Reading Exercises Research Articles

Comparative Study of Socio-Ideological Practices in English Textbooks in Pakistani Context

The present study is an effort to examine and compare the way socio-ideological practices are projected in the Oxford English Textbook Grade 5 and the English Textbook 5 published by the Punjab (Pakistan) Textbook Board (PTB) prescribed for the government, semi-government and private schools of the Punjab province. The content analysis was employed to find out the percentages of categories and subcategories of reading passages and exercises of the prescribed English textbooks. Socio-Ideological statements were analyzed through the representation of patriotic values and gender roles in the context of local and foreign EFL textbooks. The research findings and results make it visible from the current instructional materials or prescribed English textbooks that the Oxford English textbook is superficial and shallow with respect to its treatment of the target (Pakistani) culture. The textbook is therefore inadequate to the task of teaching and transmitting socio-ideological practices in the deeper sense. Contrary to it, the PTB English textbook offers a limited ground for learning English at length.

Exploring the Role of Arts & Crafts Projected in Local and Foreign English Textbooks in Pakistani Context at Primary Level

The purpose of the current study is exploring and comparing the representation style of arts & crafts which is projected in the local and foreign textbooks in Pakistani context at primary level. The content analysis was employed to find out percentages of categories and sub categories of reading passages and exercises of the prescribed English textbooks in this research. For relevant data collection an eclectic model was devised as some of the major categories with slight modification were taken from Stern, H.H. (1983) model. The analysis of the two selected textbooks revealed that the Oxford textbook tends to promote activities based on arts and crafts as they help the child to unfold his/her creativity, intelligence and sense of beauty and aesthetics. They help to enjoy the pleasure creativity and beauty through the study of music, pictures/paintings and sculptures. On the contrary the PTB textbook plays an inactive role as it offers insufficient instructional material to its learners in this indispensable area of learning. and activate their artistic talent.

BUZZ GROUP-BASED STRATEGY IN EFL READING CLASSROOM

The intention of this study is to describe the effectiveness of buzz group in EFL reading classroom of English Department students of PGRI University. The comprehension analysis is intended by comparing the answer of EFL reading classroom students in reading exercises. In order to sequence the reading comprehension of the EFL reading classroom the pre-test and post-test of reading exercises are measured. The experiment of reading comprehension includes the recruitment of 40 students of EFL reading classroom, the training, and exercising of reading text in reading exercises. These students are all first-year female teacher training students at PBI-UPY and aged between 17 and 23. The measurement is compare with pre-test and post-test of reading exercises. Standard measurement is comparison of students answer in pre-test and post-test of reading exercises.

Affinity Group In EFL Classroom

The purpose of this research is to know the effect of affinity group in EFL reading classroom of English Department students in University of PGRI Yogyakarta. In measuring the reading comprehension of students the pre-test and post-test are done. The experiment of reading comprehension is done by recruiting of 19 students of EFL reading classroom and do the training and exercising of reading text in reading class. These students are all second-year at PBI-UPY and aged between 17 and 20. Standard measurement is comparison of students answer in pre-test and post-test of reading exercises. The result of this research is students who passed the standard score improved from 25% in the preliminary data to 71% at the end of the research. It means that affinity group strategy improves students’ reading comprehension that is influenced by student’s factors and lecturer factors.

Social Sciences pedagogical strategies for developing research training skills to mitigate students’ lack of reading

This article helps to understand research as an academic practice by proposing strategies against the weak habit of reading in training settings and establishes the possibility of articulating interests in the design of forms and methods that allow responding to the crisis of interpretation of social problems. This reflection arises from the phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology with a social critical approach in a period of two years, training and accompanying 436 students with 145 proposals for formative research; the collecting of the information was through 5 semi-structured interviews with teachers and 50 student surveys. Therefore, this reflection is the initial point of view of a pedagogical proposal that promotes reading and critical reflection exercises.

Reading Difficulty and its Remediation: A Case Study

<p style="text-align:justify">The aim of this study, in which one of the qualitative research approaches, the case study design, was used, was to remedy reading problems and develop reading skills in a fourth grade primary school student with sound, syllable and word recognition exercises. The study covers 38 lesson periods in the autumn term of the 2018-2019 academic year. For developing reading skills, the strategies of “prior listening to the paragraph”, “repetitive reading” and “word repetition” were used. For determining reading errors, the “Error Analysis Inventory” was used. Data were obtained by means of observation and document examination. In the study related to determining reading status, it was established that the student had made errors such as repetition, syllabication, omission, addition and failure to notice punctuation marks. Based on the data obtained, first of all, sound, syllable and word recognition exercises were conducted with the student, and then reading exercises were carried out with texts selected to suit the level of the student’s Turkish course books and story books. Analyses were performed by taking audio and video recordings of all exercises. As a result of the intervention, the student’s desire to read increased, he began to read out loud, he began to identify sounds that he previously did not recognise or confused, and improvements in his reading skill were observed.</p>

The Framework Development for Interpretation Of Students Reading Literacy In Teaching And Learning Through Open Approach

The PISA 2000, PISA 2003 and PISA 2006 scores indicate that Thai students have read ability level 2 and 1. Students are able to read and read the text only when the text is readable. Can be referenced or compared or linked to what has been known at low levels. Assess and analyze at a basic level, linking the readings to the things that are related to their lives. No reference or comparison can be made if further analysis is required. This paper comprehensively Reading literacy includes the ability to extract the relevant information from texts and also to understand, use and reflect on written texts. The ability and incentive to engage with texts and address their content is also examined. In order to measure the diverse dimensions of reading literacy, in PISA it is defined as a complex competency with multiple facets. The exercises therefore include different situations and text formats. Solving reading exercises also calls for various cognitive processes of reading. A new feature of the 2018 PISA study is interactive exercises with several texts to be read in a simulated web environment. Aspects of reading literacy in the digital age are thus examined, including the ability to find, relate and assess information. This framework incorporates two approaches: 1) promoting students Reading Literacy instructions; and 2) and Learning through Open Approach. The teaching about problem solving process which students can be improved the cognitive skill and develop several skills of students in the reasonal thinking, creative thinking, analyzed thinking, self-study and systematically problem solving ability. However, this framework emphasizes which grade 9 students in Demonstration School of Khonkaen University, Thailand.

The Analysis of Reading Exercise in English Textbook Entitled Pathway to English for The SENIOR High School Grade X

This study is aimed to analyze the types of Reading Exercises on the English textbook used by the first year students of SMA SWASTA METHODIST 7 Medan. The objective of the study is to find out the types of reading exercises on English textbook used by the first year students of SMA SWASTA METHODIST 7 Medan. The design of the study is descriptive qualitative research. The qualitative data were obtained by the steps that mentioned in the procedure of the research, i.e. reading, identification, classification and simplification. The researcher analyzed the exercise in three steps,identifying the topic, clutser the topic, draw explanation. The object of the study is the reading exercises created by Th. M. Sudarwati and Eudia Grace entitled by Pathway To English and published by Erlangga, 2017. The data was collected only by taking documentary analysis. It means that the writer document reading exercises on students� English textbook and analyzed its types of reading exercises. The final result of this study shows that are five types of reading exercises on the English textbook they are Types of reading exercise are Matching Test, True/ False Reading Test, Multiple Choice item test, Completion item tests, and Long and Short answer questions. The result of reading exercise analysis shows that there are controlled exercise and guided exercise. In controlled exercises the researcher didn�t find exercise in Pathway to English textbook. And in guided exercises there are find in multiple choice in vocabulary 2 exercise. Matching cued word matching 3 exercise, matching picture cued sentence 1 exercise, vocabulary matching 5 exercise, matching selected response fill in vocabulary 7 exercise. True or false 3 exercise, completion item in the following of text 1 exercise, completion are in the text itself 9 exercise. In short answer question 6 exercise, long answer question 8 exercise. But, the researcher didn�t find exercise in multiple choice contextualized vocabulary / grammar and multiple choice vocabulary / grammar.

Guidelines for Developing a Reading Test in EFL Context

Reading as a skill and activity involves a number of complexities such as processing information and performing specific tasks that ensue in some specific contexts. In EFL context, reading extends to some important issues particularly to the classroom setting, learning process and sociocultural aspects where EFL learners live and learn the skill of reading. This article aims to share practical guidelines in developing reading tests in EFL context. The guidelines are anchored on a number of testing research and experimentation highlighting test design, practicalities of integration and contextualization. Adding to the guidelines, some strategies for reading are included to establish the notion that understanding important concepts of the strategies can also support teachers develop effective reading tests. Furthermore, sample reading tests and exercises as well are provided to offer new perspectives on effective reading comprehension routines. Additionally, embedded in the reading tests are set of practices relating to question types that are hoped to be useful in helping EFL learners increase their control over reading strategies and hopefully become independent learners in EFL reading classroom.

SOME ASPECTS OF TEACHINHG EFFECTIVE READING TO FIRST- YEAR STUDENTS STUDYING ENGLISH AS THEIR MAJOR

Some aspects of teaching effective reading to first-year students studying English as their major at faculties of foreign languages in universities are considered. A broad range of blended extensive and intensive reading strategies, techniques and exercises are suggested at the pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading stages, which makes it possible to develop learners’ skills not only in reading for gist, but also for detailed comprehension. The main focus of the research is on reading techniques such as making predictions about the content of the text based on the title, subtitles and keywords; removing barriers to students’ understanding the text by using such monolingual ways of presenting vocabulary as matching words to their definitions, synonyms or opposites, guessing from context, explanation and others. Tasks directed at extracting some information from the text and analyzing its structure as well as exercises designed to use the extracted information in speaking and writing, which are connected with reading as a communication skill, are presented in the article. Some aspects of using techniques of expeditious reading, skimming and scanning, which enable first year students to vary the speed of reading and help them use reading materials effectively are treated.

Joe Dassin, the singer of chocolate buns

This work pays tribute to Joe Dassin and comprises a series of activities dealing with the use of his song “The Small Chocolate Bun” for students at A2 level in French. These activities envisage speaking, listening and reading exercises, encourage students to discuss different topics (the French song, the life story of the singer, his appearance, feelings, love story, favourite shops, food, cuisine) and organise active use and efficient acquisition of vocabulary and grammar, particularly Past Tenses, depending on the communicative situation.

A escrita como acontecimento discursivo em contexto de formação acadêmica: o dizer circunscrito por leituras

Ao selecionar, como corpus para esta abordagem, textos escritos em contexto de formação acadêmica, concebemos esta análise como um dos exercícios de leitura que têm nos ajudado a compreender as atitudes de leitura na escrita. Neste texto, partimos do pressuposto de que a escrita é um acontecimento discursivo e propomos, ao realizar uma leitura das atitudes de leitura presentes em relatórios de estágio curricular obrigatório em língua portuguesa, no ensino médio, oferecer ao leitor uma compreensão acerca de como as atitudes de leitura corroboram para fortalecer discursos quando se acredita os estar combatendo. Para este exercício de leitura, fundamentamo-nos nos estudos de Bellenger (1979) sobre leitura, na concepção de acontecimento discursivo de Pêcheux (2015) e no princípio da análise relacional, proposto por Apple (1982). Ao concluir a leitura, trazemos como resultado as seguintes percepções: (i) a escrita é acontecimento discursivo circunscrito pela leitura; (ii) a escrita dos relatórios de estágio revela uma leitura que pré-existe a etapa de observação e, por isso, reitera discursos existentes sobre a escola e a prática docente; (iii) a escrita dos relatórios indica que as leituras realizadas pelos alunos, futuros professores de língua portuguesa, em processo de formação acadêmica, por ficarem mais restritas às discussões linguístico-textuais e de aplicação, fortalecem discursos sobre a escola e a prática docente, sob a ideologia de os estar combatendo.

THE USE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION

This study focuses on an action research project related to the use of classical music to improve reading comprehension in a foreign language classroom at a university level in the town of Ambato, Tungurahua, Ecuador. The need for university students to improve reading skills in this society was analysed, due to the fact that young people have not developed reading habits, even in their mother tongue. This aspect was conside- red, as well as students’ results on reading exercises applied to them, before and after being exposed to the use of classical music in the language classroom, which were evaluated through a comparison between the different experiences revealed in the surveys applied to the students, and their grade reports. The conclusion highlights that there was a significant improvement in the academic performance of students when they felt comfortable in their classroom environment while classical music was played. Even though research has not yet proved scientifically that the use of classical music influences students to improve their reading comprehension in the language classroom, there are studies related to the use of classical music in education and the learning process, related to the topic of this study, which contributed to conclude that further research must be done in this specific area.

Utilizing News Text Development in Teaching Reading: A Case at English Course for Public Relation of Universitas Bina Sarana Informatika

In this study the researchers sought to develop a pattern of reading teaching in the English for Public Relations course. The development of the pattern researchers realized in the reading exercise pattern using news text media. This certainly will arouse the curiosity of the participants, compared to the pattern of practice materializing formal texts or even reading texts with old themes. The use of news texts that are more casual in nature certainly can be used as a benchmark for students' reading skills, especially in honing the scanning and skimming skills they have learned before. How fast the participants in reading and understanding the meaning they read is the target of success that the researchers saw, so that in the future researchers can find other ways to apply the method of scanning and skimming with other text media.

MEETING DIVERSITY IN ESL CLASSROOM: A PEDAGOGICAL MODEL FOR A GLOBALIZED MILIEU

Globalization demands dynamism in English as a Second Language (ESL) pedagogy to address the needs of students from diverse cultural, educational and linguistic backgrounds. Students hailing from different countries with varied levels of English proficiency present a serious challenge to instructors. The challenge to meet the needs of diverse students from Afghanistan and Pakistan, for instance, within the same teaching faculty, prompted this study. It attempts to explore Afghan and Pakistani students’ expectations of the first module of English introduced at undergraduate level, i.e., English Comprehension and Composition (ECC) at a Pakistani university, by applying the Expectancy Disconfirmation Model of Satisfaction (Oliver 2015,120). Students’ expectations have been a neglected area of research despite being a significant factor in behavior and performance. This study aims to find out how far the Pakistani and Afghan students’ expectations have been met with Negative Disconfirmation (non-fulfillment), Zero Disconfirmation (fulfillment) or Positive Disconfirmation (enhanced fulfillment). The findings reveal that the Afghan students were enrolled in the Pakistani university as a result of a mutual agreement between the Pakistani and Afghan governments under the Higher Education Commission (HEC)scholarship “Award of 3000 Scholarships to Students from Afghanistan under the Prime Minister’s Directive” had concerns with the advanced level grammar and reading exercises, while Pakistani students complained about insufficient class time, consecutive lectures and lack of adequate practice provided in the classroom. The study suggests a pedagogical framework for the students focusing on Contextualized Task Based Language Teaching (CTBLT) method in combination with Input-oriented approach for the desired academic outputmentioned in the objectives of the course/module.

Secondary School Students’ Experiences with Reading Aloud in Uganda: A Case Study

Reading aloud supports vocabulary build-up, provides basic background knowledge of the text and motivates learners’ interest in the text even among adolescents. This paper explores classroom experiences of Senior One students (12-13 years) with reading aloud of Soyinka’s (2007) play The Trials of Brother Jero. The findings show that both the teacher and the learners performed clear roles during the reading exercise and this seemed to create a systematic classroom environment for reading aloud. However data also indicates that although many of the learners declared to find value in reading aloud, some learners did not participate in the activity due to various reasons. The classroom context and the nature of the text also seemed to affect the way reading aloud was implemented during the lessons.

Correlates of Nigerian Polytechnic Students’ Self-Communication in Study Reading

The primary responsibility of a student is to study if he is to attain the high standard in his course. The University of Manchester (2001) released a student’s study reading plan which requested them to engage in one study activity or the other everyday including weekends. One effective way to exhibit and demonstrate such intensive study reading exercise is through the practice of self-communication. Using Ruesch and Bateson’s (2016) seven traits of intrapersonal communication, this study investigated students’ display of self-communication traits before and during examination. The Self Communication Questionnaire was administered on four hundred randomly selected students from four polytechnics. Results showed lower practice of, an insignificant correlation of, and a significant difference between, self communication displays associated with study reading before and during examination (r=.46; t(399)=-6.851; p<.05) . The study concluded that students tended to delay study reading till examinations were imminent and recommended that students’ study reading practices must be regulated and monitored at institutional level to assist students in effective time management in an environment full of co- and extra- curricular distractions. Keywords: Study reading, self communication, intrapersonal communication DOI : 10.7176/RHSS/9-6-05 Publication date :March 31 st 2019

Between Territories and Borders

The work is built around an essay on the use of comics in the debate of historical notions about the conflicts between the US and Mexico, the installation of the republic in Mexico, and geographic: with the perception of notions of limit, territory and frontier . It emphasizes how the geographical notions are built around a debate between nature and social behavior, historically constructed. Based on two albums of the character Lieutenant Blueberry of the French comics. Methodologically applies content analysis and hermeneutical critique to associate images and concepts. He concludes by suggesting that by way of the reading exercise and historical setting of these HQs can become an important ally in the hands of teachers who are interested in developing knowledge and skills of both geographical and historical aspects in their students.

Reforming Science Teacher Education with Cultural Reflection and Practice

As classrooms increasingly become more diverse, teacher education programs should include opportunities for open discussions and authentic implementation of culturally relevant teaching. This study explores how preservice teachers (PSTs) in a science content/methods class, use reading, reflecting and writing in an innovative sequence outlined a lesson plan called a Transformational Reading Exercise (TRE). TREs require that PSTs read culturally relevant literature, reflect on their reading, and write their reflective responses rather than simply summarizing the reading. The TRE is followed by guided class discussions and the intentional application of those concepts in authentic after-school teaching environments called Family Science Learning Events. At Family Science Learning Events (FSLEs), PSTs can transform their thinking about themselves, attending students and family members, becoming more interconnected, more interdependent, more conscious of other cultures. Data collection and analysis from this study includes qualitative data from PSTs TREs and FSLE reflections and quantitative data from pre-/post-surveys regarding the importance of teacher quality characteristics. Results show a significant increase in PSTs appreciating culturally relevant teaching pedagogy and changes in PSTs personal perceptions regarding culture. Recommendations include reforming education courses to include use of structured reading/reflecting/writing sequences with intentional, authentic venues that incorporate meaningful culturally relevant experiences. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.1.3

The benefits of metacognitive reading strategy awareness instruction for young learners of English as a second language

AbstractThis paper presents a small‐scale study examining the effects of metacognitive reading strategy instruction on English language learners' reading comprehension in a Hong Kong international school. Twenty‐five primary school (Grade 5) students who learn English as a second language participated in this study. Metacognitive instruction was incorporated into 10 process‐based reading lessons. Data were collected from notes learners took during reading, post‐reading reflection reports, teacher‐facilitated group discussions and two types of reading tests. Results revealed that the young learners could articulate several knowledge factors that influenced their reading. In addition, learners reported a better understanding of the nature and demands of reading, a deeper awareness of metacognitive knowledge in improving reading comprehension and increased confidence in handling reading exercises. The learners also showed enhanced reading performance compared to those in a control group without metacognitive intervention. This study highlights the potential of metacognitive instruction to enhance primary school English learners' reading literacy.