UNIT-II

1) CONTEXTUAL MEANING: Fiction is a piece of truth that turns lies to meaning. Context is a term that is commonly used in research on the social use of language. The meanings of words or texts differ for listeners or readers depending upon situational factors, such as the other words that surround them, the physical setting in which words are uttered, gestures and other non-linguistic signs which accompany speech, the history of the relationship between a speaker and listener, and so on. To put it in a nutshell, the meaning of particular word in particular context is called contextual meaning. It depends upon situations. 1) The bird had a worm in its bill. Dad forgot to pay the phone bill. 2) When feeling blue, it always helps to call a friend. Blue is her favorite color. 2) NOTE MAKING: Study is the bane of childhood, the oil of youth, the indulgence of adulthood, and a restorative in old age Walter Savage Landor My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying. - Anton Chekhov The meaning of the word note is brief written record as an aid to memory. Note making is a systematic method of writing down quickly, briefly and clearly the important points of a reading text. There are several functions of note making. (i) Reading strategy: A careful reading helps to identify the central idea, the main points and the important supportinqg points. (ii) Note writing techniques: Copying: Copying refers to writing down verbatim what is written.

Transcribing: Transcribing is writing down verbatim what is said. Topicalising: Topicalising refers to writing down a word or phrase to represent a section of text.

A section of text Petroleum is enormously important from an economic standpoint.

Topicalising Economic importance of petroleum.

Schematising: Schematising is the method of using graphics to organize notes. Example: Plastics are classified into thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Examples of thermoplastics are PVC, nylon, polythene. Examples of thermosetting plastics are Bakelite and melamine.

PLASTICS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thermoplastics Thermosetting plastics

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------Polythene Nylon Bakelite Melamine --------------------- PVC

(iii) Reduction devices: Using abbreviations and symbols. Example:

Word/phrase Abreviation sulphur S kilogram kg minute min year yr example eg At the rate of @ (iv) Method of sequencing: Numerals and letters decimalization. Example: Symbols I, II, III A,B,C 1,2,3 a,b,c I,ii,iii

Roman numerals Capital letters Arabic numerals Small letters Small roman numerals

3) SKIMMING: The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. -Samuel Johnson Skimming refers to the process of reading a text or passage in order to get a rough idea of what the text or passage is all about. It is a rapid reading technique that prepares the reader for detailed reading. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. It includes: 1) Identifying the central idea 2) Recognising main ideas 3) Identifying the writing patterns of text/passage Example: Reading textbooks Reading for examination

4) INFERRING: We may take it to be the accepted idea that the Mosaic books were not handed down to us for our instruction in scientific knowledge, and that it is our duty to ground our scientific beliefs upon observation and inference, unmixed with considerations of a different order. -Asa Gray It is defined as a statement that is based on some situations, observations, facts or specific details. Drawing inferences is the process of knowing the unknown from the known. Inferences and conclusions can be drawn from the following, Facts Specific details Examples and illustrations Factual observations Contextual clues Example:

Suppose you are sitting in your car stopped at a red signal light. You hear screeching tires, then a loud crash and breaking glass. You see nothing, but you infer that there has been a car accident. We all know the sounds of screeching tires and a crash. We know that these sounds almost always mean a car accident. But there could be some other reason, and therefore another explanation, for the sounds. Perhaps it was not an accident involving two moving vehicles. Maybe an angry driver rammed a parked car. Or maybe someone played the sound of a car crash from a recording. Making inferences means choosing the most likely explanation from the facts at hand.

5) INTENSIVE READING: Reading maketh a man complete, Writing maketh a man perfect. Intensive reading involves reading in detail with specific learning objective and tasks requiring high degree or extreme concentration. The three rapid reading techniques of prediction, scanning, skimming prepares the reader for intensive reading. Intensive reading skills include distinguishing between facts and opinions, and drawing inferences and conclusions.

EXAMPLE: 1) Book keeping report 2) Insurance claim 3) Contract 4) Reading for exams 5) Lab reports 6) Thesis 6) STRATEGIES FOR MAKING NOTES: (i) Reading strategy: A careful reading helps to identify the central idea, the main points and the important supporting points. (ii) Note writing techniques: Copying: Copying refers to writing down verbatim what is written. Transcribing: Transcribing is writing down verbatim what is said. Topicalising: Topicalising refers to writing down a word or phrase to represent a section of text.

A section of text Petroleum is enormously important from an economic standpoint.

Topicalising Economic importance of petroleum.

Schematising: Schematising is the method of using graphics to organize notes. Example: Plastics are classified into thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Examples of thermoplastics are PVC, nylon, polythene. Examples of thermosetting plastics are Bakelite and melamine.

PLASTICS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thermoplastics Thermosetting plastics

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------Polythene Nylon Bakelite Melamine --------------------- PVC

(iii) Reduction devices: Using abbreviations and symbols. Example: Word/phrase Abreviation sulphur S kilogram kg minute min year yr example eg At the rate of @ (iv) Method of sequencing: Numerals and letters decimalization. Example: Symbols I, II, III A,B,C 1,2,3 a,b,c I,ii,iii

Roman numerals Capital letters Arabic numerals Small letters Small roman numerals

7) IMPORTANCE OF READING SKILL IN A LEARNING LANGUAGE: Reading maketh a man complete, Writing maketh a man perfect. Reading is an important communicative process and reading skills are probably the most important language skills required for academic and professional purposes. Quick, efficient and imaginative reading techniques are essential in order to achieve academic success, because academic performance depends on the quantity and quality of reading.

Reading is a complex communicative process of receiving and interpreting the written word. It involves recognizing what is written and comprehending the matter, that is, understanding the main and subsidiary points as well as links between different parts of different material. 8) EXTENSIVE READING: Reading maketh a man complete, Writing maketh a man perfect. Extensive reading is reading as much as possible, for your own pleasure, at a difficulty level at which you can read smoothly and quickly without looking up words or translating to English as you go. In other words, instead of spending a half hour decoding a tiny part of one book (also known as intensive reading), you read many simpler books that are at or slightly below the level at which you read fluently. This lets you get used to reading more complex sentences with ease, reinforces the words you already know and helps you learn new words from context. EXAMPLE:

1) reading magazines 2) novels 3) fictions 4) fairytales 5) Any reading materials that can give the people a leisure time 9) SCANNING: The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. -Samuel Johnson Scanning refers to the ability to locate specific information or facts as quickly as possible. In most cases, you know what you're looking for and so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it EXAMPLE:

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas .-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10) PREDICTING: When the number of factors coming into play in a phenomenological complex is too large scientific method in most cases fails. One need only think of the weather, in which case the prediction even for a few days ahead is impossible. Albert Einstein It refers to the process of reading quickly in order to guess the information that a passage or text contains. Prediction involves the use of index, headings, subheadings, non verbal context and linguistic clues to guess the information that a text contains. Being able to make predictions is important, even if you get it wrong. Creating certain expectations will increase your alertness to the text, and you will be better at noticing whether or not your expectations are met. The accuracy of your prediction is not usually the most important thing. What is important is recognising what the text does or does not deal with. The Importance of Making Predictions

Helps students to ask questions while they are reading Encourages students to skim or re-read portions of the story to better understand it or to recall facts about the characters or events Provides a way for students to monitor their understanding of the material

11) REVIEWING: "We remember what we understand; we understand only what we pay attention to; we pay attention to what we want." - Edward Bolles It helps readers to observe while keeping track of the big picture. We can retain more things sooner after we review at first reading. Reviews alone can evaluate our retention of matter. For better reviewing we can use the following techniques, I) Re-read the preface, heading and summary 2) Re-read the chapter 3) Review the points highlighted 4) Review the notes

5) Recite important concept to our self 6) Make flash card 7) Make a think link that displays how important concepts relate to one another 8) Read all the important information into a tape recorder and play it on spare time

12) SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING: Summarising and paraphrasing are productive skills integrating both reading and writing skills. In contrast to quoting directly, by summarising or paraphrasing an author's ideas you are able to present your interpretation of an author's ideas and to integrate them more fully into the structure of your writing. Paraphrasing is generally used when you wish to refer to sentences or phrases in the source text. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with facts and definitions. Paraphrasing involves rewriting a short section from the source text in different words whilst keeping the same meaning. Summarising is generally used when you wish to refer to ideas contained in a long text. Summarising enables you to reduce the author's ideas to key points in an outline of the discussion or argument by omitting unnecessary details and examples. Whether you summarise or paraphrase, you will still need to include a reference citing the source of the ideas you have referred to.