Methods of teaching various types of reading. "Types of Reading
The considered exercises create the prerequisites for the functioning of reading as a speech activity. However, in order for students to perceive it as a certain activity corresponding to the level of their intellectual development, a number of additional conditions must be met.
1. Texts should be selected whose actual material could be used in other types of student learning activities (in other lessons, in extracurricular activities, etc.).
2. It is necessary to create as often as possible situations for students to choose texts for reading (for example, read one of the three indicated newspaper articles at home, choose a book for independent reading from several proposed by the teacher, etc.).
3. Students should be given tasks similar to those they face when reading in their native language - to obtain certain information, establish the idea of the text, evaluate its merits / individual facts, etc.
A number of organizational issues are also of no small importance: the text should always act as a semantic whole, therefore it is recommended to read it in its entirety and at a time; it is inappropriate to read the same text repeatedly without changing the task for the student; so that reading is not perceived as an exercise with language material, students should not be introduced to the content of the text in advance (after all, understanding the text is the goal of reading); for the same reason, it is always the students who read the text first, not the teacher. Starting from the end of grade IV, the first reading should be quiet, to oneself, in which case each student independently carries out all the mental work related to understanding the content.
Work on reading the text should be carried out in line with one or another of its types.
The process of reading is determined by the attitude of the reader, which arises under the influence of the purpose of reading. In educational conditions, it develops as a result of instructions, i.e. assignment the student is given. Therefore, the first requirement for carrying out reading work is the adequacy of the assignment to the type of reading. The assessment of the result of the activity also contributes to the creation of the necessary attitude, i.e. the form and content of reading control. The second requirement, therefore, is the adequacy of the forms of verification for the type of reading being developed. The third requirement is that the text matches the type of reading being worked on.
The requirements for understanding the text are different for introductory and studying reading. However, there are such components of the semantic content of the text that act as objects of control, regardless of the type of reading. This is the theme (idea) of the text and the nature of its disclosure. Checking these components (in the form of questions, abstracts for discussion, etc.) necessarily includes an assessment of what the student has read.
The process of understanding can be simplistically represented as dividing it by the reader into semantic pieces. This division takes place in both types of reading, however, the degree of its fragmentation (the number of semantic pieces into which the text is divided) is different - in studying reading, their number is much larger. Finding out the number of pieces into which the students have broken the text is also included in the comprehension test in both cases.
Introductory reading.
For practice in this type of reading, and thus for its formation, relatively long texts are used (at least a page already in grade V), which are easy in linguistic terms.
At first, the reading of the text takes place in the classroom in order to show students how to read. In the future, the reading of the text itself is transferred to the home, the lesson only checks its understanding. However, at least once a month should be read in the classroom. This makes it possible, on the one hand, to control the ways of reading used by students, and on the other hand, to develop fluency as a specific feature of introductory reading.
When preparing for an introductory reading, the teacher first of all outlines the objects of control, i.e. highlights in the text all the facts, the understanding of which provides an understanding of its content. Next, he chooses the form of control and decides what the wording of the task should be. Regardless of the chosen form of control, in the future, the understanding of only the facts of the text outlined in advance is checked. It should be remembered that with this type of reading, only the understanding of the main one is checked; insignificant details, even if they are understandable when reading, require additional effort to memorization, so waiting for comprehension check all details will force the student to change the nature of reading, and it will no longer be introductory.
Examples of tasks and forms of verification during the development of introductory reading:
1. Read the text in order to then answer questions on the main content of the text. Questions covering all the main points of the text should be formulated in such a way that they cannot be answered with a sentence borrowed from the text, students should be taught to integrate the meaning of several sentences. This verification method can take various organizational forms.
2. Read the text. Say which of the teacher's statements are correct and correct the incorrect ones. The exercise is performed orally. The teacher names a number of facts from the text, distorting some of them. Students must agree with them or refute them, each time arguing their answer.
3. Find answers to pre-text questions.
4. Give their text all the facts confirming the provisions said by the teacher (orally, in class).
Retelling as a form of checking understanding during introductory reading can only be recommended when the text is long enough (this will exclude the possibility of learning it by heart), while students should be required to state only the main facts.
Having finished checking the understanding of the basic facts of the content of the text, the teacher checks his understanding at the level of meaning: students establish the idea of the text (topic), as it is revealed, and be sure to give their assessment of what they have read.
For introductory reading, the text should, as a rule, be read one once. In some cases, it is possible to re-read it, but at the same time, students should be given sure another setting.
There can be two educational tasks of repeated reading: increasing the speed and developing viewing techniques. This goal is served by various tasks that require searching for various information in the text. This search, associated with rereading the text or parts of it, contributes both to an increase in speed and better orientation in the text.
Reading from the point of view of thought processes proceeds at various levels: from the ability to understand the content approximately to creative reading, in which the reader not only recreates the author’s train of thought, but also compares, synthesizes what has been read, accepts or rejects the main idea, reorganizes his thought or rises to a new one. point of view. In other words, the reader shows the ability to “understand the meaning and intention of the text and express their own intentions in a linguistic form that has an impact force” (Piepho N. E., 1974, S. 164).
Between the first and second types of reading, there are a number of intermediate ones that are of no small practical importance. Previous classifications of reading types were based on factors that did not take into account the levels of understanding and the degree of completeness of extracting information. A different approach to classification, developed in the domestic methodology (S. K. Folomkina) and abroad (K. Weber, A. Oliver, R. H. Alan, H. Frankenpohl), contributes not only to better organization of the material, but also to more correct development of exercises, in the construction of which, on the one hand, it is necessary to take into account the mechanisms underlying reading (both in the field of technical skills and at the level of semantic perception), on the other hand, the operations that the reader performs in each type of reading.
Over 30 types of reading are offered in the foreign methodology, however, upon closer examination, it turns out that under the types of reading sometimes they understand different stages of the same type or different ways of fixing what has been read. For example, viewing reading in one of the works is divided into such types as: general review (skimming), preliminary review (preview), re-review (review), final review (overview), viewing (scanning) (Taylor S., Berg P., Frankenpohl H., 1968) 3 .
The main types of reading still found in domestic and foreign works can be summarized in Table 9.
The table does not include such titles as: home / class reading, reading with a dictionary / without a dictionary, prepared (with previously removed difficulties) / unprepared, etc. All these names do not mean a new type of reading, they only indicate the place and form of reading work.
Discrimination Options |
Type of reading |
||||
By way of reading |
Reading to yourself |
Reading aloud |
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On the use of logical operations |
Analytical reading |
Synthetic reading |
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Depth of penetration into the content of the text |
Intensive Reading |
Extensive Reading |
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By target setting |
Learning Reading |
Introductory reading |
Review Reading |
Search reading |
|
By level of understanding |
Full/detailed understanding |
General/global understanding |
Despite the similarities, there are significant differences between them, which makes it necessary to have special training in the two ways of reading. Although they most often read to themselves, reading aloud often acts as a phonetic exercise, as an indirect indicator of well-formed speaking. No wonder M. West called reading aloud "prompted oral speech" (see: West M.R., 1960).
The opposition "analytical - synthetic" reading is to a certain extent conditional, since in semantic perception, analytical-synthetic in nature, it is not always possible to separate these operations. Their ratio can change within the limits of reading not only one text, but even a paragraph. The names "intensive - extensive" reading correlate with the oppositions discussed above. Some authors call the first type reading with deep penetration into the content, and the second - reading fluent, superficial (see: Hegboldt P., 1963).
G. Westhof connects the difference in these types of reading with the speed of reading, the volume and importance of texts ("important texts are read intensively, unimportant ones - extensively"). The best result is achieved, according to the author, when both types are used simultaneously, and "the text is read as extensively as possible, and no more intensively than necessary" ("... so extensiv wie moglich liest und nicht intensiver als notwendig") (Westhoff G. L., 1987, S. 77).
Let's dwell on more detailed analysis types of reading proposed and described in detail by S.K. Folomkina (see: Folomkina S.K., 1987).
S. K. Folomkina based the classification on the practical needs of readers: viewing stories, articles or books, familiarization with content, occupation search necessary information, detailed the study, if necessary, language and content. Each type of reading is associated, therefore, with the solution of certain communicative tasks.
The purpose of teaching in schools of various types are three types of reading: introductory, exploratory, and learning 4 .
Introductory and search reading are types of quick reading. The difference between them lies in achieving the degree of completeness and accuracy of understanding.
Introductory reading involves extracting basic information from the text with a degree of completeness of understanding within 70-75%. This indicator is accepted by psychologists as the norm. The program refers to this level of penetration into the content as a general/global understanding (see: Foreign Language Teaching Program..., 2000).
Search reading is associated with finding in the text specific information that is necessary for the reader: definitions, conclusions, factual data, country-specific information, etc. The text can be read in full or in part if the student knows where the information of interest to him is.
Learning reading involves achieving a detailed/complete (100%) and accurate level of understanding of the main and secondary facts contained in the text. This reading proceeds slowly, since the student, having a mindset for long-term memorization, resorts to re-reading, translation, and sometimes to written fixation of the content, and penetrates deeper into the essence of the communicative situation.
It is advisable to conduct studying reading on texts that have cognitive value and informative significance, which are quite difficult in linguistic terms. Analysis, as rightly noted by S. K. Folomkina, plays an auxiliary role. The language form of the text contains many guidelines and hints, using which the student can further independently overcome language difficulties (see: Folomkina S.K., 1987, p. 95).
Introduction
1. The complex of goals of modern teaching a foreign language
Reading as a type of speech activity
Methods of teaching foreign language reading
Conclusion
Bibliography
learning foreign language reading
Introduction
A foreign language has firmly entered the life of modern people. A good, solid knowledge of a foreign language is one of the components of a person's readiness for interethnic communication.
The purpose of modern teaching a foreign language is the formation of a secondary language personality, i.e. a person expressing a set of social, physical, psychological, emotional, pragmatic and other characteristics in the language, as well as a person "reconstructed in its main features on the basis of language means."
Within the framework of linguodidactics and methods of teaching foreign languages, the problems of personality formation are being developed.
Objective need modern society is the search for optimal ways of organizing the educational process, rational options for the content of education and its structure. The more alternative methodological solutions there are, the more fruitful will be the search for new ways of teaching the subject as a whole.
The effort of the communicative side of this orientation is reflected in the transformation of the goals of teaching a foreign language and the content of education. It is not just about knowing the language, but about the ability to use it in real communication, i.e. about the practical knowledge of the language and, consequently, about the development of "communicative competence".
Linguistic competence is rightly recognized as the most important component of communicative competence, which provides, on the basis of a decent amount of knowledge, both the construction of grammatically correct forms and syntactic constructions, and the understanding of semantic segments of speech organized in accordance with the norms of a foreign language. Linguistic competence is the willingness to use a foreign language as a tool for speech and thought activity.
A high level of linguistic development is becoming increasingly necessary in the modern world to achieve success in life.
Work aimed at the linguistic development of schoolchildren, at the formation of their linguistic worldview, has long been carried out in (metropolitan) schools.
The work on the formation of the experience of schoolchildren's activity, which is called linguistic activity, is progressing successfully. This concept refers to activities related to the perception, analysis, comparison of linguistic content, and in some cases, the creation of an appropriate language product. Drozdova O.E. is developing this issue.
The effectiveness of this activity depends largely on the interest of children. One of the sources of maintaining interest in learning a language is the process of reading. Proper organization of reading in a foreign language is the key to the success of the learning process.
Drozdova O.E. is developing this issue. A lot of materials of scientific literature are devoted to teaching reading in a foreign language. This issue was dealt with by such methodologists as Rogova G.V., Vereshchagina I.N., Egorov T.G., Filatova V.M., Folomkina S.K., Leontiev A.A., Weissburg M.L.
Learning to read should be learning to speak. Compliance with this provision is very important, since it not only creates the correct orientation of students, but also contributes to the more rapid formation of the necessary skills in a foreign language.
However, practice shows that often the interest in this type of speech activity among schoolchildren is low. This is due to the wrong approach of practicing teachers to the organization of work on reading in the classroom.
The purpose of this work is to study the features of teaching different types of foreign language reading.
During the work the following tasks were solved:
ü Study the scientific literature research problem,
ü determine the essence of reading;
ü consider the types and forms of reading;
ü reveal the content of learning to read.
The object of the research is teaching a foreign language at school.
The subject of the research is teaching foreign language reading.
1. A set of goals for modern foreign language teaching
The starting point in determining the strategic goal of education is the social order of society in relation to the younger generation.
In particular, foreign language education throughout almost the entire twentieth century consisted in a qualitative mastery of the subject. Then there was a turn from grammar-translation methods to the problem of practical mastery of a foreign language. However, the very concept of "practical knowledge of a foreign language" was refined and concretized depending on the level of development of the methodology and related sciences (N.D. Galskova). Only in the last 30 years, the practical goals of teaching a subject were understood as:
ü mastery of speech within certain limits;
ü the formation of skills and abilities of understanding the thoughts of other people (in oral and written forms) and expressing one's thoughts (also in oral and written forms);
ü development of speech skills in all types of speech activity;
ü learning to communicate in a foreign language in the unity of all its functions: cognitive, regulatory, value-oriented, etiquette.
Such dynamics of the development of the interpretation of the goal of teaching a foreign language reflects the essence of the development of methodology as a science and related areas of scientific knowledge. There is no single point of view on the problem of goal-setting among methodologists. So, for example, K.D. Ushinsky believed that the main goal should be acquaintance with literature, then - mental gymnastics, and if possible, then practical knowledge of the language. The point of view of L.V. The gaps in the problem of the goals of teaching a foreign language are as follows: in order to build a methodology for teaching foreign languages, it is important to realize the practical tasks that life can set before us in the field of knowledge of these languages, and the different types of this knowledge. Here are the main ones:
The ability to read correctly, and, if necessary, to understand with the help of a dictionary the titles of books, addresses on envelopes, parcels, invoice text, etc. This is necessary for the lower categories of library employees, for workers in communications, transport, for skilled workers in various industries.
The ability to express your desire and ask the simplest questions, even if very wrong, but understandable (by the way, and in pronunciation) language, as well as understand the answers to such questions. Such a skill could be called tourist language", if the scope of its application were not actually much wider: here we mean elementary communication with foreigners in general, and, moreover, in any conditions (with guests, when traveling abroad, etc.). When traveling abroad, this the ability should be combined with the ability to read and navigate in all inscriptions, as well as, if possible, in newspaper headlines.
The ability to accurately understand any non-fiction text of any difficulty, leaving only unimportant words incomprehensible and only occasionally resorting to the help of a dictionary. Every educated person should have this skill, but it is especially necessary for scientists, engineers, students, and also for all those who have to follow foreign literature in this or that field.
The ability to keep up a conversation on any topic, while speaking, although with errors, is quite understandable both in terms of pronunciation, and in terms of vocabulary and grammar. This skill is necessary for people who are forced to conduct more or less responsible conversations with foreigners. In practice, scientists, engineers, staff officers, various commercial and industrial agents, etc. may find themselves in such a position. Such skill, however, is sufficient only if these persons are not required to speak publicly.
The ability to correctly write scientific and technical articles, business papers and letters may be necessary for the previous category of persons, as well as employees of all those institutions that have relations with foreign countries.
The ability to freely and subtly understand the most difficult texts, among other things, fiction, newspapers and all sorts of others. It is necessary for writers, critics, literary publicists, politicians and, above all, teachers of foreign languages and translators.
The ability to write responsible documents, literary articles, etc. well. necessary for diplomatic agents and for all speakers in the foreign press.
The ability to freely and absolutely correctly, from the point of view of pronunciation, speak in public is necessary for diplomatic workers and all public speakers.
It goes without saying that this classification does not claim the absolute accuracy of the typology presented in it, but, in general, it shows with sufficient clarity that knowledge of a language can be very differentiated depending on practical needs.
At present, it is possible to single out a general tendency to put forward the development of the ability to communicate in a foreign language as the goal of training. Such a goal reflects a broad social view of the nature of the language and fully takes into account the specifics of the object of study in a foreign language lesson. But there is a point of view that it is wrong to put forward this goal as a basis for teaching foreign languages. This point of view is based on a broader understanding of the tasks of teaching foreign languages than simply providing practical knowledge of foreign language communication. Other important tasks related to the acquisition of knowledge about the language and, through the language, the culture of the respective people, should also be in the field of view. The focus solely on the assimilation of practical skills and abilities by students does not allow taking into account the diversity of possible motivations for schoolchildren in studying the subject. Not for all students, communicative motivation is the main engine in mastering a foreign language. This may be the desire of the student to deepen the scope of his cognitive activity, for others - the essential beauty of the sound of the language itself, and for the third - love and interest in the culture of another country.
In the methodology, attempts were made to correlate the specific in teaching foreign languages with the general orientation of the entire system. school education on the formation of the student's personality. For decades, the methodology has developed the idea of a comprehensive implementation of practical, educational and developmental learning objectives with the leading role of the former. The promotion of the practical aspect to the first place is dictated by the specifics of the subject. The consequence of such an "unequal" attitude to the target components is often an excessive pursuit of stable speech skills and abilities to the detriment of the developmental, educational and educational aspects of learning. In the methodology, attempts are known to implement at the level of goal-setting the equal position of all aspects of the process of teaching, upbringing, education and development of the student's personality, while a foreign language culture is put forward as the goal of training, i.e. everything that the process of mastering a foreign language can bring in educational, cognitive, developing and educational aspects (E.I. Passov).
To date, in the concept of the content of education in the 11-year school in the subject "Foreign Language" (authors V.V. Safonova, E.N. Solovova, I.L. Bim, M.Z. Biboletova, L.G. Kuzmina) the following main goals of teaching foreign languages at school are defined:
1.Formation and development of the communicative culture of schoolchildren (formation and development of linguistic, speech and sociocultural competence necessary and sufficient for communication within the threshold and advanced threshold levels; teaching the norms of intercultural communication in a foreign language; developing a culture of oral and written speech in a foreign language in an official and informal communication).
2.Sociocultural development of students (study of the native language and native culture and foreign languages and cultures of other peoples, the development of students' abilities to represent their country and culture in a foreign language intercultural communication).
.Introducing students to self-monitoring strategies communication development as they move from one level of teaching a foreign language at school to another, which will allow them to set and achieve their own goals in learning a foreign language.
.Formation among schoolchildren of respect for other peoples and cultures, readiness for business cooperation and interaction, joint solution of universal problems.
.Development of motivation for learning a second foreign language.
.Development of the self-educational potential of young people, taking into account the diversity of the modern multilingual and multicultural world.
.Development of intellectual and creative abilities of students in the process of learning languages and cultures. Achievement of the threshold level developed by the European Council is defined for those who study a foreign language with elementary school to 11th grade.
The main goal of teaching a foreign language at the threshold level is the formation of communicative competence, i.e. here the authors no longer distinguish between general educational, practical, educational and developmental goals. It was an integrated approach to the implementation of these goals that allowed them to identify several of its components: 1) linguistic competence, 2) sociolinguistic competence, 3) sociocultural competence, 4) strategic competence, 5) discursive competence, 6) social competence.
Linguistic competence involves mastering a certain amount of formal knowledge and their corresponding skills related to various aspects of the language: vocabulary, phonetics, grammar.
Sociolinguistic competence is the ability to select language forms, use them and transform them in accordance with the context.
Sociocultural competence implies not just a dialogue at the level of individuals, but the readiness and ability to conduct a dialogue of cultures. The dialogue of cultures implies knowledge of one's own culture and the culture of the country or countries of the language being studied.
Strategic and discursive competencies involve the formation of certain skills and abilities to organize speech, the ability to build it logically, consistently and convincingly, to set goals and achieve the goal.
Social competence involves the willingness and desire to interact with others, self-confidence, as well as the ability to put oneself in the place of another and the ability to cope with the situation.
As an integrative goal of learning, exemplary programs in foreign languages consider the formation of a foreign language communicative competence, that is, the ability and real readiness of schoolchildren to communicate in a foreign language and achieve mutual understanding with native speakers of a foreign language, as well as the development and education of schoolchildren by means of a school subject.
The student-centered approach, which puts the personality of the student at the center of the educational process, taking into account his abilities, capabilities and inclinations, implies a special emphasis on the sociocultural component of foreign language communicative competence. This should ensure the cultural orientation of education, introducing schoolchildren to the culture of the country / countries of the language being studied, a better understanding of the culture of their own country, the ability to present it by means of a foreign language, and the inclusion of schoolchildren in the dialogue of cultures.
As you know, knowledge itself, outside of certain skills and abilities to use them, does not solve the problem of educating a person and preparing him for real activity outside the walls of an educational institution. At present, the question is being posed more broadly: the goal of education is not just knowledge and skills, but certain personality traits, the formation of key competencies that should "arm" young people for further life in society (K.V. Fokina, L.N. Ternova, N. .V. Kostychev). These competencies were developed at the symposium in Bern:
Socio-political competence or willingness to solve problems. It is about the willingness to take responsibility for making decisions and implementing them.
Information competence. Its essence can be defined as the unity of readiness and need to work with modern sources of information, as well as a set of skills:
· find the necessary information using various sources, including modern multimedia tools;
· determine the degree of its reliability, novelty, importance;
· process information in accordance with the situation and tasks;
· archiving and storing information;
· use it to solve a wide range of problems.
Communicative competence. This competence is multicomponent. The Council of Europe determined the threshold level of knowledge of a foreign language, in which 5 components of communicative competence were identified, they were discussed above.
sociocultural competence. It is often considered as one of the components of communicative competence, however, in recent times it began to be singled out as an independent goal of education, associated with the readiness and ability to live and interact in the modern multicultural world.
Ready for lifelong learning. This provision naturally follows from the implementation of all the above goals of modern education.
Summing up, the following conclusions can be drawn:
Firstly, communicative competence is the leading and pivotal one, because it is the basis of all other competencies.
Secondly, the generally accepted national education the interpretation of goals at the present stage should be specified as follows:
· practical and educational goals should be aimed at obtaining knowledge that creates the foundation for educational and real activities;
· developmental goals can be correlated with the formation of interdisciplinary or supra-subject skills and abilities, as well as with the development of certain mental abilities, without which it is impossible to effectively apply the acquired knowledge, taking into account the tasks set and the specifics of the situation;
· educational goals are the culmination of education, the desired outcome or a set of competencies associated with the readiness and ability to act and interact, taking into account the laws and norms of behavior adopted in society, the moral and value attitudes of the individual formed.
Thirdly, the effectiveness of learning knowledge largely depends on the degree of emotional and sensory impact on students. The more feelings are involved in the process of cognition, the stronger the associations that determine the circle of vision of the world, the depth and accuracy of its analysis (K.V. Fokina, etc.)
So, all the components of the goal of teaching a foreign language are interconnected with each other and mutually condition each other. The purpose of training - the development of the ability for intercultural communication - is integrative in its essence, E.I. Passov believes. Underestimation, as well as hypertrophy, of one of the components (pragmatic or general education) will inevitably lead to negative consequences, which will negatively affect the quality of students' mastery of the studied foreign language as a means of intercultural communication.
Reading as a type of speech activity
Reading is included in the sphere of communicative - social activities people and provides in it a written form of verbal communication.
It occupies one of the main places in terms of use, importance and accessibility. According to Horny G.V. and Vereshchagina I.N., reading has the following structure: motive, goal, condition, result.
The motive is communication or communication through the printed word. The goal is to obtain information on the subject that interests the student. The conditions include mastery of the graphic system of the language and the method of extracting information. The result is understanding or extracting information from what has been read. varying degrees precision and depth.
According to Egorov T.G., reading is a receptive speech activity, which consists of the perception and comprehension of written speech. Unlike the perception of oral speech, when reading information comes not through the auditory, but through the visual channel. Accordingly, the role of various sensations also changes. play a decisive role in reading visual sensations. Filatov V.M. emphasizes that the visual perception of information and the process of its flow are capable of providing more reliable preservation of images than auditory, since the reader has the ability to regulate and control this process (slow down the pace of reading, go back, linger in place, etc.), which causes a slightly different operation of the reading mechanisms.
When reading, a person not only sees the text, but also pronounces it to himself and at the same time, as it were, hears himself from the outside. One cannot but agree with Rakhmanov I.V., in whose opinion, auditory sensations are an indispensable element of reading, since they make it possible to control the correctness of one's own reading. Filatov V.M. introduces such a concept as the mechanism of internal pronunciation, due to which a comparison of graphic and auditory-motor images takes place. Simultaneously with the perception of what is being read, its comprehension also takes place. These two aspects of the reading process are inextricably linked; the skills and abilities that ensure its process, conventionally divided into two groups:
a) related to the "technical" side of reading (they provide perceptual processing of the text (perception of graphic signs and their correlation with certain meanings or recoding of visual signals into semantic units);
b) providing semantic processing of the perceived - the establishment of semantic links between linguistic units of different levels and thus the content of the text, the author's intention, etc. (these skills lead to the understanding of the text as a complete speech statement). It should be noted that the technical skills of a mature reader are automated, so that his attention can be entirely focused on the semantic processing of what is being read. Their automation is especially clearly manifested when a simple (both in content and language) text is fluent to oneself when one is set to understand its main content. Leontiev A.A. considers the reading process as follows.
The reader's eyes move along the line, but not smoothly, but in jumps: stop (pause, fixation) - jump - stop - jump, etc. Under the above conditions, an experienced reader makes 4-6 stops on the line, lasting about 0.2 seconds each. The sum of the time of all eye stops is the reading time (eye movement accounts for 5% of the time), from which the reading speed is calculated. During the stop, the reader perceives a segment of the line that exceeds one graphic word. The perception of a word ends with its recognition, i.e., its correlation with a certain meaning, which requires the reconstruction of its auditory-motor sample. Visual perception, therefore, is always accompanied by the pronunciation of what is perceived; during a cursory reading to oneself, it is carried out in inner speech and is curtailed. It should be noted that the above processes occur simultaneously, while the perceived material is immediately subjected to semantic processing at several levels: the meaning of the word is correlated with the meaning of others and its connection with them and its contextual meaning are established, words are combined into syntagmas that also correlate with each other. and are combined into sentences (syntagms), the latter, in turn, into units of a larger order, for example, semantic pieces, they are into a complete complete speech work. The minimal unit that conveys, along with the lexical meaning, certain semantic relations is the syntagma, therefore it is usually considered as a unit of semantic processing (although in fact the reader can operate with larger units).
Semantic processing is based not only on already perceived material. The reader all the time, as it were, runs ahead, anticipates what he has not yet perceived sensory, builds hypotheses about what will follow next. Filatov V.M. introduces such a concept as the mechanism of probabilistic forecasting, which is an important psychological component of the reading process and manifests itself at the semantic and verbal levels. Semantic forecasting is the ability to predict the content of the text and make the correct guess about the further development of events according to the heading, the first sentence and another signal of the text. Verbal forecasting is the ability to guess the word by the initial letters, by the first word to guess the syntactic construction of the sentence, by the first sentence - the further construction of the paragraph.
According to Filatov V.M., the development of prognostic skills is facilitated by the development of hypotheses and the system of expectations of the reader, which activates the continuous construction of the knowledge structure in the reader’s head, activating his background knowledge, language experience. The process of preparing consciousness for the perception of information encourages the reader to remember, guess, assume, i.e. include the ability of their long-term memory and their personal and social experiences. .
One cannot but agree that in the process of semantic processing, the reader does not simply establish the facts set forth in the text: he singles out the more significant ones among them, generalizes them, relates them to each other (organizes), evaluates (interprets), comes on their basis to certain conclusions. All this requires both memory work and a wide variety of mental operations - comparison and generalization, analysis and synthesis, abstraction and concretization, etc. In other words, the process of understanding is a complex mental activity, including mnemonic.
According to Smith F., when reading, two types of information are needed: visual (from printed text) and non-visual (language understanding, knowledge of a given subject, phenomena, general reading ability and knowledge about the world). The more non-visual information the reader has, the less visual information he needs and vice versa. As we begin to read fluently, we begin to rely more on what we already know and less on typed text. In this regard, reading is an active constructive process. In the process of reading, our brain perceives and stores not a mechanical reflection of reality that we perceive, for example, a certain sequence of letters, but a semantic unity that we construct. The construction of meaning proceeds as an interactive activity, during which two sources of information interact - information from the source and the knowledge available to the reader.
The reader in a certain way combines various operations and actions associated with the semantic and perceptual processing of the perceived material, correlating them with the task of reading. It should be specially noted that reading does not exist at all, it is always realized in one of its specific manifestations, which in an experienced reader represents the most rational, from the point of view of the task at hand, combination of the operation of semantic and perceptual processing of material perceived visually. Variants of complexes of operations, determined by the purpose of reading, are called types of reading. In total, there are 50 types and subspecies of reading.
Different types of reading can be approached in different ways. Mirolyubov A.A., Rakhmanov I.V. and Tsetlin V.S. consider the most significant opposition of the two types of educational reading, depending on whether they process the skills necessary for reading without a dictionary and with full direct understanding, or the skills associated with reading with a dictionary, accompanied by elements of discursive understanding. This unit has a long history. In all methodological systems that have paid attention to learning, we are talking about techniques associated with a detailed study of the text, its painstaking decoding, with the assimilation of linguistic material in the process of this work, which are opposed to another type of reading - fluent reading, the purpose of which is to understand the basic meaning of what is read. Accordingly, Stiro O. uses the terms static and cursor reading. Following it, such terms as intensive and extensive reading are distinguished in the methodological literature. The latest terms are analytical (explanatory) and synthetic reading. The latter, according to many methodologists, is considered the most successful, since they emphasize the most fundamental differences between the two approaches to the material of texts - the important role of the division of linguistic material as a basis for understanding and the synthetic holistic perception of linguistic form and content. The modern approach to the tasks of each of these types of reading is distinguished by its originality, but their fundamental opposition remains in force.
Thus, reading is a complex perceptual-mental mnemonic activity, the procedural side of which is of an analytical-synthetic nature, varying depending on its purpose (Winter I.A.). A reader is mature who freely carries out this type of speech activity, thanks to his ability each time to choose the type of reading that is adequate to the task, which allows him to solve it not only correctly, but also quickly, thanks to the complete automation of technical skills. It should be emphasized that reading is closely related to other types of speech activity. First of all, it was associated with writing, since both reading and writing use the same graphic system of the language. When teaching a foreign language, it is necessary to take into account and develop these types of speech activity in interconnection. In addition, it must be said that reading is associated with listening, since both are based on perceptual - mental activity associated with perception (reception), analysis and synthesis. When listening, the listener perceives the sounding speech, and the reader perceives the written one. In addition, reading is also associated with speaking. Reading aloud (or reading aloud) is "controlled speaking". Silent reading is both inner listening and inner speaking at the same time. Depending on the target setting, viewing, introductory, studying and search reading are distinguished. A mature ability to read implies both the possession of all types of reading, and the ease of transition from one of its types to another, depending on the change in the purpose of obtaining information from a given text.
Let's take a closer look at each of these types.
Introductory reading is a cognitive reading, in which the entire speech work (book, article, story) becomes the subject of the reader's attention without setting to receive specific information. This is reading without prior special preparation for the subsequent use or reproduction of the information received. During introductory reading, the main communicative task, which faces the reader, is to extract information as a result of a quick reading of the entire text, that is, to find out what issues and how are resolved in the text, what exactly it says on these issues, it requires the ability to distinguish between main and secondary information . This is how we usually read. works of art, newspaper articles, popular science literature, when they are not the subject of social study. The processing of text information is carried out sequentially and involuntarily, its result is the construction of complex images of what is read. At the same time, deliberate attention to the linguistic components of the text, elements of analysis are excluded.
Study reading provides for the most complete and accurate understanding of all the information contained in the text and its critical comprehension. This is a thoughtful and unhurried reading, which involves a purposeful analysis of the content of the text being read, based on the linguistic and logical connections of the text. Its task is also to develop the student's ability to independently overcome difficulties in understanding the text being studied. The object of study in this type of reading is the information contained in the text, but not the language material. Study reading is distinguished by a large number of regressions than other types of reading - re-reading parts of the text, sometimes with a clear pronunciation of the text by analyzing language forms, deliberately highlighting the most important theses and repeatedly saying them out loud in order to better remember the content for subsequent retelling, discussion, use at work. It is studying reading that teaches a careful attitude to the text.
Search reading is focused on reading newspapers and literature in the specialty. Its purpose is to quickly find quite specific data (facts, characteristics, numerical indicators, indications) in a text or in an array of texts. It is aimed at finding specific information in the text. The reader knows from other sources that such information is contained in this book, article. Therefore, based on the typical data structure of texts, he immediately turns to certain parts or sections, which he subjects to studying reading without detailed analysis. In search reading "...extraction of semantic information does not require discursive processes, it is automated".
In educational conditions, search reading acts more like an exercise, since the search for this or that information, as a rule, is carried out at the direction of the teacher. Therefore, it is usually an accompanying component in the development of other types of reading.
Viewing reading involves obtaining a general idea of the material being read. Its purpose is to obtain the most general idea of the topic and range of issues addressed in the text. This is a fluent, selective reading, reading the text in blocks for a more detailed acquaintance with its "focused" details and parts. It usually takes place during the initial acquaintance with the content of a new publication in order to determine whether it contains information of interest to the reader, and on this basis to decide whether to read it or not. It can also end with the presentation of the results of what has been read in the form of a message or abstract. When viewing reading, it is sometimes enough to familiarize yourself with the content of the first paragraph and the key sentence and view the text. The number of semantic pieces in this case is much less than in the study and introductory types of reading; they are larger, because the reader focuses on the main facts, operates in larger sections. This type of reading requires from the reader a fairly high qualification as a reader and possession of a significant amount of language material.
The secondary language program has both general reading requirements and grade level requirements. Turning to specific types of texts, a person sets himself different goals and uses various strategic and tactical actions to achieve them. This essentially determines the methodology of working with text in the educational process. Thus, the program of primary general education in English involves the formation of communicative skills, involves the mastery of language means, as well as the skills of operating them in the process of speaking, listening, reading and writing.
The program defines a list of skills that primary school graduates should master: reading aloud small texts based on the studied language material; compliance correct stress in words, phrases, intonation in general. Silent reading and understanding of texts containing only the studied material, as well as simple texts containing single words; finding the necessary information in the text (the name of the main character; the place where the action takes place). Using the textbook's bilingual dictionary. The volume of texts is approximately 100 words (excluding articles).
The program of basic general education in English. Schoolchildren learn to read and understand texts with different depths of penetration into their content (depending on the type of reading): with an understanding of the main content (introductory reading); with a complete understanding of the content (learning reading); with selective understanding of the necessary or interesting information (browsing/search reading). The content of the texts should correspond to the age characteristics and interests of students in grades V-VII, have educational and educational value. Regardless of the type of reading, it is possible to use a bilingual dictionary. Reading with understanding of the main content allocated in grades V-VII, including facts reflecting the features of everyday life, life, culture of the countries of the language being studied. The volume of texts for reading - 400 - 500 words. Reading skills to be formed:
· Determine the topic, content of the text by title;
· Highlight the main idea;
· Choose the main facts from the text, omitting the secondary ones;
· Set the logical sequence of the logical sequence of the main text.
Reading with a full understanding of the text is carried out on simple authentic texts focused on the subject content in speech in grades V-VII. Skills are formed and practiced:
· Completely and accurately understand the content of the text based on its information processing (language guesswork, word-formation analysis, use of a bilingual dictionary);
· Express your opinion on what you have read.
The volume of texts for reading is up to 250 words. Reading with a selective understanding of the need or information of interest involves the ability to scan a text or several short texts and select information that is necessary or of interest to students.
The program of secondary (complete) education in English (basic, profile level)
· Read authentic texts of various styles: journalistic, fiction, popular science, pragmatic, using the main types of reading (introductory, studying, search / viewing) depending on the communicative task.
We see that over the past decades, in domestic programs, the development of students' ability to read texts with different levels of understanding of the information contained in them has been put forward as the goal of education:
ü With an understanding of the main content;
ü With a complete understanding of the content;
ü With the extraction of the necessary (interesting) significant information.
However, presented in the programs that operated up to the beginning of the 1990s (and some have legitimacy at the present time), the target settings had a "linguistic" orientation to a greater extent. And only in recent years, in the specification of goals, their more and more pronounced pragmatic component, orienting towards real mediated communication, has been noted.
Thus, reading is associated with all the above-mentioned types of speech activity that are formed when teaching a foreign language in a school course. This confirms that the communicative competence of students, according to the leading methodologists, lies in the practical knowledge of all types of speech activity.
3. Methods of teaching reading at various stages of the school
In the domestic methodology, the issues of teaching reading have always occupied a special place.
In all periods of the socio-political development of society, various arguments in defense of the special significance of reading came to the fore, but the fact remains unchanged and obvious that it is the art of reading that is the system-forming basis for the formation of information and academic skills. It is these skills that allow a person to effectively navigate the growing information flows, as well as build an autonomous educational trajectory, taking into account their individual needs and the increased capabilities of the modern system of continuous education, with the presence of many models and forms of traditional full-time and distance learning.
Due to the fact that today the task is to teach students to read an authentic text, it is important to teach strategies for reading texts of various types. The reading strategy is understood as a complex of knowledge, skills, the possession of which allows students to:
understand the type, specificity and purpose of texts; - navigate this text, taking into account its specifics and in accordance with the communicative task (to understand the text completely and selectively);
ü retrieve information at different levels. (see the skills listed above);
ü use compensatory skills: guess the meaning of unfamiliar words by context, consonance with the native language, word-building elements (contextual and linguistic guess); ignore unfamiliar words that do not occupy key positions in the text; use the supports available in the text (key words, figures, explanations, illustrations, footnotes, etc.); use reference books and dictionaries different kind.
As a result, students should learn to understand the authentic text without resorting to translation (dictionary) at every meeting with an unfamiliar linguistic phenomenon. To do this, they must learn several rules for working with texts:
ü for the understanding of any text, the life experience of schoolchildren plays an important role;
ü in order to understand the text (or to predict what will be discussed in this text), it is necessary to turn to the help of the title, figures, diagrams, tables, etc. accompanying this text, its structure;
ü when reading a text, it is important to rely primarily on what is known in it (words, expressions), and try to predict the content of the text based on the known, guess the meaning of unfamiliar words;
ü the dictionary should be consulted only in those cases when all other possibilities to understand the meaning of new words have been exhausted.
In turn, certain requirements are imposed on the texts. The texts proposed in the educational process should correspond to the communicative and cognitive interests and needs of schoolchildren, correspond in terms of complexity to their language and speech experience in their native and foreign languages, contain information of interest to students of each group.
The educational process should use different types of texts of different genres and functional styles. At the same time, their selection and organization should be carried out taking into account the stages of training:
ü Primary school: poems, rhymes, short stories, fairy tales, comics, a personal letter from a relative from the country of the language being studied, including to a newspaper and a children's magazine, a postcard; simple recipe, tickets (entrance, travel cards), TV programs, posters; map of the country of the language being studied, etc.
ü Grades 5-7: the types of texts mentioned above, as well as signs, signs in shops, at the station, labels for goods, train schedules, city signs, announcements, weather forecast; magazine and newspaper articles of a country-specific nature; catalogs, guides, excerpts from fiction, etc.
ü Grades 8-9: the types of texts mentioned in the previous paragraph, as well as advertising, prospectuses; publications from teen newspapers and magazines of various nature (messages, reviews, essays, interviews, statistics, etc.)
ü Grades 10-11: the texts indicated for the previous classes, as well as instructions, publications in periodicals of a regional and cultural character, on problems of interpersonal relations, etc.
Any text affects the reader in a certain way: either it provides new information (for example, pragmatic texts), or it affects feelings, opinions ("Do I agree?..."), behavior ("What would I do?... "). This once again emphasizes the importance of referring to the content aspects of the texts used in the educational process.
The texts offered to students at each stage of learning should reflect them. communicative function in communication. With the help of their content, students should create an objective image of the country of the language being studied and form an idea of the various aspects of the life of a foreign language of foreign peers, on the basis of texts, training in mediated communication in the context of a dialogue of cultures should be carried out. The content of many texts serves as the basis for many exercises directly aimed at the development of oral speech - question-answer exercises, retellings, conversations, discussions on what has been read, etc.
A special place is occupied by reading aloud. It is widely used for teaching pronunciation and is a component of work when explaining new language material. The commonality of communicative tasks (transmission of information) and the presence of loud external speech make reading aloud a valuable exercise in developing the ability to speak. It makes it possible to work on the expressiveness and appeal of speech, gradually increase its pace, while maintaining correctness, etc. Reading aloud, according to many leading methodologists, is a necessary link in the formation of mature silent reading, but its role is limited to the sphere of only general components with silent reading.
According to G.V. Rogova, at the initial stage and especially in the first year of learning a foreign language, it is advisable to teach reading on lexical and grammatical material previously learned orally. This allows you to remove the difficulties associated with understanding what is being read, and pay more attention to the technique, expressiveness of reading. Gradually, the texts may contain unfamiliar words, the meaning of which can be guessed or which are given in footnotes. Linguistically accessible texts contribute to the creation and maintenance of reading motivation.
In the process of developing the ability to understand the content of the text (reading itself), various communicative tasks are set: to understand the content completely, or to extract basic information from the text, or to search for the necessary information in the text. The search for this or that information can (and at the initial stage should) be accompanied by notes that students make in the process of reading one or more texts.
The work on the text is based on the following stages:
ü Pre-text - awakening and stimulating motivation to work with texts; updating the personal experience of students by attracting knowledge from other educational areas of school subjects; predicting the content of the text based on the knowledge of students, their life experience, on the title and pictures, etc. (formation of predictive skills).
One important rule must be observed here: all preliminary work on the text should not concern its content, otherwise the students will not be interested in reading it, since they will not find anything new for themselves in this text. At the first stages of working with the text, the teacher should make it easier for students to understand the content and show them a number of important strategic points of working on an authentic text: determine before reading by the title and (or) by the structure of the text, by the pictures accompanying the text, to which type (type) this text is relevant (for example, a recipe or an ad in a newspaper); what or who it might be about. So that students can see in the text, first of all, familiar phenomena, they can be offered tasks in the search and underlining in an unfamiliar text. unknown words, as well as words, the meaning of which can be guessed, and asked to predict the content (in native or foreign languages) based on the underlined words.
ü Reading the text (its separate parts) in order to solve a specific communicative task formulated in the task for the text and set by students before reading the text itself. The object of reading control should be its understanding (the result of the activity). At the same time, the control of understanding of the read text should be associated with both communicative tasks and the type of reading. If we are talking about working with an authentic artistic text or an informational text, then they are intended for working on all types of reading. For example, the first reading artistic text may be related to the understanding of basic information: determining its main idea, topic, problem, etc., searching for (maintaining / writing out) the main information; establishing logical and semantic connections (drawing up a plan, tables, diagrams), etc.
Re-reading the text can guide students to understand the details and evaluate them, etc. As for pragmatic texts, it is advisable to use a number of them for search reading (city map), others for complete understanding (recipes, instructions), and others for introductory reading (signs, announcements, etc.) A big role in managing the process of understanding the content text (especially at the initial stage) plays tasks for the purposeful search for information and its written fixation (filling in various kinds of tables: the names of the characters, the actions they perform, their characteristics, etc.) At this stage, the following rule should apply: it is inappropriate to repeatedly read the same same text, but if the content of the text is known, then its reading loses its communicative meaning (in this case, we are dealing with formal exercises, and not with communication). Repeated reading is advisable only if we are talking about searching for additional, clarifying information.
ü Post-text - the use of the content of the text to develop the skills of schoolchildren to express their thoughts in oral and written speech.
Reading is always aimed at the perception of a finished speech message (and not at its creation), at obtaining information, therefore it is referred to as receptive types of speech activity. A feature of reading is that the assessment of the success of its implementation is subjective and is expressed in the reader's satisfaction with the result obtained - the achieved degree of completeness and accuracy of understanding.
Thus, the task of teaching reading as an independent type of speech activity lies in the ability to extract information from the text in the object that is necessary to solve a specific speech task. This involves mastering certain types and technologies of reading. This does not mean at all that in the upper grades the role of reading as a means of learning is receding into the background. Reading continues to be the best means of developing and controlling related speech skills and language skills, which allows students to optimize the process of learning new things and using the factual language and speech material already studied by students. Communicative - task oriented on the development and control of vocabulary and grammar, listening skills, writing and speaking require the ability to read and are built on the basis of written texts and instructions for them.
Conclusion
modern learning foreign language involves the formation of students' communicative competence, which in turn is divided into: speech, language, compensatory, educational and sociocultural. One of its components is speech competence, which involves mastering such types of speech activity as: reading, speaking, listening, writing.
Learning to read occupies an important place in mastering a foreign language. It is one of the main places in terms of use, importance and accessibility, since reading is a receptive speech activity that consists of the perception and comprehension of written speech.
Reading is not only a means of teaching a language, but also an independent type of speech activity. Therefore, it cannot be subordinated to oral speech, it is necessary to separately teach the understanding of the text, without turning reading into a banal translation. In order for the text to be of a certain informative value for the child, the teacher should not forget about the method of working with texts. According to the research methodologists, 3 mandatory stages were chosen when working with the text / before / text / post-text.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that then and only then the reading of texts will carry a certain educational load that contributes to mastering a foreign language.
As a result of the analysis methodological literature we came to the conclusion that the effectiveness of the process of teaching foreign language reading depends on how much the teacher is able to involve students in active creative activity, creating various situations of verbal communication, where students accumulate and expand their lexical vocabulary, as the basis for successful mastering of reading.
Bibliography
1. Borzova G.V. Texts for reading at the second stage of the learning stage // Foreign language at school, 1990 No. 4.
Weissburg M.L. Requirements for texts for independent (synthetic) reading in English in grade VII. M., 1955.
Zimnyaya I.A. Psychology of teaching foreign languages at school M.: Education, 1991.
Leontiev A.A. The world of man and the world of language. - M., 1984. - P.14.
Maslyko E.A., Babinskaya P.B., Budko A.F., Petrova S.I., Desk book foreign language teacher (reference guide). Minsk, 2000 pp. 94-96.
Nikitenko Z.N. Methods of teaching the technique of reading in the EMC in English for elementary school "English for primary school" // Special issue of the journal "Foreign Languages at School". 2007. - No. 5.
Passov E.I. Fundamentals of the communicative methodology for teaching foreign language communication M., 1989.
Rogova G.V., Rabinovich F.M., Sakharova T.E. Methods of teaching foreign languages in high school M .: Education, 1991.
Rogova G. V., Vereshchagina I. N. Methods of teaching English at the initial stage in secondary school: A guide for the teacher. - M., 1988.
Rakhmanova I.V., Mirolyubova A.A., Tseplin V.S. General methodology for teaching foreign languages in high school. M., 1967.
Sadomova L.V. The role of the book for the teacher in modern teaching materials. Special issue of the magazine "Foreign languages at school".2008. - No. 6.
Safonova V.V., Tverdokhlebova I.P., Solovova E.N., Methods for selecting and working with texts for reading at the senior stage of schoolchildren's education. Special issue of the journal "Foreign Languages at School". 2007. - No. 2
Sitro O. The role of reading in teaching a foreign language. Foreign language at school; 1940, No. 5.
Tupalskaya N.I., Folomkina S.K. Teaching reading in a foreign language in a non-linguistic university; 1990, No. 1. - p.34-35.
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"Crimean gymnasium - boarding school for gifted children"
"Teaching different types of reading
in Russian language lessons"
Compiled by: Bessonova E.B.,
teacher of Russian language and literature
2016 – 2017 academic year
Reading is one of the types of speech activity, it consists in translating an alphabetic code into a sound code, which manifests itself either in external or internal speech. A characteristic feature of reading is the comprehension of a visually perceived text in order to solve a specific communicative task: the recognition and reproduction of someone else's thought contained in it, as a result of which the reader reacts to this thought in a certain way. Consequently, with the help of reading, a person realizes the possibilities of the so-called mediated communication: the perception and understanding of the text indicate the interaction of the reader with the author of the text, the complex thought processes that accompany his awareness. Perception of the text and active processing of information are the main components of reading. Therefore, teaching reading as one of the types of speech activity is the most important educational task that a Russian language teacher must solve.
The goals of teaching reading.
The purpose of teaching reading at school (including the Russian language lessons) is to teach schoolchildren rational methods of perception and processing of information contained in texts of a different nature, depending on the content and communicative task. The ability to read involves mastering the technique of reading, i.e. the correct voicing of the text written in a certain graphic system, and the ability to comprehend what was read. The most essential features of mature (good) reading are the following: high reading speed (to oneself), which is due to the automatic processing of perceived printed material; reading flexibility, i.e. the ability to read at different speeds depending on the speech situation. High speed and flexibility of reading are the basis (basis) for the formation of many other skills necessary for the implementation of the reading process.
These are the skills:
the ability to focus on certain content issues;
the ability to anticipate in the process of reading what will be said next;
the ability to identify key places in the text;
the ability to isolate the main idea of the statement;
the ability to distinguish the essential from the non-essential in the perceived information;
the ability to identify (and ignore, if necessary) redundant details of information;
the ability to ask questions in the process of perceiving the text; the ability to determine the logic, structure of the statement;
the ability to draw conclusions and formulate them in your own words;
the ability to critically evaluate the information received, respond to it and use it in appropriate life situations.
Therefore, when teaching reading, the teacher must be clearly aware of the communicative task that will determine the nature of the perception of the text by students. In this case, the communicative task should be understood as the purpose for which reading is carried out: where, when, for what the information extracted from the text will be used. At the same time, one should take into account the functions that are inherent in reading as a type of speech activity and which are realized in the process of mediated communication between the reader and the author of the text.
As a rule, there are three functions of reading:
cognitive;
regulatory;
value orientation.
It is important that, starting to read, the student must clearly understand the communicative task that determines the perception of the text as a whole. In this case, the communicative task should be understood as an attitude to the purpose for which reading is carried out; where, when, for what purpose the information extracted from the text will be used.
In the process of reading, variouscommunicative tasks.
There are three types of reading:
introductory,
studying.
If the reader is tasked with getting the most general idea of the content of the text, then an understanding of the text in the most general terms will be required. With this attitude, a newspaper article, article, etc. can be read. This kind of reading is calledviewing . If the reader is faced with the task of highlighting in the text only that part of it that is related to the solution of the main communicative task (find the main thing in the text, find out what is being reported on the issue of interest), or cover the content of each of the parts of the text in the most general form, thenintroductory reading. If the most complete and accurate understanding of the information contained in the text and its adequate reproduction for various purposes is required, then the reader should cover the entire content of the text as fully as possible, delve into the meaning of each of its elements. This type of reading qualifies asstudying reading. Thus, when reading the text, the student should know for what purpose he reads, and, having realized the goals and objectives of reading, read the text using one of the named types of reading. Therefore, it is necessary to teach not reading in general, but one or another type of reading, which involves teaching various methods of reading.
The tasks of teaching reading.
When organizing reading in a Russian language lesson, three points must be taken into account:
1. Before reading, students should assign a clearly formulated communicative task - why, for what purpose they should read the text.
2. Since the task determines the choice of the type of reading, the teacher needs to carry out special work to ensure the mastery of certain reading techniques.
3. The teacher must find such forms of control that would correspond to the tasks and type of reading.
In this regard, there is a problem associated with taking into account the characteristics of the texts presented to students for reading. Obviously, one or another communicative task can be set for students and solved only if the content and nature of the texts allow this. Let's analyze as an example the texts available in the textbook for grade 5 in the "Vocabulary" section and consider how they can be used in teaching various types of reading. First of all, the section should highlight the educational texts of the paragraphs, which explain the facts and phenomena of a linguistic nature, give definitions of concepts, list characteristics phenomena, rules are stated, etc. (“The word and its lexical meaning”, “Polysemantic and single-valued words”, “Direct and figurative meaning of words”, etc.). Reading such texts requires the ability to "establish logical connections between sentences, the semantic structure of the text as a whole," i.e., the skills of studying reading. The perception of educational texts in the section "Vocabulary" is complicated by the peculiarities of the presentation of information. So, for example, the material on the topic "Polysemantic and single-valued words" is built as follows:
1. Material for observations (drawings), which allows us to conclude that there are polysemantic and unambiguous words in the Russian language (the definition of these concepts).
2. A text explaining how the phenomenon of polysemy of the lexical meaning of a word is reflected in the dictionary.
3. Exercises that form the skill of working with a dictionary.
4. Text explaining the occurrence of polysemantic words.
Reading teaching methods.
The material that students must perceive is presented in different ways, and students must be able to reunite these parts so that there is a holistic and complete understanding of the phenomenon being studied. To do this, you need to teach students to supplement the text of an educational nature with data that they receive in the process of observing or doing exercises: in order to reproduce everything learned about polysemantic and unambiguous words, the student must not only retell the text of the textbook, but also supplement it with facts extracted from other sources. This implies another requirement for studying reading - to teach students how to include new facts (examples) in the finished text. So, studying reading is thoughtful reading, requiring a deep understanding of the content of the text and its full coverage. In this case, the teacher is faced with the task of teaching the student the methods of understanding and analyzing the text, which contribute to a deeper penetration into its content. One of the main ways to achieve this goal is to ask questions after reading or before reading (preliminary questions).
It is obvious that the formulation of preliminary questions is most effective, since with their help students can:
1) it is advisable to change the plan of the text when retelling it;
2) compare the content of the studied text with previously learned material;
3) establish causal relationships between phenomena;
4) improve their ability to reason and draw independent conclusions.
A purposeful and correctly formulated preliminary question significantly affects the nature of the reading. But "more an important tool deepening the understanding of the text are not the teacher's questions to the text, but the possession of the technique of self-raising questions to it. This technique allows us to consider reading and understanding the educational text as a solution to a mental problem, the essence of which is the ability to detect and solve the problems that make up the content of the text. From a methodological point of view, the essence of this technique is as follows: the teacher must teach students to read the text so that in the course of reading they set themselves questions that reflect the cognitive essence of the text, and with their help they realize the logical structure of the text, highlight the main thing in it, the main one. The ultimate goal in this case is to awaken in students the desire to better understand the text, to understand the unclear. What are the specific ways to implement the described prim? Here is one possible.
The teacher reads the text aloud, making stops during which he addresses the class with questions of this type:
What would you like to know now?
What questions arise here?
What does it say?
What question does this answer?
What is the point of this part of the text?
Has your guess been confirmed?
Subsequently, students can be asked to ask questions on their own after reading a certain part of the text indicated by the teacher, or after reading the entire text. Such techniques as drawing up a plan in the form of questions, posing questions to your friend, compiling answers to his questions can also be used. Educational texts can be supplemented in one way or another with texts of exercises, the content of which is closely related to the theoretical part of the paragraph. So, after the paragraph “The word and its lexical meaning”, the text of the exercise is given, in which the question of the number of words in the Russian language is considered in a popular form, it is said about the need to expand one's vocabulary. When performing such exercises, it is necessary to comprehend their content and connect it with the information given in the main educational text. As a rule, texts of this kind are small in size, interesting in content, easy to understand, so for their perception it is enough to use familiarization reading techniques.
In this regard, it is necessary to teach students to quickly highlight the main and secondary in the text, to see the key words that carry the main information of the text. These skills can be formed in the process of performing special exercises, which are based on such, for example, tasks:
summarize the content of the sentence, paragraph, text;
underline words that can be omitted; find in the text a word, phrase, sentence in which the the main idea each paragraph.
Note that the above (and similar) exercises should contribute to the development of the ability not only to read quickly, but also to quickly extract the necessary information, omitting the secondary, insignificant when answering the question posed. The method of comprehending the text, which is characteristic of studying reading, is the formulation of preliminarily formulated questions.
Questions can be formulated as follows:
Read the tasks for the exercise and answer the question: “Which of the tasks should I start the exercise with and why?”
Which of these tasks is the most difficult and why?
What follows from this?
What material needs to be repeated (or remembered) in order to complete the task (or part of it)?
Read the text of the task and make a plan for its completion.
Thus, we achieve a deeper understanding of the text of the task, teach students to perceive it consciously and, therefore, act more accurately and correctly at the stage of formation and improvement of certain skills. If it is required to draw the attention of students not to everything, but only to certain points of the task, to update those of them that are related to the topic under study or to the solution of any particular educational task, then students should be directed to an introductory reading of the task:
Read the tasks for the exercise and find those that are related to the topic being studied.
Read the assignments for the exercise.
What part of the studied should be based on their implementation?
Methods of working with sample tasks for the exercises of the textbook convince that the same text can be read differently depending on the nature of the communicative task. Thus, properly organized reading of texts in Russian language lessons contributes to the development of very important general educational skills: the ability to divide the text into semantic pieces, determine the connections between them, establish causal relationships between facts and phenomena of language and speech, find supporting (key) words (sentences) , group the stated facts, navigate in the text, retell the text taking into account the task, determine the logical structure of the text. The nature of texts, their role in the perception of facts and phenomena of the language determine the nature of reading texts by students, the type of reading that must be used when performing each specific task.
List of used literature:
1. Ippolitova N.A. Teaching students different types of reading. Introductory reading // magazine "Russian language at school". - No. 2, 1998.
2. Baranov M.T., Ladyzhenskaya T.A. Methods of teaching the Russian language. - M .: "Enlightenment", 1990.
3. Shcherba L.V. language system and speech activity. - M., 1974.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF TROITSK, CHELYABINSK REGION MUNICIPAL GENERAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION "GYMNASIUM No. 23"
Techniques and methods for effective learning
different types of reading
(From work experience)
Mikhaleva Nadezhda Gennadievna
teacher of English language, MOU "Gymnasium No. 23"
Troitsk, Chelyabinsk region.
Troitsk, 2009
Introduction |
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Reading as an important link in speech activity |
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2.1.2. Introductory reading; 2.1.3. learning reading; 2.1.4. Exploratory reading. |
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2.2. Stages of working with text and the formation of skills for extracting information from text 2.2.1. Pre-text stage; 2.2.2. Text stage; 2.2.3. post-text stage. |
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3.1. Taking a quiz; 3.2. Semantic map method; 3.3. Acceptance of restoration / filling in gaps; 3.4. Reception of division into categories; 3.5 Reception "mosaic". |
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Conclusion |
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Bibliographic list |
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Applications |
Introduction
The implementation of the State Concept for the Development of Modern Russian Education is aimed at significantly updating the content of education.
One of the main directions of modernization of general education are:
The activity nature of education, the focus of the content of education on the formation of general educational skills and abilities, generalized methods of educational, cognitive, communicative, practical, creative activity, for students to gain experience in this activity;
Formation of key competencies - the readiness of students to use the acquired knowledge, skills and methods of activity in real life to solve practical problems;
Through the organization of the main types of activities (cognitive, information-communicative and reflective), key competencies of students should be formed that allow them to act effectively in non-standard situations, mobilize their knowledge and experience, their mood and will to solve problems in specific life circumstances.
In the conditions of a modern dynamic society, which sociologists and historians call informational, information and communication activities and the communicative competence formed on its basis are of particular importance.
Communicative competence involves the possession of all types of speech activity, the culture of oral and written speech; the skills and abilities of using the language in various areas and situations of communication, corresponding to the experience, interests, psychological characteristics of students. Possession of new technologies, understanding of their application, their strengths and weaknesses, the ability to critically relate to information.
Reasons for choosing the topic: reading is one of the main types of speech activity. This type is included in the unified state exam both in the ninth grade and in the eleventh grade. Therefore, it is necessary to use not only new technologies, but also work out those that have already been tested by time.
Objective: to summarize the experience in selecting techniques and methods of working on different types of reading during the entire period of study.
Tasks:
To characterize reading as an aspect of teaching a foreign language;
Describe the different types of reading;
Describe the stages of working with text;
Systematize the methods of teaching reading;
Present possible options for using reading teaching techniques.
2. Reading as an important link in speech activity.
The founder of the Whole Language movement, Kenneth Goodman, defined reading as a psycholinguistic process in which the reader interacts with text. Reading can act as an independent type of speech activity and as a means of developing related language and speech skills and abilities. Reading acts as an independent type of speech activity when we read in order to obtain the necessary information from the text.
Objectives of Teaching Reading: to teach students to extract information from the text to the extent necessary to solve a specific speech task.
Reading can act as a means of formation and control of related speech skills and language skills, since:
The use of reading allows students to optimize the process of learning language and speech material;
Communicative-orienting tasks for the control of vocabulary and grammar, listening, writing and speaking require the ability to read and are built on the basis of written texts and instructions;
Exercises for the formation and development of all language and speech skills and abilities are also built based on the text and written instructions for exercises and tasks.
Depending on the target setting, the following types of reading are distinguished: viewing/search ( scanning ), introductory ( skimming ) studying ( intensive ). A mature ability to read implies both the possession of all types of reading, and the ease of transition from one of its types to another, depending on the change in the purpose of obtaining information from a given text.
This is a fluent, selective reading, reading the text in blocks for a more detailed acquaintance with its "focusing" details and parts. It usually takes place during the initial acquaintance with the content of a new publication in order to determine whether it contains information of interest to the reader, and on this basis to decide whether to read it or not. It can also end with the presentation of the results of what has been read in the form of a message or abstract.
When viewing reading, it is sometimes enough to familiarize yourself with the content of the first paragraph and the key sentence and view the text. The number of semantic pieces in this case is much less than in the study and introductory types of reading; they are larger, because the reader focuses on the main facts, operates in larger sections. This type of reading requires from the reader a fairly high qualification as a reader and possession of a significant amount of language material.
The completeness of understanding during viewing reading is determined by the ability to answer the question of whether this text is of interest to the reader, which parts of the text may be the most informative in this respect and should be further processed and comprehended with the involvement of other types of reading.
To teach viewing reading, it is necessary to select a number of thematically related text materials and create viewing situations. The speed of viewing reading should not be less than 500 words per minute, and learning tasks should be aimed at developing skills and abilities to navigate the logical and semantic structure of the text, the ability to extract and use the source text material in accordance with a specific communicative task.
2.2. Introductory reading is a cognitive reading, in which the entire speech work (book, article, story) becomes the subject of the reader's attention without setting to receive specific information. This is reading “for oneself”, without prior special installation for the subsequent use or reproduction of the information received.
During introductory reading, the main communicative task that the reader faces is to extract the basic information contained in it as a result of a quick reading of the entire text, that is, to find out what issues and how are resolved in the text, what exactly is said in it according to the data. questions, etc. It requires the ability to distinguish between primary and secondary information. This is how we usually read works of art, newspaper articles, popular science literature, when they are not the subject of special study. The processing of text information is carried out sequentially and involuntarily, its result is the construction of complex images of what is read. At the same time, deliberate attention to the linguistic components of the text, elements of analysis are excluded.
The pace of introductory reading should not be below 180 for the English language.
For practice in this type of reading, relatively long texts are used, which are easy in terms of language, containing at least 25-30% of redundant, secondary information.
2.3. studying reading provides for the most complete and accurate understanding of all the information contained in the text and its critical reflection. This is a thoughtful and unhurried reading, which involves a purposeful analysis of the content of the text being read, based on the linguistic and logical connections of the text. Its task is also to develop the student's ability to independently overcome difficulties in understanding a foreign text. The object of "study" in this type of reading is the information contained in the text, but not the language material. Learning reading is characterized by a greater number of regressions than other types of reading - re-reading parts of the text, sometimes with a clear pronunciation of the text to oneself or aloud, establishing the meaning of the text by analyzing language forms, deliberately highlighting the most important theses and repeatedly saying them aloud in order to better remember content for subsequent retelling, discussion, use in the work. It is studying reading that teaches a careful attitude to the text.
Although learning reading unfolds at a leisurely pace, its approximate lower limit should be pointed out, which is 50-60 words per minute.
For this type of reading, texts are selected that have cognitive value, informative significance and present the greatest difficulty for this stage of learning, both in terms of content and language.
2.4. search engine reading focused on reading newspapers and literature in the specialty. Its purpose is to quickly find quite specific data (facts, characteristics, numerical indicators, indications) in a text or in an array of texts. It is aimed at finding specific information in the text. The reader knows from other sources that such information is contained in this book, article. Therefore, based on the typical data structure of texts, he immediately turns to certain parts or sections, which he subjects to studying reading without detailed analysis. In exploratory reading, the extraction of semantic information does not require discursive processes and occurs automatically. Such reading, like viewing, presupposes the ability to navigate the logical and semantic structure of the text, select from it the necessary information on a specific problem, select and combine information from several texts on individual issues.
In educational conditions, search reading acts more like an exercise, since the search for this or that information, as a rule, is carried out at the direction of the teacher. Therefore, it is usually an accompanying component in the development of other types of reading.
As for the sequence of types of reading, two options are used in the practice of teaching: a) introductory - studying - viewing - searching; b) studying - introductory - viewing - search. The latter option seems to be more effective, as it prepares all other types of reading to a greater extent.
2.2. Stages of working with text. Formation of skills for extracting information from the text.
Working with text consists of several stages that allow you to build the order of studying the text and processing information.
2.2.1 Pretext tasks (anticipation stage) are aimed at modeling the background knowledge necessary and sufficient for the reception of a particular text, at eliminating the semantic and linguistic difficulties of its understanding and at the same time at the formation of reading skills and abilities, the development of an “understanding strategy”. They take into account the lexical-grammatical, structural-semantic, linguo-stylistic and linguo-cultural features of the text to be read.
Goals: define (formulate) a speech task for the first reading; create the necessary level of motivation among students; reduce the level of language and speech difficulties.
Exercises and tasks:
1. Working with the header : determine the subject of the text; a list of issues raised in it; keywords and expressions.
2. Use of associations associated with the author's name:
- What genre is the text?
- Who will be the main character, his profession, nationality?
- Where and at what time can the action take place?
3. Formulation of assumptions about the subject of the text based on the available illustrations.
4. With new vocabulary and definition of the subject matter/problematics of the text based on a linguistic guess.
6. Answer questions before reading the text.
2.2.2. AT text assignments students are offered communicative settings, which contain instructions on the type of reading (studying, introductory, viewing, search), speed and the need to solve certain cognitive and communicative tasks in the process of reading.
Goals: control the degree of formation of various language skills and speech skills; continue the formation of relevant skills and abilities.
Preliminary questions must meet a number of requirements:
They are built on the basis of actively learned vocabulary and grammatical structures that are not used in the text in this form;
The answer to the preliminary question should reflect the main content of the relevant part of the text and should not be limited to any one sentence from the text;
Taken together, the questions should represent an adapted interpretation of the text.
In addition, students perform a number of exercises with the text, which ensure the formation of skills and abilities corresponding to a particular type of reading.
Exercises and tasks:
1. Find / select / read / connect / paste:
Answers to the proposed questions;
Confirmation of the correctness / logic of statements;
A suitable heading for each of the paragraphs;
Suitable sentences missing in the text;
Sentences with the following words / grammatical phenomena;
Description of appearance / place / event / attitude;
2. Guess:
About the meaning of the word in context;
Which definition / translation most accurately reflects the meaning of the word in this context;
How events will develop in chapter 2 / parts of the text;
2.2.3. Post-text assignments designed to test reading comprehension, to control the degree of formation of reading skills and the possible use of the information received in future professional activities.
Goals: use the situation of the text as a linguistic (speech), meaningful support for the development of skills in oral and written speech.
Exercises and tasks:
1. Refute my statements or agree with them.
2.Prove that...
3. Describe…
4. Say which of the following statements most accurately conveys the main idea of the text. Justify your answer.
5. With which of these expressions would the author agree.
6. Make a plan for the text, highlighting its main thoughts.
7. Tell the text on behalf of the main character / observer, etc.
8. Briefly state the content of the text / make an annotation / give a review of the text.
9. Think of a new end to the text.
Teaching reading should be as close as possible to real-life conditions in which students may need these skills.
Search reading skills ( scanning ) in real life, we use it when we watch a television program or an advertising brochure, get acquainted with the menu, the table of contents of a book, look up an unfamiliar word in a dictionary, a phone number in a directory, an item in a catalog, information about the arrival of a train on a railway station display, etc.
Reading informative texts of a popular science and socio-political nature, such as: a page on the Internet, an article in a newspaper, a report at a scientific conference, as a rule, begins with an acquaintance with their general content. In order to determine the main idea of the text, the reader needs to apply the skill of introductory reading ( skimming ).
Often in everyday life, it is important for us to obtain detailed information about a phenomenon or event that interests us, which requires the ability to read with a full understanding of the content. ( intensive reading ). Usually in this way we read fiction (stories, poems, fairy tales, etc.), popular science articles, instructions, recipes, letters, specialty books, etc. This type suggests that the reader can stop at the passages that interest him, re-read and analyze them. draw conclusions.
Obviously, not every text can be used to develop certain reading skills. In a learning situation, when choosing a text, one should proceed from the skills that the teacher and his students are developing within the framework of the topic being studied.
3. Techniques and methods for effectively teaching various types of reading .
Tasks for the text should be adequate to the developed skills. Some of the existing practices for effective learning The different types of reading are shown in the following table.
Introductory reading |
Learning Reading |
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question-answer exercises |
question-answer exercises |
question-answer exercises |
multiple choice |
short notes |
|||
correction |
correction |
filling in gaps |
drawing addition |
naming |
finding similarities and differences |
addition exercise |
forecasting |
comparison |
filling in the gaps |
correction |
quiz |
multiple choice |
comparison |
finding similarities and differences |
|
planning |
multiple choice |
filling in the gaps |
true/false statements |
division of text into paragraphs |
short notes |
information recoding |
filling in the table |
resequencing |
drawing addition |
"mosaic" |
|
generalization |
quiz (quiz) |
listing |
|
true/false statements |
true/false statements |
comparison |
|
filling in the table |
semantic mapping |
3.1 . Quiz/Quiz Reception ( quiz )
Texts of a country-specific nature are now taking an increasing place in the process of teaching foreign languages. Thanks to such texts, students get acquainted with the realities of the country of the language being studied, receive additional knowledge in the field of geography, education, culture, etc. The content of regional studies texts should be significant for schoolchildren, have a certain novelty, whether it is general information about educational institutions, about the state system , about children's and youth organizations of the country of the language being studied or about the peculiarities of speech behavior and etiquette.
An important link in the learning process is the control of reading comprehension. Forms of control can be both traditional (for example: answering questions about the content of the text, finding geographical names in the text on a geographical map, a brief retelling of the text, etc.), and non-traditional (such forms of control include, first of all, a test). The test takes a little time and allows you to simultaneously check all the students in the class who are placed in equal conditions, i.e. they work at the same time with the same volume and complexity of material.
American scientists, being the pioneers in the field of foreign language testing, distinguish between objective and subjective tests. In objective tests, the determination of the correctness of the answer is carried out mechanically, according to a pre-prepared key. In subjective tests, it is based on the opinion of the testers.
Objective tests are built on the principle of choosing an answer from a number of proposed ones (what is called the multiple-choice technique). The test, according to V. A. Kokkota, has several names: “test”, “test control work”, “quiz”.
The quiz algorithm is as follows:
1st stage - implementation of frontal control through the written execution of quiz tasks with symbols (for example: 1a, 2b, 3c, etc.);
Stage 2 - presenting the key and checking the work by the students themselves, followed by grading (9 - 10 correct answers - grade "5", 7-8 correct answers - grade "4", 5 - 6 correct answers - grade "3") ;
Stage 3 - statements of 2 - 3 students in the form of a micromonologue using a quiz as a reference signal or without it.
Practice shows that the systematic use of quizzes when working with texts of a country-specific nature provides quite high level assimilation of realities, national-specific information. Being accessible to all levels of secondary school, the quiz is another effective exercise that stimulates independent work of students, developing the ability to succinctly present the main linguistic and cultural information presented in the text.
3.2. Semantic map method ( Mind -m apping )
When looking for ideas, we do not think about the construction of the text, the structure of the story, style, spelling. Associations flow freely, turn into keywords, the first relationships are outlined. At this stage, based on the main word, the theme, history is revealed in associations. Only after that a sentence is formed, the text is structured. The choice of the main word can be decisive. It should be figurative, correspond to the mood, state, interests and capabilities of the speaker or writer, and serve as an incentive for subsequent communicative activity. Only with such an approach to solving the problem is it possible to fully manifest oneself, one's abilities, one's individuality.
The Mind-mapping method (“semantic map”), developed by T. Buzan, is a working, mental, creative tool. It is suitable as a support both for collecting and organizing thoughts, and for planning, developing associative thinking, solving problems, asking questions, etc. The Mind-mapping method is a simple technology for recording thoughts, ideas, conversations. Recording occurs quickly, associatively, in the form of "chaos" on paper. The topic should be directly in the center of the sheet of paper and be in the center of vision at any time. Thus, we look at a picture or navigate in an unfamiliar area, starting from the center, looking around in all directions.
The essence, structure and traditional design of Mind-mapping can be represented as follows (Fig. 1).
This structure has its advantages.
memorability order of thought main branch additional branches
benefits sequence
Design rules
Application technique
help with lesson preparation size font color
for exams
The advantages of using the thought visualization method are as follows:
· the main idea is clearly defined;
· the interconnections of many concepts and elements are easily recognized and become obvious;
· associative thinking develops, repetition is faster and more efficient;
· the map can be supplemented, edited later;
· cards are easily restored when remembered.
Mind-Mapping is an individual product of one person or one group. If students learn to represent a topic using MM, they will continue to willingly use this technique in the future. Mind-Mapping expresses their individual abilities, creates space for their creative abilities to manifest.
Drafting Mind - Map provides for the following steps:
1. In the center of the sheet, the board is written theme.
2. Students can say whatever they can think of about the topic. The teacher writes these concepts, associations on one side of the board. The independence of students is obvious here, there is no censorship, no evaluation, whose idea is better or worse.
3. After everyone has spoken on the topic, you can jointly determine the keywords.
4.From central theme depart the main branches, which are recorded by other keywords.
5. On branches from these keywords, all the other ideas mentioned above are ordered. It is possible that in this case, students will have more new ideas, which are also recorded. If a number of ideas do not fit the designated keywords, separate keywords should be defined for them.
6. The main and side branches can be numbered, highlighted in color, some words can be replaced by symbols, pictures, etc. by agreement.
Possibilities of using " Mind - Mapping » when working with text.
In the classroom and in other academic subjects, one has to not only read the text, understand the content, highlight the main thing, but also retell it. In this case, the following method of working with Mind-Mapping is possible :
1. Students look at the text;
2. The text is read a second time in paragraphs. Students underline the most important statements or key words.
3. With the help of the selected concepts, the first Mind-Map is compiled. The topic is in the center, the underlined words are grouped around.
4. The text is read for the last time, and Mind-Mapping is supplemented with clarifications in the form of branches from keywords.
3.3. Reception of restoration / filling in gaps ( close )
This is a technique for working with connected text, in which every nth word is deliberately omitted (n ranges from 5 to 10). The task of students is to restore the deformed text, to pick up the missing ones in meaning, based on the context or the usual combination of words. The cloze technique can only be used to develop the ability to read with a complete understanding of the information, since filling in the gaps is impossible without understanding all the details listed in the text. For example, students receive a text in which every ninth word is missing. The task of the students is to fill in the gaps with suitable words.
3.4. Reception of division into categories ( categorizing )
This technique involves the grouping of linguistic or semantic elements according to designated categories or the definition of these categories. Categorizing can be used to develop all kinds of reading.
3.5. Reception « mosaic » (Jig-saw reading)
This technique was developed by Professor Elliot Aronson in 1978. This method of work is based on the division of the "information bank", i.e. text to read. After getting acquainted with a certain part of the information, students exchange it and restore the general content of the text. Students work in groups to work on the text. The whole team can work on the same material. But at the same time, each member of the group receives a topic that he develops with particular care and becomes an expert in it. Meetings of experts from different groups are held. Then everyone reports to their group on the work done. Everyone needs to listen carefully to each other, take notes. On the final stage The teacher can ask any student in the group a question about the text. Or students pass an individual control section, which is evaluated. The results are summarized. The team with the most points will be awarded.
Sample tasks for groups on cards:
True/false (true or false).
Find in the text (find in the text).
Answer the questions.
Put the sentences in the correct order. etc/
When teaching reading, it is not enough just to correctly select or develop tasks for the text. It is also important to prepare students for reading.
Working with text is usually carried out in three stages: pre-text, text and post-text.
At the pre-text stage, preparation for reading is carried out, i.e. removal of language difficulties, familiarization with the topic and socio-cultural concepts and realities mentioned in the text. An important condition for the successful further work with the text is the creation of a friendly atmosphere in the classroom, so the teacher at the pre-text stage should interest students, involve them in the work, thereby creating positive motivation. At this stage, the teacher can use the following work methods: brainstorming, prediction / prediction, associations with an illustration or title of the text, identifying students' knowledge on the issues raised in the text, answering questions, etc.
The text stage includes tasks that students perform directly while reading. It is at this stage that communicative reading skills develop, and therefore it is the longest in time and may include several tasks, for example: filling out a table, drawing up a text plan, choosing a title for the text, filling in the gaps, correct / incorrect statements, matching pictures with sentences from the text , logical regrouping of sentences, division of text into paragraphs, etc. These tasks allow you to test reading comprehension.
The purpose of the post-text stage is to integrate reading with productive communication skills, namely speaking and writing, i.e. Students apply the knowledge gained during reading in various speech situations. As tasks, you can organize a discussion, a role-playing game, a presentation, conduct an opinion poll, write a letter, an essay, a resume, an essay, a poem.
Conclusion
From the foregoing, we can conclude that reading is an integral part of communicative activity, therefore, it is necessary to constantly increase students' motivation for learning to read through the introduction of new technologies and the activation of already proven methods and techniques.
At all levels of education, their goals and objectives are set for each type of speech activity, and, in particular, for reading.
After analyzing the results of teaching reading over the past three years, we can conclude that due to the introduction of new technologies, the percentage of quality and absolute progress is growing.
Bibliographic list:
1. Weissburg M.L., Blokhina S.A. Learning to understand a foreign text when reading as a search activity//Foreign languages at school. - 1997. - No. 2. – p.33
2. Kokkota V. A. Linguodidactic testing. - M., 1989.
3. Milrud R.P., Goncharov A.A. Theoretical and practical problems of teaching the understanding of the communicative meaning of a foreign text//Foreign languages at school. -2003. - No. 1. – p.12
4. New pedagogical and Information Technology in the education system / ed. E.S. Polat. – M.; Publishing Center "Academy", 2000.
5. Oshchepkova T.V., Prolygina M.M., Starkova D.A. Techniques for teaching various types of reading//Foreign languages at school. - 2005. - No. 3. - p.14.
6. Useinova N.V. Techniques for involving students in interactive activities in English lessons // Foreign Languages at School. - 2005. - No. 6. – p.49
Attachment 1
Reception quiz when learning
exploratory reading
Text 1 country and people
There are fifty states in the United States of America. Two of them, Alaska and Hawaii, are not connected to the other states. The US is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the west, by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, by the Caribbean
Sea and the Gulf of Mexico in the south. In the north are Great
lakes. Its area is over 9 m sq km.
The United States is a large country with many different natural wonders. It "goes from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the islands of Hawaii in the Pacific, and from cold, snowy northern Alaska to sunny Florida in the southeast, (the US has almost every kind of weather. Also, it has many kinds of land - rocky coasts, dry empty deserts, powerful rivers, wide plains and grasslands, lakes of all sizes, high mountains, great forests, sunny beaches, and lands of endless winter.
More than 250 million people live in the US. But the country is very big, so there is still a lot of open space and natural scenery outside the cities. Americans have tried to save many of the most beautiful wild areas of the United States. There are a lot of parks, forests and wildlands where you can enjoy the beauty and power of wild America. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite Valley, and Yellowstone are among the most famous.
Many rivers cross the United States. But the greatest is the mighty Mississippi. Native Americans called it "the father of waters". It begins quietly in the north of the country and ends in the Gulf of Mexico, nearly four thousand miles 1 (6,400 km) away. On its journey to the sea, the Mississippi travels through several states, and becomes larger and more powerful, it brings water to farmlands. And the Mississippi has been an important waterway since early times, when native Americans traveled on the river in canoes. Among other big rivers are the Colorado and the Missouri. The Colorado River rises in the Rocky Mountains or the Rockies that stretch from Alaska down almost to the south of the country. Another big mountain chain is the Appalachians in the east also running from north to south.
The Grand Canyon is one of America's main tourist attractions. It is so big that you must go there yourself to feel its true size and beauty. The Colorado River formed the Grand Canyon over millions of years. Slowly the river cut down through hard rock. Today, the canyon is one mile deep and 277 miles (363 km) long. It's interesting that there are different kinds of plants and animals on opposite sides of the canyon. The south side is dry and desert country. The north side has tall forests.
The United States is a young country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old. It is sometimes, in fact, called the "New World". Over the last four hundred years millions of people have come to start a new life in this “New World”.
Americans are not afraid of new ideas. They built the first skyscrapers and they put the first man on the Moon. They like to be modern. They like exciting, modern cities, new houses, and new cars.
At the same time, Americans love old things. They like to visit historic houses and museums. They build old pioneer houses and remember the days of the "Wild West" Americans are interested in old traditions, but they are good at making new traditions too.
The people of the United States are a mixture of many different nationalities. Every American schoolchild learns that the United States is the big "melting pot" of countries. In a melting pot, different metals are melted together to make a new metal. The United States is like a melting pot for people. In the past, people from many different European countries came to the US and made one country out of many. In one city you can find people whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents came from China, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, and every European country. These different people brought to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs and traditions. The Germans brought Christmas trees. The I rish brought St. Patrick's Day celebrations. The Scots brought Hallowe'en.
1. Which states are not connected to the other ones?
a) Florida and Hawaii; b) Alaska and Hawaii; c) Utah and Alaska.
2. How many square kilometers is the area of the USA?
a) about 8 m;" b) over 10 m; c) over 9 m.
3. Where are the Appalachian Mountains situated?
a) in the east; b) in the west; c) in the north.
4. What river do native Americans call “the father of waters”?
a) the Mississippi; b) the Colorado ; c) the Missouri
5. Where are the Rocky Mountains situated?
a) in the east; b) in the west; c) in the south.
6. What river formed the Grand Canyon?
a) the Mississippi; b) the Colorado ; c) the Missouri.
7. Where are the five Great Lakes located?
a) between the USA and Canada; b) between the USA and Mexico.
8.
What is the population of the USA?
a) about 206 m; b) more than 236 m; c) more than 256 m.
9. What is the nickname of the USA?
a) “hot dog”; b) “melting pot”; c) "the old world".
key: 1b, 2c, 3a, 4a, 5b, 6b, 7a, 8c, 9b.
Annex 2
Reception close in teaching reading
with full understanding
Text 1 The cat
Our cats were first tamed in Egypt.
There ___ many kinds of cats: white cats, black cats, ___ cats, red cats$ cats with long tails, cats ___ bushy tails, cats with no tails at all. ___ are clean and pretty. They are very wise, ___ can find their way anywhere. You can make ___ friends with cats, but they are not so ___ as dogs. They are more shy and independent. ___ cat has a nice coat. It is made ___ fur, and the fur is very thick and ___. The cat's feet have sharp claws. It can ___ them in, then its paws are soft. The ___ eyes are green and yellow. It can see ___ the dark and in the light. The light ___ the day is too strong for its eyes, ___it often shuts them. But at night, when ___ is only a little light, it opens its ___ very wide. When the cat is happy, it ___. It says, “Purr, purr.”
1) Write the suitable word in each gap.
key: are, gray, with, cats, and, great, loving, the, of, warm, pull, cat's, in, of, and, there, eyes, sings.
(if students use a word different from what the key is giving, but suitable for the context, it shouldn't be considered a mistake.)
Annex 3
Reception categorizing when learning
introductory reading
1. ransom
Stars: Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Lili Taylor
Director: Ron Howard
Gibson plays millionare airline whose perfect family life is hijacked when kidnappers snatch his son and demand $2 mln ransom. He agrees to pay, but when the drop goes wrong, Mullen appears on TV to offer the money as a bounty on their heads – dead or alive.
Despite the fact that his distraught wife (Russo), the FBI and the public moral majority improve him to reverse his decision, so Mullen stands firm, believing that it is the only way to save his son’s life. As the stakes rise, on the other side of the fence, Mullen’s powerful frustration is mirrored by cop-turned kidnapper Jimmy Shaker (Sinise), who can only watch hopelessly as his perfect crime crumbles before his eyes. (1997)***
2.Daylight
Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman
Director: Rob Cohen
A gigantic explosion rips through the commuter tunnel that acts umbilical cord between New Jersey and Manhattan, sealing both ends. There seems little hope for the handful of survivors trapped under the Hudson River, especially when water begins to gush in by the gallon. Only ex-Emergency Medical Chief Kit Latura (Stallone) can save the day, and perhaps even exorcise a few past ghosts in the process. (1998)***
3.Overboard
Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russel
Director: Garry Marshall
A spoil heiress (Goldie Hawn) loses her memory when she falls of her luxury yacht. When she wakes up in hospital, a carpenter (Kurt Russel) who she has cheated claims her as his wife and takes her home to look after his unruly brood of children. (1987)****
Movie Rating: ***** Brilliant, **** Very Good, *** Worth Watching,
1)Read the brief descriptions of the films which are above. Define what genre each film belongs to.
1) Read the extracts from very famous books which are below. Define to what book each extract belongs and what genre it is.
1."The prince began to take off his fine clothes, and Tom took off his old clothes and put on the clothes of the prince. Tom looked at the prince as he stood there dressed in Tom"s clothes. He had seen someone very like him before. Where had he seen him? "Come and look at us in the glass!" cry the prince. They were just like each other."
2. "I had slept for many hours. When I awoke it was just daylight. I tried to get up from the ground, but I could not move! My arms and feet were held down to the ground with strings. 1 1 heard some noise around me, but I could see nothing. In a little time I felt something alive moving on my foot, then it came over my body and up to my face. Turning my eyes down as much as 1 could, I saw a man. He was less than 15 centimetres high."
3. “Alice and her big sister were sitting on the grass. Her sister was reading a book, but Alice had nothing to read … She was too sleepy… Just then, a white rabbit ran by, very near to her. That does not happen every day, but Alice did not wonder about it. But she did wonder when the rabbit took a watch out of its pocket and looked at it."
4. "At seven o" clock on a hot evening in the Seeonee hills, Father Wolf woke up. There was a little animal at the mouth of the cave." & Tabaqui, the jackal. The wolves of India don "t like Tabaqui. He makes trouble, Father Wolf could see from Tabaqui" s eyes that he wanted to make trouble now. "Shere Khan ["ka:n], the Big One, has changed his hunting grounds," Tabaqui said."
5."There were 150 places at the table. Each knight 2 had his name written in his place. There were one hundred and twenty-eight knights at the table. As time went on other brave and good knights came, and King Arthur gave them places. One place was not filled for a long time. That place was for a knight who had never done any bad thing to anyone. It was called the "Seat Perilous ["peretas] if a bad man sat in it, he would die After many years Sir Galahad ["gaelahad] came and was given that place."
Key: 1) “The Prince and the Pauper”-an adventure novel; 2) "Gulliver's Travels" - an adventure novel; 3)”Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”- a fairy-tale; 4) "The Jungle Book" - a fairy-tale; 5)”King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table” – a legend.
Task: Read the instructions and define what units they belong to.
1. Avoid touching the hot metal parts of the unit. Slices of bread in the unit may burn. For this reason, do not use the unit near flammable objects. Do not operate the unit lying in its side – this could cause a fire! Place the appliance in a clear space to allow the necessary air to circulate.
2. Unplug the unit before filling it with water. When you finish the work, unplug the unit and empty out any remaining water in tank. Avoid any contacts with the steam jet to prevent burns.
3. Do not use the unit if you have wet hands or bare feet. Never move the unit while it is in use. Unplug the unit or remove it from its base when filling it or cleaning after use. Fit the appropriate plug according to the instructions.
Key: 1. - a toaster; 2. – an iron; 3. - a kettle.
Appendix 4
Forecasting technique ( predicting )
in teaching exploratory reading
SUMMER CRUISING 2008 7 NIGHT CRUISES FROM JUST £969 Island cruises is a joint venture between Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and First Choice offering you a new style in cruising!! It "s a more relaxed, informal and innovative style of cruising. The new concept is "ad-lib" dining - where you are able to sit where you like and dine at a time that suits you! Still, there is an la carte restaurant on board, if you"d prefer to reserve your dining or those special occasions. When it "s time to dine you can dress up as much or as little as you like with the "smart casual" dress code to suit the "smart casual" atmosphere onboard. Attractions onboard the 40.000 tons Island Escape include a gym and the health club, swimming pool with sunbathing decks, 6 bars. 3 restaurants, duty-free shopping, cyber-centre, plus a whole range of activities and entertainment including the onboard nightclub and casino. All cabins provide a high standard of comfort. Both cruises offer two journey of discovery - a chance to visit a variety of the best destinations in the Mediterranean coupled with numerous shore excursions. |
pretext stage .
Task: Look at the titles of these leaflets and say what sort of advertisements we are going to read today.
Text stage .
Task: Look through the advertisements of different resorts and fill in the table if the information is provided.
The name of the place |
health club/centre, sports activities (put “+” if any) |
number of restaurants |
||||
Posttext stage .
Task: Role-play – act out a situation.
You are a travel agent. You have received a call from one of the clients. Give the info he/she asks for. Try your best to persuade the client to travel with your company.
You are a traveller. You have looked through the ads of different resorts and have chosen one of them, which you'd like to visit. You telephone the travel agent to confirm the information about the price, duration and recreation activities.
AMERICAN FOOD AND DRINK
(by Terry Tomsha)
What is "American" food? The answer is that it is part Italian, part British, part German, part Mexican, part Chinese... When people from other countries came to live in the US, they brought different cooking traditions. Some of them opened restaurants. Today Americans enjoy food from all over the world. Over the years some foreign cases changed a little. Donuts were originally from Holland. In 1847 a young American boy told his mother that her donuts were never cooked in the middle. He cut out the centres, and his mother cooked them - and they were very tasty!
Maybe the US is most famous for "fast foods". The first fast food restaurants served hamburgers, but now they serve other kinds of food too. Inside there is often a "salad bar", where you can help yourself to as much salad as you want.
Americans eat a lot, and when they go to a restaurant, they don't expect to be hungry afterwards. Most restaurants will put a lot of food on your plate - sometimes it can be too much. But if you can't finish it all, don't worry: they will give you a "doggy bag" and you can take it home.
Most Americans now have a light breakfast instead of the traditional eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice and coffee. But on weekends there is more time, and a large late breakfast or early lunch ("brunch") is often eaten with family or friends.
Pretext stage .
Task: Look at the title and say what the text can be about.
Text stage
Task 1: look through the text one more time and fill in the table about food which is really American
yes “+”, no “+” |
Task 2: What does “doggy bag” mean?
post-text stage :
Task: say why you think:
1) American food is part Italian, part British, part German, etc.;
2) much famous food in America is "fast food";
3) there are usually "salad bars" inside fast food restaurants;
4) restaurant people bring "doggy bags" to those who can't finish all
the food on their plates;
5) Americans now have a light breakfast.
Annex 5
Semantic map method
( Mind - mapping )
at learning studying reading
task: Read the text twice very attentively. And write out all the words which are associated with it. Mind the building of the “Mind-Map”!
“English VI” Text “Who Rules the Country”
English VII” text “The Printed Word”
“English VII” text “Danny's Story”
Appendix 6
Reception "mosaic" ( jig - saw reading ) when teaching learning reading
Text 1.
INTERNET AND MODERN LIFE
The Internet has already entered our ordinary life. Everybody knows that the Internet is a global computer network, which embraces a hundred of millions of users all over the world and helps us to communicate with each other.
Nobody knows exactly how many people use the Internet today, because there are hundreds of millions of users and their number is growing.
Nowadays the most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages. They can do it either they are at home or in the internet clubs or at work. Other popular services are reading news, telnet (telephony), working, gambling (gambling) and playing through the internet. etc. You can read the latest copy of your favorite newspaper while planning your night's TV viewing and ordering some cheap CDs from American discount disc store.
You can debate important problems on line, surf the net and get all sorts of information, enter the chat room with other Internet users , correspond with your friends , open your own web page (web site) and place there information about yourself.
You can send e-mail to someone you "ve never met before... Some people have "met" over the Internet and got married.
However, there are some problems. The most important problem is security. When you send an e-mail, your message can travel through many different networks and computers. The information can be changed. There are many encoding programs available. These programs are not perfect and can easily be cracked.
Another big and serious problem of the net is control. There is no effective control in the Internet, because a huge amount of information circulating through the net.
Pretext stage .
Task: What words can you associate with the word “Internet”.
Text stage.
card 1. true or false
1) The Internet isn't a global network. 2) The number of users is growing day by day. 3) There are not so many services on the Internet. 4) You can do shopping over the Internet. 5)Special encoding programs can help users to save their information.
card 2. Put in the correct order.
1)There are some problems with the Internet. 2) Most people use the net for sending e-mail. 3) Some people “find” each other through the Internet. 4) The Internet helps people to socialize with each other. 5) One can open his web page in the net.
card 3. Fill in the table
card 4. Make up the Mind Map.
card 5. Quiz
1)What is the Internet?
a) a global computer; b) a global network;
c) our life
2)What do people do with the Internet?
a)use; b) pay; c) play
3) What can people read on the Internet?
a) only newspapers; b) only books; c)everything
4) Why is security the most important problem?
a) messages can be lost; b) messages can be improved;
c)messages can be changed.
5) Why are encoding programs not perfect?
a) they can be broken down; b) they can be locked;
c) they can be opened
6) Why is control another big problem?
a) because of lack of information; b) because of lots of information;
c) because of rude users
post-text stage .
Task: discuss the following questions:
1) Have you got an Internet access?
2) Do you think it's useful?
3) Can the Internet help you do your homework?
4) What services are of great importance for you?
5) What are the advantages of e-mail/ on-line shopping?
6) Some people have made friends through the Internet.
7) Some people say that computers make us less sociable.
Text 2.
MORE ABOUT BRITISH AND RUSSIAN TRADITIONS
Every nation and every country has its own traditions and customs. In Britain traditions play a more important role in the life of people than in other countries. They say British people are very conservative. They are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. But when we speak about British traditions we always remember that there are four parts in Britain - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Traditions are different in these parts of the country.
You already know some of the English traditions and holidays. We hope you remember Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Hallowe'en which have also become traditional American holidays. Here are some more facts about old English traditions.
One of the old English legends says that London can be the capital of the country, rich and great until twelve black ravens live in the Tower of London. Each has got its name and the keepers carefully look after them. If one of the birds dies, another younger raven takes its place. Londoners believe this legend and always bring some food to give to the birds when they come to the Tower. The keepers cut the birds" wings a bit as they are afraid that they may fly away.
Another old English tradition is Guy Fawkes Day. Children go out into the streets on the 5th of November with figures like scarecrows. They stand in the streets and squares asking for the usual "Penny for the Guy". Then with the money they have collected they buy fireworks and burn the guy (the figure like a scarecrow) on their bonfire.
People watch fireworks and some people go to parties in the evening.
People in Russia have their own special traditions. One of them is Maslenitsa - the holiday, which lasts for a week, to say "goodbye" to winter. People celebrate it at the end, of February or at the beginning of March. During this holiday they celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring. In old times people usually cooked pancakes, had fires, burnt straw 1 scarecrows of winter, they sang songs and danced. Now during "Maslenitsa week" people always cook pancakes. They invite their friends, their nearest and dearest to see each other and eat pancakes with sour cream, fish, caviar or butter, sugar, honey.
Though different countries have different traditions and holidays people all over the world know some of them. They are - Easter, Christmas and New Year.
Card №1
task. Put in the correct order:
1. The keepers cut the birds' wings.
2. British people are conservative.
3. Children ask for the usual “Penny for the Guy”.
4. Other traditions are Easter, Christmas and New Year.
5. People celebrate the beginning of spring.
Card №2
task. True", "False" or "Don't Know".
1.Every country has its own traditions and customs.
2. There are no common traditions all over the world.
3.English people celebrate Maslenitsa.
4. There are some common holidays in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
5.London can be great until 10 black ravens live in the Tower.
6.English people celebrate Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th of November.
7.Russian people seldom eat pancakes with caviar now.
Card №3
task Divide the text into the logical parts and name them.
The Unknown Southern Land
Even in medieval times there were stories about a large continent in the Southern Hemisphere. But Europeans had never seen it. They wondered what it was like and whether it was inhabited. They called this land terra australis incognita, or "the unknown southern land" - Australia.
Nowadays when people speak of Australia they can mean three things: 1) Australia as a continent; 2) Australia as an island and 3) Australia as an independent country. Australia is the world "s largest island and its smallest continent. Asia is the continent nearest to Australia in the north. The icy shores of Antarctica lie to the south. New Zealand is to the east. To the west of Australia stretches the vast Indian Ocean.In the east the continent is washed by the Pacific Ocean.
Australia is a land of striking differences. In the center of the continent and in the west more than 50% of the land is desert - dry and uninhabited. There are three deserts there - the Great Sandy Desert, the Great Victoria Desert and the Gibson Desert, located between them. Naturally very few people live there. Most of them live on narrow coasts of the east and south-east. Main cities, where people live among tall office buildings, automobile plants and busy factories, are also located there.
In the north-east tropical forests cover the coast. In the mountains of the south-east -the snow lies for seven months of the year.
Australia is divided into six states and two territories.
New South Wales is Australia "s leading industrial state. Most people live along the east coast, and most of them are in Sydney. Sydney is also the largest city in Australia.
In Victoria most people live in the south. Melbourne is the capital of the state and the largest city. Sheep and wheat are the main products here. Citrous fruits, grapes, peaches and apricots are grown along the Murray River.
Queensland is Australia "s second largest state. Brisbane, its capital, is located on the east coast: Queensland has long beautiful sandy beaches. Its coast is a popular place for holidaymakers. The climate along the east coast is hot and humid. It is the corner tropical of Australia. Bananas and other tropical fruits are grown here. Most of the land in the south is too dry for farming. Some of Australia's most unproductive desert lands occupy the bigger part of the state.
The state of Western Australia is dry and inhospitable except the southwestern corner of the state. Nearly all of the state "s farms, sheep stations and fruit gardens are located there. The rest of the state is dry desert land with very few towns or lonely cattle stations.
South Australia is the third largest state. Most of South Australia's people, farms and industry are in the south-eastern part of the state. Adelaide is the capital and the largest city. Most of South Australia is too dry for farming. Farming very much depends on irrigation or underground water . Some of Australia's most unproductive desert lands occupy the greater part of the state. Wheat and fruit (apricots, pears, peaches, nectarines and grapes) are grown along the lower part of the Murray River.
Tasmania , the island state, is sometimes called the apple isle because it produces most of Australia"s apples. Tasmania is one of the few places in Australia that have enough rain all year. Tasmania is Australia"s leading producer of pears and berries of different kinds . Potatoes are also grown in some areas.
Northern Territory is the least populated and least developed part of Australia. Crocodiles still live in some of the swamps along the coast. Darwin is its capital and the only large settlement in the north. Alice Springs, generally called Alice or the Alice, is the only town in the south.
The capital of Australia is Canberra. The city doesn't belong to any state. It is located on the Australian Capital Territory(ACT), which occupies an area of 2,432 square kilometres.
Pretext stage .
Task: What do you know about Australia?
Text stage.
The class is divided into 4 groups of 3-4 people. Each group works on cards. Then there is an exchange of information between groups. As a test of understanding the text, I use the “quiz” technique (card 5)
card 1. True, false or don't know.
1)Australia is the largest continent in the world. 2)Australia is situated in the Southern Hemisphere. 3) Vast areas of desert cover most of Central and Western Australia. 4)Melbourne is the Capital of Victoria. 5) The official name of the country is the Commonwealth of Australia. 6)There are 6 states in Australia. 7)Tasmania's an island state.
card 2. Put in the correct order.
1)The capital of Australia is Canberra. 2) There are three deserts in Australia. 3)Queensland is popular with holidaymakers. 4)Tasmania is the apple isle. 5) When we speak about Australia we mean three things. 6)Darwin is the only large settlement.
card 3. Fill in the table: what are Australian states and territories famous for. Put “+” where necessary
Too dry land for |
The capital of Australia |
as main products |
The largest size |
||||||
card 4. Make up the Mind Map.
card 5. Quiz
1) What is the meaning of “ terra australis incognita?
a) a famous land; b) an unknown land;
c) a desert
2)How many great deserts are there in Australia?
a) 3 ; b) 4; c) 2
3) How many territories and states are there in Australia?
a) 7 and 2; b)6 and 2; c)2 and 6
4)Which state is famous for its fruit harvest?
a) Queensland; b) Tasmania;
c) Northern Territory.
5) Which state is famous for its holiday places?
a) Queensland; b) Tasmania;
c) Northern Territory.
6)Which state is the largest and the driest one in Australia?
a) South Australia; b) ACT;
c) Western Australia
7) Which state is the industrial centre?
a) South Australia; b) ACT;
c) New South Wales
8) Where is the capital of Australia situated?
a) South Australia; b) ACT;
c) Victoria
9) Where are sheep and wheat the main products?
a) Tasmania; b) ACT;
c) Western Australia
post-text stage .
Task: Get ready to speak about Australia.
The geographical position of the country;
Its main states and territories;
The main Australian cities;
The most and least populated areas;
Things the country produces.