Midterm: Han SH

(1) The difference between first and second language reading process.

 

L1 learners are prepared for reading at an early age by listening to stories, being read to, and interacting with adults and others about the stories they hear. When native –speaking children start to learn to read, they already have a large vocabulary of several thousand words which includes most of the words they will meet in early reading. They also have good control of the grammar of the language, have a lot of knowledge about books and reading conventions, and have had many stories read to them, so they are keen to learn how to read. The techniques used to teach are largely meaning-focused with shared reading, guided reading and independent reading. However, L2 learners are usually older than L1 beginners. Learning to read an L2 involves a great deal of language teaching, thus they need very controlled texts and a greater amount of pre-reading activities. However, L2 learners can already read in their L1, and they have general cognitive skills and language specific skills such as greater meta-linguistic and meta-cognitive awareness. Also, L2 beginners do not need to learn what they can transfer from the L1 like Italian. It is easy to transfer L1 skills and to be much more able to learn from direct instruction.

 

(2) What intensive reading means in ESL setting?

 

Intensive study of reading texts can be a means of increasing learner’s knowledge of language features and their control of reading strategies. It can also improve their comprehension skill. It fits into the language-focused learning strand of a course. The classic procedure for intensive reading is the grammar-translation approach where the teacher works with the learners, using the first language to explain the meaning of a text in every sentence. Intensive work on reading text can focus on the aspects such as comprehension, regular and irregular sound-spelling relations, vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, information structure, genre features, and strategies. If these characteristics of intensive reading are offered to ESL learners, they could learn faster and stably where time is short and where learners have not succeeded in learning to read by other methods as a minority or newly comers in the target society. Also, the effect of his kind of intensive reading can help ESL learners learn specific features and make them aware of these so that they notice them in the future reading and thus have a greater chance of learning better. Last, as a surviving skill, ESL learners have to read correctly their textbooks, the road signs, bus schedules, newspaper articles, recipes, web information, and so forth.

 

(3) What extensive reading means in ESL setting?

 

     Extensive reading fits into the meaning-focused input and fluency development strands of a course, depending on the level of the books that the learners read. When the books contain only a few unknown vocabulary and grammar items, extensive reading provides the conditions for meaning-focused input. Where the books are very easy ones with virtually no unknown items,

extensive reading provides the conditions for fluency development. Considering the ESL learners’ difficulty to do their schoolwork and to adjust foreign society and culture, it is very important that ESL learners should have the opportunity to gain meaning-focused input through reading plenty of material that does not contain too many unknown or difficult items, which can provide them with lots of experience in foreign society and culture, thus allow them to apply what they have learned in other parts of the reading course and schoolwork. For this reason, they should have the opportunity to work with very easy material so that they can develop fluency and positive motivation in reading for successful schoolwork and lives.

 

(4) Create a mini-lesson plan

 

A. For intensive ESL reading

 

Lesson	13. What did you do yesterday?	period	2/4(40min)
Objectives	1. Students can listen and repeat the expressions of the past.  2. Students can read and find out the expressions of the past.
Classroom Setting	6th graders, 20students
Procedure	Teaching and Learning Activities	Time	Materials
Introduction	■ Greetings and daily routines ■ Presentation of the objectives ■ Look and listen - T : Let's listen to the dialog Ⅰ,Ⅱ - Ss : (Students watch TV and listen to the dialogs.) ■ Listen and repeat(1) - T : Let's listen the dialog Ⅰ,Ⅱ - Ss : (After students listen to them line by line and repeat one after another.)	10min	CD-ROM Projection TV
Development	■ Before reading activity ▶ Brainstorming - T : Let's brainstorm the words for the pictures. - Ss : (Students brainstorm the words for the pictures.) ■ During reading activity ▶ Finding the expressions of the past - T : Let's find the expressions of the past. - Ss : (Students make a circle to the expressions of the past.) ■ After reading activity ▶ Answering the questions - T : Let's answer the questions. - Ss : (Students write the answers in the sheet based on the detailed information from the article.) ▶ Solving the crossword puzzle - T : Let's do the crossword puzzle. - Ss : (Students solve the puzzle and check the answers.)	5min           10min         13min	English newspaper article       worksheet
Closing	■ Review - Main expressions of the past, words	2min	PPT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B. For extensive ESL reading

 

Lesson	8. What will you do this summer?	period	3/4(40min)
Objectives	1. Students can listen and repeat the expressions of the future.  2. Students can read and find out the main story within 10minutes.
Classroom Setting	6th graders, 20students
Procedure	Teaching and Learning Activities	Time	Materials
Introduction	■ Greetings and daily routines ■ Presentation of the objectives ■ Look and listen - T : Let's listen to the dialog Ⅰ,Ⅱ - Ss : (Students watch TV and listen to the dialogs.) ■ Listen and repeat(1) - T : Let's listen the dialog Ⅰ,Ⅱ - Ss : (After students listen to them line by line and repeat one after another.)	10min	CD-ROM Projection TV
Development	■ Before reading activity ▶ Brainstorming - T : Let's brainstorm the words for the pictures. - Ss : (Students brainstorm the words for the pictures.) ■ During reading activity ▶ Finding the main story of the book - T : Let's find the main story of the book. - Ss : (Students read the book individually finding the main story of the book.) ■ After reading activity ▶ Checking the story - T : Let's check what the story is about. - Ss : (Students answer the questions from teachers and check what the story is about.) ▶ Making a cartoon - T : Let's make a cartoon. - Ss : (Students make a cartoon based on the main story of the book they read.)	5min           10min         13min	English storybook       worksheet
Closing	■ Review - Main expressions of the future and story	2min	PPT

 

(5) Make a summary paragraph for the above.

 

     The difference between first and second language reading process is clear in the age of starting, cognitive and language skills, teaching methods, using materials, and activities. L1 and L2 reading processes have their own special characteristics and strength. Intensive study of reading texts can be a means of increasing learner’s knowledge of language features and their control of reading strategies. Thus, intensive reading has a meaning of helping ESL learners learn faster and stably where time is short and where learners have not succeeded in learning to read by other methods as a minority or newly comers in the target society. Whereas Extensive reading fits into the meaning-focused input and fluency development strands of a course, depending on the level of the books that the learners read. Thus, extensive reading also has a meaning of assisting have the opportunity to gain meaning-focused input through reading plenty of material that does not contain too many unknown or difficult items, which can provide them with lots of experience in foreign society and culture, thus allow them to apply what they have learned in other parts of the reading course and schoolwork. ESL learners should have the opportunity to work with very easy material so that they can develop fluency and positive motivation in reading for successful schoolwork and lives. A good reading course can be the core of the language program as it can give rise to activities in the other skills of listening, speaking, and writing, and can provide the opportunity for a useful, deliberate focus on language features. It can become as effective means of showing that language learning can be successful and enjoyable.

 

 

Thank you for the good example.