Reading

A Cambodian immigrant who arrived in

New York as a teenager has won $128m in
the citys lottery. Phin Suy, a gardener in
Central Park, says he will use the money to
pay off his debts, but has got no plans to
give up his job. He was presented with a
giant cheque in a ceremony at Madison
Square Garden, where his boss shouted:
Phin, is this a vacation day or a sick day?
to which Suy modestly replied Vacation
day.
A teenager who tried to rob a bus in Chile
was horrified to discover that his mother
was one of the passengers. Emilio Sanchez,
together with two of his friends, was
threatening the driver with knives and a
baseball bat, when he heard a familiar
voice telling him to stop it at once and
ordering off the bus.

A youth who threatened to jump off a

London bridge after breaking up with his
girlfriend was persuaded down after an
hour when the police offered him a new
pair of trainers. Bill Camlin remained on
Chelsea Bridge while he tried the Reeboks
on for size, then decided that life wasnt so
bad after all.
When Brisbane fire-fighter Shaun Kenna
rescued a woman from a burning house, her
face was so black that he did not at first
recognise his ex-wife. Then when I
recognised her voice I was amazed, said
Shaun, I had forgotten how beautiful she
is. The couple are now planning to
remarry.

Raul Hortena, 24, from Barcelona thought he

had the perfect plan to escape his marriage any
time he wanted. He signed the marriage
register in disappearing ink. However, in court
last week the judge refused to annul the
marriage and Hortena was fined 130.euros.

The most ordinary items in your home can

cause an accident, according to government
figures. Every year, more than 2,000 people are
injured by soft toys, 700 by envelopes and
1,500 by tissue paper. Another 37,000 people
blame slippers for their injuries, nearly 2,000
blame wallpaper, and almost 18,000 accidents
are caused by armchairs. But by far the greatest
danger in the home comes from carpets. Last
year around 165, accidents involving carpets
were reported.

There was panic at Chicago airport when Pete

Twigger, a passenger boarding a plane greeted
the pilot, whom he knew, with the words Hi
Jack. Air traffic controllers listening in the
control tower ordered armed security teams to
board the plane before realising their mistake.

U2 star Bono reportedly paid out 1,3000 euros to

fly his trilby hat first class to Italy. The singer had
forgotten to pack his favourite hat for a charity
concert with Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, so
complicated arrangements were made to get the
hat safely from England. A taxi took it from West
London to Gatwick Airport where it was put in a
first class seat on a British Airways flight to
Bologna. A hired driver then picked up the hat and
sped to Modena Pavarottis home and the venue
for the concert. A spokesman for the star said,
including tips and insurance it cost about1,300
euros to fly the hat here, but that is nothing
compared to the money that will be raised for
charity tonight.

What kind of news stories can be found in newspapers and magazines, e.g. accidents, celebrities,
crime, heroism, etc.
Match up the headlines to the stories
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Lottery winner takes a day off

Fire-fighter rescues old flame
The disappearing bridegroom
False alarm at the airport
Mum is always there
Bonos hat travels first class
Home: the safest place to be?
A pair of trainers makes life worth living

True or false
a) The lottery winner, Phin Suy, said he was going to leave his job as a gardener
b) Hortensa signed the marriage certificate under a false name.
c) The bus robber found his mother on the bus
d) Pete Twigger intended to hijack the plane
e) B Camlin was offered money
f) Soft toys can be more dangerous than slippers.
g) Bonos hat was worth 1,3000 euros
h) S Kenna rescued his ex-wife from a fire.
Find in the text similar expressions to those underlined:
Life was worth living
Phin Suy does not intend to leave his job
The judge refused to declare the marriage invalid
They ordered armed security teams to get on the plane
Many items in your home can be dangerous
It cost 1,300 euros to send the hat by plane here.
He did not at first realise it was his ex-wife.
Answer the questions:
1. Who won $128 m in the lottery?
2. How much did Bono pay to fly his hat to Modena?
3. How many accidents are caused each year by armchairs?
4. How much was Hortena fined?
Match up the words on the left with their definition
1. false alarm
2. rescue
3. register
4. vacation
5. court
6.

annul marriage

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

8. to hijack a plane

f)
g)
h)

9. disappear

i)

7. pay off debts

holiday
to take control of an aircraft or other vehicle during a journey,
especially using violence
to officially announce that something such as a law, agreement, or
marriage no longer exists
to pay back money that you owe
(a large room in) a building where trials and other legal cases
happen
to go somewhere where they cannot be seen or found
a book or record containing a list of names
help someone or something out of a dangerous, harmful or
unpleasant situation
an occasion when people believe incorrectly that something
dangerous or unpleasant is happening or will happen

Why I have chosen this text for my current teaching practice group
These short stories are suitable for intermediate level students. This is a mixed group with
differing interests and backgrounds. The texts are written in authentic English, thus offering
some challenge to the students. All the stories are true, curious, bizarre, unusual or
amazing and light-hearted which I think the students will enjoy reading.
What receptive language skills and/or sub-skills could be practiced using this text
Reading for gist
Reading for specific information
Design and submit task(s) for practising these skills
True or false
i) The lottery winner, Phin Suy, said he was going to leave his job as a gardener
j) Hortensa signed the marriage certificate under a false name.
k) The bus robber found his mother on the bus
l) Pete Twigger intended to hijack the plane
m) B Camlin was offered money
n) Soft toys can be more dangerous than slippers.
o) Bonos hat was worth 1,3000 euros
p) S Kenna rescued his ex-wife from a fire.
Find in the text similar expressions to those underlined:
Life was worth living
Phin Suy does not intend to leave his job
The judge refused to declare the marriage invalid
They ordered armed security teams to get on the plane
Many items in your home can be dangerous
It cost 1,300 euros to send the hat by plane here.
He did not at first realise it was his ex-wife.
Find in the text
5. Who won $128 m in the lottery?
6. How much did Bono pay to fly his hat to Modena?
7. How many accidents are caused each year by armchairs?
8. How much was Hortena fined?
Say what productive language skills speaking or writing could be practised in
relation to this text
Design and submit tasks for practising these skills
ACTIVITIES
Warm up
Students discuss in pairs which magazines and newspapers they read. Do you usually
read the serious news stories first, or do you turn to more light-hearted articles?
Brain-storming: what kind of news stories can be found in newspapers and magazines,
e.g. accidents, celebrities, crime, heroism, etc.

Before reading the articles the teacher hands out the headlines.
Teacher to pre-teach or check key words for comprehension:
false alarm
rescue
day off
bridegroom

marriage register
vacation
annul marriage
to hijack a plane

court
pay off debts
disappearing

holiday
to take control of an aircraft or other vehicle during a journey, especially using
violence
to officially announce that something such as a law, agreement, or marriage no
longer exists
to pay back money that you owe
(a large room in) a building where trials and other legal cases happen
If people or things disappear, they go somewhere where they cannot be seen
or found:
a book or record containing a list of names
help someone or something out of a dangerous, harmful or unpleasant
situation
an occasion when people believe incorrectly that something dangerous or
unpleasant is happening or will happen

Lottery winner takes a day off

Fire-fighter rescues old flame

The disappearing bridegroom

False alarm at the airport

Bonos hat travels first class

A pair of trainers makes life worth living

Teaching receptive skills (Jeremy Harmer)

Mum is always there

Home: the safest place to be?

Receptive skills are the ways in which people extract meaning from the discourse they see or hear.
How to teach reading (Jeremy Harmer How to teach English Longman)
Reading texts also provide good models for English writing. It provides opportunities to study
language: vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and the way we construct sentences, paragraphs and
texts. Good reading texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulate discussion, excite imaginative
responses.
What kind of reading should students do?
This is a mixed group with differing interests and careers. Magazine articles, letters, stories, menus,
advertisements, reports, play extracts, recipes, instructions, poems, and reference material.
What reading skills should students acquire?
Students need to be able to scan the text for particular bits of information they are searching for.
Students need to be able to skim a text to get a general idea of what it is about.
Reading for detailed comprehension, whether looking for detailed information or language.
Reading for pleasure
What are the principles behind the teaching of reading?
1.
Reading is not a passive skill.- To read successfully we have to understand what the words
mean, see the pictures the words are painting, understand the arguments, and work out if we agree
with them.
2.
Students need to be engaged with what they are reading- They need to be actively interested.
3.
Students should be encouraged to respond to the context of a reading text, not just to the
language. The meaning of the text, the message is as important as the language and students should
be given the chance to respond to that message in someway. It is especially important that they
should be allowed to express their feelings about the topic thus provoking personal engagement
with it and the language.
4.
Prediction is a major factor in reading.- The moment we get the hint of what the content is
about the book cover, the headline- our brain starts predicting what we are going to read. Teachers
should give students hints so that they can predict whats coming too. It will make them better and
more engaged readers.
5.
Match the task to the topic. We need to choose good reading tasks the right kind of
questions, engaging and useful puzzles, etc.
6.
Exploit reading texts to the full, using the topic for discussion and further tasks and further
tasks, using the language for Study and Activation.
Reading sequences
Example 1 (elementary)
Topic: attraction. Teacher ask the students what they find attractive in a person.
Students fill in a chart about what their partner thinks is important when he or she meets a new
friend (e.g. physical appearance, clothes, etc)
Students then list the qualities in order of importance for them as a whole class.
Students then read the text to see how their opinions are different from the men and women being
described.
Students discuss their answers in pairs.
Read the first part of the article again. Use these words to answer the questions below (reading for
specific information)
Ss think of people who they find attractive. Whats the most attractive thing about them?
Discussion.

Engage activity
Activate exercise (working with a partner). It gave the ss a chance to predict what was coming.
Activate reading(do you agree with the passage?)
Study reading (answer the questions)
Activate exercises (discussion)
Example 2 (lower intermediate)
Discussion what ss know about ghosts. Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?
General reading Ss read the text and say whether Orcas Manor is a typical haunted house. (Reading
to get an overall picture of the text.
Study reading Reading for more detailed information. Ss are to answer questions .
Ss check their answers in pairs. Class correction- Teacher puts chart of board and ss fill it in
Grammatical analysis based on text ,e.g. relative pronouns, passive etc
Ss write a description of a haunted house which they can invent. (individually, in pairs, in groups).
Engage (discussion about haunted houses and read some information about ghosts.
Activate reading for general understanding
Studying the text both for meaning and then for language use
Activate follow up
Example 3 (intermediate)
Engage discussion. Ss look at pictures of people sunbathing and say whether it is a positive, safe
and attractive image or whether it is the opposite.
Study the text. Then they are shown a magazine article
Check understanding teacher checks that they have understood by asking them questions (what,
who, when, does, etc)
Activate the knowledge acquired from the text ss use language from the article to describe
themselves.
Example 4 (intermediate to advanced)
A poem
Engage teacher asks ss if they like poetry. Can they remember any poem? What are they about?
What do poets normally write about?
Ss in groups of nine have to put the lines of a poem in the right order.
Teacher reads the right version. Ss check theirs
The groups have to decide on a good title for the poem
T asks ss if they like the poem. Is it funny, sad, serious ortragic?
Teach vocabulary
Explain difference of meaning, not meaning
Words are often best taught in groups
Vary the way you explain:
a. Demonstrate (instead of providing a translation or explanation or words)
b. Use the real thing
c. Draw or sketch
d. Use the blackboard to show scales or grades (present words with groups of related words)
e. Antonyms
The criterion for choosing a text must be will these students find this interesting?
Use pre-activities to focus students attention

a. Introduction.- The teacher gives a brief (two or three sentences) introduction to the content
of the text. If the text is a one-off with a headline, ask the students what they think it is going
to be about and (briefly) if they know anything about the topic.
b. Pre-questions.- They are comprehension questions asked before the students read the text.
They help students understand the text by focusing attention on key words and ideas. Two or
three questions are enough. These questions should follow the main story-line or line of
argument in the text and being the correct sequence.
c. Vocabulary Pre-teach new words that occur in the text. Invite students to anticipate
vocabulary themselves. This may be done by using word-ladders, or word-roses. For these a
word which is central to the content of the text is written at the top of the ladder, or in the
centre of the rose. Students then fill the other steps of the ladder. Each word must be
connected to the central word. Ladders and roses provide an amusing way of previewing
vocabulary, and provide an excellent part of the general preparation for text study.
Intensive and extensive reading
Intensive reading means students are expected to understand everything they read and to be able
to answer detailed vocabulary and comprehension questions.
Extensive reading means students have a general understanding of the text without necessarily
understanding every word.
Use definition questions
The definition question is very valuable the teacher provides the definition, and invites the
student to use a new word:
What word in the text meant very very big?
Enormous.
Good yes, and what word meant worried and upset
Anxious.
Definition questions have two important advantages in presenting new language the teacher
does the difficult work of verbalising a definition and the students have to locate and say the
new word or phrase.
Difficult words are not the same as long words
In examining, explaining, and practising the difficult words, teachers need to think of each of
spelling, pronunciation, and meaning and not concentrate only on the last.
Correction questions prompt student language
The simplest technique to avoid this is for the teacher to make a wrong statement followed by a
question tag, stimulating the student to both a formal answer (No) and the additional, correct
information.
This technique may be applied both to comprehension questions after a text, and as a general
conversational technique. It both stimulates more language from the student.
Comprehension questions
There are three types:
a. Those where the answer may be read directly from the text.
b. Those where the answer is a simple structural manipulation of the grammar of the text. Only
useful for intensive language practice.
c. External questions The only true effective questions to check understanding. Ask questions
which expect the answer No; the question is in some way based on a false assumption.
Introduce external ideas in your questions. In general, comprehension questions which
require the responder to correct the questioner, do text comprehension.

CONDITIONAL
talking about the present
talking about the future

real
If you pay by cash, you get a
discount
if you work hard, youll pass
the exam

hypothetical
If I had a dog
Id take it for walks
If I won the lottery, Id travel
around the world.
If I were you, Id get a new
jacket.

Conditional sentences are formed when the conjunction if is used to preface a condition, e.g. If it
rains (condition), youll get wet (result). In thiscase, it is quite likely that itwill rain, and therefore
the result is possible.
If it rained, you would get wet we are suggesting that the chance of a it raining is unlikely we are
talking hypothetically and this is signalled by the word would
It is useful to understand whether they are real (= possible/likely) or hypothetical
(=unlikely/impossible) and whether they refer to the present, future or past.

Teaching receptive skills

(The Practice of English Language Teaching by Jeremy Harmer. Longman)
Understanding a piece of discourse involves much more than just knowing the language. In order to
make sense of any text we need to have pre-existent knowledge of the world (Cook 1989:69).
Such knowledge is often referred to as schema (plural schemata). Each of us carries in our heads
mental representations of typical situations that we come across. When we are stimulated by
particular words, discourse patterns, or contexts, such schematic knowledge is activated and we are
able to recognise what we see or hear because it fits into patterns that we already know.
Reasons for reading and listening
a) Instrumental: to help us achieve some clear aim. Thus, for example, we read a road sign so that
we know where to go.
b) Pleasurable: for pleasure. Thus people read magazines or read poetry.
Different skills
-Identifying the topic: with the help of their own schemata good readers and listeners quickly get
an idea of what is being talked about.
-Predicting and guessing: both readers and listeners sometimes guess in order to try and
understand what is being written or talked about.
-Reading and listening for general understanding: good readers and listeners are able to take in a
stream of discourse and understand the gist of it without worrying too much about the details.
Reading and listening for such general comprehension means not stopping for every word, not
analysis everything that the writer or speaker includes in the text. Skimming (which means running
your eyes over a text to get a quick idea of the gist of a text).
-Reading and listening for specific information: when we want specific details. This is also called
scanning.
-Reading and listening for detailed information: sometimes we read and listen in order to
understand everything we are reading in detail (e.g. written instructions or directions, a recipe,
scientific procedures, someones address).
-Interpreting text: readers and listeners are able to see beyond the literal meaning of words in a
passage, using a variety of clues to understand what the writer or speaker is implying or suggesting.
Problems and solutions
Language difficulty. This problem can be addressed by:
a)-Pre-teaching vocabulary where students are likely to be held back unnecessarily because of three
or four words, it makes sense to teach them first. Where they should be able to comprehend the text
despite some unknown words, we can leave vocabulary work till later.
We can use some words from a reading or listening text as part of our procedure to create interest
and activate the students schemata. The students can first research the meanings of words and
phrases and then predict what a text with such words is likely to be about.
c) Extensive reading and listening. Intensive reading is often dedicated not so much to pleasure as
to the achievement of a study goal. Extensive reading has a number of benefits for the
development of a students language; it will improve their overall comprehension skills, and
give tem a wider passive and active vocabulary, according to Colin Davis. It is the best possible
way for students to develop automaticity that is the automatic recognition of words when they
see them. It is by far the best way to improve their English reading (and writing) overall.
d) Authenticity. Authentic material is normal, natural language used by native or competentspeakers of a language. This is what our students encounter (or will) in real life if they come
into contact with target-language speakers. With beginners the language may be simplified, but
it must not be unnatural.

Topic and genre

If students are not interested in the topic, or if they are unfamiliar with the text genre, they may be
reluctant to engage fully with the activity. Their lack of engagement or schematic knowledge may
be a major hindrance to successful reading or listening.
Choose the right topics: we should try and choose topics which our students will be interested in. It
is unlikely that all members of a class will be interested in the same things. For this reason, we need
to include a variety of topics across a series of lessons.
Create interest: We can get students engaged by talking about the topic, by showing a picture for
prediction, by asking them to guess what they are going to see or hear on the basis of a few words
or phrases from the text, or by having them look at headlines or captions before they read the whole
thing.
Activate schemata: We want to activate their knowledge before they read or listen so that they bring
their schemata to the text.
Vary topics and genres: expose students to a variety of different text types (written instructions,
taped announcements, stories in books, live and spontaneous conversation, business letters, etc.
Comprehension tasks
Use comprehension tasks which promote understanding and we need to match text and task
appropriately.
Testing and teaching: the best kinds of tasks are those which raise students expectations, help them
tease out meanings, and provoke an examination of the reading or listening passage. E.g. looking up
information on the Internet, filling in forms, solving reading puzzles; asking if certain statements
about the text are true or false, or by asking questions about the text with what, when, how many,
and how often. If students predict the answers to such questions before they read or listen,
expectations are created in their minds to help them focus their reading or listening.
Appropriate challenge: when asking students to read and listen we want to avoid texts and tasks
that are either far too easy or far too difficult.. We want to get the level of challenge right, to make
the tasks difficult but achievable (Scrivener).
Where a text is difficult, we may still be able to use it, but only if the task is appropriate.
Negative expectations
By getting the level of challenge right (in terms of language, text, and tasks) we can ensure that
students are successful. By giving students a clear and achievable purpose, we can help them to
achieve that purpose.
Agreeing on a purpose for the reading or listening. Are the students trying to discover detailed
information or just get a general understanding of what something is about? If students know why
they are reading or listening they can choose how to approach the text. If they understand the
purpose they will have a better chance of knowing how well they have achieved it.
R E AD I N G
Extensive and intensive reading
Intensive reading: the role of the teacher
We need to create interest in the topic and tasks.
Tell students exactly what their reading purpose is and give them clear instructions about how to
achieve it and how long they have to do this.

Observe students are they read, but do not interrupt.

Feedback organiser: have them compare their answers in pairs and then ask for answers from the
class in general or from pairs in particular. Ask them where in th etext they found the information
for their answers. This provokes a detailed study of the text which will help them the next time they
come to a similar reading passage.
Prompter: prompt them to notice language features in that text (text structure)
We may encourage students to read for general understanding without understanding every word on
a first or second read-through.
We need to limit the amount of time spent on vocabulary checking in the following ways: we can
give a time limit of, say, five minutes for vocabulary enquiry; word/phrase limit; meaning
consensus.
Reading lesson sequences
We may want to have students practise specific skills such as reading to extract specific
information, or reading for general understanding (gist). We may get students to read texts for
communicative purposes, as sources of information, or in order to identify specific uses of
language. Reading is often a prelude to a speaking or writing activity.
We may start by having students read for gist and then get them to read the text again for detailed
comprehension. They may start by identifying the topic of a text before scanning it quickly to
recover specific information.
Examples of reading sequences
Example 1
Activity: reading to confirm expectations
Skills: predicting, reading for gist, reading for detailed comprehension
Students predict the content of a text from a few clues they are given (phrases from the passage they
will read).
Comprehension questions (true, false or probably (not)?
Language focus: how is the meaning of would different in the sentences ....? Can students make
sentences using the same construction?
The discussion possibilities are endless.
By mixing the skills of speaking, listening, and reading the students have had a rich language
experience, and because they have had a chance to predict content, listen, read and then discuss the
text, they are likely to be very involved with the procedure.
Example 2
Reading for gist, reading for detailed comprehension
General questions:
What is the text about?
Who was it written by?
Who was it written for?
What is the writers intention?
Do you like the text?
Students can then go back to the text to answer more detailed questions (e.g. Who went for a
picnic? Who has to pay rupees?)
The teacher may then want to draw their attention to certain items of vocabulary in the text: match
the words from the text with their definitions.

The students can now make sentences with these words using the pronouns I or we, e.g. I like it
when people smile at me.
Class discussion
Example 3
Comprehension test: where every nth word is replaced by a blank. This can be a good way to help
students arrive at a general understanding of a piece of text and a detailed understanding of the
sentences in it.
Check answers, then students can read the complete text again for answers to more detailed
questions such as How many .....? Why does .....?
Students look at the text again for any language points which are interesting and/or to make sure
they have understood the text.
Example 4
Skills: scanning, reading for detailed information.
The students are told they are going to read a story called The neighbours cat and they are asked
to predict what it is going to be about. They are then given the following jumbled paragraphs and
put them in the right order.
Example 5
Skills: reading for gist, interpreting text
Students read a text and use the information in it to build up a picture of one of the characters.
Students read the text to find out how many people there are in it and what their names are.
Students are asked to agree on five words or phrases that they want to know the meaning of.
Ask students what they think the narrators attitude is to the man who is knocking on the door. Why
is he telling this story?
Example 6
Skills: identifying topic, prediction, reading for gist, reading for detailed comprehension
Students read the text to identify facets of its construction which make it typical of the genre it is
written in.
Ask students to look at the text and scan it without reading it and say where they think it comes
from. Is it a local or national newspaper?
The class then discusses what the headline is designed for (impact, topic, identification) and what is
special about its construction. They are then asked to predict the content of the text.
Students answer general questions about the text: Who rescued ......? Where was ......? Who .......?
Where is .......?
Teacher can ask them for more detailed information:
Look at text construction, language style
Students write a role-play interview
Class discussion about how heroic people are and what students would be prepared to risk their
lives for.
Writing lesson sequences
Example 1
Focus: writing conventions
Activity: punctuating a text

Students practise basic punctuation such as capital letters, commas, apostrophes and full stops. They
have to change the unpunctuated text by using capital letters, commas, apostrophes and full stops.
Example 2
Activity: story circle
Focus: cooperative narrative writing
Students join together to write a story.
Teacher dictates a sentence such as: That day, when Julia came back from work, she knew
something was different.
Each student writes the sentence at the top of their piece of paper. They are then asked to write the
next sentence in Julias story; all they have to do is write one sentence which follows on from this
introduction. When all the students have done this the teacher tells tem to pass their pieces of paper
to the person on their left. They all now have to write the next sentence of the story which has just
been passed to them. The procedure continues until the pieces of paper return to their original
owners. Ss write a sentence to finish the story off.
Ss then read out the stories.
Speaking
Classroom speaking activities
Communication games: describe and draw (one student has to talk to a partner in order to solve a
puzzle, draw a picture); put things in the right order (describe and arrange), or find similarities and
differences between pictures.
Twenty Questions game
Discussion buzz group. Ss have a chance for quick discussions in small groups before any of
them are asked to speak in public.
Formal debate: ss prepare arguments in favour or against various propositions.
The balloon debate
Prepared talks (presentation on a topic of their own choice)
Questionnaires
Simulation and role-play. Ss simulate a real-life encounter (business meeting, interview)
Speaking lesson sequences
In order to make students better readers, we need first of all to raise their awareness that its not
always essential to understand every word, and that practising some different reading techniques in
English may be very useful to them.
Tasks that encourage students to search for specific small sections of text which they then read more
carefully to find a required piece of information.
Many activities designed to increase reading speeds are variations on the following two ideas:
a) Skimming. Read quickly and get the gist of a passage. Skimming is mainly concerned with
finding key topics, main ideas, overall theme, basic structure, etc. Fast reading for : key topics, main
ideas, overall theme, basic structure, etc.
b) Scanning. Read quickly and find a specific piece of information. Fast reading for specific
individual pieces of information (e.g. names, addresses, facts, prices, numbers, dates, etc.)
Skimming and scanning are both top-down skills. Although scanning is involved with details of
the text, the way that a reader finds those details involves processing the whole text, moving her
eyes quickly over the whole page, searching for key words or clues from the textual layout and the

content that will enable her to focus in on smaller sections of text that she are likely to get answers
from.

Top-down reading
Many reading lessons move from big to smalll, i.e. top-down from overview to details.
Pre-text
1. Introduction and leadpin, e.g. get the learners interested in the topic, initial discussion of key
themes, make an explicit link between the topic of the text and students own lives and
experiences, focus on important language that will come in the text.
2. First task (pre-reading), e.g. predict from some extracted information (illustration, key
words, headlines, etc.), read questions about the text, students compose their own questions
3. Tasks to focus on fast reading for gist (skimming), e.g. check text against predictions made
beforehand, guess the title from a choice of three options, put events in the correct order.
4. Tasks to focus on fast reading for specific details (scanning), e.g. find single items of
information in the text.
5. Tasks to focus on meaning (general points), e.g. answer questions about meaning, make use
of information in the text to do something (fill out a form, ..), discuss issues, summarise
arguments, compare viewpoints
6. Tasks to focus on meaning (finer points, more intensive comprehensive understanding)
7. Tasks to focus on individual language items, e.g. vocabulary or grammar exercises, use of
dictionaries, work out meaning of words from context.
8. Follow-on task, e.g. role-play, debate, writing tasks (e.g. write a letter in reply),
personalisation (e.g. Have you ever had an experience like this one?)
9. Closing, e.g. draw the lesson to a conclusion tie up loose ends, review what has been
studied and what has been learned.
Intensive reading (reading closely and carefully with the intention of gaining an understanding of as
much details as possible)
Extensive reading (fluent, faster reading, often of longer texts, for pleasure, entertainment and
general understanding, but without such careful attention to the details.
extensive reading has a powerful impact on language learning. The more someone rads, the more
tey pick up items of vocabulary and grammar from the texts and this widening language knowledge
seems to increase their overall linguistic confidence, which then influences and improves their skills
in other language areas