Pre-reading activities

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 ISSN 1798-4769 Journal of Language Teaching and Research,

Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 569-577, September 2010 © 2010

ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.

An Extract from:

The Effects of Pre-reading Activities on ESP Reading Comprehension.

Paragraph C:

General views on pre-reading activities. (414 words)

The goals of Pre-reading stage are to activate the student’s knowledge of the subject, to provide any language preparation that might be needed for coping with the passage and, finally to motivate the learners to want to read the text (Celce-Murcia, 1991). Tudor (1989) call pre-reading activities “enabling activities” because they provide a reader with the necessary background to organize activity and to comprehend the material (these experiences involve understanding the purpose (S) for reading and building a knowledge base necessary for dealing with the content and the structure of the material). They say that pre-reading activities elicit prior knowledge, and focus attention. Various techniques have been suggested by some authors (e.g. Greenall & Swan, 1986) to mobilize existing knowledge including the use of pictures, movies and even role – plays. Research has not determined which of these is the most effective. So teachers are free to experiment according to the nature of reading material and inclinations of their classes (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1983). In an academic setting, however, more formal techniques might be appropriate, of course different scholars listed different types of pre-reading activities, (Celce-Murcia, 1991:225) suggests, Word Association, Discussion and Text Surveys.

Word association tasks generally involve eliciting from the students as many ideas as they can offer regarding the announced subject of the text. Normally their suggestions are written on the board and sometimes arranged into semantic map or “graphic organizer” which indicates how concepts are related to each other.

Discussions have also been found to activate what students know and through the exchange of information, to enhance their knowledge of the subject. Discussions can be initiated by simply posing questions about the content of the text or by using “anticipation guide” which is a series of statements often provocative in nature, which are intended to challenge student’s knowledge and beliefs about the content of the passage (Celce-Murcia, 1991:225).

Nuttal (1982) claims that discussion promotes the active struggle with the text and students learn the processes of critical thinking that good readers use. Group work is ideal, because in small groups, even the weaker students should be active and learning. The procedure works in almost every level, and discussion can be in L1, if students cannot manage it in the FL.

Text Survey is often, but not exclusively, used with longer stretches of discourse, such as chapter from a textbook, the purpose of this activity is to quickly determine the structure of the piece and to identify the key ideas (Celce-Murcia, 1991).

 

General views on pre-reading activities.

(Text reduced to 190 words.)

The goals of Pre-reading stage are to activate knowledge, to provide language preparation and to motivate learners to read the text.  Tudor calls pre-reading activities “enabling activities” because they provide the necessary background to organize activity and to comprehend the material. Greenall & Swan suggest various techniques to mobilize existing knowledge. In an academic setting more formal techniques are appropriate. Celce-Murcia, suggests different type of activities called: Word Association, Discussion and Text Surveys.

Word association tasks involve eliciting from the students as many ideas as they can offer, regarding the announced subject of the text.

Celce- Murcia says Discussions are found to activate what students know and through the exchange of information, to enhance their knowledge of the subject. Discussions can be initiated by questions about the content of the text or by using “anticipation guide” a series of statements, which are intended to challenge student’s knowledge and beliefs about the content of the passage...

Text Survey is often used with longer stretches of discourse, such as chapter from a textbook, the purpose of this activity is to determine the structure of the piece and to identify the key ideas.

 

Wordy Sentences

 Adam Smith and Modern Economy.

Adam Smith wrote the first complete study of political economy. Smith`s book, The Wealth of Nations, pointed out and directed attention to economical and political interdependences. Conservative business people considered him to be an excellent businessman and a pioneer of its generation; on the other hand, Liberals believed his ideas left out of market to average citizens. His theories made him to be considered as a controversial man in economical practices.  

Reducing texts for abstract purposes

 

 

Reducing texts for abstract purposes

Exercise 1

This summary must be reduce to 115 words, omit unnecessary words and avoid redundant expressions.

Schenker, in her article “Smart House”, in Speak up 169, accounts for that in the future, thanks to technology, houses will be networked making people´s life easier and more comfortable. The electronic devices will be connected to internet and will have special chips to control different activities like housework, communications, shopping, bills or people´s social life. The disadvantages or drawbacks of having a networked home do not seem to be very significant. Essentially, people will just have to pay some extra dollars for the extra chips,, the connection to internet and the security measures to protect the system against cyber pirating. The maintenance will not have to be afforded by the people for the reason that the services will repair themselves. The author concludes that the money that people can spend will not mean much considering all the valuable benefits of having a smart house.

Summary reduce to 115 words.

Schenker, in her article “Smart House”, Speak up 169, explains that in the future, thanks to technology, houses will be networked making people´s life easier and comfortable. Electronic devices will be connected to internet and have special chips to control different activities like housework, communications, shopping and bills. The disadvantages of having a networked home are not significant. People will just have to pay some extra dollars for the chips, the connection to internet and the security measures to protect the system against cyber pirating. The maintenance will not be afforded since the services will repair themselves.  Money that people can spend will not mean much considering the valuable benefits of having a smart house.

Exercise 2

Again you will try to reduce this summary in 115 words.

This study went trough over 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 first drafts of essays by 47 university ESL students who are advanced, considering both the pragmatic goals for and the linguistic features of each comment. After this, drafts of each individual essay were examined to observe the influence of the first draft commentary on the students´ revisions and asses whether the changes that were made in response to the teacher´s feedback actually improved the essays. The author thinks that a really significant proportion of the comments led to substantive student revision, and that there were particular types or kinds and forms of commentary that were more helpful than other commentaries. The final results are suggestive of several important implications for L2 writing instruction and for future studies on a vital but surprisingly neglected topic.

Summary reduce to 115 words.

This study went trough 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 drafts of essays by 47 university ESL students, considering both the pragmatic goals and the linguistic features of each comment. Drafts of each individual essay were examined to observe the influence of the first draft commentary on the students´ revisions and asses whether the changes made in response to the teacher´s feedback improved them. A significant proportion of the comments led to substantive student revision, and there were particular types and forms of commentary that were more helpful than others. The final results are suggestive of several important implications for L2 writing instruction and for future studies on a vital but neglected topic.

Paraphrasing

What is Paraphrase?

To paraphrase a statement is to restate it using different words and/or grammar while keeping the same meaning. You can paraphrase a statement at the same level of language or at a different level, e.g. make the sentence harder or easier than the original. This requires a solid understanding of the concepts and a good range of vocabulary. Being able to express difficult concepts more simply can help your listener. It can also help you to discuss subjects that you understand but cannot yet talk about at a high level of language.

Exercise 1

Paraprhase each sentence.

1. Despite their mamassive size elephants are known for bien agile.

Even though elephants are really big they are really fast and skilled.

2. Because elephants consume up to 500 pounds of food a day, they are able to strip a forest bare in no time.

Elephants can make a forest desappear since they eat more than 200 kgs of food a day.

3. Over the centuries, lions have been used in art to represent power and magnificence.

Lions have been examples of  domain and grandeur during a long period of time.

4. Lions are social animals with one dominant male in each pride.

An oppressive male exist in every herd of lions.

5. George Washington Carver was a dedicated teacher, in addition, he was known as a talented artist, musician, and researcher who made valuable contributions to his people and  his country.

Having made considerable contributions to his nation and its inhabitants, George Washingtong Carver was an extraordinary artist,musician and researcher, but he was mostly known because of  his dedication to teach.

6. Archibald Mcleish, known for his poetry, was appointed head of the Library of Congress by President Rooselvelt in 1939.

President Rooselvelt declared Archilbald Mcleish to be the principal of the Library of Congress in 1939.

What do you perceive from the picture?

The following photo, beyond the clouds and the sea,  makes the viewer to feel some kind of peace and tranquility. Particularly, in my personal opinion, the shadows of the clouds seem to be a type of herd, where everyone is following some unknown or known destiny, where the finishing line is the reason to keep fighting to survive the adversities of life.

Main Ideas in written texts!

Identifying the main idea

What is the main idea?

It may be helpful to first explain what the main idea is not. It is not the information obtained during the introduction to the text when the title, headings, illustrations etc. are briefly considered, and linked to background knowledge, prior to reading. Although these text features are often useful in scaffolding readers towards finding the main idea, on their own, they are not enough. Readers need to explore the text at a deeper level in order to confirm or put aside any tentative thoughts about the main idea that the text introduction may prompt.

It is also important to note that the main idea is not simply what the text is about. To paraphrase Gerald Duffy (2003), "Charlotte's Web" is a story about a spider called Charlotte and a pig called Wilbur, but the main idea is more to do with the things that give life meaning: friendship, love, birth and death. The main idea then, is what the author wants readers to understand is important and valued in the text, i.e., across the whole text, not just within sections of it.

If you intend to use one of the Main Idea assessment resources available in the English bank and are not familiar with teaching the main idea comprehension strategy, it would be useful to read the "Teaching and learning" section of the resource prior to administering the task. The more you understand about the concept of main idea, the clearer you will be when you introduce the task to your students.

Finally, because the main idea is hardly ever explicitly stated by the author, and because readers can't get inside the author's head to find out exactly what they want readers to understand is important and valued in the text, readers can only ever make an informed guess about what the main idea is. Consequently, readers often disagree about the main idea. Any disagreement is best seen as a valuable opportunity for discussion.

How do you find the main idea?

When determining the main idea the reader uses text details, in conjunction with their prior knowledge, to think about what the main message of the text might be. As they read, they begin to tentatively group related details, constantly asking themselves where the author is placing emphasis or value. At various stages throughout the reading the reader may decide to reject very small groups of related details as not being particularly valued by the author. However, as they read on, gathering and grouping more details, they may reverse such a decision. Finally, the reader combines all the evidence, including their prior knowledge, and decides what is most important and valued in the text. http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/comprehension/ideas.php

1 Identify the important information.

2 Group the important information.

3 Combine the groups to get the main idea.