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MODULE 2. DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

PURPOSE OF READING

The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already
know. If you don’t know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your
mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don’t retain much.

For example, try reading these numbers:

7516324 This is hard to read and remember.

751-6324 This is easier because of chunking.
123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure.

Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a
framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information.

1. Improves comprehension
Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for
holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques.

2. Develops a broad background

Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines
and books. Become interested in world events.

3. Helps to become familiar with the structure of paragraphs and method of

organization
Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often,
the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details.
Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic. Is the
material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or
hierarchical?

4. Helps to identify the type of reasoning

Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building,
induction or deduction, systems thinking?

5. Improves one’s ability to anticipate and predict

Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and
questions. If you’re right, this reinforces your understanding. If you’re wrong, you make
adjustments quicker.

6. Creates motivation and interest

Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your
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interest, the greater your comprehension.

7. Helps you pay attention to supporting cues

Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter,
or the first sentence in each section.

8. Builds a good vocabulary.

For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your
vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary
and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of
the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings.

KINDS OF READING

Prereading

Reading is not simply identifying words on a page. It is connecting with what is

found on the page with what is known. Certainly you learn new things from your reading,
but you also learn them only by building on information and ideas you already have.
Aware readers draw on their prior knowledge, what they know of a topic before reading the
selection. It is very important to connect what you are reading with the world you are
familiar with. Prereading is thinking in advance about a topic before you read that helps
you prepare for the words on the page.

Skimming

Certain reading tasks require the reader to skim material quickly. Skimming is
reading by the signposts or clues in the selection. It is fast reading in which the reader
reads headings and topic sentences and spot-reads parts of paragraphs. By identifying
these markers, he skips materials which are not of immediate interest to him. Skimming
can also be very effective as a preliminary step to reading a selection more thoroughly. It
gives the reader an overview of the material (Villamin, Salazar, & Gatmaitan, 1998).

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or ‘gist’. Run
your eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to
speed on a current business situation. It’s not essential to understand each word when
skimming. It is the technique you use when you’re going through a newspaper or
magazine: you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail.

Examples of Skimming:

 The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day)

 Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more
detail)
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 Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

Scanning

Scanning is glancing through a page to locate a particular kind of information or

specific focus. For example, a traveler may scan the shipping or flight schedule to make
travel plans. Or a television viewer may scan the TV guide to be on time for a movie
showing on the HBO or Cinemax. Scanning requires the reader first to identify the key
words or phrases related to the information sought and then to focus attention on just
those words as he glances over a page (Villamin, Salazar, & Gatmaitan, 1998).

Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece of information you need.
Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific details you
require. If you see words or phrases that you don't understand, don't worry when
scanning.

Examples of Scanning
Looking for information like:
 a name in the phone book
 the introduction or preface of a book
 the first or last paragraphs of chapters
 the concluding chapter of a book
 the “What’s on TV” section of your newspaper
 a train/airplane schedule
 a conference guide

Extensive Reading

Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and

includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive
reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures. Do not worry if
you do not understand each word.

Examples of Extensive Reading

 The latest marketing strategy book
 A novel you read before going to bed
 Magazine articles that interest you

Intensive Reading

Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It

includes very close accurate reading for detail. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the
details of a specific situation. In this case, it is important that you understand each word,
number or fact.
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In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general idea,
but then go back to read in detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you understand all the
words used.

Examples of Intensive Reading

 A bookkeeping report
 An insurance claim
 A contract

Reading for the Main Idea

Here is how to find key ideas in sentences:

 Ask who or what the sentence is about.
 Ask what the person or object is doing or what is happening to that person or
object.
 Learn to separate minor details from the main idea. Many words in sentences
describe things about the subject of the sentence and merely add details around it. If
you ask when, what kind, where or why, you will find the details. This makes it easier
to separate the key idea.

Example:

(why) (what kind) (where) (when)

Because of laws, most foreign automobiles in the United States now offer
(how)
safety features at no extra charge.

The starting point for determining the key idea in a sentence is finding who or what
the sentence is about and what the person or object is doing.

Implied Main Idea

Sometimes paragraphs do not state exactly what the topic is. Instead, you must
decide on the main idea yourself. To do that, you must add up all the details the writer
gives and then state the main idea in your own words.

When the writer has not stated a main idea exactly, but instead suggests the idea to
you through information in the paragraph, the idea is implied. An implied main idea is one
that is suggested.

Here is how to state the main idea in your own words.

 Try to figure out what all the details in the paragraph are trying to show, not just a
few of them.
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 Make a complete sentence that names a person or an object and tells what the
person or object is doing.
 Do not look at just a few sentences in the paragraph to find out the main idea.
 Do not offer a statement that is too general as the main idea.

Reading for Information

The first step in reading for specific information is to look for the main idea. But the
main idea does not give you all the information you need. Facts and details that help
develop the main ideas of paragraphs appear within the paragraphs your read. These facts
and ideas may paint a more complete picture, give examples to help you understand the
ideas better, prove a point or show how the idea relates to other ideas.

To make the best use of these facts and details, you have to be able to
 find important facts and remember them.
 separate major facts and details from minor facts and details.

To find and remember important facts, you must be an active aware reader. Here are some
ways to locate facts:
 Have a definite purpose for reading.
 Learn to read for the main idea.
 Know that all the facts and details are not equal in importance. Look only for the
facts that relate to the main idea.
 Look for information in groups or units. Facts often appear together in clumps.
 Look for the way the paragraph is put together.
 Learn to keep an author’s opinions apart from the facts offered in the writing.
 Question yourself as you read.

Inference

Textbook writers present a range of facts and information. Often, by using inference
(going beyond the facts) one uncovers ideas merely hinted in the book. In reading words
and sentences in a text, inference is an important skill because it helps fill information a
writer only suggests.

To develop inference skills, you have to read beyond the words. Fill in details,
information, and ideas based on the writer’s suggestions and your own background
knowledge. Ask yourself questions about your reading. Questions help you put together
the details of the piece to make inferences.

If the writer describes a person, try to understand the person from how she moves,
what she says, and what she looks like. You can infer things about someone’s character
from what the person does. Build a picture in your mind of what the person is like.
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If you cannot easily answer a question about what you have read, remember to use
inference skills. Return to the reading looking for clues that will help you figure out the
answer.

TIPS TO IMPROVE READING SKILL

In the modern age of information, reading is a fundamental survival skill. Here are tips to
improve your reading skills (Allen, n.d.):

1. You don't have to be a great reader to get the point. While some people read fast
and remember everything, others read slowly and take a couple of times to get all
the information. It doesn’t matter, really, so long as when you read, you get the
information you’re seeking.

2. Know WHY you are reading. Are you reading for entertainment or to learn
something? Determine your purpose for reading before you start and you’ll greatly
improve your comprehension and your enjoyment.

3. You don’t need to read everything. Not every magazine, letter, and email you
receive contains information you need. In fact, most of it is simply junk. Throw it
away, hit the delete key! Just doing this will double the amount of time you have
available to read.

4. You don’t need to read all of what you DO read. Do you read every article of every
magazine, every chapter of every book? If so, you’re probably spending a lot of
time reading stuff you don't need. Be choosy. Select the chapters and articles that
are important. Ignore the rest.

5. Scan before you read. Look at the table of contents, index, topic headers, photo
captions, etc. These will help you determine if you have a real interest in this
reading and what information you’re likely to get from it.

6. Underline and highlight important words or phrases. Pick out what you think are
the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own copy of
texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books. If you are a visual learner, you'll
find it helpful to use different colors to highlight different aspects of what you’re
reading.

7. Note key words. Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords
for each point. When you don't want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you
make while reading.
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8. Try the SQ3R technique. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recall and
Review. Survey by gathering the information you need to focus on the work and
set goals:
 Read the title to help prepare for the subject
 Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key
points
 Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is
 Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose
 Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter.
They are all there to help you understand and remember.
Question. Questioning helps your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is
engaged in learning when it is actively looking for answers to questions. Try
turning the boldface headings into questions you think the section should answer.
Read. Read the first section with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and
make up new questions if necessary.
Recall. After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can
answer them from memory. If not, take a look back at the text. Do this as often as
you need to.
Review. Once you have finished the whole chapter, go back over all the questions
from all the headings. See you if can still answer them. If not, look back and refresh
your memory.

9. Prioritize your reading. You can’t read everything all at once (and wouldn’t want
to). If it’s important, read it now. If it’s not, let it wait.

10. Optimize your reading environment. You’ll read faster and comprehend more if
you read in an environment that’s comfortable for you.

11. Once you start, don't stop! Read each item straight through. If you finish and have
questions, go back and re-read the pertinent sections. If you don’t have questions,
you got what you needed and are ready to move on.

12. Focus. Remember, you’re reading with a purpose, so focus on that purpose and the
material. If you lose interest or keep losing your place, take a break or read
something else. You can keep track of where you are by following along with your
hand. This simple technique helps you focus and increase your concentration.

13. Practice! The more you read, the better reader you'll become (and smarter, too)! So,
feed your mind: read!

Remember, reading skills give you an edge in language proficiency and

communicative competence.
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THIS IS THE END OF MODULE 2.

References:

Baldeo, M. R. S., Palanca, O. B., & Desembrana, R. J. (2004). Skills building in communication arts 2.
Lucena City: University Press.
Celce-Murcia, M., & & Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The grammar book. US: Heinle & Heinle
Publishers.
Dadufalza, C. (1992). Reading into writing I and II. Manila: Bookmark.

Harmer, J. (2004). Just grammar. London: Marshal Cavendish Ltd.

Silva, M. N. (1998). Basic grammar in many voices. Illinois: NTC Publishing Group.
Villenas, B. N. (2005). Sourcebook in Freshmen English. Lucena City: University Press.