Antología para la unidad académica Didáctica de las habilidades receptivas: Comprensión lectora y auditiva.
Licenciatura en Inglés, modalidad a distancia.
Segundo semestre.
Mtra. Martha Lorena Obermeier Pérez
Febrero, 2013
2
Índice
Pg.
Introduction 2
Course content 2
Target Language, Collaborative Learning and Autonomy 8
Language Learners' Listening Comprehension
10
A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners' English Listening Comprehension and the Strategies for Improvement
13
Effective Teaching Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners 20
Strategies for Developing Reading Skills
24
Teaching Reading
28
Stages Of a Reading Lesson
31
Authentic Listening: What ESL Materials Lack and How to Get It
34
Selecting reading materials wisely 38
How to teach Listening and Reading 42
Bibliography 51
3
Introduction
This anthology presents materials about the course contents of the academic unit
Didactics of the receptive skills: reading and listening. The online course offers reading
materials, but they are limited to offer some information and their objective is to be the
based for students to do the tasks demanded on the course. The objective of this anthology
is to offer more information that may help students have a wider opinion of the strategies
and materials needed to design activities to develop the receptive skills in language
teaching.
Course content
PRESENTACIÓN: Esta unidad académica forma parte del área de Formación
Disciplinaria en la cual el estudiante adquiere los fundamentos teóricos y metodológicos
necesarios para desarrollarse de manera eficiente en el ámbito de la didáctica de lenguas
extranjeras.
Propósito General
Al finalizar el curso, el estudiante conocerá y aplicara los elementos teóricos metodológicos
para una enseñanza efectiva de la comprensión de la lectura y de la auditiva que le permita
desarrollar en sus futuros estudiantes la competencia comunicativa del inglés.
Competencias genéricas: la habilidad que debe poseer el estudiante es la de conocer y
aplicar los diferentes elementos teóricos-metodológicos para enseñar de manera efectiva la
comprensión de la lectura y auditiva.
Competencias Especificas: Evalúa metodologías para facilitar los procesos de aprendizaje,
diseña, adapta, selecciona y evalúa material didáctico según su contexto.
Campo de aplicación:
Chat y plataforma de CEDUCAD
Periodo o ciclo: semestral
4
Contenido:
Unit 1 The importance of the receptive skills
1.1 The nature and the role of the receptive skills in language teaching
Unit 2 Teaching listening
2.1 Problems with listening comprehension.
2.2 Strategies and techniques to improve listening.
2.3Different listening activities: the stages of a listening class.
Unit 3 Teaching Reading
3.1 Problems with reading comprehension
3.2 Strategies and techniques for developing the reading skills.
3.3 Different types of texts.
3.4 Stages of a reading lesson.
Unit 4 Planning a lesson for receptive skills
4.1 Selecting materials for a receptive skill lesson
4.2 Creating exercises for developing receptive skills
4.3 Integrating reading and listening skills into a lesson for teaching the receptive skills
Resultados de aprendizaje:
Conoce y aplica los elementos teóricos, metodológicos de una enseñanza efectiva.
5
Conoce la comprensión lectora y auditiva.
Evalúa metodologías para facilitar los procesos de aprendizaje.
Estrategias didácticas: se utilizara una metodología en la cual los alumnos se involucran
activamente a través del trabajo en equipo realizando actividades como:
Proyectos individuales
Presentaciones en power point
Documentos en Word
Escuchar textos provenientes de los medios de comunicación: radio, televisión, cine
Video grabaciones de conversaciones en pares y grupos
Seguir instrucciones
Participar en conversaciones de tipo formal e informal
Completar formularios y cuestionarios
Producir carteles
Escribir finales de cuentos o sucesos
Escribir cartas personales, notas, mensajes breves, correos electrónicos y un articulo
para la gaceta escolar
Explorar temas, cuadros sinópticos y mapas conceptuales.
Organizar ideas: idea principal, oraciones de apoyo, de ejemplificación, etc.
Reconocer la estructura textual de un discurso oral o escrito
Identificar palabras claves que indiquen la naturaleza del discurso oral o escrito
Inferir connotaciones, actitudes e intenciones
Parafrasear, usar redes semánticas o sinónimos
Lectura guiadas
Observación de videos
Transcripciones fonéticas de palabras tanto del inglés como del español
Grabación de oraciones
Recursos didácticos:
6
Computadora, accesos a internet, libros, artículos digitales, chat, rubricas, portafolio
digital, DVD CD.
Técnicas de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje
Cátedra
Investigaciones
Debates o lectura guiada
Lluvia de ideas
Discusión dirigida
Experiencia Estructurada
Hacer
Reflexionar
Conceptualizar
Plan de acción
Micro enseñanza
Observación de clases reales
Práctica docente
Actividades a Desarrollar
Lecturas y textos auditivos
Análisis de diferentes textos escritos y auditivos.
Selección, diseño o adaptación de actividades para la enseñanza de comprensión
lectura y comprensión auditiva.
Preparación e implementación de una actividad de micro enseñanza
Reflexión sobre su micro enseñanza
Elaboración de planes de clase
Observación de clases en escuelas públicas o privadas, identificar un problema y
proponer soluciones al mismo.
Práctica docente (1) en los niveles básico o medio en escuelas públicas o privadas.
7
Nota: Acreditación. El estudiante se considera competente cuando haya cumplido con el
60% de los criterios de evaluación.
Análisis, evaluación y adaptación de
actividades de comprensión de
lectura y de compresión auditiva
15%
Implementación de una de estas
actividades en sesión de micro
enseñanza grabadas
20%
Reporte escrito de la observación
realizada en un contexto real que
incluya un problema identificado y
su propuesta de solución
15%
Diseño de un plan de clase y su
implementación en un contexto real,
justificando las actividades incluidas
20%
Reporte escrito sobre la
implementación del plan de clase
diseñado
15%
Portafolio electrónico 15%
100%
8
Macaro, E., (1997). Target Language, Collaborative Learning and Autonomy. 1st ed. USA: Multilingual Matters.
9
The Nature and the Role of the Receptive Skills in Language Teaching
When the teacher uses oral and written materials in order to develop receptive skills
by exposing learners to the TL, s/he is taking on the role of mediator and facilitator. The
teacher acts as a mediator between the complexity or foreignness of texts (authentic or
otherwise) and the level of language competence of the pupils. Table 3.1 suggests that
pupils in the survey felt that this role was the one they could most readily recongise as
being adopted by their teacher. This role would appear to operate less problematically in
the four domains described above.
Whether this role or identity is as effective in language learning terms as the
simulated native speaker one is impossible to say as most teachers combine the linguistic
manifestations of both these roles at some time or other. And yet it lies very much at the
heart of the maximizing/optimizing of the use of L2 debate, and for that matter of the
comprehensible input debate, both of which we shall be examining in due course.
10
Larry Lynch (n.d.). Language Learners' Listening Comprehension. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.eslbase.com/articles/listening. [Last Accessed February 8, 2013].
11
Problems with listening comprehension
Teacher, I don't understand." "Huh?", "What?", "Can you repeat that, please?"
"What did he say?", "Teacher, we don't understand." Do any of these sound familiar?
Undoubtedly they do.
When English EFL language learners have listening comprehension problems it can
be frustrating. If you use videos, CDs or audio cassette tapes, or even perhaps when
speaking your learners can have their lesson input interrupted by a lack of listening
comprehension skills. Comprehensible input (Krashen, 1989) is an integral part of any
English or foreign language class.
Contributing Factors
These seven factors can directly or indirectly contribute to your learners' listening
comprehension skills and comprehension.
1. Vocabulary
Read the passage. If more than ten of the words are unknown, the text has less than a
90% vocabulary recognition rate. It is therefore, unreadable." (S. Thornbury, 2004) the
same then is likely true for a listening passage. Remember, "You can never be too rich, too
thin or have enough foreign language vocabulary" as the old saying goes.
2. Rhyming Sounds
Have you ever taught or learned poetry? If so, you'll remember that there are several
types of rhyming patterns which can be used. Alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance and
consonance, simile, metaphor and allusion, among others, all lend their particular ambience
to written or spoken language in English.
Note: If you'd like or need a quick refresher on these poetic elements, you should
read, "How to Evoke Imagery, Emotions and Ideas in Writing Poetry That Captures Your
Readers Imagination" and "How to Write Poems That Capture the Heart and Imagination of
Your Readers" by the author. (L.M. Lynch, 2007)
3. Idioms and Expressions
In every language there are frequently-used idioms and expressions that allow its
speakers to convey nuances of thought to one another effortlessly and with greater clarity
that simply "explaining" everything verbally. Not only is it helpful to know as many of
these as possible, but if you don't, the meanings of many conversations or spoken
12
exchanges may just be "lost" to the listener.
4. Pronunciation
Everyone speaks differently and uses forms of connected speech in distinctive ways.
Elements including elision, contraction, juncture, liaison, register, accommodation, aspect,
intonation and others, affect pronunciation and speech patterns on an individual basis.
When learners are unfamiliar, or even ignorant of, these elements, listening comprehension
can be significantly impacted.
5. Regional or National Accents
The same sentence when spoken by people from different first language (L1)
backgrounds, regional locations, or ethnic backgrounds can be decisively varied.
Unfamiliarity with such on the part of EFL learners can cause a definite lack of listening
comprehension or "comprehensible input" as mentioned earlier.
6. Grammar in Context
When grammar and its aspects are taught as "separate" themes, that is, outside of a
relevant context, learners can be "handicapped" as it were by not understanding just how
and when particular grammar structures are used by native speakers during an oral
discourse or verbal exchange. So when learners hear a grammar structure that they "know",
but learned "out of context", they can often "miss it", misinterpret it or simply not
understand what they're hearing.
7. Language Rhythms
One of the big differences between English and say, Spanish, is that one language is
"syllable-based" while the other is "accent-based". This accounts for non-native speakers
sounding "funny" when speaking a language other than their mother tongue.
With epithets like, "oh, she luv-ed him but chew-no it wuzn't not no guud, mahn for
demm boat."These types of epithets derive not from a lack of English or other foreign
language skills in particular, but rather from pronunciation based on using an "incorrect"
spoken language rhythm.
13
Pourhossein, A. Reza, M, (2011). A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners' English
Listening Comprehension and the Strategies for Improvement . Journal of Language Teaching and Research. 2, pp.977-988
14
Analysis of potential listening comprehension problems
Underwood (1989) states seven causes of obstacles to efficient listening
comprehension.
First, listeners cannot control the speed of delivery. He says,'' Many English
language learners believe that the greatest difficulty with listening comprehension is
that the listener cannot control how quickly a speaker speaks'' (Underwood, 1989, p.
16).
Second, listeners cannot always have words repeated. This is a serious problem in
learning situations. In the classroom, the decision as to whether or not to replay a
recording or a section of a recording is not in the hands of students. Teachers decide
what and when to repeat listening passages; however, it is hard for the teacher to
judge whether or not the students have understood any particular section of what
they have heard (Underwood, 1989, p. 17).
Third, listeners have a limited vocabulary. The speaker may choose words the
listener does not know. Listeners sometimes encounter an unknown word which
may cause them to stop and think about the meaning of that word and thus cause
them to miss the next part of the speech.
Fourth, listeners may fail to recognize the signals which indicate that the speaker is
moving from one point to another, giving an example, or repeating a point.
Discourse markers used in formal situations or lectures such as ''secondly,'' or ''then''
are comparatively evident to listeners. In informal situations or spontaneous
conversations, signals are vaguer as in pauses, gestures, increased loudness, a clear
change of pitch, or different intonation patterns. These signals can be missed
especially by less proficient listeners.
Fifth, listeners may lack contextual knowledge. Sharing mutual knowledge and
common content makes communication easier. Even if listeners can understand the
surface meaning of the text, they may have considerable difficulties in
comprehending the whole meaning of the passage unless they are familiar with the
context. Nonverbal clues such as facial expressions, nods, gestures, or tone of voice
can also be easily misinterpreted by listeners from different cultures.
15
Sixth, it can be difficult for listeners to concentrate in a foreign language. In
listening comprehension, even the shortest break in attention can seriously impair
comprehension. Conversation is easier when students find the topic of the listening
passage interesting; however, students sometimes feel listening is very tiring even if
they are interested because it requires an enormous amount of effort to follow the
meaning.
Seventh, students may have established certain learning habits such as a wish to
understand every word. Teachers want students to understand every word they hear
by repeating and pronouncing words carefully, by grading the language to suit their
level, by speaking slowly and so on. As a result, they tend to become worried if they
fail to understand a particular word or phrase and they will be discouraged by the
failure. It is necessary for students to tolerate vagueness and incompleteness of
understanding (Underwood, 1989).
Strategies and techniques to improve listening.
A. Suggestions on Teaching
1. Listening approach
When students need to use their prior knowledge to interpret the text and to create
plausible expectations of what they are about to hear, they will activate knowledge-based
processing. On the other hand, they also need to decode the linguistic input rapidly and
accurately and to map the input against these expectations to confirm consistencies and to
refute implausible interpretations which are referred to as text-based processing. It is
acknowledged that listening strategies should be integrated explicitly and treated
pedagogically to improve listening ability.
2. Classroom procedure
2. 1. Preparing students to listen
Students can make use of analogy to predict and interpret language with past similar
experiences. They have a range of schemata knowledge about particular people, places,
situations and text-types which they can call up and use as points of comparison with what
is currently being heard and experienced. Prediction is an important process in English
16
listening. EFL learners use their perception of the key features of context and their
knowledge of the world to limit the range of possible utterances they are about to hear. This
ability helps students to process the message for deviations from what was expected,
reducing their memory load in order to monitor the incoming message more efficiently.
At the beginning stage, it is the teachers’ task to guide students to gradually develop
how to predict from the known information of the text. Visual support and transcript are
two important sources of support to students. In the form of pictures, graphs, diagrams,
maps, etc., the visual support can help students to predict incoming listening materials
easily by supplying cultural information. It can provide support by reinforcing the aural
message and training them to listen to some difficult specific information. To some
students, what is heard is kind of “sound or noise” instead of meaningful information and
they are very reluctant to pay attention to the overall message but understand every single
word. For these reasons a transcript is valuable for it allows students to go back after the
initial attempt so that they can check to make sure they can hear and understand everything,
increasing their interest and confidence in further listening.
2. 2. Providing students with positive feedback
Providing positive feedback for students means ensuring an experience of success,
which helps remove the mental block of the type discussed by Krashen (1982). In contrast,
repeated failure can result in a panic and a real psychological barrier to effective listening.
If there is a failure for understanding, diagnosing the cause of the failure is so important
that remedial action can be taken. Neglecting the failure for a moment is unreasonable for it
pushes students to slide into confusion and even into further failure.
3. Raising meta-cognitive awareness
Students are capable of observing their own cognitive processes in their listening
and also verbalizing their theories about learning to listen in English. The listening notes by
students and pre-listening and post-listening discussions are very helpful in this sense.
These activities are very useful by involving students in thinking, not just about the content
of listening, but more importantly, about the process of listening. By doing so, they can
have chances to share with one another‘s thoughts and strategies so that they can improve
their own listening ability. More importantly, they will be aware of what leads to their
success and failure and then work out their own effective strategies in listening.
17
B. Suggestions on Textbooks and Teacher’s Books
1. Teacher‘s books should introduce some information about theories on listening
training, so that teachers can base their teaching on these necessary theories. The
information can cover the nature of listening, such as information processing, listening
strategies, problems students may face, and how to solve them.
2. Listening teaching should be a student-training program covering all listening
strategies identified to be involved in listening, which should be systematic. Detailed
information of the strategies to be practiced should be given for both teachers‘ benefits and
students‘ benefits. Suggestions about how to teach each strategy should be as complete as
possible, so that even new teachers can have a good lesson plan.
3. Discourse processing should be encouraged from the very beginning, which is
also the way students naturally process a listening text. So the first thing students are asked
to do with a text should be to consider it as a whole. Then, exercises can gradually involve
more detailed comprehension by analyzing the text to a greater depth.
4. Textbooks and teacher‘s books should provide or at least suggest a framework of
activities which are integrated with listening strategies: pre-listening, while-listening and
post-listening. As the words pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening show, they are
to be performed at three different stages in the classroom teaching of a listening text.
Different listening activities: the stages of a listening class.
Teaching listening activities
Listening is a highly-complex solving activities (Barnes, 1984) in which listeners
interact with a speaker to construct meaning, within the context of their experiences and
knowledge. When students are made aware of the factors that affect listening, the levels of
listening, and the components of the listening process, they are more likely to recognize
their own listening abilities and engage in activities that prepare them to be effective
listeners. Karakas (2002) states that listening activities try to prevent failure so that they can
support the learner‘s interpretation of the text. Listening activities are usually
subcategorized as pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening activities.
A. Pre-listening Activities
18
Schema theory provides strong evidence for the effectiveness of pre-listening
activities which includes the outline for listening to the text and teaching cultural key
concepts. Listening teacher may select certain words, difficult grammatical structures and
expressions to be explained through the discussion about the topic , and may also ask
students to predict the content or what speakers are going to say, based on the information
they have already got. Pre-listening activities usually have two primary goals: (a) to help to
activate students‘ prior knowledge, build up their expectations for the coming information;
and (b) to provide the necessary context for the specific listening task. The teacher could
follow with a listening comprehension activity, such as two people having a conversation
about their daily life. Students must answer true or false questions based on the previous
listening activity. An example of a controlled practice activity could be a drill activity that
models the same structure or vocabulary (Karakas, 2002).
B. While-listening Activities
Listeners who participate actively in the listening experience are more likely to
construct clear and accurate meaning as they interpret the speaker‘s verbal message and
nonverbal cues. During the listening experience students verify and revise their predictions.
They make interpretations and judgments based on what they heard. Listening teacher may
ask students to note down key words to work out the main points of the text. Students
answer comprehension questions while listening to the text and select specific information
to complete the table provided with the text. While-listening activities usually have some of
the following purposes: to focus students‘ comprehension of the speaker‘s language and
ideas; to focus students‘ attention on such things as the speaker‘s organizational patterns; to
encourage students‘ critical reactions and personal responses to the speaker‘s ideas and use
of language. An open-ended activity could follow that allows students to have the freedom
to practice listening comprehension in the class about their daily life and asking for further
information. Listening comprehension should begin with what students already know so
that they can build on their existing knowledge and skills with activities designed on the
same principle. A variation on the ―filling in the missing word listening activityǁ could be
to use the same listening materials, but to set a pair work activity where student A and
student B have the same worksheet where some information items are missing (Karakas,
2002).
19
C. Post-listening Activities
Post-listening activities are important because they extend students‘ listening skill.
Post-listening activities are most effective when done immediately after the listening
experience. Well-planned post-listening activities offer students opportunities to connect
what they have heard to their own ideas and experiences, and encourage interpretive and
critical listening and reflective thinking. As well, post-listening activities provide
opportunities for teachers to assess and check students‘ comprehension, and clarify their
understandings; to extend comprehension beyond the literal level to the interpretive and
critical levels. Different comprehension questions can be assigned for students to discuss
after listening, students then swap information to complete the ―whole class chartǁ,
correlating what each student has heard to arrive at the big picture. If there are any
questions that remain unanswered during the first or second listening, and after the
information swap activity, the whole class can listen to the tape again. The students will
then try to find the answer to the questions that have not been previously understood, rather
than the teacher providing the answers straight away (Karakas, 2002).
20
Coyne, M.D. Kame’enui, E.J. Carnine, D.W., (2007). Effective Teaching Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson; Merrill Prentice Hall.
21
Problems with Reading Comprehension
Over the past decade, there has been an increased focus nationally on the
development of literacy for all students. This increased focus has spawned several
important documents to assist teachers in providing effective reading instruction to prevent
reading difficulties (National Research Council, 1998) and to improve overall reading
performance (National Reading Panel [NRP], 2000). Each of these documents identified
reading comprehension as an essential literacy outcome for students and the ultimate goal
of reading instruction. However, these national panels also acknowledged a need for more
research on reading comprehension. In comparison to existing research on the code-based
components of reading (i.e., phonemic awareness, alphabetic understanding, automaticity
with the code), research on reading comprehension, including vocabulary development, is
less extensive, rigorous, and current. This conclusion was echoed by the RAND Reading
Study Group (2002) which determined that “evidence-based improvements in the teaching
practices of reading comprehension are sorely needed” (p. xxiii). As a result, a number of
important research initiatives, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of
Education Sciences, are currently underway that could significantly add to our
understanding of ways to support reading comprehension for all students.
Perfetti, Marron, and Folz (1996) divided the factors that contribute to reading
comprehension into two general areas: processes and knowledge. Processes involve
decoding, working memory, inference-making, and comprehension monitoring. In contrast,
knowledge factors include word meanings and domain knowledge related to the content of
what is being read. These factors provide a framework for thinking about current trends in
reading comprehension instructional research. Much of the research over the past several
years has focused on the teaching of specific comprehension strategies that reflect those
used by good readers (Pressley, 2000) and this continues to be an important focus for
researchers. However, there is renewed interest in other aspects of reading comprehension.
For example, an area of interest in contemporary reading comprehension research relates to
the importance of individual word knowledge and decoding and its contribution to text
comprehension. Another current issue is how strategic processing interacts with specific
domain knowledge in content area reading.
22
The Role of Decoding in Comprehension Development
Before children learn to read, they are dependent on oral language and pictures to
make sense of the world around them (Carlisle & Rice, 2003). Once children begin to grasp
the alphabetic principle, they are increasingly able to use their understanding of
orthography and phonology to read words, strings of abstract symbols that represent
concepts in their world. This shift from the concrete to the abstract is not abrupt. Rather it is
a gradual process that occurs as students gradually acquire proficiency with the symbolic
system. However, for many students, especially those who experience difficulties learning
to read, the development of word recognition skills acts much like a traffic bottleneck on a
highway. Regardless of students’ level of listening comprehension, they have to learn the
process of word recognition, much like every car on the highway, regardless of its power or
speed, must slow down and pass through the bottleneck. Once through this bottleneck, the
speed and power of a car again become paramount. Similarly, once children learn how to
read words, their proficiency with language comprehension once again becomes an
important contributor to their understanding of texts.
Because text comprehension, in part, relies on proficient decoding, the relation
between children’s listening and reading comprehension grows stronger as they grow older
and more fluent. According to Carlisle and Rice (2003), reading and listening
comprehension grow more similar by about fifth grade compared to earlier grades for both
good and poor readers. Good word readers are able to read a lot. The consequences of
reading well include maximal exposure to new words and phrases, opportunities to read
different types of texts, and practice monitoring one’s understanding (Stanovich, 1986;
Cunningham & Stanovich 1998). In contrast, however, poor word readers remain at the
mercy of their word reading difficulties. As a result of not reading, they fail to learn many
new words, do not develop proficiency in understanding texts, and often learn to dislike
reading (Baker & Wigfield, 1999).
Strategy Instruction versus Content Knowledge
In the 1980s, research on comprehension focused on how proficient readers
understand what they read. The combined results of these studies suggest that good readers
23
are strategic, orchestrating multiple strategies before, during, and after reading to help make
sense of what they read. More recently, some researchers have questioned whether our
almost singular focus on strategy instruction has distracted us from trying to understand
instructional approaches that result in enhanced content knowledge or content engagement.
In a recent international study of fourth-grade reading achievement, researchers reported
that U.S. fourth graders outperformed many other countries on measures of narrative
comprehension, but did relatively poorly on measures of expository text comprehension
(Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez, & Kennedy, 2003). While this study did not establish the cause
of this poor performance, we might infer that it is a result of insufficient content
knowledge. Recent research efforts have turned to examine the relative effects of strategy
instruction versus content engagement or the combined effect of strategy instruction and
content engagement.
It seems reasonable that effective comprehension instruction involves both strategy
instruction (NRP, 2000) and content engagement (Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, &
Worthy, 1996). What we still need to understand is how best to integrate these two key
instructional areas. Despite several unanswered questions about comprehension instruction,
the knowledge base regarding the development of comprehension is robust.
24
The National Capital Language Resource Center (2004). Strategies for Developing Reading Skills. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/reading/stratread.htm. [Last Accessed 11 February 13].
25
Strategies and Techniques for Developing the Reading Skill
Strategies for Developing Reading Skills
Using Reading Strategies
Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that students do not
automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in their native language to
reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they seem to think reading means starting
at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary
item, until they reach the end. When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their
linguistic knowledge, a bottom-up strategy. One of the most important functions of the
language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use top-down
strategies as they do in their native language.
Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their reading
behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and reading purposes. They
help students develop a set of reading strategies and match appropriate strategies to each
reading situation.
Strategies that can help students read more quickly and effectively include:
Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions to get a sense of
the structure and content of a reading selection
Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make predictions about content
and vocabulary and check comprehension; using knowledge of the text type and
purpose to make predictions about discourse structure; using knowledge about the
author to make predictions about writing style, vocabulary, and content
Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main idea,
identify text structure, confirm or question predictions
Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the
text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them
up
26
Paraphrasing: stopping at the end of a section to check comprehension by restating
the information and ideas in the text
Instructors can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways.
By modeling the strategies aloud, talking through the processes of previewing,
predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphrasing. This shows students how the
strategies work and how much they can know about a text before they begin to read
word by word.
By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and predicting
activities as preparation for in-class or out-of-class reading. Allocating class time to
these activities indicates their importance and value.
By using cloze (fill in the blank) exercises to review vocabulary items. This helps
students learn to guess meaning from context.
By encouraging students to talk about what strategies they think will help them
approach a reading assignment, and then talking after reading about what strategies
they actually used. This helps students develop flexibility in their choice of
strategies.
When language learners use reading strategies, they find that they can control the
reading experience, and they gain confidence in their ability to read the language.
Reading to Learn
Reading is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports
learning in multiple ways.
Reading to learn the language: Reading material is language input. By giving
students a variety of materials to read, instructors provide multiple opportunities for
students to absorb vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and discourse structure
as they occur in authentic contexts. Students thus gain a more complete picture of
the ways in which the elements of the language work together to convey meaning.
27
Reading for content information: Students' purpose for reading in their native
language is often to obtain information about a subject they are studying, and this
purpose can be useful in the language learning classroom as well. Reading for
content information in the language classroom gives students both authentic reading
material and an authentic purpose for reading.
Reading for cultural knowledge and awareness: Reading everyday materials that are
designed for native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and
worldviews of the people whose language they are studying. When students have
access to newspapers, magazines, and Web sites, they are exposed to culture in all
its variety, and monolithic cultural stereotypes begin to break down.
When reading to learn, students need to follow four basic steps:
1. Figure out the purpose for reading. Activate background knowledge of the topic in
order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading strategies.
2. Attend to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore
the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the input and
reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term memory.
3. Select strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and
interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their confidence increases
when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct meaning.
4. Check comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed.
Monitoring comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension
failures, helping them learn to use alternate strategies.
28
Tindale, J., (2004). Teaching Reading. 1st ed. England: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research.
29
Different Types of Texts
Selection of reading texts
Which text types should be used for classroom reading?
Should reading texts be simplified for second language learners?
Findings
In a text-based approach, texts are defined as “any stretch of language which is held
together cohesively through meaning” (Feez1998:4)
Texts should be selected according to learner needs and interests, program goals and
objectives, and the social contexts in which learners will use language. Where
possible or appropriate, involve students in text selection.
Classroom research reported by Burns and de Silva Joyce (2000a: xiii) “challenges
current thinking about the need for students to deal always with authentic texts”.
They advocate the used use of readers and carefully simplified texts as a scaffold
towards authentic texts.
Graded reading texts (readers) have been criticized for being unauthentic,
sometimes poorly written, and for using language as a vehicle for form or
vocabulary, rather than meaning. These are problems that can be overcome by
considering why, when and how readers are used, selecting texts carefully, and
using a checklist to evaluate texts.
Suggestions for the classroom
Selecting texts
Explain to students your reasons for selecting particular texts.
Where possible, involve students in the process of selecting texts: encourage
students to find and bring in their own texts.
Use a checklist to evaluate the content of texts:
o Is the text interesting and motivating?
30
o Does the content relate to other texts/topics covered in the course and to
program goals and objectives?
o Does the content relate to students’ life experiences and social,
community, workplace or study needs? (Adapted from Hood et al
1996:56)
Consider the text type when selecting texts:
o What type of texts are students likely to encounter outside the
classroom? How will the texts used in class prepare students for these
texts?
Consider the level of difficulty when selecting texts. Ask yourself the following
questions:
o Are texts culturally and contextually accessible?
o For what purpose will the text be read (eg for details, for gist)?
o Is the language of the text more “written” or more “spoken”? (Adapted
from Hood et al 1996:58)
31
BBC (2011). Stages Of A Reading Lesson. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Hard%20Times_nothing%20but%20facts_worksheet%202.pdf. [Last Accessed 11 February 13].
32
Stages of A Reading Lesson
Focus on the topic
Activity or discussion to focus on the topic of the lesson.
Pre-Teach Selected Vocabulary
Present words (as few as possible and max 8) which students need to complete the tasks
and/or understand the main ideas of the text.
Set Gist Task
Set a task that concerns the main idea of the entire text, or ask students to read to see if their
earlier predictions regarding content were correct.
Text
Students read while the teacher monitors (to check the task is being carried out correctly,
and to judge student performance of the task).
Feedback
Students check answers in pairs or groups, and then as a class.
Set Tasks for Detailed Reading
Give students a task focussing on detailed information before they read again. Ideally this
involves processing the text, for example combining information from two parts of the text
to arrive at a conclusion, or inferencing.
Text
Students read while the teacher monitors (as above).
Feedback
Students check answers in pairs or groups, and the as a class. Teacher and students clarify
any problems in the text.
33
Extension Task
Usually involving the productive skills (speaking or writing) in a reaction to the text, or
building on information within the text.
34
Authentic Listening: What ESL Materials Lack and How to Get It.(n.d.). [ONLINE] Available at: http://busyteacher.org/4945-authentic-listening-what-esl-materials-lack-and.html. [Last Accessed February 12, 2013].
35
Selecting materials for a receptive skill lesson
There are an infinite number of quality ESL materials available on the market
today. For practically any purpose, any skill level, any topic, ESL teachers can find
listening activities target for just that combination.
Unfortunately, listening materials designed for use with ESL classes lack several
elements present in non-ESL targeted material. There is a way, though, to get beyond the
ESL bubble and into the world of authentic listening activities.
What ESL Materials Lack
ESL materials, like any teaching materials, are modified from authentic language
sources to encourage learning and accomplishment for the student. However, listening
activities created for ESL classrooms lack several elements present in authentic spoken
English. This may not be an issue with early learners, but more advanced students should
be challenged to work with authentic materials and further their listening skills. If you limit
your class materials to those designed for ESL use, your students will lack exposure to the
following qualities of authentic speech.
ESL listening materials lack realistic intonation which tends to be less exaggerated.
Exaggerated intonation may aid in comprehension but more likely is seen as silly or is
perceived as irritating by adult students. Additionally, the rate of speech in formulated
materials tends to be steady rather than varied in speed like that of native speech. The
pronunciation will also be unrealistic. Speakers will enunciate more and lack assimilation
and elision that are present in natural speech. There will also be differences in syntax.
Speakers will use simple sentence structures and clearly composed complete sentences. In
authentic speech, speakers more often speak in incomplete sentences and lengthy,
sometimes ungrammatical sentences. Conversations recorded for ESL materials also
have clear turn taking between speakers. More realistically, native speakers of English will
interrupt and speak over one another. Native speakers also tend to speak more or less in a
36
conversation; in prefabricated materials, there is usually a relatively equal division of
speaking time. There are also vocabulary differences between fabricated and authentic
listening texts. ESL texts tend to lack use of slang and limit the amount of vocabulary used.
Finally, in authentic listening situations there is often background noise and other aural
stimuli distracting from the listening text which is not found in classroom materials.
5 Types of Authentic Listening Materials and How to Get Them
Public announcements
One way to bring authentic listening activities into your classroom is to record a
listening text in a public place. This type of listening text will have audible distractions and
interference while still presenting identifiable information to your students. Try recording
an announcement on a bus, subway or plane. Then prepare your students before listening by
telling them the context and ask them what they expect to hear. Play the recording for your
students multiple times, and then ask them to answer questions about what they heard.
Weather forecasts
Allow students to listen to a radio weather forecast. This will challenge them to
understand content without visual clues. Apply this information by planning activities for
the day or choosing what clothing to wear.
Songs
Present students with an incomplete set of lyrics to a popular song. Play the song for the
students challenging them to fill in the blanks of the missing lyrics. You can play the song
multiple times. This challenges students to guess at missing information in what they hear.
Of course, once their lyrics are complete play the song again and give them the opportunity
to sing along.
Radio Commercials
Radio Commercials can be used for a variety of activities. They are especially useful if
they are by local and nonprofessional radio personalities. These texts will give students
exposure to realistic pronunciation, intonation and speed. You can play a selection of
37
commercials for them and ask them to write down particular information, or you can ask
them to match various commercials with pictures of the people who recorded them.
Conversations
Take your students into situations where many groups of people are talking at the same
time, a party or cafeteria for example. Ask your students to “eavesdrop” on four
conversations just enough to note the topic of conversation. Ask students to comment on if
they would like to join in each of the conversations. What would they say? This will
expose students to varieties in style and also challenge them to guess at missing
information in the conversations.
Though better than not including them at all, these authentic listening activities will
be most effective when they relate to other areas of study or interest on the part of your
students.
Authentic listening does not happen in isolation, so try to include as many authentic
listening activities as you can so long as they relate to what your students are learning.
Your students will always be challenged to actively listen when using English. Why not
prepare them while they are still students as to what real challenges await them in the
listening world of English?
38
Jiménez, I. (2007). Selecting reading materials wisely. [ONLINE] Available at: ww.studymode.com/essays/648-1968-1-Sm-1313116.html. [Last Accessed August 31, 2013].
39
As for reading materials, there are factors directly related to tbe students.
Students ' Level
The instructor needs to be aware of the students' level and acknowledge that fact
when selecting the materials for the reading class. Researchers such as Melvin & Stout,
Lotherington, and Fox suggest that the educator needs to know which materials are suitable
for the students' level. Gebhard asserts that the material that is selected for the ESLIEFL
class should not go beyond the students' level. Similarly, Melvin & Stout state that "the
level of the students will infIuence the selection of material".
Asking the students to read material that goes beyond their level might be
counterproductive since leamers may feel that they are simply incapable of reading in the
target language.
Students ' Interests
Researchers have come to the agreement that material s selected for the ESLlEFL
reading c1ass ought to satisfy students ' interests. Lotherington states that no matter how
difficult or easy a text might be, it would be boring or difficult to read if it is not interesting
to the leamer. Similarly, Fox states that the first step for material selection is "to find
material that the students are likely to be interested in. Gebhard and Papalia affirm that the
material for the ESLIEFL class should be selected on the basis of students ' interests.
Students ' Needs
There has been a great deal of agreement among researcher about the importance of
considering students ' needs in the material selection process for the ESL-EFL reading
class. Gebhard states that the teachers should always discover the students ' needs before
making any decisions about the course content. Similarly, Gray says that the teacher should
be aware of the students ' needs to be able to help them fulfill these needs by providing
appropriate materials. According to Grellet, there are certain needs that all the students
have in addition to their individual needs . For instance, all students need to be able to read
fast, to time themselves, to know basic reading techniques, and others . Educators must then
take into account cornmon needs as well as the individual needs in the process of material
selection. The mismatch between students ' expectations in regards to their needs
and interests can result in students ' frustration, which might imply failure on a reading
course.
40
Students' background knowledge
In order to provide the students with suitable material, the instructor must be
familiar with the students ' background knowledge. Research findings ha ve emphasized the
importance of considering this aspect in the material selection process. S mith, for example,
affirms that reading cannot be separated from the readers ' previous knowledge. Referring
to ESL readers in particular, Lotherington-Woloszyn and Nunan agree that the lack of
background knowledge may cause more difficulties for the ESL reader than language
complexity does. Likewise, Fox asserts that "background knowledge is an important part of
the students ' ability to read and understand a particular text. It is possible and not
uncornmon for a reader to understand every word in a passage, without really
understanding what the words mean. For this reason, the role of the teacher is to consider
students ' background knowledge when selecting materials for the reading class.
Aspects related to the text
Relevance
Choosing reading materials wisely al so implies considering the text itself. The
topie, the type of text and the information it sustains make the text relevant. Students must
find that the reading material used in the course is relevant for their professional lives.
Richards mentions that the readings should be related to real world reading purposes. For
this reason, it is necessary to involve leamers to contribute to the reading selection process.
Permitting the students to contributing will certainly benefit the educator as well. Gebhard
asserts that «understanding the needs of students in specific fields can provide the means
through which material s can be selected and created. The teachers can determine how
appropriate the reading materials are by considering whether they are relevant to the leamer
or not (Lotherington).
Content
Fox and others agree that the most important criterion for selecting reading material
for the ESL class is content. They affirm that if the selected content is interesting for the
students, they will be successful in the reading process no matter how difficult the text
rnight be. When the students are required to read a complex text that is at the same time
interesting for them or that refers to knowledge required in other classes, they will probably
41
make more effort to comprehend it, and they will probably use a variety of strategies to
digest it. In order to select reading material with appropriate contents, it is necessary to take
the students' interests and needs into account.
This can be done by asking the students to make a list of topics that they will study
in their specific fields or that they would like to read for fun. A good selection of readings
can result from asking the students to bring their own material to the class. Students could
then devote sorne class time to studying this material. Teachers might want to get copies of
the readings and classify them according to field of study for future reference.
Authenticity
Sorne researchers regard authenticity as another important criterion for the selection
of readings for the ESL/EFL class. However, whether the material used for ESL/EFL
classes should be authentic or not has been widely questioned by those who advocate the
use of teacher-made materials . Among those who advocate the use of authentic material,
Melvin & Stout state that teachers should take full advantage of the potential benefits of
authentic materials. In a like manner, Gebhard points out that authenticity should be part
of the criteria taken into account when selecting appropriate reading material for ESL
classes .
42
How to teach Listening and Reading.(n.d.). [ONLINE] Available at:
info.moe.gov.et/elic/elictlr.pdf. [Last Accessed February 8, 2013].
43
Creating exercises for developing receptive skills
Ideas for listening lessons
Here are some popular and useful activities which you can incorporate in your
listening lessons.
• Obeying the speaker’s instructions, e.g. drawing shapes and pictures
• Ticking off items (words) you hear; for example "Listen to the dialogue about
travelling and tick the means of transport which the people mention”
• Answering yes/no questions or determining true/false statements based on the
recording
• Multiple choice — selecting the option which is correct according to what the
speakers say
• Filling in clozes , for example: Michael travelled to ____ because he was invited
to attend. Students fill in the blanks with the information they hear.
• Guessing definitions: asking what some words used by the speakers might mean.
• Filling in a timetable or chart. For example, 'Listen to the policeman's story about
catching a criminal and put the events in the correct order'.
• Answering comprehension questions: wh-questions requiring longer answers
• Note-taking and summarizing. Students can be asked to listen to a presentation, jot
down the main points and summarize
• Note-taking and paraphrasing. Jotting down information from the recording and
rewording it in a different way
• Interpretation. For example, “Listen to the scientist describing the sources of
pollution and draw a graph which illustrates the ratio of each source."
44
2. Using songs in your lessons
Songs are an enjoyable part of classroom language learning, and recordings of your
favorite songs are a valuable language resource. You can use them to consolidate
grammatical structures and vocabulary, to initiate a discussion, for revision, to focus on
word order or simply as useful 'filler'. Here are some examples of how songs can be used in
the classroom to work on different language areas.
Grammatical structures
"Morning has broken" by Cat Stevens - Present Perfect
"A Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles - Present Perfect
"Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles - Present Simple and Past Simple
"The River of Dreams" by Billy Joel - Prepositions
"Under the Boardwa|k" by The Drifters - Prepositions
"Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega - Present Continuous
Vocabulary
"One Hand in My Pocket" by Alanis Morissette - Adjectives
"You’ve Got a Friend" by Carole King Seasons - times of the day
Topics
"Baggy Trousers" by Madness - School Days
"Father and Son" by Cat Stevens - Family relations/generation gap
"'You‘re in the Army Now" by Status Quo - War and military service
45
"Manic Monday" by the Bangles - Daily routine
"Candle in the Wind" by Elton John - About M. Monroe/ Good for rhymes.
Pronunciation
As songs tend to rhyme, they are a useful way of practicing pronunciation, e.g.
"Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton.
"Every breath you take" by The Police - Good rhymes
Possible stages for using a song in a lesson:
1. Elicit the topic of the song or the name of the group with a visual image or story.
2. Play the song for a general task such as what the song is about.
3. Feedback on the task.
4. Play the song for a detailed task such as gap filling.
5. Students check their answers in pairs and then with the whole class.
6. Final listen and sing-a-long.
7. Follow-up activities such as discussing a topic raised by the song, e.g. sexual
stereotypes ("Boys Don't Cry" by The Cure).
Ideas for song tasks:
1. Gap fill
2. Reordering lines of the song that you have written out, cut up and shuffled
3. Pronunciation work (rhyming)
4. Identifying wrong words from a handout of the song's lyrics (with mistakes)
46
5. Group response by standing up/raising hands when hearing specific grammatical
structures in the song
6. Sing along
7. Put pictures in order (following the story of a song).
Ideas for reading lessons
After your students have completed and understood a text, you will want to move on to
follow up activities so you can develop the ideas and themes in a fun and creative way.
Here are some of the many ways this can be done.
• Do-it-yourself questions - in groups/pairs, students write comprehension questions
for the other students to answer
• Provide a title
• Summarize
• Continue the story
• Preface the story (What happened before the activity in the text began?)
• Fill in gapped text
• Correct mistakes in the text - students have two texts and have to compare/contrast
by asking each other questions about the texts.
• Discussion/debates based on themes in the text
• Revision - rewriting the story using pictures, storyboarding, graphs and pie charts
• Role play or interview
• Write a dialogue in pairs/groups and then perform it for the class
47
• Write an article, letter, diary entry, etc
• Further work on vocabulary
Building a bank of activities
Now that you have learned the basic elements involved in planning a receptive skills
lesson, you can start to build up a repertoire of how to exploit songs and texts. There are
plenty of activities for before, during and after reading a text or listening to a song. Here are
some examples to which you can add your own ideas:
Pre-listening or reading activities could include:
• Predicting what a song is about from the title alone
• Passing around photos or pictures relating to the topic
• Predicting words that could appear in the text or song
• Pre-teaching difficult words or phrases
Activities during the task could include:
• Inventing titles for each paragraph or verse
• Taking dictation from a song
• Writing a summary of a text or song
• Answering questions during the song
After the exercise you could try asking your students to do the following:
• Write alternative lyrics/an extra verse to the song
• Write an interview between two of the characters in the text or song
48
• Re-write the text from someone else's point of view
• Discuss the theme of the song or text
Integrating reading and listening skills into a lesson for teaching the receptive skills
In order to help students develop their receptive skills and get the most out of any
text or recording, it is a good idea to plan a well-staged lesson. Ideally, a lesson should
begin with a general treatment of the text or recorded material and gradually take on a
more specific focus.
Listening
When you plan a listening skills lesson, bear in mind that your class will benefit
from listening to an unfamiliar voice –so use recordings when you can.
Recordings will help develop receptive skills. When planning the stages of your
listening skills lesson, try to make your activities progress from overall (global)
understanding to detailed understanding. Done like this, the class will have more
progressive focus, but it does mean that you will need to do a certain amount of
preparation before the activity can begin.
Reading
When you plan a reading skills lesson, be aware that it is not going to be helpful for
you to read the text aloud. You want your students to expand their reading skills and
these skills are different from listening ones.
Likewise it is unhelpful for your students to read the text aloud themselves (unless
you are particularly focusing on pronunciation skills). The reason for this is that when
students read aloud, they do not focus as well on the content of the text. They tend to
focus on understanding one word at a time and are usually so concerned about
pronunciation that their reading comprehension is compromised.
49
When they listen to others, they do not take in the content in the same way as when
reading silently on their own.
The stages of a listening and reading lesson
Pre-listening/ reading Stage
1. Create an interest: Before the students read or listen, find a way to spark their
curiosity about the text or recording.
2. Pre-teach vocabulary: Focus on any key words or phrases which students need to
understand in order to carry out the listening or reading tasks. Either elicit the words
(i.e. find out whether they already know the words) or present the words they don’t
know. Give words within a context as you elicit/present.
3. Set up the gist listening/reading task: To ensure that students understand a general
idea of what they have read or listened to, provide them with just one or two very
general questions before having them read or listen. These are often referred to as gist,
or global, questions. For example 'What is the text about?‘ or ’Who is the main
character and does the author like him?’
Setting these prior to listening/reading will help them focus as they listen or read,
improve their comprehension and also boost confidence as they almost always find they
are able to successfully carry out the task.
During listening/reading stage
1. Listening/reading for gist: Students read the text to read or listen to a recording.
In a reading lesson, set a time limit (keep it short!) to make sure that students skim the
passage rather than read it word for word.
2. Pair/group work: Students check their answers to the gist questions. Checking
together reduces the anxiety of the student, gives them speaking and listening practice
time and allows the teacher to monitor.
50
3. Feedback to the whole class: If students have not achieved a global
understanding, play the tape or ask them to read the text again.
4. Set detailed questions: For example, ’What did Mary give to John for his
birthday?’ ’Why was John surprised when he saw the present?’
5. Listening/reading for specific information: In a reading skills lesson, give
students time to scan the text looking for specific information.
6. Pair/group work: Ask students to check their answers in pairs or groups.
7. Feedback to the whole class: Ask for personal responses in a class session. If
there is any disagreement on an answer, use the recording/text to focus on the relevant
part.
Post-listening/ reading stage
1. Follow-up. This might be a discussion/ role-play /writing or vocabulary exercise.
The follow up activity gives students the opportunity to use the new vocabulary,
practice their speaking and listening skills, personalize the lesson and gain a sense of
achievement.
2. Homework. Set another follow-up activity as homework, e.g. an essay based on
the text or recording.
In a listening lesson, students will need to listen to a recording (or someone reading
a text) at least twice. The first time is called a "gist listening" and is carried out to help
students understand the main ideas in a text.
The second time students listen they have to focus on the specific details in the text.
One way to help them do this is to provide them with a thorough list of questions that
we have them read through before having them listen to a text a second time.
51
Bibliography
Authentic Listening: What ESL Materials Lack and How to Get It.(n.d.). [ONLINE] Available at: http://busyteacher.org/4945-authentic-listening-what-esl-materials-lack-and.html. [Last Accessed February 12, 2013].
BBC (2011). Stages Of A Reading Lesson. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/Hard%20Times_nothing%20but%20facts_worksheet%202.pdf. [Last Accessed 11 February 13].
Coyne, M.D. Kame’enui, E.J. Carnine, D.W., (2007). Effective Teaching Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners. 3rd ed. USA: Pearson; Merrill Prentice Hall.
How to teach Listening and Reading.(n.d.). [ONLINE] Available at: info.moe.gov.et/elic/elictlr.pdf. [Last Accessed February 8, 2013].
Jiménez, I. (2007). Selecting reading materials wisely. [ONLINE] Available at: ww.studymode.com/essays/648-1968-1-Sm-1313116.html. [Last Accessed August 31, 2013].
Larry Lynch (n.d.). Language Learners' Listening Comprehension. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.eslbase.com/articles/listening. [Last Accessed February 8, 2013].
Macaro, E., (1997). Target Language, Collaborative Learning and Autonomy. 1st ed. USA: Multilingual Matters.
Pourhossein, A. Reza, M, (2011). A Study of Factors Affecting EFL Learners' English Listening Comprehension and the Strategies for Improvement . Journal of Language Teaching and Research. 2, pp.977-988
The National Capital Language Resource Center (2004). Strategies for Developing Reading Skills. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/reading/stratread.htm. [Last Accessed 11 February 13].
Tindale, J., (2004). Teaching Reading. 1st ed. England: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research.
