Chapter No.

p.43

What kinds of context are used by learners to get help in reading?

The contexts such as sentence structure, the pictures in the book, the story so far, knowledge of
the world, hints given by other person help to develop the ability to read.

p.45

Why is it difficult to learn Reading Skills in L2 as compared to L1?

When we learn to read in first language (L1), we already know at least 5000 words orally
whereas we are plunged into reading a second language when we know very little of it.

What is the difference between reading skills and reading strategies?

Reading strategies are techniques which readers use consciously to fulfill their reasons for
reading such as predicting, inferring, re-reading, etc.

Whereas reading skills are the unconscious processes such as identifying words, constructing
meanings and using memory to understand the text.

p.48

How technology has changed the ways in which we read?

Because of technology, now not only well known or expert writers are read but also new and less
familiar writers can be read widely on the web through blogging, Wikipedia, posts on social
networking sites and e-books etc.

p.53

Mention some of the online resources of reading material for L2 learners.

1. Online newspapers
2. E-books (texts, dictionaries, thesaurus etc.)
3. Digital and interactive fiction
4. Websites containing graphics novels

1
p.56

How second language (L2) reading and writing are connected with each other?

Readers and writers are engaged in a kind of dialogue with each other mediated through the text,
as readers try to link their own experiences in order to understand a text, and writers try to
convey their meaning in a manner which is considerate of readers.

Chapter 5

p.61

What skills do second language writers need to learn?

Please go through table given at page 61

What are the traditional approaches to teaching of writing skills?

Traditionally there are three main areas in writing:

1. The actual piece of writing produced by the learner

2. The writer and what he/she does to produce a text (editing drafts before the final one)
3. The reader and the way in which writer engages with the audience

What is the current approach to teaching writing skills?

The current methodology tends to combine all the three traditional approaches to writing.

p.62

What are the three approaches to writing in the class room according to Harmer (2007)?

1. Product approaches
They involves the students in analyzing the language and organization
2. Process approaches
They get students to brainstorm their ideas, drafts texts and edit
3. Social approaches
They focus on analyzing genres

2
p.65

What are advantages of mind mapping software?

• The final draft can be saved and exported.

• It is possible to add extensive texts with the branches.
• It is easy to move branches and rearrange them.
• It facilitates collaboration and team work.

In what ways presentation software is useful for writers?

• It is useful for planning writing.

• Presentation is broken into slides that help writers to structure the content.
• It facilitates in making headings and arranging paragraphs.

How can we get feedback on writing in progress?

Word processing tools, dictionaries and spelling and grammar checkers all provide feedback on
writing in progress.

p.68-69

Briefly describe any three challenges faced by teachers of L2 writing skills?

1. New written genres are emerging which are still unstable which makes it difficult to
predict their language and organization.
2. A large number of online texts are written by L2 writers which has the consequences for
the notion of correctness.
3. The audience for written texts on the internet has become wider and unpredictable.
4. New writers try to become more proficient by imitating language and copying content or
ideas of skilled writers that is a wrong practice.

Give some examples of new genres of writing emerged as a result of technology.

• Social networking sites

• Twitter
• Wikis
• Blogs