Every word must be understood
in order to comprehend a text
Reading for pleasure
is a waste of time
I can learn to speak
and listen by reading
There are several myths related to reading. The first is
that there is only one type of reading-and that is intensive reading in which
every word must be understood in order for the message to be comprehended.
Teachers know this is not true but it is very difficult to persuade recent
arrivals that they must skim and scan academic articles and that readers can
comprehend gist without knowing the meaning of every single word.
SA second myth is that reading is always painful, hard work
and can never be pleasurable. The idea of reading for pleasure is rare in
second language speakers. This is because reading is associated with boredom
and pain in my second language learning contexts overseas. Naturally, the last
thing people want is more pain!
One of the few exceptions is my wife who reads biographies
and novels for pleasure. She is a Spanish speaker who learned English as an
adult. She can read quickly too and recently read an Australian fictional
writer who topped the New York Best sellers list in two or three days. (Liane
Moriarity). It took me two weeks. My wife
is a good reader but she does not have any exceptional reading skills. What is
exceptional is that she understands that reading can be for pleasure
A third myth is that all the other skills have to be learned
through reading! This includes speaking. Many learners have an overreliance on
reading and writing as learning tools. This is a result of poor teacher-centred
pedagogy and methodology in their home countries. Teacher-centred pedagogies
and methodologies rely on reading and writing and writing because it is easier
for the for the teacher to mark and the institution assess written products. The
validity of such assessments is often not high–but the convenience outweighs
the lack of validity.
Such is the dominance of reading and writing that even esoteric
topics like Pronunciation are believed to be learnable my ‘studying’ them
mainly through reading and writing! Of course all the macro skills are involved
in learning pronunciation-but only intensive and extensive listening and speaking
practice will produce lasting results
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