Teaching reading
Can you read this paragraph?
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht
oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can
be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it
wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the
huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter
by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Starting to read and write in English
Oral skills must be established before beginning to read (plenty
of listening and speaking before reading and writing).
Realistic objectives for developing literacy skills up to the 3rd
class:
 enhance positive attitudes to literacy (books, stories,
flashcards)
 copying and reading words/short sentences that have a
personal meaning
 learning to read some words by sight
By the age of 10, the first language literacy skills are probably
quite firmly established and reading and writing can be
introduced as part of FL learning.
How to start with reading
Use orally known texts in the initial phases:
 children will not have to use the L1 decoding
system and read with correct pronunciation, stress
and intonation
 new words should be introduced before reading
(e.g. by using flashcards)
 a possible start : “reading” a familiar rhyme or song,
written on the board; children are asked to “read” –
in fact, they are saying it by heart
The “Look and say” approach
Children can learn to read their first words by sight, they
can recognize it after seeing it several times (so called
sight recognition).
Based on words and phrases and makes a lot of use of
flashcards and wordcards. The teacher shows the word
and says it while pointing to the object, the children
repeat the word.
Word recognition games such as matching words and
pictures, guessing which card Teddy has picked, etc.
By learning to read this way children slowly begin to work
out the relationship between the written and the spoken
form.
Reading techniques
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skimming: reading a passage quickly to grasp the main idea (one
simple question to be answered after reading a text quickly, match
pictures to paragraphs)
scanning: reading a passage quickly to find specific information (match
a title to a paragraph)
paraphrasing: retelling the context in other words
contextual guessing: guessing the meaning of words from context
correcting mistakes, true/false statements
information transfer:information from the text is transferred into a
graph, timeline, etc.
scrambled texts: „jigsaw reading“, re-ordering of mixed up texts
intensive reading: reading for complete and detailed comprehension
extensive reading: reading widely (e.g. a book) to improve
comprehension, vocabulary…
Reading aloud
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rare in real life (bedtime stories to children, give
information to sb.), silent reading is what remains
with most people for the rest of their lives
in the classroom: popular and valuable especially
with beginners - motivates, gives satisfaction, useful
for practicing pronunciation
children should not be expected to read aloud
material they had not encountered orally!
Creating a literate environment in the
classroom
 labels: on furniture and object around the class and
school
 posters of a rhyme or a song you are learning
 short messages, e.g. on the board (Don’t forget your
crayons on Friday!) or more personal messages (written
assessment in children’s work Well done!, Good job!)
 literacy routines: completing weather/date/classroom
duties charts
 graded readers: simplified versions of well-known
stories, lexically and structurally graded
 An English Corner