Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ajuma]

I'll be teaching reading to some high-level middle school and high-level uni students (2 different classes) this summer. I did a search with the usual abysmal results. I'm particularly looking for ways to improve both comprehension and speed. I'd like to do at least some work with short novels since I think the real conversations teach grammar and usage better than any grammar book. I'd also like to do a pre-test and post-test to show them that they HAVE improved.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[Scott in Incheon]

I have done a lot of reading lessons using reading strategies for at risk readers taken from the the net and some reading journals. Also, you can do some searching for metacognitive reading strategies, which encourage the students to read more interactively.

I have some articles around the house, I did a lot of master's work in this area. I will have a look and see if I can find the names of the strategies. One was 'question and predict'...another was 'question answer relationship' or something like that.

As for the speeding up of their reading, just do your google searches on speed reading. I found lessons on improving how much text students can take in at one time by improving their field of vision. There is a lot you can read about using a pencil as front guide and making yourself speed up. Or chunking the text into bigger and bigger chunks. I remember a few sites that let you do tests for speed before and after their lessons.

I had all these things bookmarked on my computer at my last job in HK but forgot to transfer them when we moved to Korea. It was three years ago and things are a bit hazy.

PM me and I give me your email and if/when I find the articles I can send you a copy. Or we could have a chat...I could explain some of the strategies fairly easily even if I can't remember the official names.

[tomato]

I once tried Catcher in the Rye with a middle school student.
There is plenty of critical literature on the subject.
I read all I could on the subject and tried to create some conversation with the student.
All I could get him to do was answer every question with "I don't know" and agree with everything I said.
I hope you have better luck.

Here is an article on Catcher in the Rye which I have written.
It might help you:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/2RQ3DH2ILV8HH

[ddeubel]

Ajuma,

I appreciate the thought and concern in your teaching. But don't over complicate it. Students learn by reading, we learn to read through reading. Instill interest in students, curiosity may kill a cat but not a young, motivated student.

I've taught many low level, "special" students with the inspireReader. You can download it through www.cast.org Works like a charm to voice all their text on the computer. I also highly recommend their book "teaching every student". I wil try to scan this and post next week along with Paul's book, Teaching English to Asian students" .....click Products.

I also can recommend my leveled readers. Click the button on my website.

Fact of the matter is...............not any theory or special technique, material will help students. They must encounter text which they respond to, personalize, feel and make their own. This is the key. However you can do it --- is your job as a teacher and a student of their own personalities........

I also would use my karaoke books and book nook. Have the students read the books with a mic for each other. the karaoke player at www.karafun.com had a tempo level which you can set for the desired pace....really handy......

Stories are the key to reading. We already know the story, as it reveals itself, we encounter what we already know. I have plenty of stories online which students can personalize.

One more note. Don't try to teach "reading". this will always come up short. You must teach whole language, especially writing, personalizing the text, sharing, publishing and that whole gambit.....in many ways -- postcards/letters/retelling/sharing/publishing/pictures etc....

I have to give some big workshops on this next week and you are forcing me to run this through my head. Thanks......

DD

[Woland]

Try typing "Neil Anderson" and "reading rate" into a search engine. He's done some nice stuff in his books on helping students increase speed while building comprehension. The exercises are repetitive, but effective. I'm too tired right now to do a description, but they do work.

[Scott in Incheon]

[ddeubel]

[faster]

I've worked exclusively with advanced students for the last 5 years, and I've done some work aimed at increasing reading speed.

The simplest way to look at it is like any other skill: it takes practice.

I recommend using newspaper or magazine articles (at least a couple pages) and questions, and having students keep track of how long the reading takes. By pushing their speed over the course of a few months, they'll get faster (and, perhaps surprisingly, faster reading correlates with better comprehension).

Good luck!