Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing

by Nation; I.S.P.

• ISBN13: 9780415989688
• ISBN10: 041598968X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-14
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Using a framework based on principles of teaching and learning, this guide for teachers and teacher trainees provides a wealth of suggestions for helping learners at all levels of proficiency develop their reading and writing skills and fluency. By following these suggestions, which are organized around four strands #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development #xE2;#xAC;#x1C; teachers will be able to design and present a balanced program for their students. Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing, and its companion text, Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking, are similar in format and the kinds of topics covered, but do not need to be used together. Drawing on research and theory in applied linguistics, their focus is strongly hands-on, featuring easily applied principles, a large number of useful teaching techniques, and guidelines for testing and monitoring, All Certificate, Diploma, Masters and Doctoral courses for teachers of English as a second or foreign language include a teaching methods component. The texts are designed for and have been field tested in such programs.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Learning to read in another language 1

Learning to read in the first language

Learning to read in another language Principles for teaching reading

Learning to recognise and spell words

Prerequisites for formal reading instruction

Phonics and the alphabetic principle

The role of phonics in a reading programme Spelling: productive phonics

Learning to spell Designing a focused spelling programme

Intensive reading Focuses in intensive reading

Features of a good reading exercise Are comprehension questions good reading exercises?

Comprehension of the text

The focus of comprehension questions Grammar features in the text

Cohesive devices Strategy development Standardized reading procedures Handling the exercises

The role of teaching exercises

Extensive reading Understand the goals and limitations of extensive reading

Find your learners= present vocabulary level

Provide plenty of interesting and appropriate reading texts Set, encourage and monitor large quantities of extensive reading

Support and supplement extensive reading with language focused learning and fluency development

Help learners move systematically through the graded reader levels

Simplified and unsimplified texts

The extensive reading programme

Reading faster

The nature and limits of reading speed

The nature of fluency development

The nature of fluency development activities

Increasing oral reading speed

Increasing careful silent reading speed

Increasing silent expeditious reading speed

Frequently asked questions about reading speed

Assessing reading Motivating Measuring achievement

Diagnosing problems Measuring reading proficiency

Issues in making and using comprehension tests

Guiding writing Principles for teaching writing

Designing tasks Experience tasks Bringing tasks within the learners' experience

Making sure learners have the experience to do a task

Shared tasks Guided tasks

Independent tasks Using the four kinds of tasks

The writing process

The parts of a writing programme Meaning-focused writing

The parts of the writing process

Considering the goals of the writer and model of the reader

Gathering ideas Ideas to text Editing Reviewing

Diagnosing control of the parts of the writing process

Diagnosing from the written product

Topic types The topic type hypothesis

Topic types and writing Topic types and reading

Limitations of the topic type approach

Responding to written work Motivating

Improving the quality of writing

Measuring proficiency in writing

Spelling correspondences

Conjunction relationships

References

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