TEACHING READING

By Clarisa
Introduction
In many second or foreign language teaching
situations, reading receives a special focus.
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This presentation aims at describing three articles

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which seek to throw light on the principles and

practice of teaching reading.
Dilemmas for the
Development of Second
Language

William Grabe
Introduction
 Since the 1980s, a number of advances
have been made in research on reading
both in first and second language
contexts. Although the advances in first
language contexts have led to a number
of improvements in reading instruction,
the corresponding research in second
language contexts has not made as
much headway.
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 The reasons for these differences will be

discussed in the form of dilemmas.
DILEMMAS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE READING
INSTRUCTION

 Dilemma 1
The many different contexts for L2
reading instruction.
How can any reading approach be
relevant to all different L2 reading
acquisition contexts?
One resolution is to ask researchers and
relevant journals to promote
replication, near replications, and
overlapping research studies.
 Dilemma 2

Few reading instruction curricula

focus on text structure awareness
as a consistent component. Nor is
the ability to discuss and teach
awareness of text structure well
developed in a variety of L2
teaching contexts.
Controlling the formal aspects of language
use in reading and writing is a way out
from subordinate and marginalised uses
of language- a means for empowerment.
(Martin, 1989, Christie, 1992)
 Dilemma 4

A large vocabulary is critical, not only

for reading, but for all L2 language
skills, for academic abilities, and for
background knowledge.
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How will a L2 student develop a similar

amount of words as in L1?
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In L2 reading contexts the best way to

develop such a large vocabulary is to
read extensively.
 Dilemma 5

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A further complication for students,
in both L1 and L2 reading
instruction situations, is that social
contexts of the student’s home
environment strongly influences
reading development.
 Dilemma 6

 We learn to read by reading a lot, yet reading a

lot is not the emphasis of most reading
curricula. There is now considerable evidence
that the best way to learn to read (as opposed
to translating or studying) is by extensive
reading.
 School administrators do not typically support
daily silent reading in class; teachers do not feel
that they are ‘teaching’ when students are
reading something enjoyable.


 Classrooms and libraries must be supplied with

reading resources that can excite students to
read.
 Dilemma 7

A critical component for

comprehension is the ability to use
appropriate reading strategies
and to know when to use them and
in what combinations, depending on
different reading purposes and
tasks.


We have to make students into

strategic readers rather than teach
them reading strategies.
 Dilemma 8

 The common assumption is that schema theory

supports comprehension by calling up stable
knowledge representations that support and
interpret the text knowledge.
 There are a number of problems associated with
the schema dilemma.
vWith reading texts that are instructional, students
are just as likely to activate the wrong
information.
vMuch research is questioning the concept of
schema theory as a theoretical orientation to a
person’s prior knowledge and memory retrieval.
vThere are viable alternative interpretations of
prior knowledge which need to be explored.
 Dilemma 9

Students must learn to make the

transition from learning to read to
reading to learn other information.
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Content-Based Instruction (CBI) has
the potential to motivate students
strongly, to develop strategic
readers, to provide contexts for
reading extensively, and to promote
larger and more useful vocabulary.