Listening

EFFECTIVE LISTENING:

Listening is a crucial component of the communication process. Effective listening is a developed

skill, which is important to individuals and organizations. Without effective listening, information is not
received as the sender intended. This is known as a “communication break-down”. In organizations, poor
listening skills can result in misinformation, misunderstanding, and misuse of resources.

Effective listening can impact an individual’s life; developed listening skills can help a person to
become supportive companion, a more efficient student, a more sophisticated communicator, and have
better interpersonal relationships. It takes effort to become an effective listener. To develop effective
listening skills is often seen as being advantageous, especially to organizations.

Good listening is a part of our non-verbal behaviour. It motivates speakers to make effective
deliveries. Listening well earns us, appreciation. Listening is an integral constituent of the two way
communication process. Poor listening generates losses in terms of time, money and goodwill.
Consequences are uncertainty, anger, loss of production, incomplete and misunderstood orders etc. Hence
listening skills make the difference between success and failure of business.

WHAT IS LISTENING?

The definition of listening varies according to reference and context. In a sense, listening is a
combination of what we hear, understand, and remember.

Listening has been defined as “… the process of hearing, identifying, understanding and interpreting
spoken language” or “… the process whereby the human ear receives sound stimuli from other people and
through a series of steps interprets the sound stimuli in the brain and remembers it” or “Listening is the
process of receiving, attending to and assigning meaning to aural stimuli”.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

Listening is the most basic of the four areas of language development: listen, speak, read and write.
Listening accounts for the most significant component of communication in our daily lives. Listening has a
profound effect on the development of our attitudes, skills, behavioural patterns, and understandings.
Listening allows you to evaluate strong and weak points in the message, enabling more effective feedback
and constructive criticism. Effective listening can make the difference between knowledge and ignorance,
information and misinformation, involvement and apathy, enjoyment and boredom, understanding and
misunderstanding and sharing and withdrawal in our interpersonal relationships.

PURPOSES OF LISTENING

Listening is critical to the proper functioning of daily communication. Every individual has reasons
for listening, depending on goals, interest, and the situation. In general, listening purposes can be divided
into four categories:

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Listening for enjoyment

Listening for enjoyment or appreciative listening can increase our enjoyment of life, expand the
range of what we enjoy, and enlarge our experiences. By appreciative listening, we add richness to our
interpersonal interactions.

Listening for information

Also known as comprehensive listening, listening for information is when we listen to receive
information and to acquire an answer to a definite problem or question. Often in comprehensive listening
we are listening for direction, news of current interest, or specific instruction. We may acquire the opinions
and views of others through this process, enriching personal perspective.

Listening to be empathic or supportive

This type of listening is classified as being therapeutic. Often when we are in turmoil, we need
someone to listen to us: we talk and express our concerns openly and eventually come up with our own
solutions. Whether or not we take others feedback into consideration is circumstantial. The listener’s role
in emphatic listening is to provide a climate of trust and supportiveness for the other person. Being able to
be an effective supportive listener is an important skill in interpersonal relationships.

Listening to evaluate critically

Critical listening includes evaluating the expertness and trustworthiness of others. Judging the
quality of the other person’s evidence, support and reasoning when delivering the message may do this. It
may also include analyzing the needs and motivations aroused in us. This kind of listening makes us aware
of prejudices in others and ourselves. Through patience, objectivity and scrutiny of the speaker’s thinking
and reasoning process, we are able to judge messages on the basis of facts and information rather than
emotions or falsehoods.

TYPES OF LISTENING

Various situations call for different listening skills. The types of listening differ not only in purpose
but also in the amount of feedback or interaction they entail.

Active listening

Active listening is when we are committed to the communication process by providing response and
feedback. It shows that we are paying attention, that we are interested, and that we are receiving the
message that is being portrayed. However, active listening should not be confused with empathic listening.

Empathic listening

Empathic listening involves physical, emotional and intellectual inputs in search of meaning and
understanding. Empathic listening means responding to the gestalt or totality that is the person. The
primary goal in empathic listening is to understand the other person. On the other hand deliberative
listening is what we do when we want to hear information for analytical use. In deliberative listening we

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want to remember and draw conclusions from the information. Our primary goal is the evaluation of the
information.

Content listening

The aim is to understand and retain information imparted by a speaker. Basically information flows
from the speaker to us. Our job is to identify the key points of the message. So we concentrate and listen
for clues to its structure, previews, transitions, summaries and enumerated points. In our mind, we create
an outline of the speaker’s remarks, afterward, we silently review what we’ve learned.

Critical Listening:

The goal of this type of listening is to evaluate the message at several levels, the logic of the
argument, strength of the evidence and validity of the conclusions, the implications of the message for us
or our organization, the speaker’s intention and motives and the omission of any important or relevant
points. But absorbing information and evaluating it at the same time is hard, so reserve judgment until the
speaker has finished. Critical Listening generally involves interaction as we try to uncover the speaker’s
points of view. We are bound to evaluate the speaker’s credibility as well. Nonverbal signals are often our
best clue.

Passive listening:

Occurs when a person is not directly involved in feedback or response to the message sender .This is
the type of listening that occurs when we listen to the radio, watch television or practice poor
communication and neglect to a speaker.

BARRIERS TO LISTENING

Most of the barriers that can hamper the communication process effects listening qualities. These
barriers are, for e.g. conversation, physical noise, odour, external noise etc. These obstacles are
detrimental to effective listening. Some more examples of barriers to effective listening are as follows:

 Pre-judgments about the speaker.

 Assuming that speaker is going to say something unimportant.
 Late arriving and thus ignoring the remaining part of speech.
 Giving a pre-mature response as and when one finds opportunity.
 More than desired attention to speaker’s mannerisms, voices, appearance, accent etc.
 Day dreaming and lack of attentiveness.
 Listening with an attitude that it is pertinent to approve or disapprove speaker’s ideas.
 Listening only, that part of speech, which one feels is interesting (perceptual selectivity)

In order to overcome these barriers, the role of both speaker and listener is significant. Effective
listening techniques can be used to sharpen listening skills. Listening techniques, requiring action by
listener only, are termed as active listening techniques whereas involvement of the speaker and the
listener is needed for interactive listening techniques.

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SUGGESTION TO MAKE LISTENING EFFECTIVE

Open-mindedness

Closed mind are like infertile lands. We should not rely upon, our previous experience of, listening
to the present speaker. We should try to curb the tendency to make pre-mature evaluation about speaker’s
performance and appearance because eloquent speakers may not have good appearance, as they do not
care about it.

Emotional stability

One should not react to the ideas or opinions used by speaker that anger you. Most people stop
listening as the speaker utters some hurting word and they spend their time in pointing out, what the
speaker is saying, is right or wrong. In this way, they will miss important points of speaker’s delivery.
Effective listening requires understanding touching words, without bias and assuming that these have a real
message.

No pre-mature conclusions

It is fact that our brain can process over 600 words per minute, but one can speak at the rate of 120
– 170 words a minute. This gap of time leads poor listeners to make premature conclusion .Such persons do
not listen to every word and are too busy with their own replies and question than what the speaker is
saying. Some people feel that they have superior knowledge than anybody else and do not pay attention to
what is being discussed. We should use extra time available to analyze the message content. Further,
anticipate about the progress of speech and compare it with our own assumptions.

Stress on gist

One must avoid the tendency to think about situation, which have nothing to do with the speech,
like at what time we will go to bed etc. This requires that our mind should be clear of other thoughts to
help us concentrate on content. We must be patient to emphasize on main ideas and supporting points.
Most speakers frame their message under implicit heading and sub-headings. We can retain majority of
information, by stressing on these points.

Identify shortcomings of the message

We should listen for what the speaker leaves out because people have a tendency to explain only
those areas of any subject that is taken for discussion. Further body language helps to analyze the integrity
or sincerity of the speech. If speaker often maintain poor eye contact, cross their arms in front of his chests,
use hands to face the movements, then we as a listener would be suspicious of speaker’s words. We must
be conscious about implied content of the message, since manipulative speakers can avoid factual aspects
of the speech.

Take note

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 Note taking, helps us to listen for new ideas. While note taking, we can write phrases, describing
each major points. It is not possible to jot down complete sentences. We can indicate question marks in the
margin to show the areas we want to clarify from the speakers. We can also jot down in the margin a few
words helping us to plan the use of that particular information.

Verbal feedback

Good listeners possess the quality of effective verbal feedback. For example, simple words like yes, I
know what you mean helps the speaker for smooth progress of the discussion. It generates additional
information to the listener to understand the message. The best way to establish understanding by a
listener is to paraphrase of what the speaker meant. It is easier for the speaker to clarify any misconception
of the message on our part. Probing can also be used to strengthen the quality of communication especially
between two persons. Probing can take two shapes

 Prompting For example , explain more

 Non directive questioning, I am not confident with your ideas

Body Language

Good listeners maintain regular eye contact with speaker. Good listeners’ body movements are
open and calm. They nod their heads to show their understanding and agreement with speaker’s ideas. A
good speaker can identify frustrated, bored, defensive listening. Body language provides cues to help
speakers in many aspects. Changing long established bad habits take time. Similarly acquiring good listening
habits is a gradual process. Only the practice is the final answer. Listening as a part of business
communication requires two fold efforts of listener n speaker.

PROBLEM IN LISTENING

By identifying problem in listening, solutions can be created. Problems arise in listening because of
misconceptions about listening, the development of poor listening habits, and ignorance of good listening
techniques. Poor listening habits are unavoidable without realizing listening misconceptions and awareness
of good listening habits. We are all guilty now and again of practicing poor listening. However, identifying
them as bad habits will improve communication.

False assumptions regarding listening are ingrained in our society. They are deep rooted and hard to
eradicate. We believe that listening is a “natural process”, we think that we receive information and active
involvement is not necessary. The tendency is to assume that listening is a passive process. It is easy and
effortless. This is falsehood. Active and productive listening requires effort and mental exertion. This
misconception underlies many poor listening habits.

The first of many poor listening habits is our tendency to “tune out”. Because our society is talk-
oriented it is necessary to “tune out” a certain degree, otherwise we would be easily overwhelmed.
Listening for entertainment only can have negative consequences.

Secondly, prejudging a message as being dull or boring may deny us of an important message
relayed by the sender.

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 Thirdly, if a subject is difficult, often it will not be listened to. Perhaps the subject is unfamiliar or
considered threatening; regardless, we decide not to listen. This is directly connected to the misconception
that listening is an easy, passive process.

Fourthly, poor listening habit in listening is focusing on some external aspect of the speaker and
listening only if the other person’s appearance and delivery are attractive. We spend time mentally
criticizing the other person at the cost of not receiving information accurately.

Superficial distractions are inhibiting to the listening process. By adjusting our behaviour we will
become more effective listeners. Listening to only one part of a message is a bad listening habit that may
be more difficult to realize. Finally, becoming emotional about a message will cause distortion and loss of
purpose. We may be too literal, block things out, or accept and agree with everything that is presented to
us. It is important to withhold evaluation until we are sure that we thoroughly understand the other
person’s point of view. It is important that we examine the message presented to us and not agree with it
too readily.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK IN LISTENING

The followings are the important phases of feedback in listening:

 Feedback consists of response made during communication that allows the speaker to adjust the
message as needed, based on how we are receiving the message. This is an opportunity to provide
reinforcement for the speaker, receiving feedback is one of the best ways to modify our behaviour.
Monitoring feedback is our way of assuring that the message we intended is related as closely as
possible to the message received. Feedback affirms that we are coping successfully with our
environment, that we are active participants, not passive observers of life.
 The survival of one-way communication is minimal; when a person is denied feedback, response, or
reinforcement they become discouraged. It is important to remember that feedback can make a
person feel unique, worthwhile, and confident. Denying a sender of feedback may have detrimental
implications.

FEEDBACK MAY BE PROVIDED IN THREE WAYS:

 Supportive: Acknowledging the seriousness of the information presented to us and offering

appropriate feedback. This is a reassuring technique.
 Understanding: Paraphrasing and reinforcing remarks show the sender that we are indeed listening
and that they have our attention. Amplifying this with non-verbal communication can effectively
portray the level of understanding we’ve attained from the process of listening.
 Probing: Investigation further into matter at hand can get the sender to communicate more openly
and release more specific information. This can be achieved through questioning. This will add to a
more productive communication climate.

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 Speaking
EFFECTIVE SPEAKING

Speaking effectively and powerfully is a skill that is really worth learning. Fortunately, public
speaking is something we can learn. This is a skill that can be studied, polished, and even perfected to some
degree. With tenacity and persistence, we can master it, and it will make a significant difference to our
career. To grow in our academic or professional career, we must have the ability to stand in front of an
audience and deliver a lecture a lecture or presentation on a certain topic. It should be convincing,
supported with facts and examples, and be able to create an impact. We may have brilliant ideas, but it is
very important to get them across to others for them to be appreciated. Similarly, in our personal or
community life, we may have to meet people, talk to them about some matter, or persuade them to do
something. We may have to speak in various situations, be it with colleagues at the workplace, friends and
teachers in college, or others in our neighbourhood. The effectiveness with which we do it shapes the
perception of us in other’s mind. Thus, different experiences might have made us realized that being
confident, clear, and fluent is the key to effective oral communication.

Confidence, clarity and fluency can enhance our speaking ability.

Confidence:

Most people tend to become anxious or nervous before doing something important in public.
However, we must know that only those people who know how to transform their nervousness into
excitement or enthusiasm become successful. The same approach is true for successful speakers. Becoming
nervous before a speech or presentation is natural, normal, and sometimes even desirable. However, we
should know how to overcome this nervousness or stage fright so that we not only feel confident but also
appear so in front of our audience. The followings are the suggestions to overcome nervousness and
muster confidence:

 Overcome the fear by assuming it as your companion.

 Given a choice, choose a topic that we truly like. If we are given a specific topic, we need to develop
genuine interest in it.
 We need to prepare until we become comfortable with delivering the topic.
 We need to give a mock speech in front of our friends and find out the personal strengths and
weaknesses.
 We need to try the positive visualization technique that requires us to concentrate on how good we
are and to think all is well. This should be practiced before the actual speech.
 We should anticipate easy and difficult questions and prepare answers for the same.
 We should work hard on the introduction material because once we are through the initial part of
the introduction we may feel better.
 We should take a couple of slow, deep breathes before starting the speech.
 We shouldn’t start immediately after reaching the stage. We should take few seconds to look into
the eyes of our audience.
 We should also check the venue and the arrangements.

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  Checking the friendliest faces in the audience will be a good thing for us to get relaxation.
 We should not explicitly show nervousness. In case of body turmoil we should lean against the table
or lectern available.
 We should never comment on our nervousness and always speak to our audience.

Clarity:

Listeners, unlike readers, cannot look up a dictionary or re-read the words to comprehend the
meaning of the words they listen to. A speaker’s meaning must be immediately understandable; it must be
so clear that there is practically no chance of misunderstanding. Many speakers despite having a complete
control of what they were speaking find it very difficult to speak clearly. A speech may lack clarity, if the
speaker:

 Speaks either very fast or very slow

 Does not articulate the words properly
 Pronounces incorrectly
 Gives wrong emphasis on words
 Does not have a well organized material
 Uses too many unfamiliar words

So, the following are some guidelines in which clarity of the speech can be improved:

 The average number of words can be spoken per minute is about 120-140.
 Exercises need to be done that involve speech organs.
 We should learn the correct pronunciation of words while preparing for a speech.
 While speaking, the volume either oral or of the mike should be adjusted keeping in the mind the
number of audience, the size of the room etc.
 All the words in each sentence of one’s speech is not equally important. One should know which
word should be stressed. One’s misplacing of emphasis may make the audience confused.
 We should think and organize the contents of the message before speaking. We should also need to
give a preview to the topic, discuss all the points in a logical manner, and then give the highlights of
the discussion at the end.
 We should use simple and unambiguous words and expression. Too many technical terms, acronym,
complicated words and phrases that the audiences are not familiar with should be avoided. If the
technical terms are used in the speech then it needed to be explained.
 If necessary, we should record (audio or video) our presentations that will help us to identify how
we sound and where the problems lie. Assessment and feedback can be obtained from friends by
showing them the recordings.

Fluency:

To know about our fluency of speaking English language we can ask ourselves these questions:

 Do I use fillers like ‘umm…’ ‘ah…’ because I do not get the right words to continue my statements?
 Do I pause a lot when I speak?

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  Do I use certain expressions such as ‘you know’, ‘I mean’, ‘actually’, etc., during my speaking
assignment?
 Do I speak very slowly and carefully because I feel that I may commit mistakes?
 Do I mumble some words because I am not very sure about my pronunciation?
 Do I feel irritated when a member of the audience interrupts me during my speech?

If the answer is ‘yes’, then we have a problem in speaking English fluently. Fluency is nothing but
delivering continuous flow of message at an appropriate rate with necessary pauses. The fluency of
speaking English depends mostly on our proficiency in English. We must gain good command over a
language for fluency, which may enable us to face the audience confidently. The following guidelines may
help enhance our fluency in English:

 Aim for clear oral communication devoid of speech errors.

 Write personal diary in English.
 Listen to good speakers and read material written in good English. Listen to news in English. Watch
English documentaries. Read the newspaper both for content and language. Read fiction/non-fiction
to understand the use of figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, alliteration etc.
 Expand vocabulary by learning at least five words per day, along with their meanings and usages.
 Practice correct pronunciation, accent, and tone to make the speech impressive.
 Learn from your previous mistakes particularly in grammar or vocabulary.
 Concentrate on the ideas rather than the appearance.
 Think in English what have been done or what is to be done.
 Spare at least an hour everyday for developing the English fluency.

To make our speaking skills effective and impressive we need to work out on the following area as well.

Developing voice quality

Our voice reflects our personality, and hence it is important to cultivate a good voice. Although our
voice quality depends on various factors such as our vocal habits developed since our childhood and the
structure and condition of our speech organs, which cannot be changed much, we can improve on our
voice quality by manipulating other aspects of voice such as pitch, rate, and volume. To develop our voice
quality, we need to first identify the strengths and weaknesses of our voice. A proper use of our voice
makes our speech more lively and dynamic.

The features associated with our voice are known as paralinguistic features that includes quality of voice,
volume, pace/rate, pitch, articulation, pronunciation, voice modulation, pauses etc.

 Quality of voice: Quality is a characteristic that distinguishes one voice from another.
 Volume: Volume is the loudness or the softness of the voice.
 Pace/Rate: Rate is the number of words that one speaks per minute.
 Pitch: Pitch refers to the number of vibrations of our voice per second. The rise of and fall of the
voice conveys various emotions.
 Articulation: Articulation refers to the clear utterance of sound by not slopping, slurring, chopping,
truncating, or omitting sounds between words or sentences.

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  Pronunciation: Pronunciation requires us to speak out sounds in way that is generally accepted. The
best way is to follow British Pronunciation. Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent of Standard
English recommended elsewhere.
 Voice modulation: Voice modulation means the way we regulate, vary, or adjust the tone, pitch, and
volume of the sound or speaking voice. Modulation of voice brings flexibility and vitality to our
voice, and we can express emotions, sentiments etc. in the best possible way.
 Pauses: a pause is short silence flanked by words. A pause in speaking helps the listener reflect on
the message and understand it accordingly. It also helps the speaker glide from one thought to
another.

BARRIERS TO SPEAKING

A barrier is defined as something that prevents or controls progress or movement. It implies that a
barrier is something that comes in the way of the desired outcome. The followings like language, inhibition,
physical barriers, cultural barriers, perception and emotions are barriers specific to speaking skills.

Language:

Proficiency in English includes accuracy and fluency. We should be able to speak grammatically
correct English using the right pronunciation, correct accent, appropriate vocabulary, and suitable
expressions. We should also be able to maintain a continuous flow of speech at an appropriate rate and
suitable pauses. Inadequate proficiency or lack of command over language poses a barrier to speaking.

Inhibition:

Shyness or inhibition may be barrier to our speaking. We should try to analyze the cause for our
inhibition – fear of our inadequate command over language, our anxiety about our performance, or the
status of the audience.

Physical Barriers:

This includes physical setting of the place where we speak to our audience: seating, lighting,
ventilation, audio equipment, projection system, external noise, etc. For example, if there is lot of noise
outside the room, our audience may not be able to focus on our presentation.

Cultural Barriers:

In our multicultural world, each group is familiar with their history, way of using language, habits,
and customs. Hence, when we speak to people from other cultures, it is important to use words and
examples that are comprehendible for them. We should be sensitive to the cultural differences in values,
meanings of words, body language, etc., and explain to them if they have problems in understanding our
speech. We should also be sure to avoid culture-specific examples, as the listener might not be able to
relate to them and help enhance their understanding of our idea.

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Perception:

Everyone perceives things in their own way. Our perception is shaped by our background – the way
in which we have been brought up, the things we have experienced, the environment in which we live, etc.
Our ideas and mentality may also be different from others. Same things can be viewed differently by
different people. In order to overcome such barriers, we may have to learn to view things from others’
perspective as well.

Emotions:

Fear, suspicion, and mistrust contribute to emotional barriers. When our mind is blocked with these
feelings, we are not able to speak freely. This habit can also affect the flow of our speech. Hence,
controlling our emotions and keeping ourselves cool is very important before speaking to the audience.

TYPES OF SPEAKING

We speak on different occasions to achieve different goals or to serve different purposes. Based on
these purposes, we can classify speaking into various types such as task-oriented and interpersonal.

Task-oriented Speaking:

When we have to speak in order to perform a particular task or assignment, we may need to
contact other people face-to-face or through the telephone. Sometimes we may also have to attend
teleconferences with multiple people. Such speaking is called task-oriented speaking. For example, we may
have to collect data for our project, to interview somebody for publishing a journal, to address many
people to present your research findings, to speak to somebody to get information, and so on. The
following are some situations that require task-oriented speaking:

 Collecting data
 Eliciting information
 Addressing people to motivate or persuade them
 Interviewing somebody for preparing articles for a magazine
 Conducting a research
 Enquiring about something
 Negotiating a deal

In order to come up with an effective task-oriented speaking the following guidelines can be helpful:

 Be clear with our purpose

 Plan and prepare
 Give a brief background to the objectives of your task at the beginning
 Stay focused on the purpose or agenda
 Listen carefully to or observe the audience’s response, in order to adjust the speech accordingly

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Interpersonal Speaking:

Interpersonal speaking is mostly relationship oriented. While task-oriented speaking is related to

tasks we would like to perform, relationship-oriented speaking is connected with building new relationships
or keeping alive the existing relationship. Conversation, counseling, group discussions, team
communication, etc., may be grouped under this category.

Interpersonal speaking helps us develop and sustain good relations and plays a vital role in the execution of
group-oriented or team-oriented assignments. When we meet somebody for the first time, our manner of
speaking creates a positive or negative impact in that person’s mind. We must also learn to manage the
image we create by tailoring our remarks and the style of our speaking to suit the audience and the
situation.

Phrases or expressions such as I thank you, I respect you, I am with you, You can count on me, I understand
you, I will be there, I understand how you feel, I can see this matter is very important to you, I think you are
right etc. may help in interpersonal speaking.

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 Reading
MEANING OF READING:

Reading is a dynamic process in which the reader interacts with the text to construct meaning.
Inherent in constructing meaning is the reader’s ability to activate prior knowledge, use reading strategies
and adapt to the reading situation.

This definition implies that, a good reader is no longer defined as one who demonstrates mastery of
a series of isolated skills, but rather as a person who can apply reading strategies independently and
flexibly. Valid reading assessments therefore evaluate students’ ability to apply their knowledge, skills and
strategies to reading situations that are representative of those they encounter in their daily lives.

Reading is a decoding print. It is a way of deciphering, interpreting, understanding or making sense

of the given text. Reading has a great relevance to the people of all ages, levels and fields. Reading is so
powerful that it makes an ignorant person a learned one.

There are different types of reading: loud reading, silent reading, fast reading, slow reading,
skimming, scanning, intensive and extensive reading. We can choose any one of the types depending upon
what types of reading texts or the books we are going to read and for what purpose. The way we read any
text is determined by type, nature and the importance of the given text.

EFFECTIVE READING:

Everyone reads with some kind of purpose in mind: for instance, to keep up with the news, obtain
specific information, or simply for pleasure. A reader’s purpose may also include the need to reproduce the
content of the text in some way or other. Effective reading means being able to read accurately and
efficiently understanding as much of a text as one needs in order to achieve one’s purpose.

READING PURPOSE:

Readers think and use text differently depending on the types of text and their purpose for reading.
Three purposes for reading can be described as follows:

Reading for Literary experience

 It involves reading novels, short stories, poems, plays and essays.

 It requires exploration of the human condition and the interplay among events, emotions and
possibilities.
 It requires knowing what and how an author might write in a specific genre and forming
expectations of how the text will be organized.
 It involves looking for how the author explores or uncovers experiences.
 It requires engaging in vicarious experiences through the text.

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Reading for information

 It involves reading articles in magazines and newspapers, chapters in text books, entries in
encyclopedias and catalogues, entire books on particular topics.
 It requires awareness of the features found in this type of prose such as charts, footnotes, diagrams,
subheadings and tables.
 It requires obtaining general information.

Reading to perform a task

 It involves reading documents such as bus, or train schedules, directions for games, classroom and
laboratory procedures, tax or insurance forms, recipes, maps and office memos.
 It requires understanding of the purposes and structure of documents, which guide the selection,
understanding and application of information.
 It requires applying the information not simply understanding.

READING STANCES:

Reading stances refer to differing responses which readers make to what they have read. The
stances are not a hierarchy of skills, nor are they really independent of each other. What distinguishes them
are the complexity and thoroughness of a reader’s response and the difficulty of the reading materials. All
readers, regardless of age or level of ability, use them.

The four reading stances are:

Initial Understanding:

It is a first impression or broad understanding of what is read. It may involve an overall

understanding of the topic, theme or main idea of a passage.

Developing Interpretation:

It is extending ideas found in the text. This may involve linking information across parts of the text
as well as focusing on specific information. It includes a range of inferential responses, from drawing
conclusions and interpreting characters’ action to inferring cause and effect.

Responding Personally:

It is connecting information from the text with personal background, knowledge and experience.
The reader may reflect on, for example, an incident in the passage or the author’s point of view and then
respond from a personal perspective, or explain if the passage was or was not interesting.

Responding Critically:

It is forming a critical judgment about the text. It requires standing apart from the text and
reflecting upon and judging it. This stance may require the reader to appreciate literary elements such as
imagery, mood or symbolism and even to challenge about author’s facts or perspective.

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TYPES OF READING:

Types of reading include the followings:

 Skim
 Scan
 Intensive reading
 Extensive reading
 Four levels of interacting with reading texts

Skim:

We skim when we want to look for the gist of a text – that is, its general meaning. When we use a
normal reading approach we read line by line. But when we skim, we adopt a different approach. Instead of
concentrating on each single horizontal line, our eyes are generally aware of a larger area. Our eyes are
regulated by the structure of the text, they move where the sense dictates. Such movements are also
influenced by our purpose in reading and the information we wish to extract from the text. We adopt such
an approach because we are primarily interested in speed. We may, for example, want to extract the gist of
a particular text in as short a time as possible. This approach will have an effect on the level of our
comprehension of the general text. When skimming, we deliberately reconcile ourselves to a lower
comprehension level in order to gain something different from the text. We are willing to miss particular
details in a text so that we quickly obtain the information we want. The fact that the time taken to skim a
text could be under half the time taken to read it makes this kind of sacrifice worthwhile for certain
purpose.

Scan:

We scan when we want to locate specific information, usually of a fairly detailed nature. For
example, when we want to find out the date of a certain battle in a history text book, we use the index and
then scan the pages referred to until we come across the date we want. Similarly, we scan when we want
to find a particular point in a text. The point may take the form of a word, phrase, formula, statement, or
series of statements. Scanning is largely a matter of recognition of what we are looking for. Sometimes we
may not even follow the order of the text but dart about backwards and forwards within the text. We
inspect most of the text very rapidly indeed but occasionally we inspect parts of the text much more
closely. Once we have found what we want, we’ll probably read the particular statement very carefully to
check the information. Scanning is usually combined with other reading techniques and can be used by fast
and slow readers alike. What is important is that readers should be able to vary their speed and approach,
and read flexibly.

Intensive Reading:

Intensive reading refers to reading shorter texts to extract specific information. This is an activity
involving reading for detail. Intensive reading means students are expected to understand everything they
read and be able to answer detailed vocabulary and comprehension questions. In intensive reading, the
students read not only for detailed comprehension of the meaning but also for mastering the structures

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and vocabulary. Through intensive reading, a non-native speaker can hope to surpass even the native
speaker in the development of writing skill.

Extensive Reading:

This implies a supply of long reading passages or books that students can take away to read in their
leisure time. It also implies a measure of freedom and non-interference from the teachers so there should
be little follow-up. The aim is to get the students reading for enjoyment. In extensive reading, students
should have a general understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word. In
extensive reading, students read for information or simply for the pleasure of reading. The primary object is
general comprehension; not language study. During extensive reading following language activities can be
performed:

1. Title / Topic Speculation

2. Finding Theme
3. Sketching Character

Title / Topic Speculation:

Title / Topic speculation represents forming an opinion about something. Title/Topic speculation is
one of the things that the students may be asked to do after reading the texts given for extensive reading
purpose. Students may suggest a suitable title or topic.

Finding Theme:

‘Theme’ means ‘central idea’. Every passage may contain a theme. The main idea or the message
which the passage is intended to convey can be generalized through a cursory reading over the passage.
Generally the theme is found in the topic sentence which lies either in the beginning or in the middle of the
passage. The teachers involved in teaching extensive reading should encourage the students to find the
theme.

Sketching Character:

There can be some people or animals describing or playing some active roles in the literary texts.
The people or animals found described in the texts are known as characters. We may find these people or
animals playing active or passive, good or bad roles. Describing their roles, importance and physical as well
as spiritual world is known as sketching character. The students may be asked to sketch character as a part
of language activity when they are given a lengthy text for extensive reading purpose.

Four Level of Interacting with Reading Texts:

Proficient readers often interact with texts at four levels:

 Literal Comprehension
 Interpretation
 Critical Thinking
 Assimilation

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Literal Comprehension

Before anything else, a reader must understand what the text is saying. In an essay, literal
comprehension often implies the ability to restate the argument. In novels, short stories, poems, and plays,
it implies a concise retelling in our own words.

Interpretation:

Key points of works of fiction and non-fiction are often implied and not directly stated. As a reader
of a short story, for example, we must decipher the meaning behind the plot. Often, in this level, we try to
observe some points that can be extended to circumstances beyond those directly touched upon by the
author.

Critical Thinking:

In this section we try to see things as clearly and objectively. We try finding the flaws, and then
moving beyond them to an objective and judicious evaluation of the subject at hand. Then, we ask such
questions as: Where did the author go wrong? Which statements can’t you accept? Why can’t you accept
them? Which aspects of this text survive this filtering process intact?

Assimilation:

This involves making something of what we have just read as a part of ourselves. The texts are
meant to touch the readers, to impact their lives, to change their ways of looking at the world. So,
alongside our effort to understand, interpret, and critically filter the material, we must ask: What is the
meaning of this text for us? Can we tie this text to something we already know? Can it help us understand
anything we didn’t understand before? Did it enhance our application for beautiful or good things? Does it
suggest some connections that we, and perhaps others, have never perceived before?

Obviously, good readers apply these four levels simultaneously, interwovenly, and spontaneously.
They read texts, bearing in mind the potential applicability and inapplicability of these levels. These levels
should not be constructed as hard-and-fast rules which must be sequentially applied to every text. Instead,
the important thing is to know what they exist and to apply them whenever appropriate. Reading well is an
art, not an algorithm.

***

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