Reading Strategies

Reading is essential in learning, if not in whole life. To

gain the maximum value from it, there are several skills to be acquired. Applying diverse strategies helps in obtaining and fertilizing such skills.

Anticipation Guides:

image #1

This strategy focuses in the first place on comprehension. An anticipation guide figures out what learners already know and stimulate curiosity about the new topic. It also connects learner’s prior knowledge to the intended new information.  This strategy can be employed in groups, in pairs or individually.

In applying this, a teacher may prepare a list of (Yes\No) statements related to the concepts aimed to be learned from the text. It also can be followed by “I don’t know” column. First, learners have the time to read statements and decide. After that, they read the text and compare with what they already know. Finally, they find out why their statement assumptions are false or true. (See image #1)

Choral Reading:

This strategy emphasizes fluency in reading aloud and proper pronunciation. Besides, it improves body language. Obviously, it is

very common in teaching poetry or songs. A helpful psychological feature in this strategy is helping reluctant and hesitant learners since they repeat and pronounce within a group of classmates. It also raises learners’ self-confidence.

The teacher either reads aloud, acting as a model, or provides a recording of the text. Learners repeat aloud after each phrase. Their teacher observes their performance and fosters or corrects them.

Cloze Passage (Cloze Procedure):

This strategy essentially stresses on reading text comprehension; not reading fluency. It develops deduction and guessing skills by focusing on the general meaning. Learners think while they read. Simplicity is considered to be one of its advantages; it requires choosing a text and omitting some intended words.

After considering learners’ level, a teacher carefully selects or composes a text that supports the intended objectives. Then, certain words will be deleted based on different purposes such as specific vocabulary to be learned, a certain part of speech (adjectives, for example), or every five words. A list of words can be given to students or write their own words.