COMMUNICATION SKILLS

READING SKILLS
 READING SKILLS
• This is the third language skill. It is usually acquired
formally, that is, taught within the
classroom/school environment. It involves getting
information from books and other sources on
specific items studied/read. The reader tries to
understand the material read; hence it forms
another basic study activity.
• Reading skills, simply put, is the abilities that
pertain to a person’s capacity to read, comprehend,
interpret and decode written language and text.
 IMPORTANCE OF READING

• To every learner, reading is a very important language skill that should be acquired
and internalized. Without effective and constant reading, the learner will find it
difficult to pass his examinations and other class assignments/works.
• Therefore, reading is important because:
• It helps the learner acquire worthwhile knowledge and use same when needed:
• It helps the learner understand the lessons taught in the class;
• It helps the learner unlock the knowledge contained in books and other materials;
• It helps the learner know how to identify and read the letters of the alphabet;
• It helps the learner know how pronounce word correctly
• It helps the learner in the correct spelling of words and vocabulary acquisition.
• It helps the learner know how to read and understand stories, plays, poems, etc;
• It helps learners understand the English language and other subjects;
• It enhances our communication efforts;
• It helps us in understanding diagrams, illustrations, symbols and signs.
•
 Reading Readiness (Psychological Preparation)

• This is the stage in which a learner is psychologically prepared to learn

immediately and without delay from what he has seen or found in writing or
printing. When the learner is prepared to acquire the necessary knowledge or
skills in book or recommended text, to become acquainted with or look over
the contents of a book immediately, to peruse, check or study so as to know
the hidden knowledge in a book or printed material.
• It can also be seen as the stage in which the teacher prepares the
children to start reading or studying to acquire the knowledge in a written or
printed material or book. The language experience is one way to create
reading readiness.
• However, there are things to be done before actual reading starts,
usually called pre-reading. Even reading readiness is seen as the first stage of
pre-reading. Here the teacher and the learner get the necessary materials –
books, pictures, objects, etc. – and the guidelines/rules to be adopted for
effective reading and understanding.
 Pre-Reading Activities/Skills

• These are things done, guidelines followed to help the learner acquire the habits of reading
with concentration and understanding, means of preparing a learner for proper and
worthwhile study habits. Some of these are:
• Listening: Paying maximum attention during studies/ discussion.
• Identifying learning materials: The teacher and the learner identify the books, pictures,
objects, etc. for use and how they are to be used.
• Modeling: The learners watch and imitate the teacher in reading the words/ names of
pictures, objects and other learning materials. They work or act in imitation of a particular
form, pattern, fashion or model – learning techniques/habits designed by the teacher, their
role model.
• Recognition and association: The ability to recognize letters, words, shapes, colours, different
sizes, signs, symbols, expression (phrases, clauses, sentences) and associate them with
objects, pictures, printed letters, sounds, activities, etc.
• Formation of letters into words and expressions.
• Accurate/good pronunciation of words.
• Postures and places: The learners are taught and shown good reading passages or positions;
places, corners and situations that will help them concentrate and understand what is read.
 BASIC READING SKILLS

1. Silent Reading: Reading without making utterances or mentioning

the words in the passage. It is a type of reading that is free from
sound or noise.
• Techniques
• It involves full/maximum concentration.
• The reader should have a sharp memory
• Eye contact with material/text should be sharp and steady.
• The head should be steady.
• Lip movement is not allowed.
• There should be no noise/speech in any form
• The reader should not point at the words.
•
2. Oral Reading (Reading Aloud/Out):
• This involves saying out loudly or pronouncing
the words, phrases or sentences in a given
passage or text. The contents of the passage
are read out in the hearing of the members of
the class with good and accurate
pronunciation of the words and observation of
the other rules guiding speech and intonation
for easy understanding of the contents.
 Skills/Techniques Involved

A. Reading out in a clear and smooth voice

B. Correct pronunciation of words/terms
C. Understanding the meanings and usage of words
D. Reading in a meaningful and interesting manner
E. Assimilating/understanding the passage read
F. Other skills needed for effective reading is speed
reading, scanning, skimming, sq3r, intensive
reading, extensive reading and critical reading.
 A. Speed Reading:
• This involves reading a given material over a
given time, and also with clear understanding
of the material read. To acquire such a skill,
the reader has to time himself, so as to find
out the number of words he can read within a
given time. Of course, an average student
should be able to read at least 360 words in a
minute. Such an important skills needs
constant practice.
 B. Scanning:
• Scanning, otherwise called search-reading, is a technique a reader uses
when he is searching for a particular piece of information which, he
knows, is somewhere in the text he is reading. It can be used to locate
specific facts, words or details. Here are the steps to be followed in
scanning a passage:
• Fix your mind the information you are looking for
• Find out if a text is suitable for a given purpose.
• Turn to the section of the book, chapter, newspaper or magazine where
you hope to find the information.
• Glide over paragraph, skipping whole sections if necessary
• Search for needed information, imagining the type of phrase or
sentence that will carry the information
• When you locate the section, slow down to read carefully.
 C. Skimming:
• It is a faster reading techniques used in
locating main points or ideas in a passage or in
a book. It is a kind of survey of an entire
passage, chapter or book that is to be read for
comprehension. In using the technique, the
reader quickly glance or goes through the
titles and headings, introductory paragraphs,
table of contents, subheadings in chapters and
paragraph
 D. SQ3R:
• It is a useful reading skill which enhances retention and recall. The
letters in the symbol stand for the steps involved in the use of the skill:
• S = Survey: getting an overview of what is to be read
• Q = Question: after the survey, the reader asks or formulates relevant
questions on the text.
• R1 = Read: read the text carefully and critically in order to extract the
required information.
• R2 = Recite or recall: this involves the recall of the main ideas or
information got from reading. The recall can be done mentally to
oneself or orally to a friend.
• R3 = Review: the reader reviews the material or text to familiarize
himself with the pattern of organization and structure. It also involves
the reading of some sections.
 E. Intensive Reading:
• It is a reading skill a reader uses when he
needs to grasp both the main ideas and the
supporting details and also how the main
points and the details are logically related. It is
a very detailed study of a text. It is the
technique students should use when
preparing for an examination.
 F. Extensive Reading:
• It is the type of reading one does usually during one’s leisure in order to acquire a wide
variety of reading matter such as newspapers, magazines, novels, and many others. It is
another significant means of developing one’s vocabulary. In this type of reading, we do
not read to acquire specific information. Rather, we read in order to acquire general
knowledge. In this case, we do not read only texts in our discipline, but we read in widely
both the text pertaining to our discipline and those outside the discipline. Extensive
reading involves:
• Increasing the amount of material one reads;
• Increasing one’s reading speed. By reading widely, one increase one’s reading speed. Hence
the saying, practice makes perfect.
• Benefits of extensive reading include:
• Pleasure and relaxation;
• Acquisition of general knowledge;
• Increase in the reading speed;
• Imaginative skills;
• Vocabulary development.
•
 G. Critical Reading:
• This is the highest level in the reading and thinking process. It implies
understanding what is stated and what is not stated, and going further
to analyse, to criticize and to evaluate ideas expressed. It implies also
judging the writer in terms of your own personal standards and
understanding. You work at such issues as: Is the author biased. Is he
telling the truth? Is he knowledgeable in the subject? Has he said all he
is supposed to say: if not, why?
• It is a deep and thorough reading with in-depth understanding of what
one has read. It involves full concentration and makes the reader a
perfect intellectual. It leads to innovation, invention or propounding of
a theory/principle. In summary, it helps judge the author’s character
and level of education. This is the level of reading that is encouraged.
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