Teaching Reading & Writing Latricia Trites, Ph.D. Academic Advisor Fulbright Yilan Project 2008-2009 An outline of the material from chapters 20-21: Brown, H.D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Terms and Concepts related to Teaching Reading Bottom-up processing Top-down (conceptually driven) processing Schema Theory (background knowledge) Content Schema Formal Schema Strategic Reading Extensive Reading Fluency and reading rate Role of Vocabulary Role of affect and culture

Genres of Written Language In other words, how many different types of reading do we encounter?

Characteristics of Written Language vs. Spoken Language Permanence Processing Time Distance (time and space) Orthography Complexity Vocabulary Formality

What do Good Readers Do?

Reading Comprehension Strategies Identify purpose for reading Use graphemic rules and patterns to help with bottom-up decoding Use silent reading to improve fluency (intermediate/advanced) Skim Scan Use semantic mapping Guess meaning Analyze vocabulary Distinguish literal/implied meanings Use discourse markers

Types of Classroom Reading Oral Silent Intensive Extensive

Tips for Teaching Reading Balance authenticity with readability Encourage the development of reading strategies Include both bottom-up and top-down techniques Use SQ3R method (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review) Use Prereading, During reading, and Post reading phases Build Assessment into reading instruction

Tips for Teaching Vocabulary Prepare class time for teaching vocabulary Teach vocabulary in context Minimize the use of bilingual dictionaries Help develop vocabulary learning strategies (guessing meaning) Encourage “unplanned” vocabulary teaching

Reading Tasks Imitative Selective Interactive Extensive Reading aloud Copying (reproducing in writing) Multiple choice recognition Picture-cued identification Selective m/c grammar/vocabulary tasks Contextualized m/c Sentence-level cloze Matching tasks Grammar/vocabulary editing Picture-cued tasks (choose among…) Gap-filling (sentence completion) tasks Interactive Discourse level cloze reading comprehension questions Short answer responses Discourse editing tasks Scanning Re-ordering (sequencing) Responding to charts, graphs, diagrams Extensive Skimming Summarizing Responding in essay format Note taking, highlighting, etc. Outlining

Break-out Activity

Terms and Concepts Related to Teaching Writing Composing vs. Writing Process vs. Product Contrastive Rhetoric L1 vs. L2 Writing Authenticity of Writing (real vs. display) Responding to Student Writing Voice and Identity Types of Written Language (refer to reading segment) Characteristics of Written Language (refer to reading segment)

Types of Classroom Writing Performance Imitative Intensive Controlled Guided Dicto-comp Self-writing Journals Dialogue journals Display Real Academic Vocational/technical personal

What do Good Writers Do? Focus on Writing Goal (main idea) Gauge audience Take time to plan Let their ideas flow onto paper Follow general organizational plan as they write Get and use feedback Are not fixated on a particular surface structure Revise their work (willingly & efficiently) Make as many revisions as needed

Tips for Teaching Writing Teach effective writing strategies Balance both process and product Allow for cultural and literary backgrounds Connect reading and writing Provide many opportunities for authentic writing Use prewriting, drafting, revising stages Provide opportunities for interaction (pair/group work) Respond to writing sensitively Provide clear instructions on rhetorical and formal conventions of writing

Assessing Writing USE A RUBRIC Create a checklist to ensure that you FAIRLY evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, not the character or attitude of the writer.

Writing Tasks Imitative Responsive Extensive Intensive Handwriting letters, words, punctuation Keyboarding Copying Listening cloze Picture-cued writing exercises Completing forms/questionnaires Converting numbers and abbreviations to words Spelling tasks One-word dictation Intensive Dictation of phrases/simple sentences Dicto-comp Grammatical transformation exercises Picture descriptions Use vocabulary in a sentence Ordering task Short –answer tasks Sentence completion tasks Responsive Paraphrasing Guided writing (question/answer) Paragraph construction Responding to a reading or lecture Extensive Essay writing tasks Task in different types of writing (narrative, description, argument, etc.) Tasks in genres of writing (lab reports, opinion essays, research papers

References Brown, H.D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education. Richard-Amato, P.A. (2003). Making it happen: From interactive to participatory language teaching theory and practice (3rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.