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Teach English in Niucun Zhen - Yangquan Shi

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Perhaps it is safe to say that reading is a great tool for learning a foreign language. I wonder whether I will be very original claiming that one of the main goals of foreign language learning is effective communication based on the language acquisition. It embraces the ability to understand another speaker and express oneself, as well as the ability to read and write correctly in a foreign language. Therefore, working with a variety of texts is so important in foreign language lessons. It substantially helps students to achieve these goals and to develop four basic linguistic skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Reading is one of the four basic linguistic skills and it is a complex cognitive process aimed at understanding written information. From the teaching point of view, we can distinguish three stages of reading: preparatory stage, reading and understanding stage, and text reflection stage. After reading some literature on the topic, I found out that many scientists at the end of the last century, such as S. Stem (1987), Salih (1989), and others, in their scientific research, emphasized that written text is very effective language learning tool and has a positive impact on developing language skills and communicative competences. S. Stem (1987) also emphasized that reading helps learners to acquire linguistic and cultural skills (e.g. getting to know foreign culture and traditions). However, reading in a foreign language is not just a simple skill but a very complex process. This process includes not only knowledge of the vocabulary and understanding of the meaning but also analysis and processing of the obtained information. This promotes the development of students' imagination and linguistic abilities (e.g., guessing the meaning of a separate word or of a whole sentence). It should be reminded, that silent reading or reading aloud, comprehension and understanding of the text, discussions, presentations, performances, various projects, etc. also have a great influence on the development of communicative abilities (Kiliuvienė and Stanionis, 2008). Reading goals and objectives can be very different. For example, the same person will be reading in a completely different way when he / she reads for his / her own pleasure and when he / she reads with a purpose to find specific information. As was already mentioned, reading can be silent or aloud. Silent reading makes it easier to understand the ways of language usage while reading aloud helps to master phonetic aspects of speech. According to Harmer (2002) and Davis (1998), reading can also be divided into the following types: 1) Scanning (reading for searching specific information); 2) Skimming (reading for understanding the main idea), 3) Interpretative reading or text interpretation (reading where the reader uses his / her knowledge and experience to obtain more accurate information from the written text than is expressly provided; 4) Slow reading or subvocalization (the act of saying words silently to oneself) is a methodical reading used to memorize as much information as possible; 5) Light-reading is a way of reading that does not seek to memorize any information and is intended for pleasure or entertainment; 6) Study reading is directly related to understanding, reflection, analysis and mastery of the text. Famous linguist J. Harmer (2002) divides reading into extensive and intensive reading. Extensive reading is referred to as a long-term process performed in an informal setting, usually for pleasure. Meanwhile, intensive reading is focused on a certain goal. Extensive reading exercises are usually designed for extracurricular activities and intensive reading is more suitable for classroom work. In order to achieve the best learning results, the texts selected for extracurricular activities must correspond to the interests of the students, they should be not too complex and not too elementary as well. Texts for intense reading exercises should be informative, precise and have specific purpose. According to Lithuanian author and expert in educology prof. Vytautas Šernas (2006) readers can be divided into slightly different groups: productive readers (such readers can adapt to the respective situation and combine different ways of reading), superficial readers (these readers usually read quickly but do not get into the essence of the subject), slow readers (read slowly but usually with analytical insight) and non-productive readers (these read slowly and poorly understand the material). Students have different hobbies, needs, and talents, this is why they learn foreign languages in slightly different ways. Having this in mind, it is important for a teacher to select texts, tasks and exercises that correspond not only to a language level but also to their hobbies and interests. The acquisition of a foreign language vocabulary is one of the goals in learning foreign language. By learning enough words and following the rules of grammar, a language learner will be able to connect them into sentences and thus express himself / herself. Some scientists try to prove (Komenski and others) that for successful communication in a foreign language is necessary to know at least 8,000 words. However, other scientists (e.g., Pekel (1988), Šernas (1994)) argue that 100 most frequently used words make up to 20% of the spoken and written language and 500 most frequently used English words contain as much as 70% of most fiction literature texts. Relying on these data, it can be said that English teachers should focus on the correct acquisition of those most used words. When a language learner is reading a new text and encounters an unknown word, there is a chance of misunderstanding or wrong interpretation when false information may be obtained. When a new word is discovered, students often try to ask a teacher for help. However, when reading outside the class, students need to look themselves for the information they need. Some students usually try to guess the meaning of unknown word from the context. And this is a positive thing, as the learner tries to find the most logical way to solve the problem using his / her own personal experience and knowledge. On the other hand, there is a danger of misinterpretation and memorizing the wrong meaning of the word. Therefore, teachers should advise learners always to note the meaning of the words they guess and, when possible, check them in the dictionary. In the modern technology age, many have access to digital dictionaries on computers, mobile phones and other devices. This is a very convenient way to find out or verify the meaning of unknown words just in few moments. For example, in Lithuania bilingual dictionaries are still the most popular. Usually they provide several meanings of foreign language words. The advantage of these dictionaries is that the readers can easily understand direct meaning of the words but they lack examples and information about the practical use of these words. Therefore, higher level students should rely more on monolingual explanatory dictionaries. Finally, it should be said and emphasized that motivation is one of the key factors in foreign language acquisition. Learners can be successfully motivated to learn something new when the subject is closely related to their personal interests, their future plans or objectives. Therefore, language teachers should always consider the selection of texts while planning reading exercises. If the written text is relevant to the learner's interests and environment, it will attract the learner to actively participate in the text exercise and would give better learning results.


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