Example Of Essay On What: Predicting The Contents Of The Text Basing On Its Formal Properties.

1. Previewing (SPEAKING)

WHY: This strategy helps the students to recognize different structures of texts, identify signal words, develop their analytical skills.
HOW: The teacher chooses the text with a big headline and asks the students what the article will be about basing on the headline.

WHEN: The strategy will be especially helpful as a pre reading task.

2. Contextualizing ( SPEAKING)

WHAT: Discussing the context of the text to be read.

WHY: This strategy will help to arouse interest in the text among students.
HOW: Before reading the text “Modern Airlines” the teacher asks the students what airlines they usually travel with, what are their favorite airlines.

WHEN: The strategy can be applied for pre-reading tasks.

3. Visualizing. ( WRITING/COMPREHENSION)
WHAT: Visualizing the gist of the text by different means: in a student’s mind, with the help of graphic organizer.

WHY: The strategy will help to better understand the context of the text, especially for visual learners.

HOW: The teacher lets the students read the text about Gulliver’s adventures. Then the students are to draw a flow chart of what has happened to Gulliver step by step.

WHEN: The strategy is especially useful when a text contains a lot of information to be structured, after-reading task.

4. Asking and answering questions (COMPREHENSION)

WHAT: Asking questions about the text before reading and checking the answers to the questions after reading

WHY: It will help to arouse interest in the text and make the students read the text more attentively.
HOW: The teacher asks the students to read the heading of a newspaper article. E.g., the heading is “Travelling to Europe”. He asks what the students expect to learn from this article and put some questions according to the topic. After reading the students check whether they have found answers to their questions.
5. Summarizing (COMPREHENSION)

WHAT: Getting the gist of the text and expressing it in an oral or written manner.

WHY: The strategy helps to define the key points of the text.
HOW: The teacher asks the class to read a short detective story by Agatha Christie. After reading he asks to summarize in 1-2 sentences who committed the crime and why.

WHEN: Can be applied as an after-reading task for checking the comprehension of the text.

6. Skimming (COMPREHENSION)

WHAT: Getting the main idea of the text with the help of speed reading.

WHY: It helps students to learn to work with long texts and focus on what they are interested in.
HOW: The teacher hands out different articles and asks the students to skim them for 15 minutes. After they have done it he asks them what they remember reading.
WHEN: Skimming is good for learning business English when students need to read long reports and pick out the information they really need.
7. Scanning (COMPREHENSION)

WHAT: Searching a text for a particular information.

WHY: It helps students to quickly find the exact information they need.
HOW: The teacher gives the students the cards with different dates and asks to search them in the text.
WHEN: The strategy is applicable when a text contains a lot of exact data ( dates, time tables etc.).
8. Guessing the meaning of words.(VOCABULARY)*

What: Guessing the word’s meaning basing on:

similarity of the word in English and in the native language
decomposition of words into several separate words
WHY : It helps to learn to analyze English vocabulary without actual translation and eliminate a language barrier for understanding the text.
HOW: Before reading the text the teacher discusses with the students some new words from the text and asks them to guess what they mean.

When: Pre-reading tasks.

9. Vocabulary work with a dictionary (VOCABULARY)

WHAT: Using English-English dictionary to understand unknown words.

WHY: Students learn the definition of new words provided by native speakers, i.e. they learn the way of thinking of a native speaker.
HOW: Before reading the text the teacher suggests finding out the meaning of certain words from the text in English-English dictionary.

WHEN: Pre –reading tasks

10. Organizing (Study skills)

WHAT: Dividing the text into logical parts ( paragraphs) basing on its contents and logical unity.

WHY: The strategy develops the student’s logic and ability for systematization .
HOW: The teacher prepares a text with no paragraphs. The task of the students is to divide the text into logical paragraphs and enter cohesive ties where necessary.

When: After the first or the second reading.

11. Authentic/ translated reading (STUDY SKILLS)

What: Reading books in the original and comparing it with its translated variant.

Why: Aim of the strategy is to attract students to original English works. A lot of English/American literary works are well known through its translated variants. ESL students have the opportunity to compare different ways of thinking of theirs and Americans/English.
How: The teacher divides the students into 2 groups. One group reads a chapter of Jane Eyre in the original. The other reads the same chapter in translation. Each group retells the chapter. The results are compared.

When: extra class activities.

12. Continuation of the story.(WRITING)

What: Writing the continuation of the text

Why: The strategy develops a student’s imagination and makes him involved into the situation described in the text.
How: The teacher lets the students read a short detective story. The story suddenly ends at the most decisive moment. The task of the student is to write 1-2 paragraphs of how the story may end.

When: Follow-up activity for fiction texts.

13. Expressing attitude (WRITING/SPEAKING)

What: Expressing personal attitude to the ideas, events of the text.

Why: It helps a student to form his/her own attitude to the read material and develops critical thinking.
How: The teacher asks the students to read an article about a nuclear weapon threat and express their attitude towards the problem

WHEN: after reading the text as a follow-up activity.

14. Identifying difficulties (STUDY SKILLS)

What: reading through the text and distinguishing difficult words and phrases.

Why: It helps the students to eliminate any obstacles for good comprehension of the text.
How: The teacher asks the students to read through the text and say what unknown phrases/words they have encountered. Then the teacher explains the meaning of unknown words.

When: Each time when reading a new text after the first reading.

15. Using audio materials ( Listening/comprehension)

What: Listening and reading the same text at the same time.

Why: It helps to better understand the text as two sense organs are activated. Besides, an ESL student can learn the correct pronunciation of all the words.

HOW: Listening and reading the text at the same time

WHEN: When reading authentic texts with many unknown words.
16. Text transformation (SPEAKING/WRITING)
What: It’s a follow up activity when a student builds up his own text basing on the read text on the same topic but referring to his native background.
WHY: It helps to build up a new vocabulary and encourages to use new language structures learnt from the text. There’s also an intercultural dialogue.
HOW: The teacher asks the students to read the text about education in Britain. Then he asks to speak about education in their native country using the words and expressions from the text.

When: Can be used as a follow up for texts with intercultural contents.

17. Favorite Reading (WRITING/SPEAKING)

What: Students themselves choose what book/text to read according to their interest and inclinations.

Why: It evokes interest in reading among students.
How: The teacher ask the students to make a presentation of their favorite book/ story in English for the rest of the class.

When: Occasionally as an extra class reading

18. Time Reading (FLUENCY)

What: Students are given a certain period of time during which they are supposed to read the whole text

Why: The strategy encourages students to quickly focus on the gist of the text.
How: The teacher asks the students to read the text and to express the main idea of the text and answer the questions to the text in 10 minutes.

When: can be applied to any text

19. Analyzing artistic value of the text.(study skills)

What: Identifying special artistic means with the help of which the author reached a special emotional effect.

How: The teacher asks the students to read a chapter of “Romeo and Juliet”. Then the students are to pick out the words with the help of which the author expresses Romeo’s bravery, nobility, affection etc.

When: after close reading for fiction.

20. Snowball retelling (FLUENCY)

What: Retelling the story close to the text

Why: developing student’s memory
How: Students read a short text. Then the first student recalls the first sentence of the text. The second student recalls the first and the second sentence and so on and so forth.

When: applicable for short simple texts

*for ESL students