Questions on Reading – 1/2 1.Note down all the problems you have with reading. 2.What is reading? 3.Why do you read? 4.How well do you understand what you read? 5.How well do you remember what you read? 6.What are your strengths as a reader? 7.What would you like to change most in the way you read?

Questions on Reading – 2/2 8.Do you ask yourself questions on the subject before you start? 9.When you read ISS study texts, how many pages per hour do you read? 10.Why do you read … pages per hour? 11.How many books and readers do you read every month? i.e. course books, ISS readers, novels, including other books not related to Development Study. 12.How many books and how many articles are you going to read for an average essay? How many for your Research Paper (RP)? Be explicit, mention a number for books and articles. 13.How many of these will be in the Reference section of your RP?

Facts to Remember 1.Average reading speeds are not natural 2.Skipping back: 90% is due to lack of skills 3.slow = 400 fixations per page (1 fixation for each word) fast = 100 per page (1 fixation= 4-6w). 4.ISS= 6p p/h  1p= 10’  500w in 10’  50w p/m 5.You can read faster than 500 wpm 6.The faster reader is able to understand 7.The faster reader will concentrate better 8.Words are better read in meaningful units

Causes of Reading Problems Most of us learned reading with the 1.“Alphabet Method” and/or 2.“Look and Say Method” (a voice speaks aloud in our minds)  Reading tends to be a very passive activity  We expect to understand everything the first time over.

Good Readers Mention several characteristics of good readers. Good readers are: 1.active, 2.goal-oriented, 3.read with questions in mind, 4.are fully involved.

Before You Start Reading Before starting to read, you have 4 tasks to do: 1.think 1.think up questions on the theme; 2.write 2.write down what you know; 3.reason 3.reason: what do you want from it?; 4.purpose 4.purpose: what are you going to do with it? The next page will help you to put this into practice. Take time (eg 4 mts per item, in other words: 4 x 4 mts.

Assumptions–Questions-Answers-Ask Yourself 1.Build assumptions: what is this about? This will hopefully fine-tune you with the theme. 2.Formulate questions that come to your mind regarding the themes and information you have seen so far. It will make you more purpose-driven. 3.Generate tentative answers, even if you cannot tell at this moment. It sharpens you in finding out key points. 4.Ask yourself: Do I agree? Do I recognize this? How can this be relevant to me? These questions involve you more.

The Process: Read a text 3 up to 4 times (1/2) What of the book/magazin/text are you going to use in order to build assumptions - formulate questions – generate answers – determine purpose?

The Process: Read a text 3 up to 4 times (1/2) 1.Writer, title, back cover, inside flap texts; ToC (table of contents), Bibliography. 2.Do a little research on who the author is, e.g. via Internet (Google, Wikipedia) or encyclopaedia. 3.Leaf through the pages you are going to read; read the titles and (sub-) headings. 4.The actual reading starts. Dependent on the level of difficulty of the text, your familiarity with the subject and the writer’s writing skill, it is easy to get lost in the print, the words, the sentences

The Process: Read a text 3 up to 4 times (2/2) 5.It may help you to discover the thread by reading the first sentence of each paragraph only, the so-called Topic Sentence. Skip the rest of the paragraph, and do so for a few pages. Now by looking back try to work out relationships in the text. When you have a rather firm grasp of the subject, take the next few pages or go to step 6. A more expanded variation is reading the Topic Sentene and the Terminator (last sentence) of each paragraph. 6.Once you have read the first sentences of each paragraph, read the other sentences. If well written this will support and expand the topic sentence, by giving examples or evidence.

The Basic Programme 1.A) 2-3 times a day: read something you enjoy for 15 minutes. B) record your reading speed and chart your progress. Essential if you want to make progress. 2.Speed. Push yourself gently. If your mind wanders, get it back on track. 3.Vocabulary. Do not look up words. Many will be explained or need not be fully known to still understand the text. 4.Comprehension. Read 20 minutes, then recite. The more you interact with the text, the more you will recall. 5.Set goals. 10% increase every week.

How to read university texts 1.[5 mts] - Read title, introduction, conclusion 2.[5-10 mts] – Reread title, introduction, all sub-headings, conclusion. 3.[10 mts] – Reread title, introduction, sub-headings, Topic Sentences (1 st- 2 nd sentences of paragraphs), bold/italicized words, conclusion. 4.Close the book. Write down what you remember. 5.Check against the book and add important information. 6.Work on vocabulary improvement in a separate note pad (e.g. for each course, one note pad)

Reading to Comprehend and Learn PSQ5R= Purpose, Survey, Question, 5xR= Read selectively, Recite, Reduce-record, Reflect, Review. 1.Purpose. Main ideas, main facts/figures, evidence, argument, examples, relations, methods. 2.Survey. What ideas, problems, questions are discussed. Read introduction, topic sentences, conclusion. 3.Question. E.g. turn headings into questions. Turn words at 1 above into questions. 4.Read selectively. See previous slides.

Reading to Comprehend and Learn 5.Recite. Close book, write down anwers to your questions. 6.Reduce-record. Make brief outline of the question and your anwers. 7.Reflect. Understanding and memory are increased when you elaborate the information. Reflect, compare, connect to experience. 8.Review. Recall using your own questions as stimuli. Every week.