Reading in ENGLISH
Professor Reinildes Dias, Ph.D.
[email protected]
L2 Reading is a basic life skill.
Without the ability to read in
English well, opportunities for
personal fulfillment and job
success inevitably will be lost.
Literacy rich environments display texts
everywhere and provide opportunities
that can engage students in L2 reading
and writing activities.
These environments can
also encourage students to
read and write in English
for different social
purposes.
Reading throughout the years:
from the 70s to now.
Three cognitive models
The bottom-up model
The top-down model
The interactive model
The bottom-up model acknowledges
that …
Readers proceed from the written
text to meaning.
Readers are passive recipients of
meaning.
Meaning resides in texts.
Meaning is driven by the text.
Reading proceeds from part to
whole.
From the bottom-up perspective,
it is believed that …
Readers read in a linear way through a step-bystep procedure which involves identification of
letters,
recognition of spelling patterns and words, and the
processing of meaning
from the sentence level
to the paragraph level and
then to the text itself.
In sum, the bottom-up model
emphasizes a single-direction,
part-to-whole processing
of a text.
Main proponents of the bottom-up
model of reading
Gough, P.B. (1972). One second of
reading. In: J.F. Kavanagh and I.G.
Mattingly (eds.), Language by ear and by the
eye (pp. 331-58). Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
LaBerge, D. and Samuels, S.J. (1974).
Toward a theory of automatic information
processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology,
6, 293-323.
According to Gough (1972), reading
is a sequential or serial mental process.
In his words,
“Readers begin by translating the parts
of written language (letters) into speech
sounds, then piece the sounds together
to form individual words, then piece the
words together to arrive at an
understanding of the author’s written
message.”
Top-down
process
Important element: readers’ prior knowledge.
Focuses on what readers bring to the process
Readers activate prior knowledge to understand
texts.
Readers are active processors of meaning.
Top-down
process:
Reading is a “psycholinguistic guessing game”,
Goodman, 1970.
Reading proceeds from whole to part.
Meaning is brought to the written text, not
derived from it.
Reading is driven by meaning.
Main advocates of the top-down
model of reading
Kenneth Goodman (1967). Reading: A
psycholinguistic guessing game. Journal
of Reading Specialist, 6, 126-35.
Frank Smith (1971). Understanding
reading. New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Reading is a
dynamic activity.
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Readers have no control
over the act of
comprehending a text
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Reading is a
dynamic activity.
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Readers have no control
over the act of
comprehending a text
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Reading is a
dynamic activity.
Readers make use of
their previous
knowledge
to comprehend a text.
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Readers have no control
over the act of
comprehending a text
Readers rely only on the
formal features of language
in the quest for making
sense of a text.
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Reading is a
dynamic activity.
Readers make use of
their previous
knowledge
to comprehend a text.
Traditional view of
reading (bottom-up
model)
Reading is a passive
activity.
Readers have no control
over the act of
comprehending a text
Cognitive view of
reading (top-down
model)
Reading is a
dynamic activity.
Readers make use of
their previous
knowledge
to comprehend a text.
Readers (as well as
Readers rely only on the
formal features of language texts) are at the heart of
the
in the quest for making
Sense of a text.
reading process.
The interactive
model of reading
Acknowledges that reading involves
both a bottom-up and a top-down
process.
The interactive
model of reading
Recognizes the simultaneous interaction
of bottom-up and top-down processes
during reading comprehension.
The interactive
model of reading
Readers rely on their prior knowledge and
also on the formal features of language in
the quest for making sense of a text.
The interactive
model of reading
Stresses the dynamic interaction of
the active mind of the reader and
the written text.
The interactive
model of reading
Examines reading comprehension from
the point of view of connected discourse.
The interactive
model of reading
Starts considering readers’ cultural
background and value systems in the
process of reading comprehension.
The interactive
model of reading
Acknowledges the importance of schema, that is,
units of organized knowledge about events, situation
or objects that readers have stored in their mind’s
cognitive structures during the process of reading
comprehension.
The interactive
model of reading
Schema knowledge is subdivided into formal
and content schema with the acknowledgment
of the importance of the social, cultural and
text rhetorical features in reading comprehension
Carrell & Einsterhold (1988)
Main advocates of the interactive
model of reading
David Rumelhart (1980). Schemata: the building
blocks of cognition. In: Spiro, R.J.; Bruce, B. C.;
Brewer, W. F. (ed). Theoretical issues in reading
comprehension. p. 33-58.
Keith Stanovich (1980). Toward an interactivecompensatory model of individual differences
in the development of reading fluency. Reading
Research Quarterly, 16, 32-71.
Cognitive views of reading
(top-down and
interactive models)
Encompass this fundamental principle
from schema theory:
A spoken or written text does not in itself
carry meaning; rather, it provides directions
for readers on how to use their own stored
knowledge to retrieve and construct meaning.
(Adams & Collins apud Leahey & Harris, 1989. p. 201
A social view
of reading
Posits that reading performs a socializing function.
Assumes that texts are social and cultural artifacts
reflecting group values and norms.
Acknowledges the fact that texts are materialized
or structured into different genres.
Recognizes that we communicate through genres
that fulfill different social purposes in particular
contexts of use.
Toward a synthesis:
A sociocognitive view
of reading
(Bernhardt, 1991).
The two perspectives are integrated into a
holistic view of the reading process.
Meaning is reader-generated and it depends
on the activation of different types of knowledge
(prior knowledge, textual, lexical-systemic and
strategic knowledge).
Toward a synthesis:
A sociocognitive view of reading
(Bernhardt, 1991).
Acknowledges the dynamic relationships
between text producers, text receivers
and the text itself.
Recognizes the ongoing interaction between
reader and writer, mediated by the text and
context. This interaction is socially constructed.
Toward a synthesis:
A sociocognitive view of reading
(Bernhardt, 1991).
Schema knowledge (from schema theory) is
both a social and a mentalistic construct.
Understands the concept of text as a social
construct.
Conceptualized as a social
construct.
The reading
text
Viewed as a communicative
event that is socially and
culturally recognizable, both
in spoken and written
modes.
Materialized in different
genres for a variety of social
communicative purposes.
A reading text can be paper, electronic,
or live.
It may comprise one or more semiotic
systems (linguistic, sound, visual,
spatial, gestural).
The reading
text
Texts are consciously constructed.
Meanings are actively constructed.
A text may be constructed using
intertextuality.
Texts may be multimodal, interactive,
linear, and nonlinear.
(Anstey; Bull, 2004)
A genre-based
approach to
teach L2 reading
Encourages habits of meaning-making
by students.
Centered on the explicit identification
and analysis of genre features to show
how patterns of language work to shape
meaning.
A genre-based
approach to
teach L2 reading
Counts on students’ recognition of genre
similarities between Portuguese and English
to enhance L2 reading comprehension.
Counts on students’ repeated experiences
with texts in their mother language to enhance
L2 reading comprehension.
A genre-based
approach to
teach L2 reading
Encourages students to contextualize the particular
texts they have to read by an understanding of the
specific situations for which they have been written,
their communicative purposes, intended audience,
the social role played by the author, and when and
where they were published.
A genre-based
approach to
teach L2 reading
In other words, this approach to teaching
encourages students to answer this set of
questions: “who writes what, for what purposes,
how, where, and when” in order to understand the
overall context for which texts have been written as
well as who they want to influence.
A genre-based
approach to
teach L2 reading
Teaches the discursive, the lexical and
the linguistic features of different genres
explicitly to enhance L2 reading
comprehension.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 1: Pré-leitura
Ativação de conhecimento
anterior
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 2
Compreensão de pontos gerais
Compreensão das condições de
produção do texto
Exploração da informação
não-verbal
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 3
Compreensão de pontos
principais
Exploração da informação verbal:
construção dos elos coesivos lexicais e gramaticais - inferências.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 4
Compreensão detalhada
Exploração da informação verbal:
inferências, sínteses, integração.
Resumo do texto lido na forma de
diagramas, esquemas e mapas
conceituais
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 5: Pós-Leitura
Reflexões sobre as características
retórico-discursivas e linguísticotextuais do texto lido.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
Fases de uma aula de leitura
Fase 5: Pós-Leitura (cont.)
Atividades de desenvolvimento
de vocabulário.
Atividades de aprendizagem
de gramática
http://preview.tinyurl.com/proposta-mg-fases-aula-leitura
Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado
de Minas Gerais. 2003.
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References
http://www.landmark.edu/institute/assistive_technology/readin
g_overview.html
http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/gpg/1420
http://www.nadasisland.com/reading/#interact
http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/reading/reindex.htm
http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/ReferenceMaterials/
glossaryofliteracyterms/WhatIsAnInteractiveReadingMod
e.htm
http://tsl591.blogspot.com/2008/07/models-ofreadinginteractive.html
DIAS, R. Proposta Curricular de Língua Estrangeira do Estado de Minas Gerais Disponível em: http://tinyurl.com/proposta-curricular-mg. Faça o download em .p
para facilitar a leitura.
Publicações recentes
DIAS, R; DELL’ISOLA, R. L. P. Gêneros textuais: teoria e prática de
Ensino em LE. Campinas: Mercado de Letras. 2012.
DIAS, R. Inglês na escola: pelas trilhas da inclusão social. Belo
Horizonte: Editora Dimensão. 2012.
DIAS, R; JUCÁ, L.; FARIA, R. Prime – Inglês para o Ensino Médio.
São Paulo: Macmillan. 2011.
DIAS, R; CRISTOVÃO, V. L. L. O livro didático de língua estrangeira:
múltiplas perspectivas. Campinas: Mercado de Letras. 2009.
Thanks for your
attention!