Are we in Reality Assessing Reading Comprehension? Is it Legitimate to Evaluate What we Have Not Taught?

By Flor de María Vila A.

        Nowadays the capacity for reading comprehension is frequently discussed. Among the many ideas that are debated comes that related to how much we, as a nation, have improved in reading comprehension. We are no longer in the 69^th place but in the 62^nd in PISA (the Program for International Student Assessment). That appears as good news. However, it is valid to wonder, how much we teachers in general, or teachers of English as a foreign language, have cooperated to improve the reading comprehension level of our students.

        In a previous article I probed if we, teachers of English, are instructing learners on how to read or whether we are just evaluating how well students already do it in their own language. Regrettably, I am afraid that in general we just settle for evaluating; we do not teach how to read or help our students to improve their reading comprehension. Ask yourself honestly the following questions: What activities do you carry out in addition to activating students ‘previous knowledge? Do you know and teach reading strategies? Do you guide your students to use reading strategies before, during and after reading? Do you know what metacognition is? Do you teach how to use metacognition in the process of reading?

        Grasping what one is reading is more than the ability to remember ideas and information that are directly stated in the textbook material (Literal Comprehension). Neither is just the ability to extract ideas and information not directly stated in the textbook material, using prior or background knowledge to assist in such understanding (Inferential Comprehension). Truly, these are the two most common and basic levels of reading comprehension. Most textbooks come with many exercises appraising and promoting these levels of comprehension. In our lessons, we tend to think that if students can answer the questions provided by the textbook, they are then able to understand what they are reading. And this may be true, but we are not teaching them how to read; in many cases, we are just setting the scene by explaining the meaning of new words, asking a few questions to create interest and setting the time to do the exercise.

         Have you had your students make predictions about the probable meaning of the text? Have you monitored your students´ comprehension by questioning them, having them think about, and reflect on the ideas and information in the text? Have you helped students to relate what they have read to their own experiences and knowledge? If more than one answer is negative, it is very likely that you are not teaching how to read but simply helping them to fill out the exercises provided.

        It wouldn´t hurt to find about other levels of reading comprehension such as evaluative, appreciative, applied and critical. Knowing what these other levels of comprehension really mean will enable us to design and propose other kinds of activities to teach how to read or to help our pupils improve their understanding of what they read in our classes or anywhere else. Together with these levels we should also review or learn the reading strategies used before, during and after reading any text no matter whether it is short, long, easy, or difficult; no matter whether it is reading for pleasure or for doing an assignment. 

        Think about the following and share your ideas:

Is it possible to teach reading in our classes? Can we help our students improve their reading comprehension? How?

Biographical Data

M.A. in Cognition, Learning and Development from PUCP, B.A. in Education with a major in English Teaching. Ms. Vila is currently Pedagogic Advisor and Member of the Research Team at Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad del Pacífico and Academic Director of International Contacts (test training & foreign applications advisory). She is official Examiner for several University of Cambridge tests, freelance consultant with Universidad ESAN, experienced speaker on diverse English teaching issues for prestigious institutions, and senior international examinations trainer (GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS)

How to Select the Appropriate English Textbook

    

By Enrique Rojas R., M.A.

Nowadays very few people refute the convenience of using textbooks in the endeavor of teaching English as a foreign language, at least at the primary or secondary levels of instruction, when they are considered indispensable. The question is: what considerations should we have at the time of selecting a textbook or a series? There are various important points to be reflected.

     Textbooks are deemed useful because they guarantee a quota of structure, consistency and logical progression in a class. Besides, they meet the expectations of having something concrete to work from and take home for further study that also allows them to review past material or preview future lessons.

                 For teachers, they minimize class preparation time and for novice instructors they provide guidance in course and activity design. Many books in our times also provide multiple resources: tapes, CDs, videos, self-study workbooks etc.

     Before everything else, we should  have perfectly clear in our minds the reason or reasons why our students are trying to learn English; what sort of students we have, their ages, aspirations, necessities, etc. And decide accordingly. Among the apparent characteristics we should look for books that were recently made. In a world that changes as fast as the one we live in now, it is important that the text deals with recent things and does not display old fashion matter. Another point is the ratio of print to pictures. We don’t want a purely illustrative manual, as we wouldn’t accept pages covered with just type.

     The book should tell the reader what they will learn. It ought to be weighed if the textbook should be part of a series since this can be helpful to your ESL program, or your multi-level class, as students never have exactly the same level, a uniform text and activities across levels would provoke a better result. And a consideration that must always be present is price. Can the students or the students’ parents afford to pay the price tag?

     Other concerns are of a methodological sort. The textbook ought to appeal to students of different learning styles, cover all the receptive and productive skills, along with grammar and vocabulary, suggest different interaction patterns, activities in pairs, groups and team work, be contextualized, present the vocabulary and recycle it  a number of times; all the new items should be revised later, the pace should be according to the level while being flexible enough, it must integrate writing activities in the text, offer interactive and communicative exercises and preferably be useful for individual learners as well as for group classes and certainly incorporate higher level thinking skills  and problem solving.

     Additional advantages that the good textbooks of today offer are recordings, DVDs, digital books, a website full of extra material and other technological features. It is very convenient when they provide teachers with unit tests and final tests. Each educator will adapt them according to their own reality, but they are a valuable start. Finally, we must remember that every language textbook should promote cross-cultural awareness.

      And now, YOUR TURN: What considerations do you or your institution take into account when it comes to choosing a textbook? Would you suggest any other? If so, why?

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Graduated in Journalism at the PUCP, Peru, Enrique Rojas R. holds a MA in Journalism and MA in Inter American History from Southern Illinois University, USA; an MA in Literature from University of the Americas, Puebla, Mexico, all the coursework for a MA in TEFL at Universidad de Piura, Peru and BA in Education from Universidad Federico Villarreal. He has also obtained Certificates of Proficiency in English both from Cambridge University and the University of Michigan and the Diploma for EFL Teachers from Universidad del Pacifico. He is an Oral Examiner for the Cambridge University exams and has been awarded the title Expert in E-Learning from Asociacion Educativa del Mediterraneo and Universidad Marcelino Champagnat. He has worked as a professor in universities in Peru, Mexico and the United States; as a newscaster and a producer in radio and television stations in the United States and Mexico, and as a writer and editor in daily newspapers of the same countries. He has been in the staff of CIDUP for 17 years teaching English and Spanish specializing in International Exams, English for Business, ESP and Teacher Training. He is a member of the Research Area of Centro de Idiomas de la UP.