By Mayra Yaranga
Reading
skills are difficult to develop and students’ problems vary. Here is a list of
factors that create some problems for many students and a few aspects to
consider in order to tackle them:
Paraphrase
Many
students are accustomed to providing in their response the information required
using the same words as in the questions. This is a problem that they carry
from L1 reading, which often causes a great deal of confusion, especially as
the difficulty of texts and questions increases. Therefore, it is necessary to
train learners, from the beginning, to recognise information given through
different words or structures so that they focus on the meaning of the text,
rather than only the words appearing in a text. Comparison of question text and
reading passage is a good way to encourage this understanding of meaning.
Wanting to Know Every Word
Some
students look up every word they do not understand from a text, presumably
because this is going to help them understand the entire text. This bad habit
is time-consuming and shifts the focus to words that might be irrelevant to the
overall meaning of the reading passage, or even a specific section. Teachers
have a key role to play in order to avoid this. Pre-teaching some important
vocabulary may help students focus on relevant words only, as could also benefit
building up skills for deducing meaning from context.
Lack of Strategies
Different
types of questions will need application of different strategies. Many students
are not aware of how to deal with reading texts, so intervention may be
necessary. Introducing the concepts of strategies such as skimming or scanning
is important to improve reading speed, and underlining/highlighting relevant
sections of the passage can also help check that students have identified the
words or phrases providing the correct answer.
Little Time to Answer
Learners
facing reading comprehension examinations often find it difficult to answer
questions confidently when time is very limited. Here, knowledge of the
above-mentioned strategies and overall test technique training may help
enormously reduce the time spent looking for answers. Encouraging extensive
reading and working with small tasks with very strict timing may help students
become familiar with such time constraints.
Teachers’ Planning
A
factor that must not be overlooked is that of lesson planning. Sometimes,
effective comprehension is hindered by factors such as irrelevant activities to
engage students, poor timing or inadequate task choice. In consequence,
teachers need to provide activities that will ease the reading process by
quickly activating prior knowledge, language or create expectations about the
text. In addition, suitable strategy work and careful timing will probably
create much better conditions for learning how to deal with texts.
Now, it’s YOUR turn
What other challenges do you face when teaching reading?
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed Doctorate
studies in Education at UNIFÉ;Master’s Degree in Media, Culture and Identity
from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a Bachelor’s
Degree in Education - UPCH and the Professional Title of Licenciada - IPNM.
Currently she works as IELTS trainer, Cambridge Oral Examiner and Member of
the Research Area for Universidad del Pacifico Language Centre. She is also ESP
coordinator and Pre-University Centre Director at UNIFÉ.
