Developing Materials for Reading and Writing Skills - Essay Example

The Genre Approach: Developing Materials for Reading and Writing Skills "When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing". Enrique Jardiel Poncela Introduction Over the decades, there has been a tremendous expansion of reading material in different genres, posing a definitive challenge to any reader in comprehending and decoding the meaning of the written text. I believe that the skill of L2 reading and writing is in a way juxtaposed as reader's comprehension of any text rests on the ease with which a text is written. As aptly pointed out by Simpson (2000) that "there is synergy between reading and writing processes. To be good writers, students need to read well. Reading will also help them read their own writing more analytically". On the other hand, the skill of writing is difficult when compared to reading because writing requires more effort in terms of correctness of grammar, use, or appropriacy of expression, punctuation, spelling, and of comprehension on the reader's part. But, I think if a reader has world knowledge and has a habit of reading a range of texts across different domains, s/he will be able to comprehend unfamiliar texts with ease. This paper is presented with an assumption that reading texts of various genres is likely to enhance the writing ability of a student because a fluent reader's word knowledge as well as knowledge of the academic texts is considered to be high, as aptly reported by (Kintsch, 1998) that skilled readers are good decoders with an ability to recognize words twice as fast as unskilled readers. Therefore, I believe that the teacher's approach towards classroom instruction should focus on various academic genres, and in integrating reading and writing skills that help students develop relevant academic vocabulary used across various disciplines. Studies also indicate that readers' knowledge in a domain helps in understanding the text better than readers with little or no knowledge in a domain (Sampson, 2003). However, the ever changing scenario in education and teaching approaches nudges the students to learn various reading and writing strategies that would help them succeed academically. At the same time, teachers and researchers continue to churn out various curricula, and device a variety of reading strategies in order to determine the most effective strategy that would help students to be effective learners. Though, these strategies (Simpson, 2000) were assumed to be part of a hidden curriculum, realizing their importance various studies have been carried out since 1960 till today by researchers. As (Simpson, 2000) pointed out that "The advantages of teaching strategies within a context are numerous. Students can learn how to define and interpret academic tasks, establish goals, and select the appropriate strategies, and then evaluate the utility of those strategies in relationship to the specific contexts". Along side, latest research trends and best practices continue to evolve based on sound theory and research. The skill of reading The purpose of reading can be classified into two categories depending on what they are read for - for pleasure or for information. Similarly, the purpose of reading varies from situation to situation and from text to text. Since reading is an active process, a reader's understanding of any text depends on the application of mental faculties. Therefore, the reader should have the knowledge of the writing system, the language, the ability to interpret, the knowledge of the world and a reason for reading. Thus, while reading a reader interacts with a text decodes it and constructs meaning. In the process, what the reader constructs depends on what the writer writes. On the contrary, poor or passive readers lack certain abilities as (Farr, 2003) stated that poor readers fail to relate with background knowledge, make interpretations, or understand the purpose of reading, in short they do not think while reading. A number of reading strategies have been developed to make reading purposeful and to make the student an effective reader. The skill of writing The role of second language writing is gaining importance from the point of classroom purpose as well as professional or academic career. Unlike speaking, which is inherently learnt, writing must be explicitly taught. Contrary to reading as already mentioned writing is a difficult skill, therefore, L2 writing poses a greater challenge for teachers. I think that while teaching writing, the emphasis should be more on communication of ideas coherently, besides good handwriting and motor-mechanical skills, knowledge of grammar etc. Amongst some of the writing strategies, product and process approaches have been in vogue. Though process writing approaches have major influence on ways of writing over the product approaches, there is little evidence to ascertain that it has a significant impact on the L2 writing (Hayland, 2003). The reason being process approach fails to capture the social facets beyond the individual that ultimately help in writing. Keeping in view the various limitations of process approach, (Hayland, 2003) has investigated the possibilities of genre based approach in teaching writing. In genre based approach the emphasis is more on the different purposes of writing in different contexts, which demands for variation in the use of language and not universal rules (Halliday, 1994). Process models may indicate how some writers write, but they do not reflect on the use of language. Curriculum and materials Ultimately, the students' ability in reading and writing skills is enhanced through the means of curriculum, different materials and strategies used. The role of teaching materials in developing language skills is vital for any classroom instruction because a student can sometimes become an independent learner with the help of a good textbook, in spite of an ineffective or non-existent teacher. Therefore, the role of teaching materials can be termed as an instrument or tool to be used by both teachers and students. I believe that in order to use the materials effectively, we need to understand how they can be adapted, enriched and interpreted. Coursebooks and teaching materials serve as guide or map to the teacher, they provide a structure for teaching and from the learner's point of view, they define what is to be learned, and what will be tested. Traditionally, the most convenient and handy tool for teachers and students was the text book or coursebook. But, over a period of time keeping abreast of the current demands of language, a large number of teaching materials such as handouts, worksheets, theme units, seasonal units, multilingual handbooks, task based activities etc have become order of the day. Though the text book remains to be the most popular tool within a school setting, it has been replaced by diverse materials in ESL classes. However, it is important to carry out context analysis or survey of needs of learners when selecting materials for a new course or for a new group of students (Ian McGrath, 2002). With an assumption that the adult ESL students have a basic knowledge of the language and also come with the world knowledge, I assumed that handouts, worksheets, activities, task based activities and authentic materials (e.g. off-air recordings, newspaper articles, advertisements) that have been specially selected for teaching purposes by the teacher as the most suitable materials that would help them refine their reading and writing skills. In the paper the teaching materials are prepared keeping in mind adult ESL students. For which, I chose to adopt and stay within the framework of - Curriculum plus Strategy Instruction, one of the instructional methods advocated by US Department of Health and Human Services, (2000). I also chose to design material using think-alouds to improve reading comprehension. Genre approach As mentioned previously, keeping in view the pedagogical implications and benefits of genre approach, I chose to design materials based on genre texts. I believe that a genre based curriculum will introduce the students to a variety of disciplines, contexts and a wide range of linguistic variations, which is likely to help them in gaining multiple illiteracies. As a result, the settings within the curriculum are not isolated to familiar situations, but have a wider perspective in terms of academic growth. Before progressing further, an attempt is made to define genre and understand genre from the perspective of teaching materials. According to (Hayland, 2000) ESP genre approaches have laid a great impact on L2 writing instruction worldwide, which in turn gave a solid research base to teaching. Genre approach reflects on how an individual uses language in particular contexts and for different purposes. I believe that genre based curriculum will not only help in enhancing linguistic competencies, but also widen the knowledge in various contexts and situations. Models using strategies and teaching materials The following examples on teaching materials are designed to help the students in applying the relevant strategies and in enhancing their reading and comprehension abilities in various contexts. 1A. In this model described below the strategy and teaching goal is aimed at identifying the register unique to that particular genre and style of expression appropriate for a particular context and genre. a. In the first step, the teacher distributes handouts to the students. Each handout has a letter addressed to a particular aspect or problem printed on it. The content in the letters is addressed to different kinds of jobs without a clear indication of the exact nature of the job. b. Each student is asked to read aloud the letter and try to identify the nature of job and the kind of organization mentioned in the letter. In the process, the students' cognitive and language strategies in understanding different subjects is tested. The students consciously or unconsciously apply strategies in word analyzing, accuracy, fluency, and also listening comprehension in understanding the meaning of the content. c. Then the students are asked to reproduce similar letters which in turn gives them a practice in writing and using expressions pertinent to the genre they intend to address. 1B. A group activity in this model: In this activity a class of say 14 students is divided into 7 groups of 3 each. Step 1: Each group is given a paragraph with contradictions. The paragraph given to each group is on different subjects. Step 2: Then the group is asked to read the paragraph with contradictions carefully and rewrite it with appropriate changes. Step 3: The individual group reads the paragraph and discusses hot the paragraph with contradictions has to be sorted and rewritten. Step 4: Each group is asked to read aloud the paragraph with contradictions and also the rewritten paragraph. Example of a paragraph with contradictions: Sam is a butcher who always sells good stale bread. One morning last week, he was at work in his office when a lady came in and asked for two cakes of soap and 3 kgs of sugar. Sam had never had such a large order before, so he suggested that the lady should take half the order with her and take half the order the next day. The lady agreed. So the end of the day, she came back and took the whole order. To sum up, this activity helps the students kindle their cognitive thinking about interpreting the right message and replacing the contradictory words/phrases with appropriate vocabulary as per the context and also analyzing the words and understanding the meaning of the context. 2. In this model handouts containing three passages of different genres are distributed to the students. For example, the texts of different genres such as a scientific text, a literature text, and a fictional text are presented in the handout. a. In the first step, the handouts are distributed to the students and they are asked to read them silently. b. In the second step the students are asked to identify and label the texts according to the content. Then they are asked to write the content in the form of points. c. In the third step each students is asked to read aloud the points they have written. In the process, the students are encouraged to use their background knowledge in identifying the texts and are exposed to different disciplines. 3. This activity is based on think-aloud model where the student is encouraged to reflect by thinking aloud while reading. This method helps the student in enhancing her/his comprehension abilities. They are also made to understand the difference between reading words and comprehending or interpreting the meaning hidden in the words and groups of words. In this model authentic text such as a news paper article is taken. a. In the first step, the article is distributed to the students. b. In the second step, the teacher demonstrates the method of decoding the text by think-aloud method. For example: The teacher thinks aloud: - What does the title indicate Does the title indicate to which section of the paper the article fits in -Do I know anything about the subject that is being dealt in the article c. In a similar manner, the students are encouraged to decipher the text in various contexts and think-aloud while trying to comprehend the actual meaning of the entire text. d. In the final step, the students are asked to write a gist of the article in simple language. In the process the students unconsciously learn the strategies of comprehending difficult texts and are encouraged to analyze the text at various stages. 4. A model applying Bloom's Taxonomy: In this activity, the students are given a table with some data on people speaking English followed by true or false questions. Taking into picture Bloom's taxonomy the focus is on comprehension, interpretation and analysis of given data. Here the students should understand, apply and analyze the data in order to answer the questions. Thus, this model signifies Bloom's taxonomy of metacognitive knowledge as mentioned by (Krathwohl, 2002), which explains that it is important to have "Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one's own cognition" in order to perform certain tasks. Step 1: Each student is given a table as mentioned below: Table showing the percentage of people speaking English in different countries: Country Very good Good Poor Very Poor Japan 58% 56% 5% 2% Germany 45% 41% 8% 7% Russia 10% 25% 15% 20% Taiwan 9% 5% 35% 50% Using the table write if the following are True (T) or False (F): 1. The percentage of people speaking very good English in Germany is high ( ). 2. The percentage of people speaking good English in Taiwan is very low (). 3. In Japan and Germany the percentage of people speaking English in general is reasonably good when compared to other countries (). Answer the following question using the data. 1. Could you write a comparative statement with the data given in the table 2. Try to write a few lines about how good are you in speaking English and where would you place yourself in the above category In this activity the students are made to interpret, analyze compare and contrast the data before answering the questions. Besides, evaluate their own proficiency in the language and write a few lines, which give them a practice in writing after reading the data and interpreting. The number of questions can vary depending on the length of table and the amount of data presented in the table. Similarly, the data in the table can vary with the subject being dealt or according to the context. Note: The percentage values are not factual but only hypothetical. The role of a teacher in classroom methodologies As a final word, these methods and strategies are effectively put to use only when the teacher takes the role of an active creator of her own materials and class room activities, keeping in mind the abilities and proficiency level of students. The teacher must shift from being a passive recipient and recognize what method works and what does not work through the direct study of the classroom itself. The teacher must prepare a check list so as to see if the employed methods are in accordance with the goals set and see to what extent the designed tasks are reflecting a real-world or pedagogic rationale The teacher must also see that the task actually engages the learners' interests and what type of language is actually stimulated by the task. Finally, the teacher must determine and evaluate how successfully the learners have performed and what is achieved from the task. List of References Halliday, MAK. 'An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.)'. London: Edward Arnold, 1994. Hyland, K. 'Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing'. London: Longman, 2000. Hayland, K. 'Genre-based pedagogies: A social response to process'. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, Pergamon, 2003 pp. 17-29. Ian McGrath, 'Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching'. UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2002. Kintsch, W. 'Comprehension: A paradigm for cognition. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Krathwohl, DR. 'A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy'. Theory into Practice, 41(4). US: Ohio State University, 2002 pp.212 to 218 Simpson, ML, et al. 'An update on strategic learning'. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(6). DE: International Reading Assoc., 2000 pp. 258 to 286. Sampson, G. 'Coping with tough texts'. Journal of Chinese & Foreign Educational Sciences. China: Asia Pacific International Cultural Publisher, 2003. Farr, R. 'Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension'. http://www.indiana.edu/crls/rogerfarr/mcr/usingta/usingta.html. US: Indiana University, 2003. US Department of Health and Human Services: Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to Read, Reports of the subgroups. Retrieved January 27, 2003 from the www:http//www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/report.htm. Read More