2006 8

29 4

CELEA JournalBim onthly

Aug2006
Vol
29 No
4

READING IN THREE STAGES

Bao Deyuan Gao Yufen
Hebei University of Econo mics Business

Abstract
The teaching of reading is relatively im portant in so me places in ChinaTherefore we reco m mend the
method of Reading in Three StagesThat is pre
reading w hile
reading
and post
readingTeaching reading
this way can not only im prove the reading skills of students but also meet students need to learn gram mar
Key w ords
teaching of reading pre
reading w hile
reading post
reading
College English Curriculu m Requirementin 2004 in China says
The objective of college English is to
develop students ability to use English so thatin their future work and socialinteractions they will be able
to exchange inform ation effectively through both spoken and written channels and at the sa me time they
will be able to enhance their ability to study independently and im prove their cultural quality so as to meet
the needs of China s social develop ment and international exchanges

Everyone w ho learns foreign language knows that to develop you listening and speaking ability you
m ust have a solid basic of reading co m prehensionIf not you w ould just say so m e sim ple w ords like
bye
How are you
Good
You can not express yourself freely and therequire m entalso says that
students should be able to read
in the m ain English texts on general topics English newspapers and
m agazines published in China grasping the m ain ideas and understanding texts of practical styles
co m m only used at w ork and in lifeThey are expected to be able to e m ploy effective reading strategies
w hile reading
How to m ake the reading class m ore efficiency We discuss the questions for m any years
In a College English class in m y university usually
the teacher first spends tw o periods of classes
100 minutesexplaining the w ords and phrasesin the w ord list following an article and then asks students
to read the article by paragraphAfter a student reads a paragraph aloud the teacher m ay ask the students
sim ple Wh
questionsThen the teacher will paraphrase the paragraph sentence by sentenceIn learning
reading this way
the students are easily got boredSkipping classis a co m m on pheno m enon because w hat
the teacher says can be easily got fro m a teacher s m anualThere is no need for the students to sit tw o
hours to listen to the teacherAfter tw o years of English learning the students still cannot read very well
The poor achieve m ent of reading co m prehension is a m ain factor attributing to the students failure in
CET Band 4
Therefore Isuggest teaching reading a text in 3 stagespre
read w hile
read post
read

1pre
read The teacher spends so m e tim e introducing a topic encouraging skim ming scanning
predicting and activating sche m ata so that students can bring the best of their knowledge and skills to a
text w hen they have been given a chance toease intothe passage

Three strategies can be used in this stage

1Establishing a purpose for readingIn the pre
read stage the teacher establishes a purpose for
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CELEA Journal 68

students readingThatis
the teacher takesinto accountthe students language and proficiency levels and
determines the appropriate tasks for the m to co m pleteThere are atleastthree considerationsinfluencing
the process of establishing purposes for reading the m atch between the content of the text and the
students fa miliarity with that content
the teacher s purpose for having students read a text and getting
the reader to establish reasons for reading
2Activating and building background knowledgeReading co m prehension research tells us that the
students benefit in three m ain ways fro m having an introduction to the topic of an inform ational text
before they begin to readFirst an introduction helps students to recall any inform ation that they m ay
already know about the topic either fro m personal experience or other readingIf the students keep this
knowledge in mind as they read
they increase their opportunities to m ake sense of inform ation they find
in the textAn introduction m ay also bring to mind cultural factors that help the m understand the new
m aterial
thus enhancing co m prehensionSecond getting the students to start to think about the topic should
increase theirinterestin the topic and thereby m otivate them to read the textThird
iftheintroduction activity
is conducted in English
it will also review or introduce the relevant vocabulary for that topic
3Previewing the text to build expectationsPreviewing the text is a useful preparation activity
Dole et al1991w hich enables students to establish their ow n expectations about w hatinform ation they
will find in the text and the way that inform ation will be organized
Previewing activities m ay include w orking with the title of a text to establish expectations about the
content of the text reading selected parts of the text in order to sa m ple the ideas presented and to
establish a m ental fra m ew ork for reading reading the introduction and identifying the key issues to be
discussed
reading the conclusion paragraph
skim ming the text
reading the first sentence of each of the
body paragraphs and scanning parts of the text for specific inform ation
There is so m e evidence that reading strategies transfer fro m L1 to L2 Benedetto 1985 Royer
Carlo 1991 Sarig 1987
We English teachers should exploit this condition as m uch as possibleIn
inform ational texts
the introduction part sets up the m ain issues and gives the students clues to the m ain
parts of the argu m ent the conclusion frequently repeats so m e or all of the m ain ideasThus reading
both the introduction and conclusion of acade mic texts will often give students useful clues about the m ain
ideas the writer is m aking
Skim ming is to read a text quickly and superficially in order to get the gist of itIt is useful for
getting clues to the m ain ideas divisions points or steps in an argu m ent
Scanning is usefulin the pre
reading stage to build knowledgeTeachers can have students zero in on
one topic by asking the m a specific question and having the m scan to answer the question Thus
fa miliarizes the m with the text
2 While read Not all reading is sim ply extensive or global readingThere m ay be certain facts or
rhetorical devices that students should take note of w hile they readGive students a sense of purpose for
reading rather than just reading because you order it
During the w hile
reading stage
the teacher sjob is to help students to understand the specific content
and to perceive the rhetorical structure of the text
This stage
too
requires the teacher s guidance to ensure that students assu m e an active questioning
approach to the m aterialSuch guidance can be supplied by a nu m ber of w hile
reading tasksThe sim plest
technique for this purpose is to the m ajor ideas of the textFor m axim u m benefit
the questions should
address three levels of understanding the explicit the im plicit and the applied The first solicits
literally stated inform ation that can be inferred and the third necessitates relating new ideas to previous
knowledge or experiences
We can also use series of state m ents
instructions and
or questions that leads students through the
assigned reading and indicates w hat inform ation is im portant how a paragraph or section is organized
and w hat is to be learned These are useful in guiding the students through the text but considerably
m ore w ork for the teacherPattern study guides w hich are so m ew hat m ore limited in scope focus the
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Reading in Three Stages Bao Deyuan Gao Yufen

students attention on the ways that paragraphs or even larger units of text are typically structured to
represent relationships between the m ain idea and subordinate detail cause and effect co m parison and
contrast proble m and solution and so onThe m ost familiar form of pattern study guides is the traditional
outline by having the students co m plete an outline or fill in a graphic
teachers can help students to perceive
the relative im portance of text concepts and how these ideas are related to one another
3Post read Co m prehension questions are just one form of activity appropriate for post reading
The teacher should also consider vocabulary study and ask students to identify the author s purpose
discuss the author s line of reasoning exa mine gra m m atical structures and steer the students toward a
follow up writing exercise
The last stage of the reading lesson is intended to review the content w ork on botto m
up concerns
such as gra m m ar vocabulary
and discourse features and consolidate w hat has been read by relating the
new inform ation to the learners knowledge
interests and opinions
Many of the devicesintroduced during the w hile reading stage can be used for the purpose of review
At this point
it w ould be appropriate to put the students in pairs or sm all groups to co m pare and verify
their responses to the questions or graphics and then check the results with the entire class
Once the m ain ideas of the text have been reviewed w ork on discrete ele m ents of the passage can be
undertakenExercises could focus on gra m m ar points vocabulary in context or w ord roots or discourse
m arkersOf course we do not need to do all of these exercises with each reading for there is a real
danger of m urdering the text by dissectionJudicious choices should therefore be m ade depending on the
character of the text and the needs of the students
The final seg m ent of the post
reading stage should be devoted to integrating the new inform ation
fro m the text with w hat the students already know In the context of College English course the usual
m eans of doing this is through a writing assign m ent but other techniques should also be used frequently
including discussions debates and role
playsThe choice in this case depends on the inclinations of the
class and
to so m e degree
the need for variety

Conclusion
The teaching reading can be divided into three stages na m ely the pre
reading stage the w hile
reading stage and the post
reading stageIn each stage a certain a m ount of activities can be applied
Teaching reading in such a way can provide students with the skills and strategies needed to beco m e an
efficient effective and independent reader and in the m ean w hile the teaching can also m eet the
require m ent fro m the students that unique to Chinese English learners
to learn gra m m ar and vocabulary
is w hat we m ean by learning English

References
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Continued on p123
126