Computer Assisted Language Learning and Teaching

Instructor: Chi-Fen Emily Chen  陳其芬

Department of English

National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

Unit 7.  Using Technology to Teach Reading Skills

7.1   The Role of Reading in SLA

7.1.1   Three Models of Reading Process

7.1.2   Reading and Schema Theory

7.2   Teaching Reading Skills and the Use of Computers

7.2.1   Automatic Word Recognition Skills

7.2.2   Vocabulary and Structural Knowledge

7.2.3   Formal Discourse Structure Knowledge

7.2.4   Content / World Background Knowledge

7.2.5   Synthesis and Evaluation Skills

7.2.6   Metacognitive Knowledge and Skills

7.1   The Role of Reading in SLA

7.1.1   Three Models of Reading Process

The reading process involves the text, the reader, and the interaction between the two. Theorists have proposed three basic models of how reading occurs: bottom-up, top-down, and interactive.

•   The Comparison between the Three Models:

7.1.2   Reading and Schema Theory

The function of background knowledge in the reading process is formalized in schema theory.  According to schema theory, the reader brings previously acquired background knowledge organized into interrelated patterns, or schemata, to the reading process. Then the reader creates meaning by relating the text to this background knowledge, including knowledge of customs and beliefs from his or her own experiences.

Three are three types of schemata that have an impact on reading comprehension:

1. Formal schemata: prior knowledge of rhetorical structures and conventions (e.g. different types of expository organizational patterns: cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and chronological order, etc.)

2. Content schemata: background knowledge of the subject of the text, which is often culture-bound.

3. Linguistic schemata: decoding knowledge used to recognize words and determine their syntax in a sentence; that is, prior knowledge of a particular vocabulary and grammar rules.

* Discussion Questions:

1. Please examine your reading process and find out what approach you usually use in reading English.  Do you use the same or different approaches when reading texts in Chinese and in English (or other foreign languages)?

2. Recall your reading experience in English that caused you difficulty in comprehending a particular text. Then discuss which schemata you think plays the most important role.

7.2   Teaching Reading Skills and the Use of Computers

Grabe (1991) identified six component skills and knowledge areas essential for reading fluency:

1. automatic word recognition skills

2. vocabulary and structure knowledge

3. formal discourse structure knowledge

4. content/world background knowledge

5. synthesis and evaluation skills

6. metacognitive knowledge and skills

7.2.1   Automatic Word Recognition Skills

1. Automatic recognition skills allow readers to identify letters and words without being consciously aware of the process. Good readers are able to read rapidly because they can recognize most words automatically, and therefore process this information very efficiently. The combination of rapid and precise word recognition has proven to be an effective predictor of reading ability, particularly of young readers.

2. The use of computers to facilitate the development of recognition skills

Examples of using the phonics approach:

-  Learn to Read at Starfall

-  BBC Words and Pictures

Examples for Speed Reading:

-  AceReader   (download the AceReader Original Demo)

-  Best Reader (download the trial version)

7.2.2   Vocabulary and Structural Knowledge

1. The importance of vocabulary learning for reading comprehension:

1. Readers need to know a large percentage (approximately 95%) of the words in any given text in order to comprehend the meaning of the reading or to guess the meaning of words unfamiliar to them.

2. Vocabulary is not acquired in quick doses, but rather is a process of incremental learning and constant reinforcement. Readers need to know not just one meaning of a word in a particular context but also its alternative meanings in different contexts and other aspects of the word such as its grammatical properties.

2. Things needed to be included in vocabulary lessons (Zimmerman, 1997):

1. multiple exposure to words

2. exposure to words in meaningful contexts

3. rich and varied information about each word

4. establishment of ties between instructed words student experience, and prior knowledge

5. active participation by students in the learning process

3. The use of computers to facilitate vocabulary development:

Examples:

-  Online dictionaries (see 3.2.2  Online Dictionaries)

-  Online concordancers (see 3.2.3  Online Concordancers)

-  Word games:  Word Based Games for ESL Students

Vocabulary for K-12 and ESL Kids

ESL games in EnglishClub.com

4. The importance of grammar learning for reading comprehension:  Grammatical structures provide readers significant information that allows them to understand the meaning relationships among words and among sentences in a reading text.

5. The use of computers to facilitate the development of structural skills:

Grammar Website Examples:

-  English Grammar from EnglishClub.com

-  Grammar from eflnet.com

-  Guide to Grammar and Writing

-  Guide to Grammar and Style

7.2.3   Formal Discourse Structure Knowledge

1. Knowledge of the structure of formal discourse / rhetorical organizational patterns  (i.e. formal schemata) assists the learner in understanding and remembering the text. Research indicated that explicit teaching of rhetorical organization of text facilitated ESL students' reading comprehension.

2. The use of computers to facilitate the development of discourse structure knowledge:

Examples:

-   Advice on Academic Writing (from the University of Toronto)

-   Professional Writing Handouts and Resources (from Purdue University)
 

7.2.4   Content / World Background Knowledge

1. Activating the reader's knowledge of the subject matter and cultural content of the text is a significant factor in both reading comprehension and recall. Research shows that L2 learners can better recall information from text on topics familiar to them than readings of equivalent difficulty level on subjects with which they are less familiar. Moreover, readers can more easily comprehend and recall texts of which the content is based on their own culture than texts based on unfamiliar and more remote cultures.

2. The use of computers to facilitate the development of content/world knowledge:

Examples:

-  BBC Learning English

-  BBC Schools (for ages 4-11, ages 11-16, and ages 16+)

-   CNN International and CNN Student News

-   Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)  and PBS Kids

-   Discovery.com and Discovery Kids.com

-   New York Times Learning Network
 

7.2.5   Synthesis and Evaluation Skills

1. Fluent readers are able not only to comprehend the text, but to make judgments about the information, the author's purpose, and the usefulness of the text. They usually use strategies like predicting to assist them in anticipating text development and evaluating the author's perspective as they read.

2. The use of computers to encourage students learning to synthesize and evaluate reading text:

Examples:

-  Ace Detectives (mystery-solving game)

-  Story Mapping Activity

-  Dr. Alice Christie's Matrix of 282 WebQuests
 

7.2.6   Metacognitive Knowledge and Skills

1. Metacognitive knowledge is knowledge about how learners think and self-regulate their cognitive processes. It includes knowledge about language and ability to recognize structural and rhetorical features of the text using suitable strategies for accomplishing particular goals.

2. In the reading process, metacognitive skills include recognizing main ideas, adjusting reading rate for skimming, scanning, paraphrasing, and summarizing, guessing meaning from word formation rules, prefixes, and suffixes, and taking notes. The ability to effectively apply metacognitive strategies to the reading process is a key ingredient to skilled reading, especially for older readers.

3. The use of computers to assist students in developing metacognitive skills:

Examples:

-  Reading Strategies: Scaffolding Students' Interactions with Texts

-  Strategies for Reading Comprehension (from ReadingQuest.org)

-  Reading and Mapping Strategies

-  Effective Reading Strategies
 

* Discussion Question:

1. Among the six component skills and knowledge areas identified by Grabe (1991), which one or ones do you think you need the most to help you become an efficient reader in English? Explain your reasons and discuss how the computer can provide help to your reading development of that particular skill or knowledge area.

* Please do Exercise 7 Using Technology to Teach Reading Skills

* Good reading material collection websites:

-  The Online Books Page (University of Pennsylvania)

-  English Reading from E.L. Easton

-  English reading from EnlgishClub.com

-  Repeat after Us - Online Library and Language Lab