
1 Choosing right materials 
At present, offered teaching materials are common in use, but it was not suitable for all students who have discrepancy of intelligence when they are coming to the school. So we should adopt it with choice. If the used material has too many new words, students have to consult a dictionary frequently, and this does a great influence for coherence. And if the sentence structures are excessively difficult, any line needs to be deliberated repeatedly. Inevitably, students must lose interesting of reading. Thus comprehensive materials should base on the vocabulary and grammar which students are familiar with, and it may have proper new words which can be guessed rightly through the context. This kind of experience has a great effect on improving their reading ability of a foreign language. Students may feel pleased when they guess correctly. And these new words can be kept in mind for a long time. It has no good for having too much new words in comprehensive reading materials. But, it is no harm in having slightly more vocabulary in total. It’s better to prepare more materials, so that students can able to read more. The contents should be interesting. Those of which can arouse students’ interesting of reading, it is good for comprehensive teaching. When interesting is been raised, their reading ability will be quickly improved. 
2. Preparation before reading 
    Before reading, students should be asked to guess according to the title, picture and chart. Guessing in advance is an important reading skill. It is an absolutely necessary link to raise students for active reading. By means of guess, students are able to be interested in the content and the types of the article, intentions and attitude of the author. They are eager to know if the guess is right or not through the material. It can arouse their strong interesting, but the process of preparation is neglected by traditional teaching method of reading. Reading class is always begin with students’ reading and end with exercises. They have no clear aims and will lose interesting for the reading material.
3. Reading period 
    Reading transits to the formal period through preparation. Teachers should base on the content to hint the students what kind of skill may be used. The common used skills are skimming, guiding, guessing the meaning of the words and understanding the structure of the article. Skimming is mainly used for training the students to have a general idea about the content through quick reading. By means of reading, students can test whether the forecasting is correct or not and learn to focus their attention on the main information of the article, not on the unimportant details and word individual. Guiding is also a kind of reading skill that cannot be neglected. In this period, it is chiefly to guide the students to transit attentions on the comprehension of every detail from the understanding of the whole passage. And let them carry on skipping the paragraphs which have little connection to the topic and focus attention to the other. Another skill is how to guess the meaning of a word. In reading process, teachers should guide students to make a sign under the unknown words and make them to guess the meaning through the context, affixes and the gained background knowledge. To know the general ideal is just do. If it doesn’t affect the comprehension of the whole article, there is no need to waste time in consulting a dictionary. When teaching the skill of structure comprehension, teachers should make them know how the author organized the information of the article. It is necessary to analyze the arrangement of writing, the features of structure and the means of writing. Having deep comprehension of the logical order, purpose and view of the author and the writing skill, that will be a great help for reading comprehension.
4. Comprehension levels 
    Before reading, helping students analyze the theme in order to decide by which level to comprehend. For example, the theme about technology is just like a straight line. To comprehend it literally will do. But, for literary works, an advanced level is been asked. What have to explain is that reading comprehension is a complicated process. And, there are a great variety of materials. Students have differences in knowledge structure, linguistic competence, psychological standard and the social background they grow up in. For all these reasons, there has no “all powerful” reading skill and method. We should teach students in accordance with their aptitude, and use active and varied ways in teaching of reading, in order to gain actual effect.
5. Feedback after reading
    Feedback can not be neglected in teaching of reading. To check up the quality that how the students understand for the material and how they finish the task, teachers may ask them to summarize the general idea, and recall the main information, and answer the concrete questions and comment on author’s view and means of expression. Moreover, expressing their own opinion. Meanwhile, feedback activities help teachers get the message of teaching result and discover the insufficiency. Then, they will improve and consummate in future teaching.
 
ChapterⅥ  Conclusion
 
It is considered that reading is a complex automatic process involved a-lot-of and it was a process of thought. In one word, teaching method should be changed by the object, surrounding and teaching goal. It can’t be the same. We have to take into consideration the elements of all sides. So, here I want to express my own opinion about how to teach reading: 
1. The primary stage:
In this period, the main task is to strengthen students’ cognition ability to language forms. This ability chiefly reflects on vocabulary and grammar. In order to go on the reading, students have to master a great deal of vocabulary and grammar rule. Wilkins said: “in fact, without grammar too much knowledge cannot be impart; without vocabulary none can be transmit. ” low grades students have a small vocabulary and know little about grammar structure. So teachers should enlarge their vocabulary to the fullest possible extent and foster their instinctive feel for the language and the speed to identify the language marks in reading process. Furthermore, base on students’ reading ability to assign the simple reading materials with an appropriate amount as their outside reading. Though the training of outside and inside class their reading speed and discrepancy can be improved.
2. Advanced period
For senior students, their vocabulary and grammar have been expanded and developed. And they nearly can identify the language units freely in reading. In English, polysemant is common in use, to choose a fitful meaning sometimes depends on the background knowledge. With poor background knowledge, one cannot fully understand. As a result students cannot comprehend the whole article and the deep sense. Therefore teachers may guide students’ to forecast the information by using their mastered knowledge and to approve or disapprove the forecasting by the correct language unit. In he class teachers should combine students’ experiences with the teaching contents as possible as they can. It can speed up students’ understanding, digestion and absorbing to the contents. In the meantime, teacher should guide the students to read more books after class to broaden their outlook and accumulate experience. If having abundant background knowledge students may comprehend the article accurately.
Certainly In reading practice students play the leading role. No matter how teachers teach, no matter how much knowledge teacher’s offered, it can never take the place of their own wide-spread and abundant practice. Teachers who are mainly used to rise students’ interesting of learning, to organize, supervise and check up the reading activity. To discover and solve questions of language and knowledge, what’s more to help them while necessary.