Developing Critical Reading in Early Learning Centre

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Municipal autonomous general educational institution "Lyceum №37"

Developing Critical Reading in Early Learning Centre

Batushanskaya O.M

Saratov

Texts are usually treated with reverence in the classroom. The student's attitude to texts is that the `text knows best', students tend to `'passively accept what is found in reading texts simply because it is so often presented as obvious'' [Wallace 1990]. Secondly, teachers generally use texts as a means to inhanse grammatical, vocabulary and content knowledge. However, it is important to be able to view and question texts critically. This implies taking assertive positions against a text's `'obvious'' and `'taken for granted'' stance [Wallace 1990] so the term “critical” here means that students do not blindly accept the `'obvious'' statements in a text. Teachers need to guide students to question the information content and the ideological assumptions that the writer puts forth.

Harris and Hodges [Harris, T.L., and R.E. Hodges 1981] define critical reading as the process of making judgments in reading. According to Thistlethwaite [Thistlethwaite 1990:587] ''in critical reading, readers evaluate what they have read and make a decision. This decision may be to accept what the writer has said or to disagree with it.''

Several strategies can be used in the classroom for developing critical awareness while reading. Since the reading process is usually subdivided into three stages: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading, this paper will look at the strategies for all the above mentioned stages.

The strategies for the pre-reading stage: In conventional pre-reading activities, students are asked to do the following

· find answers to given questions based on the text;

· give their personal opinion about the topic;

· predict the continuing text.

In critical pre-reading activities students can be asked to consider

· the reason the author is writing about the topic;

· the whole range of ways to write a particular text;

· generating their own list of questions .

Thus, in critical pre-reading activities students can be asked to provide answers to questions that are not text based but are based around the text.

· What is the topic/title of the text? What does it tell me?

· What is the purpose for writing: to inform, persuade, entertain?

· What is the genre of the text: a letter, an article in a newspaper, an essay, a report, an advertisement?

· Who is the writer? How much do I know about him/her?

· What does the information reveal about the writer?

· What other information is revealed about the period when the text was written?

· Who is the reader?

Strategies for the while-reading stage: Reading should be treated as a creative and challenging activity where student's questioning and interpretive abilities are triggered. At this stage students can be asked to read and react to content and language in a text by analyzing arguments.

An argument is basically a group of statements that have a special relationship to one another.

In addition to identifying the main argument or idea in each paragraph students can be given a checklist of questions that they can bear in mind while reading texts.

· Why should I accept this claim as true?

· What reasons or evidence does the writer give for the claim?

· On what basis should I accept this claim?

A critical reader seriously thinks about what s/he is reading. This means that s/he:

· does not believe everything s/he reads;

· questions everything that doesn't make sense to him/her;

· analyses arguments;

· has good reasons for believing some things and not believing others.

So a very important critical reading skill is to be able to distinguish fact from opinion. This is an essential first step in acquiring critical reading ability.

One way of doing this would be to give students several sentences expressing facts and opinions and ask them to differentiate between the two. It is important to make students aware of how language is used to express facts and opinions. It can be achieved by looking at patterns and repetitions of any kind such as:

· repeated descriptions;

· consistent ways of characterizing people or events;

· use of opposites;

· use of figurative language

Students can also be made aware of the following:

· the way nouns function and the reasons for their functioning;

· the kinds of verbs used: action verbs, stative verbs, etc

· why the writer uses them, the purpose they serve, the meaning they convey;

· the use of modal verbs;

· the use of connectors, not just to convey ideas, but also to convey the writer's stand or position on the matter.

Strategies of the post-reading stage: The logical strategy to use at the post-reading stage is to extend the understanding obtained from texts at the pre-reading and while-reading stages into writing tasks, such as summarizing, evaluating, synthesizing, commenting, and reflecting.

All of these strategies will help students to consolidate in writing the critical understanding and interpretation that they have derived from their interaction with the text or texts. text grammatical lexical critical

Methodology: The teaching methodology applied in the classroom would be one of group work and cooperative learning. If students are generating their own questions rather than discussing answers to teachers' questions, group work is definitely more efficient. The effectiveness of such group activities would, of course, depend on the teacher, whose role becomes even more crucial. A lot of thought and planning would be required outside class in choosing materials and organizing lessons that focus on developing critical reading abilities. Once the focus and direction are set in class, there will be very little teacher talk. The role of the teacher is that of a facilitator guiding students to keep their discussions. This implies that students take responsibility for their own learning.

Reading experts agree that all these critical reading strategies cannot be acquired quickly during a couple of lessons. On the contrary, these strategies are acquired in a developmental process. Teachers should, therefore, incorporate critical reading activities in all appropriate classrooms. More than that, critical reading skills can and ought to be practiced and developed in history or social science classrooms.

Materials:

For example the objectives of Lessons 1-2 of Unit 9 “Most treasured possession” are to develop critical thinking and notice the difference between emotional and factual descriptions. Students are asked to read a story about a teenage girl missing her father who lives with a new family and answer the questions alongside it. Among the 8 questions are as follows:

· Why is the episode with Jake biting off the pig's head described in such detail? What does it add to the story?

· Why does Jake ask and repeat this question? Why doesn't Jess answer?

· How is the sugar pig described in the story? Is any description of the way it looks given? Can you picture the pig?

· What feeling does the story describe?

This activity draws students' attention to the language of a literary text and makes them analyse different techniques of vivid description.

All teachers work within certain constraints in the classroom, but the need for developing critical reading strategies among our students cannot be ignored. It enhances their social and critical thinking skills and makes them more responsible for their own learning.

References

1. Wallace, C. 1990. Critical reading awareness in the EFL classroom. Singapore Tertiary English Teachers Society Review, Issue no. 3.

2. Harris, T.L., and R.E. Hodges. 1981. A dictionary of reading and related terms. Newark, NJ: International Reading Association.

3. Thistlethwaite, L.L. 1990. Critical reading for at-risk students. Journal of reading, 3, 33, pp. 586-592

4. Chitra Varaprasad. 1997. Some classroom strategies. FORUM, 3, 35, pp. 24-29

5. О.Л. Гроза О.Б. Дворецкая 2009. New Millennium English. Teacher's book, Издательство «Титул»

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