READING NOOR SHAHARIAH

BT SALEH
FACULTY OF
SCIENCE,

SKILLS TECHNOLOGY AND

HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
Comprehension
Language based skills are the abilities acquired
by someone related to the basic features of a
language.
Comprehension and expression skills are
included as language based skills.
The better the language skills someone
possesses, the stronger the comprehension
and expression skills will be.
When the comprehension skills are mastered
Accurate, efficient and quick understanding

When the comprehension skills are weak

A longer time to understand and mistakes occur

Reading is not complete without a clear

understanding and if one does not understand what
he/she reads, it means that he/she does not
comprehend the text.
Vocabulary
People gradually improve their vocabulary -
ongoing (continuing) process.
How do you increase the vocabulary? What
have you done?
Learn new things
Involve in different learning situation and
when you probed a lot of questions, you
made yourself to learn.
Continue
Utilise the new Familiarise yourself
vocabulary in daily with the glossary of
communication. textbooks.

Familiarise yourself
with the dictionary:
Learn new words
learn the
everyday.
pronunciation keys
and meanings.
Read the passage as rapidly
as you can.
My older sister and I look alike, but we have completely
different personalities. My sister is the outgoing type.
She makes friends easily and she is always joking. I am
quiet and reserved. It is difficult for me to talk to people I
do not know. My sister is also very impatient. When she
has something to do, she does it as quickly as possible
and does not worry much about how she does it. I, on
the other hand, spend too much time trying to do
everything perfectly. Now she is a successful sales
executive, something I could never be. I am planning to
be a research chemist when I graduate.
Did you read every word in Did you say the words softly
the passage? to yourself as you read
Yes/ No them?
Yes/ No
Extensive reading Intensive reading
Reading for pleasure with Reading carefully for
emphasis on general exact understanding of
understanding text. Necessary for
contracts legal
documentation,
application forms, etc.
Skimming

A reading technique that helps you to

read quickly by moving the eyes over
the text to get a GENERAL IDEA and a
general OVERVIEW of the content
without reading every word.
Million _________suffer_______anxiety disorders
______ phobias. _______ name _________ Greek
word ______ means fear _______ flight.
_______phobia _____unreasonable fear _______
faced with ________situation______. ______
agoraphobia, ____,______afraid ____ open
spaces. Many _____refuse _____leave ____
homes. People ____ claustrophobia, _____other
hand, ____fear _____ - small, enclosed spaces,
______ avoid _____ lifts _______ small rooms.
Could you work out what the passage is about? Test
yourself with these TRUE / FALSE questions.
A phobia is an anxiety disorder. (True/
false)
Few people suffer from the phobias
(True/ false)
The term phobia comes from Latin
word. (True/ false)
People with claustrophobia do not like
lifts. (True/ False)
Skimming is important in three different
situations.
Pre- reading more thorough than simple
previewing and can give more accurate
picture of the text to be read.

Reading most often used for quickly

reading material that does not need more
detailed attention.

Reviewing skimming is useful for

reviewing text already read.
How to skim a short passage

Move your eyes quickly across each line of text.

Do not stop at every word. Do not say the word
to yourself.
Look at just a few key words or phrases in each
line.
Ask yourself the general idea after finish
reading.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Compare the highlighted/
written words.
Who has more words/
Did both of you highlight the
same words or different words?
Are the words you highlighted/
wrote key words?
 Many everyday products were discovered by accident,
and Coca-Cola is a good example. This famous soft drink
began as a tonic for curing headaches. An American
pharmacist brewed it from leaves and kola nuts. The
story goes that one morning a customer came into the
pharmacy and asked for a Coca-Cola tonic. The assistant
was too lazy to go to the back of the store to get some
plain water to dilute the concentrated tonic, so he mixed
it with soda water instead. The customer liked the fizzy
drink and it quickly became popular. Its originator surely
never dreamt that his accidental mixture would become
the worlds best- selling soft drink.
 Many everyday products were discovered by accident, and
Coca-Cola is a good example. This famous soft drink began as
a tonic for curing headaches. An American pharmacist brewed
it from leaves and kola nuts. The story goes that one morning
a customer came into the pharmacy and asked for a Coca-Cola
tonic. The assistant was too lazy to go to the back of the store
to get some plain water to dilute the concentrated tonic, so
he mixed it with soda water instead. The customer liked the
fizzy drink and it quickly became popular. Its originator surely
never dreamt that his accidental mixture would become the
worlds best- selling soft drink.
 Skimming can be
accomplished at
about 1000 words
per minute.
Scanning

It covers rapidly a great deal of material

in order TO LOCATE A SPECIFIC FACT or
piece of information.
Scanning is a searching technique.
It is more practical by trying to locate
answers or facts quickly by reading
selectively.
Information can be sought from:

Titles of articles, headings, subheadings.

Key words and phrases.
Words in italics and in bold.
Visual aids (charts, tables, diagrams, etc)
Dates
Names of people
Definitions
Statistics
Arrangements
Alphabetical Non-alphabetical
arrangements arrangements
Dictionary Television listings day, time
Index of a book Historical data and tables-
Guides listings month, year (chronologically)
Reference listings Sports pages (categories:
baseball, football, tennis)
Best seller lists (numerical
according to number of copies
sold)
How to scan
State the specific information you are looking for.
Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you
might use to help you locate the answer. For example, if you were
looking for a certain date, you would quickly read the paragraph
looking only for numbers.
Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify
which sections might contain the information you are looking for.
Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.

(From College Reading and Study Skills and Academic Reading and Study Skills for
International Students)
 Skim general
Scan specific
CONTEXTUAL CLUES
Context clues are bits of information from
the text that, when combined with prior
knowledge, allow you to decide the meaning
of unknown words in the story or article you
are reading.

A READER A DETECTIVE

Put together the clues and guess

the definition/ meaning of the word.
How to guess the meaning of the word?

The other words in the same sentence.

The sentences that come before and after.
The word stated in another way in the passage.
Types of contextual clues

Direct definition Synonym context Antonym context

context clues clues clues
Direct definition

The meaning of the word is just right there in

the text.
Example:

There are many theories, or ideas, about what made the Ice Ages
happen.

In this sentence the word ideas tells us that theories are different
thoughts people have about something.
 After a time, glaciers, or slowly The meaning
moving rivers of ice, formed over
many parts of the Earth.
Synonym context clues

Words around the difficult word that mean the

same or nearly the same. Sometimes, the
difficult words are given in comparison with
other things that are much similar to them.
 Example
The amethyst, like other precious
stones known for hardness, cannot
be cut with a knife or scratched by
glass
Amethyst- a precious stone, a gem
Antonym context clues
The clues provided around the word
are given in opposite or nearly
opposite meaning.
Example

Joe was reluctant to take the job of captain of the team. He was
afraid that the time it would take would hurt his grades. On the
other hand, Billy was eager for the chance to be the team
captain.
In this sentence the words on the other hand and eager tell us
that Billy feels the opposite of Joe, therefore, reluctant means
uncertain or cautious.
Contextual clues exercise
Your friend Ryan has moved
to a new country and is
learning a new language.
Read what he wrote in his
diary and see if you can
figure out the meaning to
the underlined words.
Dear Diary,
I overslept this morning. I had to eat my bowl of poof-poofs very quickly, and I
almost missed the tramzam. When I got to school, I realized I had forgotten
my zilgping . Luckily, Ms. Jutzi is very zoosh, and told me I could bring it
tomorrow.
After school, some friends and I played plingming. Its a new game I am
learning. We scored 7 points and they only scored 5 points, so we were the
zoiters!
Dad says that next weekend were going to the fladder . I cant wait! I love to
swim and play in the sand. I hope I dont get a sunburn though.
Well, I better go to bed soon. I dont want to wake up late again and miss my
tramzam!
Until tomorrow,

Ryan
What could the word What could the word What could the word
poof-poofs mean? tramzam mean? zilgping mean?
The sentences tell The sentences tell The sentences tell
me it is something me that Ryan was me that it is
that can be eaten. I going to school and something Ryan
know that it is a he almost missed needed at school. I
breakfast food his tramzam. What also know that it is
because Ryan said it do you think it is? ok if he brings it
was morning. I also The most logical tomorrow. What do
know that it goes in guess would be a you think it is?
a bowl. What do school bus. The most logical
you think it is? guess would be
The most logical Ryans homework
guess would be a
type of cereal.
What could the word What could the word What could the word
zoosh mean? plingming mean? zoiters mean?
The sentences tell The sentences tell The sentences tell
me that a person me it is a game me that Ryans
can act this way Ryan and his friends team scored 7
and that Ms. Jutzi is play against each points while the
being kind and other and that other team scored
allowing Ryan to points can be less points. What
bring his homework scored. What do do you think it is?
the next day. What you think it is? The most logical
do you think it is? The most logical guess would be that
The most logical guess would be a it means winners.
guess would be sport such as
friendly or basketball or
understanding. soccer.
 What could the word fladder mean?

The sentences tell me that Ryans dad said

he could go there and when he gets there
they will swim and play in the sand. Ryan
also mentions not wanting a sunburn. What
do you think it is?
The most logical guess would be a lake or a
beach.
 Context clues exercise
Directions: Define the underlined words using context clues.
Jorge has been the proprietor of the store for thirty
years. His father was the owner before that.
The tiny dog looked innocuous, but in fact he was very
dangerous.
Taylor was never hungry, but after going without food
for three days, he was so ravenous that he ate like a
dog.
Lela is usually very verbose in class. Today, however, she
didnt talk at all.
My 75-year-old mother and my 93-year-old
grandmother are both in the same geriatric center.
From: Davidson, Carolyn L. Solving the Mystery of Reading. New York: Pearson, 2006.
 Jorge has been the proprietor of the store for thirty years. His father was
the owner before that.
Owner of store
The tiny dog looked innocuous, but in fact he was very dangerous.
harmless
Taylor was never hungry, but after going without food for three days, he
was so ravenous that he ate like a dog.
Very hungry
Lela is usually very verbose in class. Today, however, she didnt talk at all.
talkative/ talk too much
My 75-year-old mother and my 93-year-old grandmother are both in the
same geriatric center.
of old age
References

http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~pkanchan/html/skim.htm
Reading and study skills lab. Skimming and scanning.
University Anne Arundel Community College.
http://esl.about.com/od/readinglessonplan1/a/Readin
g-Comprehension-Skills-Scanning.htm
www.clintweb.net/ctw/Context_Clues.ppt
ecksteineagles.org/6c-
humanities/files/2010/.../Context-Clues-slide-show.pp.
Davidson, Carolyn L. Solving the Mystery of Reading.
New York: Pearson, 2006