Let us consider the tasks of teaching reading at the present stage of development of the education system.
Reading is an independent type of speech activity associated with perception (reception) and understanding of information encoded by graphic signs.
At the initial stage of education (1-2 years of systematic language study), students must master the letters of the English alphabet, master sound-letter correspondences, be able to read aloud and silently words, combinations of words, individual phrases and short coherent texts built on program language material. One of the leading modern methodologists is E.I. Passov, who wrote a number of works devoted to the methods of teaching foreign languages, speech activity, planning a foreign language lesson, and created a number of educational and methodological complexes for learning the German language. Since this work intends to consider teaching reading techniques on the basis of the English language, it is advisable to consider only the general recommendations given by Passov in his works.
“From the point of view of psychology,” writes O. A. Rozov, “reading is an extremely complex process of activity of the human nervous system, characterized by a huge amount of subconscious and conscious work of the brain.” The ability to read is based on certain skills that must be developed by the teacher in the process of working in the classroom and at home. And the first of these skills is “correlating the visual image of a speech unit with its auditory-speech-motor image.” The sum of these skills is the reading technique.
In order to competently plan lessons for teaching reading, you need to know two things: firstly, what it means to be able to read, and secondly, by what means this skill can be developed. Let us turn to the opinion of Professor E.I. Passov.
“To be able to read is, first of all, to master the reading technique, that is, to instantly recognize visual images of speech units and voice them in internal or external speech. Any speech unit is an operational unit of perception. Such a unit can be a word, or even a syllable (with poor reading technique), or a phrase of two or more words (syntagma), or even a whole complex phrase (and with speed reading, a paragraph), the larger the operational unit of perception, the better technology reading, and the better the reading technique, the higher the level of understanding of the text.
Knowing how to read also means instantly relating lexical items and grammatical formatting to their meaning. Moreover, this means a direct understanding of the semantic side of speech units. This understanding is largely based on the extent to which the reader is able to anticipate (anticipate) both the semantic content of the text being read (content anticipation) and individual grammatical forms (structural anticipation).
Passov identifies several methods of teaching reading techniques at the present stage of development of methods of teaching foreign languages: alphabetical(learning the names of letters, and then their combinations of two or three letters), sound(learning sounds and then combining them into words), syllabic(learning combinations of syllables), whole word method(learning by heart whole words, sometimes phrases and even sentences - a direct method), sound analytical-synthetic method, phoneme-graphic method. Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.
The alphabetic method involves studying the reading of individual letters and their combinations without taking into account the fact that words consist of syllables and the reading of letter combinations depends on which syllable it is in. In addition, it is very difficult for elementary school students to memorize a huge number of rules without their specific application when reading.
Sound method training begin by studying the sounds of a foreign language and then putting them into words. Unfortunately, this method is not applicable to the English language, where the same sound can be conveyed by different graphemes.
Methods of whole words, phrases, sentences- these are echoes of the direct method that existed back in the 19th century, students learn words without “boring spelling”, they immediately understand the meaning of the word and have the opportunity to analyze various texts from the first lessons. True, reading aloud in this case turns into guessing the correct reading of the word. Students do not understand the mechanism of composing words, make a lot of mistakes when reading and can only read familiar words.
In England there was a period of enthusiasm for teaching the “whole language approach”. This extended to learning to read whole words and even phrases: listened - remembered and learned/read. This long-term experiment led to a decrease in the literacy level of students and school graduates. By decision of the British government ten years ago, it was decided to train schoolchildren sound-letter correspondences or so-called “phonics”. Of course, in English language there are many words to remember, but even such cases are systematized and remembered as groups of special cases.
Sound analytical-synthetic method is the most attractive among all of the above. In this case, the teacher not only teaches children to pronounce sounds correctly, shows articulation, but also teaches them to analyze these words, reinforcing this process with the most common reading rules so that the student, faced with an unfamiliar word, can guess on the basis of his knowledge how it is readable.
It is advisable to dwell on the most commonly used methods of teaching reading techniques.
In modern methods, they also distinguish in parallel oral advance method, when students first learn the basic colloquial phrases of a foreign language and only then proceed to study the rules of reading and writing letters and letter combinations. This does not interfere with the use of all the methods listed above, since it is carried out before learning letters and sounds. As S. F. Shatilov writes, this method eliminates two of the three difficulties: mastering the sound image of a word and its meaning; the student can only connect graphic image with sound, but not everyone can do this; the transition to reading after a long oral introductory course is especially difficult. An approximately oral introductory course should take no more than 2-3 months.
In accordance with the proposed methodology, learning to read aloud is done orally and is carried out using the following exercises:
Familiarity with the letters of the alphabet and their pronunciation;
- reading individual words by keywords;
- reading grammatical structures with different lexical formats;
- reading various structures organized in a logical sequence, etc.
This technique provides several more exercise points, but we are interested in the very first ones. During the first quarter, only learning the rules of pronunciation of sounds following the teacher or speaker is provided. Students learn the correct articulation of a particular sound, perform gymnastics for the tongue and lips, which subsequently helps them cope with the pronunciation of difficult sounds in the English language. The study takes place in several stages: first, students listen to sounds, then repeat them after the teacher, then repeat after the teacher words, the meanings of which are not translated by the teacher. Whenever possible, expressions are used in lessons that help reinforce the sounds learned - these are commands, teacher requests, appropriate vocabulary and grammar. The study of the letters of the English alphabet and the rules for reading and writing them begins only at the end of the first quarter and continues during the second and third quarters. Students begin to become familiar with vowels and the rules for reading them in open and closed syllables, learning is carried out using key words. A card with a key word is placed on the board, where the letter that is being studied is highlighted in red, and the unpronounceable e, if there is one, is highlighted in blue. The teacher explains the reading of this word, reads it, the students read after him, after which, by analogy, they read words that are read in the same way (for example, plate, name, table, place, etc.). In this case, the words should be selected in such a way that they are known to all students by this moment. Next, students read special exercises from the textbook. Vowel reading is taught using four different types of syllables.
Stages of work on developing reading technique
Stage one. Oral introductory phonetic course. Development and consolidation of auditory-speech-motor skills when pronouncing individual phonemes in conjunction with transcription icons. Training of speaking skills (dialogue speech based on recording in transcription). Developing and consolidating transcription reading skills. Lesson control of speaking and reading transcriptions. Control reading of unfamiliar words in the transcription at the end of this stage. Number of lessons 8-10.
Stage two. Names of letters and their graphic images. First skills of writing in semi-printed font. English alphabet. First experience of working with the textbook's dictionary. Number of lessons 3-4.
Stage three. Familiarity with the rules of reading in conjunction with a graphic image of the words studied in the oral introductory course. Development and consolidation of textbook reading skills of speech units (words and dialogues), the meaning and pronunciation of which are known to students from the oral introductory course. Strengthening writing skills at the copying level. A test on letters and the alphabet at the end of this stage. Number of lessons 5-6.
Stage four. Consolidating reading skills in speech units, dialogues and texts that were not included in the oral introductory course. Introducing new and relearning known reading rules.
Let's consider the types of exercises that a teacher can use in reading lessons.
Methods of teaching reading in initial stage offers the following exercises:
Writing letters, letter combinations, words according to a model;
- finding pairs of letters (lowercase and uppercase);
- filling in the missing ones; missing letters;
- copying - writing - reading words in accordance with a certain sign (in alphabetical order, in the original form of the word, filling in the missing letters in a word, etc.);
- constructing words from scattered letters;
- search (reading, writing out, underlining) in the text for familiar, unfamiliar, international and other words (at different speeds);
- reading text with missing letters/words, etc.
All these tasks can be given a playful character, for example: filling out crosswords, composing puzzles, deciphering cryptography (reading text containing words with mixed up letters), reading texts containing pictures instead of unfamiliar words, signing words under pictures, correlating pictures and written words, team games to identify the best readers, etc.
Many methodologists consider the most desirable exercise reading expanding syntagmas. This exercise has the following objectives:
a) increases the operational unit of text perception;
b) develops structural anticipation;
c) promotes the assimilation of new words, which may then appear in the text (develops contextual guessing);
d) insists students read the text, because it directs their thoughts in a certain direction (develops logical understanding).
The main advantage of reading expanding syntagmas, of course, is that this exercise helps to expand the field of coverage when reading: the student gets used to reading not syllable by syllable, not word by word, but in syntagmas, and moreover, larger ones each time. And the larger the unit of text perception becomes, the better the syntagmatic reading, the semantic division of the text, and therefore, the higher the speed and better the understanding.
As can be seen from the examples, the syntagma (any phrase that has an independent meaning in speech) in each subsequent phrase spreads and expands, but not linearly, but transforming. However, the keyword is repeated in each phrase, albeit in a new environment. In the first phrase the meaning of the new word is given; in subsequent phrases it must be understood without translation, and as a result of repeated perception the student must remember it.
The best option for performing this exercise is to read to a soundtrack in an undertone or in a whisper. Reading expanding syntagmas can be done in different modes:
1) students listen to the recording and repeat one syntagm loudly in chorus during pauses after the speaker (teacher);
2) students repeat one phrase loudly in chorus during pauses after the speaker (teacher);
3) students read the entire block of syntagmas to themselves;
4) students read individually (2 - 3 people) one phrase loudly after the speaker (teacher) and compare each phrase with the reading sample;
5) two to three students read the entire block of syntagmas individually (they check their reading of phrases with the reading of the speaker, or the teacher himself corrects their mistakes);
6) students read together in chorus at the same time as the speaker;
7) three to four students read individually together with the speaker.
These modes have varying degrees of difficulty, increasing from mode 1) to mode 7).
It is recommended to start working with option 1) as the easiest, and then, having gone through all the other options, it will be possible to reach a level where the student can read along with the speaker, slightly behind him (option 5), or even simultaneously (synchronously) (option 6). But for this it is necessary to follow a mandatory rule: the pauses during which the student reads must gradually but steadily decrease, forcing him to speed up his reading and cover as many words as possible at one glance.
First, the pause for the student should be double or even triple the time it takes for the speaker (teacher) to read the given syntagma (phrase). But it should decrease slightly even within one block.
Another important condition: the first phrase must be pronounced out loud, the second in a whisper, and the third in a silent voice. And so on in each block. If students' pronunciation is poor, you can spend more time speaking out loud in the beginning.
You need to do this exercise for no more than five minutes. As a rule, it contains those words that are then subject to targeted use in the lesson. In my work, I use reading expanding syntagmas not only from the textbook, but also by writing notes on the board. Sometimes children receive a homework (additional) task for those who wish: to compose a block of similar sentences according to the model given in the textbook for their classmate. Completed assignments can be checked in class. This develops interest in the subject and provides an opportunity to practice spelling.
To develop reading techniques, reading to a phonogram is often used. Reading technique is closely related to understanding what is read. The better we understand, the faster we read (i.e., students read familiar words and expressions much easier than unknown and incomprehensible ones). The faster we read, the better we grasp the content. It is no coincidence that it is a well-known fact that in middle and high school, those children who have good technique and reading speed in the native language. They work faster with the information they receive, highlight the main and secondary, and draw up a plan for presenting the text. By developing reading technique, the student also improves the syntagmatic nature of reading, that is, its correct semantic division, and this contributes to correct understanding.
Reading to a phonogram also helps the development of listening skills, because it accustoms students to a certain given tempo of sound and helps them form correct auditory images of speech units.
Reading to a phonogram also contributes to learning speaking, primarily the pronunciation of sounds (as part of speech units), as well as correct logical stress and syntagmatic speech. When reading to a soundtrack, involuntary memorization increases, since this is one of the few exercises in which the student simultaneously sees speech units, hears them and pronounces them (that is, the student uses different types of memory: visual, auditory, speech motor).
Reading to a soundtrack is carried out in the same modes as reading expanding syntagmas.
To master the rules of reading and further use of the dictionary, students study the signs of international transcription. At the same time, students are informed that in the English language there is a special notation - sound, some of its signs coincide with the letters that give this sound when reading: [b], [p], [m], [n], [s], [t ], [d], [v], [f], etc. They don’t have to be specially memorized. But there are also specific icons that will require effort to remember. Developing the ability to read transcription signs, which is necessary for further use of the dictionary, is one of the tasks of the initial stage.
Studying the rules of reading is part of teaching the procedural component of reading. Based on the principle of secondary practical application of reading rules, I conclude that the rule itself does not require long-term special training; it is enough to demonstrate its application on several unfamiliar words and then introduce the letter form of a specific word included in the set of vocabulary for this lesson. In the future, I use lists of new vocabulary to reinforce them, highlighting the reading rules by underlining and drawing students’ attention to them. In addition, when correcting students' mistakes when reading, posters with numbered lists of reading rules hanging above the chalkboard are convenient.
Despite the difference in concepts in early education, it is necessary to take into account the psychological characteristics of young children school age and use teaching techniques that are age appropriate for the students. One of the main techniques when teaching a foreign language in primary school, without a doubt, is an educational game and/or game exercise, since in the game the child’s abilities are most fully and sometimes unexpectedly revealed, with its help the psychological barrier in communicating in a foreign language is easily overcome language. The atmosphere of passion, joy, the feeling of the feasibility of tasks and excitement allows you to solve serious didactic and communicative problems.
Thus, the main tasks of teaching reading in English in primary school are:
Strong mastery of letter-sound correspondences;
- formation of technical reading skills (reading technique), in particular reading speed; developing the skill of correlating the graphic image of a word with its sound image based on knowledge of the basic rules of reading, observing the correct stress in words and phrases, intonation in general;
- formation of the foundations of communicative reading skills.
When mastering reading, primary schoolchildren learn:
Read expressively aloud short texts containing only studied material;
- read silently and fully understand educational texts containing only studied language material, as well as texts that include individual new words, using the techniques of learning reading;
- read silently and understand the main content of simple texts accessible in content to primary school students, find in them the necessary or interesting information (name of the main character/characters, location, time of action, characteristics of the characters, etc.), using familiarization techniques and exploratory reading. While reading, you can use the textbook's English-Russian dictionary.
When learning English at the initial stage, an integration process is carried out, which consists in the fact that learning language means of communication does not occur separately, but is interconnected: children master sounds, intonation, words, grammatical forms, performing speech actions with language material and solving various communication tasks. All forms and types of communication interact with each other, and teaching them is also carried out interconnectedly: children read what they have learned in oral speech (listening and speaking), talk about what they read. Therefore, it is recommended to teach reading on the basis of oral speech and in close connection with reading, as well as to teach children to use writing for better mastery of vocabulary and grammar and mastery of oral speech and reading.
Introduction
Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations of teaching reading in English in primary school
1 general characteristics reading as a type of speech activity
2 The concept of “reading technique”
3 Approaches to teaching reading techniques taking into account the age characteristics of primary schoolchildren
4 Monitoring the development of reading technique
Conclusions on chapter 1
Chapter 2. Didactic aspects of developing reading techniques in English for primary schoolchildren
1 Analysis of domestic and foreign educational and methodological complexes (UMK) in English for teaching reading techniques 1.1 Analysis of the educational complex “English” (“English language”) Z.N. Nikitenko et al. from the point of view of teaching reading techniques 1.2 Analysis of the educational complex “Spotlight” (“English in Focus”) from the point of view of teaching reading techniques 1.3 Analysis of teaching materials “Family and Friends” by Naomi Simmons, Tamzin Thompson, Liz Driscoll and others from the point of view of teaching reading techniques 1.4 Conclusions based on the analysis 2 Methodological aspects of developing reading techniques in English in the second grade of primary school Conclusions on Chapter 2 Conclusion Bibliography INTRODUCTION
The relevance of research.For a person to successfully exist in the modern world, to achieve professional heights and personal growth, knowledge of the English language is necessary. Currently, its study begins in the second grade of secondary school. One of the primary, but at the same time difficult tasks when teaching any foreign language at school is learning to read. As you know, reading is an important type of speech activity, as well as the most common way of communication. Without basic reading skills and abilities, learning any language seems very difficult. The first stage of learning to read is the formation of technical skills, which represent the basis for the formation and development of reading skills in the future. The future success of students in mastering a foreign language depends on how well basic reading skills are formed at the initial stage. Analysis literary sources indicates that the problem of developing reading techniques in a foreign language has been repeatedly touched upon by many scientists (Z.I. Klychnikova, A.P. Starkov, G.V. Rogova, I.N. Vereshchagina, N.D. Galskova, E.I. Negnevitskaya, Z.N. Nikitenko, etc.). However, there is still no consensus among scientists on determining the most rational method for developing reading techniques in a foreign language, as well as the sequence of developing the necessary reading skills. The importance of solving the problem of developing reading techniques at the initial stage of teaching English at school, as well as the lack of consensus among scientists, served as the basis for choosing the topic and determined the relevance of this work. Object of studyis the process of learning to read a foreign language at the initial stage. The subject of the study ismethodology for developing reading techniques in English in primary school. The purpose of this studyis the theoretical justification and practical implementation of the methodology for developing reading techniques in English in primary school. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1.Give a general description of reading as a type of speech activity. 2.Reveal the essence of the concept of “reading technique”. 3.Select approaches to developing reading techniques. 4.Describe the features of monitoring the development of reading technique. 5.Develop criteria and conduct an analysis of domestic and foreign educational and methodological complexes for the formation of reading techniques in English. 6.To offer a set of methodological recommendations for teaching reading techniques in English in the second grade of primary school, taking into account the results of the analysis of domestic and foreign teaching materials. 7.To develop a system of techniques and exercises for developing reading techniques in the second grade of primary school, taking into account the results of the analysis of domestic and foreign teaching materials. To accomplish the assigned tasks, the following were used research methods:study and analysis of pedagogical, psychological, linguistic and methodological literature on the research topic; analysis of regulatory documents; study and generalization of domestic and foreign experience on the research topic; comparative analysis. Work structure.This work consists of an introduction, two chapters, conclusions for each chapter, a conclusion, and a list of references. In the introductionthe choice of topic and relevance of the research is justified, the object, subject, purpose, objectives and methods of research are determined, the structure of the work is presented. In the first chapter“Theoretical foundations of teaching reading in English in primary school” examines the general characteristics of reading as a type of speech activity, reveals the concept of the term “reading technique”, explores approaches to teaching reading technique, and studies the features of monitoring the development of reading technique in primary school. In the second chapter“Didactic aspects of the formation of reading technique in English among junior schoolchildren” analyzes three educational and methodological complexes in the English language for the formation of reading technique, taking into account the developed criteria; recommendations are given for choosing teaching materials in English from the point of view of teaching reading in the second grade of primary school; Recommendations are offered, a system of techniques and exercises is created for teachers who will have to work with insufficiently structured teaching materials in the field of teaching reading at the initial stage. In custodythe results are summarized and ways of applying the results of the research are proposed. CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL BASIS OF TEACHING READING IN ENGLISH IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
1.1 General characteristics of reading as a type of speech activity
Knowledge of English is a necessary condition for successful existence and personal development in the modern world. Fluency in any language as a foreign language requires perfect mastery of four types of speech activity: listening, speaking, reading, writing. That is, a person studying a language understands other people’s thoughts, conveys his own, observing the norms of speech, reads fluently, writes competently, using the language in different spheres - communicative-social, social-production (educational, translation), cognitive activity, and, therefore, is fluent in both productive (speaking, writing) and receptive (listening, reading) types of speech activity. Particular attention should be paid to the fact of the complexity and interconnectedness of teaching types of speech activity, which is characterized by the following points: simultaneity, sequential-temporal correlation, general language material, a special series of exercises (preparatory, training, speech), etc. Training takes place at all stages: primary, secondary, senior, advanced. It must be remembered that types of speech activity do not exist in pure form. They are, one way or another, closely related to each other psychologically and physiologically. Many types of communication are interactive, that is, in this case, the participants in the speech are alternate speakers and listeners many times. There are also so-called receptive-productive types of speech activity, for example, various types of translation, taking notes by ear, etc., as well as reproductive ones - oral reproduction or recording from memory of a previously perceived text. A special connection exists between writing and reading as they are related to the graphic system of language. Everyone who writes an exercise, a letter, or any work must read their text. Moreover, reading helps to increase the speaker’s vocabulary, enriches his knowledge of stylistics, and, therefore, whoever reads a lot writes better. In addition, we can only decode written text by reading. It is well known that reading as a type of speech activity is aimed at searching for information contained in the text. Since reading involves receiving information, perceiving a ready-made speech message, and not composing the latter, it is classified as a receptive type of speech activity. Reading is a communicative process based on visual-auditory decoding of information placed in a particular text. In other words, reading includes two interrelated aspects - the perception of the text and its understanding. Thus, the reading process can be defined as “the process of perception and active processing of information graphically encoded according to the system of a particular language.” The final act of the information recoding process is reading comprehension. According to a number of researchers, such as N.I. Gez, G.V. Rogova, S.K. Folomkin, mature reading has the same structure in any language. We decided to consider various sources of reference and methodological literature (some definitions are presented in Table 1): Table 1 - Definition of the term “reading” ResearchersDefinitionS.K. Folomkina N.I. Reading is a complex perceptual-mental mnemonic activity, the procedural side of which is analytical and synthetic in nature, varying depending on its purpose. G.V. RogovaReading is a receptive activity consisting in the perception and processing by the reader of an objectively existing text - a product of the reproductive activity of a certain author A.N. Shchukin1. One of the receptive types of speech activity, aimed at the perception and understanding of written text; enters the sphere of communicative activity of people and provides one of the forms (written) of communication in it. 2. The process consisting of reading technique and reading comprehension .SI. Ozhegov1. Perceive what is written, pronouncing or reproducing silently. 2. Perceive visually or intellectually any work. 3. Perceive, guess something by external manifestations. T.F. Efremova1. a) Perceive written speech by its signs and letters (pronounced out loud or silently) b) be able to do this. 2. a) Perceiving the signs of written speech, assimilate, become familiar with the content of something; b) Engage in such familiarization. After studying literary sources, we came to the conclusion that reading can have different types. The first of them implies the following: the reader does not know what the object of reading sounds like and does not know how to pronounce it, but upon perception he clearly understands its meaning. Such graphic signs include, for example, punctuation marks, certain mathematical symbols, etc. The second case assumes that the ability to perceive and correctly voice what is written is present, but the reader does not understand the meaning. This type of reading is found among younger schoolchildren at the initial stage, as well as among adults who are not familiar with certain professional terminology. In the third case, there is a complete understanding of the sound image and voicing (aloud or silently) and it is this type of reading that is the goal of learning. So, reading must be understood as “the process of perception and processing of a graphically recorded alphabetic speech message, and the result of this process is the understanding and comprehension of the content.” The process of thinking about what you read depends on the quality of perception and processing of the text. Therefore, obtaining information contained in a written text is possible only when the ability to read is developed, that is, the following are formed: -skills of relating the visual image of a speech unit with its auditory-speech-motor image; -skills of relating the auditory-speech-motor image of a speech unit with its meaning. The sum of the skills of the first group is reading technique. Reading technique refers to the correct “pronunciation of what is written, the speed and accuracy of establishing letter-sound correspondences, the clarity of application of reading rules, the ability to predict the development of language material, mastery of the syntactic division of a sentence and its correct intonation.” Mastering the reading technique ensures the perception and processing of graphic characters of printed text into audio coded images. Only after this does the correlation of images with their meanings take place. As you know, reading is one of the goals of teaching a foreign language. However, it should be remembered that reading also acts as a means of learning. It promotes the acquisition, consolidation and accumulation of new language material. For example, mnemonic activity, which accompanies the reading process, ensures the memorization of vocabulary, connections between lexical units, grammatical phenomena, word order in various structures, etc. In addition, reading improves oral communication skills. This is due to the fact that during the reading process (both aloud and silently), auditory and speech-motor analyzers, characteristic of speaking, work. In a similar way, reading is related to listening and writing, since these types of speech activities are characterized by the functioning of the speech-motor analyzer in internal speech. In historical terms, reading “emerged later than oral speech and on its basis,” and became one of the important means of communication and cognition. Reading in a foreign language acts both as a means of communication and as a communicative skill, and is an important type of speech activity, as well as the most accessible and widespread way of foreign language communication. Reading gives access to any information and is a means of transmitting the experience accumulated by humanity in various areas of life. A person who can read a foreign language has the opportunity to use a larger volume of literature in study or work, in order to find the necessary information or simply for pleasure. Reading foreign language texts contributes to the development of students' personality. Constant reading improves the psychophysiological mechanisms of the reader, such as recognition and anticipation, speech guessing, logical understanding, and also develops independence in overcoming linguistic and semantic difficulties, and interest in learning foreign languages. reading learning school language English The information a student receives from foreign language texts takes him to another level, helps him understand the specifics of foreign language systems, shapes his worldview, and enriches him with knowledge about the history, culture and way of life of the country whose language he is studying. So, we have determined that reading is a receptive type of speech activity, including reading technique, as well as understanding what is read in the text. In this regard, such aspects of the reading process are distinguished as content and procedural, which are interdependent on each other. Typically, the following levels of understanding a text are distinguished: the level of meaning and the level of content, or meaning. The level of meaning is associated with the process of establishing the meanings of linguistic units perceived during reading and their connections. The level of meaning is associated with understanding the content of the text being read, which is an integral linguistic unit. Therefore, the skills and abilities that ensure understanding of the text are conditionally divided into groups: 2)The second group includes skills that provide the semantic aspect of reading, namely: the ability to establish semantic connections between linguistic units in the text, the ability to understand the content of the text, the author’s intention, in other words, the ability to understand the text as a completed speech work. Technical reading skills should be automated as much as possible in order to achieve the highest level of understanding, as this contributes to the reader’s full focus on the semantic processing of the text being read. The reader often tries to extract the information he needs in the most economical way, for this reason he reads at different paces, which is a characteristic of the reader’s maturity. The formation of reading skills at a communicatively sufficient level in the process of teaching a foreign language is necessary so that students can: a) understand the main content of a simple authentic text; b) achieve a complete understanding of complex texts of different genres: popular science, fiction (original or adapted), socio-political. Students must be taught to use bilingual dictionaries and various reference materials. 1.2 The concept of “reading technique”
As noted by A.A. Leontiev, teaching reading is a kind of propaedeutics of all subjects in a general education institution. Being able to read in primary school is an urgent necessity, because the success of learning from other subjects depends on the level of reading proficiency in one’s native language. In primary and high school, according to the requirements of the program, students must read in order to obtain new information, and it is also necessary to develop reading skills in foreign languages. After graduating from school and entering higher education educational establishments Professionally oriented reading in both native and foreign languages is becoming relevant. As we established earlier, reading has a technical (or procedural) aspect and a content aspect. The first provides direct perception of graphic symbols, and the second - the establishment of meaning. They are closely related, but the content aspect has certain levels of understanding. To achieve the establishment of semantic connections at a high level, the technical aspect of reading should be as automated as possible, so learning to read begins with it. In modern methodological literature, this aspect is called reading technique (T.G. Egorov, E.V. Tarasov, A.M. Shakhnarovich, N.I. Gez, E.I. Passov, A.N. Shchukin, etc.), however, the understanding of this term is not uniform (Table 2 shows definitions by different authors). Table 2 - Definition of the term “reading technique” ResearchersDefinitionA.N. Shchukin Reading technique - reading skills and abilities that provide perceptual processing of written text, recoding visual signals into semantic units - perception of graphic signs and correlating them with specific meanings. E.I. Passov Reading technique - skills of correlating the visual image of speech units with the auditory-speech-motor image. A.A. MirolyubovReading technique is considered as the actualization of the sum of techniques that ensure the perception and processing of formal linguistic information (letters, letter complexes, punctuation, grammatical features/morphology, syntax), which in mature reading are performed by the reader without the participation of voluntary attention, subconsciously.G.V. RogovaG.V. Rogova understands the technique of reading aloud as reproduction in sounding speech text perceived visually, which requires knowledge of the methods of fixing the sound language accepted in the language being studied. G.V. Karlovsky Reading Technique involves operations of visual perception of text, recognition and identification of graphic signs with those patterns that are stored in memory, finding guidelines for understanding the text, adequate speed of perception and decoding of the perceived information. Having analyzed the existing definitions of reading technique, we came to the conclusion that there are three aspects on which the opinions of scientists differ significantly: 1)Some authors believe that reading technique is a skill or a set of skills (E.I. Passov, etc.), others - a sum of techniques (A.A. Mirolyubov, etc.), others - that these are certain actions or operations (G. V. Karlovskaya and others). G.V. Rogova emphasizes the need to use knowledge about the methods of fixing sound language in reading techniques. A.N. Shchukin considers reading techniques not only skills, but also abilities. Scientists agree that the reading technique is a correlation of a visual image with a sound one, but some also add a correlation with meaning (A.N. Shchukin, G.V. Karlovskaya, etc.), others do not provide for this (E.I. Passov and etc.). 2)The material for visual perception in the reading technique is considered to be speech units (E.I. Passov, etc.), text (A.N. Shchukin, G.V. Rogova, G.V. Karlovskaya, etc.), language material (A. A. Mirolyubov). We will return to consideration of the first two aspects later, having previously noted that, following A.N. Shchukin, by skills we mean “a method of performing actions mastered by a subject, provided by the totality of acquired knowledge and skills,” by skills - “actions that have reached the level of automatism and characterized by integrity and the absence of element-by-element awareness”, by knowledge - the results of “the process of cognition of reality, adequate to it reflection in the human mind in the form of ideas, judgments, conclusions and theories." Taking into account the principle of communicativeness, which involves constructing the learning process as a process of real communication, we believe that the ultimate goal of teaching reading techniques should be a certain automation of the technical aspect of reading at the mini-text level (even in the first year of training). However, the first object of reading should be letters, letter combinations, words, phrases and short sentences. Taking this into account, the material for visual perception cannot only be words, sentences or text. The use of the term “speech units”, which was used by E.I. Passov also does not reflect the essence, since both the word and the sentence are units of speech, the letter is a sign of writing and conveys the sound of the language, and the text consists of units such as sentences. E.I. Passov believes that the ability to extract the necessary information from a text, like any other, is based on certain automated actions. However, it is only possible if this skill is mature. Thus, the process of learning to read is to form the initial ability to read, that is, to automate certain skills at such a level that the recoding of the graphic image of a word into meaning (with or without voice acting) is carried out as quickly and accurately as possible. In the future, this skill is improved and developed. Therefore, during learning to read at the initial stage, the technical aspect of reading is automated, the ultimate goal of which is to develop the ability to read with initial comprehension skills, that is, to perceive the object of reading, understand and voice it. This is learning reading techniques. At the next stage, further automation of the technical aspect and improvement of the semantic aspect occurs. Analyzing the structure of the ability to read, we noticed that the reading technique includes transcoding operations (if these operations are brought to automaticity, they become skills, and the reading technique is, to a certain extent, established): 1.Graphic images of reading objects into semantic ones (for example, some cases of reading punctuation marks); 2.Graphic images of reading objects into sounds (for example, identification and distinction of graphemes and phonemes with simultaneous correlation of graphemes with phonemes, operations of analysis and synthesis, and the like); 3.Sound images of reading objects into semantic ones (for example, lexical and grammatical guesses, identification and differentiation of lexical and grammatical resources of the language, etc.); 4.Sound images of reading objects with voiceovers aloud or silently - depending on the requirements of the program (for example, skills to divide sentences or texts into syntagms, production of phonemes, intonation skills, etc.). To summarize the above, let us define reading technique. This is a complex of certain knowledge and skills that make it possible to recode a graphic image of a reading object into an audio one, followed by recoding it into a semantic image silently or with simultaneous voicing out loud. 1.3 Approaches to teaching reading techniques taking into account the age characteristics of primary schoolchildren
Russian methodological literature is characterized by the identification of two main criteria that underlie different approaches to the formation of reading techniques: 1)the original linguistic unit that underlies learning (letter, sound, whole word, sentence, text). Here there are such methods as sound, letters, syllabics, and the method of whole words. 2)type of leading activity of students (analysis, synthesis). Accordingly, in Russian methodology there are such methods as analytical, synthetic, analytical-synthetic methods. Well-known foreign methods for developing reading technique are the following (they are characterized only by the criterion of the unit of instruction): 1)the Alphabetic Method; 2)the Phonic method; 3)the Look & Say Method; 4)the Sentence Method; 5)a storytelling method created within the framework of The Whole Language Method. T.G. Vasilyeva in her work partially changed this division of methods, highlighting three groups: acoustic, or sound (the unit of training is letters and sounds); global (the unit of learning is whole words, sentences, texts); mixed (learning units are combinations of sound and global methods). The foreign methods listed above are used to teach reading to both native speakers and foreign students. Practice shows that this approach is not always effective due, for example, to the peculiarities of spelling of a foreign language and the students’ native language. These facts can lead to an incorrect process of developing reading skills in a foreign language due to the influence on them of already existing reading skills in their native language. This problem is of particular importance in the process of teaching those children whose native language is not based on the Latin alphabet, but the phonetic and phonemic principles of spelling are leading. G.V. Rogov in the mid-1960s. “identified three groups of methods of teaching reading in a foreign language, which were used in school teaching practice: -method of whole words (textbook by A.P. Starkov, R.R. Dixon, M., 1969); -sound method (textbook by Z.M. Tsvetkova, Ts.G. Shpigel, M., 1967); -method of whole sentences (textbook by S.K. Folomkina, M., 1968). The development of the method of whole words was carried out by such scientists as N.N. Shklyaeva, I.N. Vereshchagina, E.I. Onishchenko, M.Z. Biboletova, E.A. Lenskaya, etc. T.G. Vasilyeva believes that the formation of reading techniques through the use of this method has two ways of assimilation. The first way involves, at the beginning of learning to read, presenting students with an image of a whole word with a letter or letter combination graphically highlighted in it, which are studied using at this stage. Then comes the reading of the word, its analysis and determination of the reading rules or the presentation of a rule-instruction. Then, by analogy, words of the same type are read, provided they are supported by a keyword. Approaches of A.P. Starkov and M.Z. Biboletova, in order to consolidate reading rules, involves the use of color signaling, suggesting that a specific color corresponds to a specific spelling. For example, red indicates a vowel in an open syllable, blue indicates a consonant, etc. The second way involves teaching students to read individual words, matched to a specific reading rule, represented by a highlighted letter, sound or keyword. The key word is a graphic image of the word and a picture. Key words are voiced by the child himself, followed by reading after the speaker and further independent reading by the student. “Teaching to read words that do not follow the rules is carried out on the basis of words that contain a similar sound that is read according to the rules.” It should be noted that students learn the alphabet during an oral introductory course, during the alphabetic stage of learning to read. Then students read phrases and sentences. Figure 1 shows a diagram of teaching reading techniques using the whole word method. Figure 1 - Scheme of the whole word method (two ways of assimilation according to T.G. Vasilyeva) This method is presented in the works of Z.N. Nikitenko, E.I. Negnevitskaya, K.E. Bezukladnikova, L.I. Sholpo, M.D. Astafieva, M.N. Kravchenko, in the educational and methodological complex “FORWARD”, ed. M.V. Verbitskaya et al., and is also carried out in two ways. According to the first path, at the initial stage of learning to read, children are expected to master both the sound form of words and the material form, that is, transcription. At the same time, the material form represents a visual support for mastering the alphabet, as well as the rules of reading. First, students become familiar with transcription signs, words, and then short sentences written in transcription. Then the letters of the alphabet, rules for reading vowels and consonants, and various letter combinations are introduced. Children are gradually taught to read aloud, and then they are introduced to text markings. The second way involves a method that M.N. Kravchenko called the phoneme-grapheme method of reading whole words. At the first stage, students are expected to master a number of English words orally in a certain speech structure, among which there is a key word. After this word has been mastered, the teacher identifies the first sound, or phoneme, in it and introduces students to the corresponding letter, or grapheme. Students are asked to read a whole word only when they have mastered all the letters (graphemes) that make it up. Figure 2 shows a diagram of the sound method for developing reading techniques. Figure 2 - Scheme of the sound method (two ways of assimilation according to T.G. Vasilyeva) The development of the method of teaching reading whole sentences was carried out by A.D. Klimentenko and G.M. Weiser. Individual words were isolated from short sentences, and the alphabet and reading rules were taught after students were already able to read short passages. “The performance of many actions was based on intuition and anticipation of some difficult-to-read words, which, according to the authors of the method, brought children’s reading skills closer to the skills of a mature reader.” The diagram of the method of teaching reading whole sentences is presented in Figure 3. Figure 3 - Scheme of the method of teaching reading whole sentences Subsequently, in the process of developing the methodology, various variations of the methods we considered for developing reading techniques were developed. It was assumed that such methods should remove as much as possible the difficulties that arise during learning and make it possible to activate the ways of activity that students have already developed in the process of learning to read in their native language. We will analyze some educational and methodological complexes for the formation of reading techniques in the second chapter. We understand the importance of taking into account the native language when teaching reading to younger schoolchildren in English in elementary school, so we consider it appropriate to consider the stages of teaching reading techniques in their native language. The works of the Soviet psychologist T.G. are widely known. Egorov, who studied the stages of reading in the native language and substantiated the psychological nature of reading errors. )mastering sound-letter correspondences; 2)syllabic reading; 3)the formation of synthetic reading techniques; )synthetic reading. Since the last three stages are sufficiently researched and also known in modern teaching methods, we will consider only the first and find out what knowledge and skills it requires. According to T.G. Egorov, the tasks of the first stage include acquiring knowledge about the phoneme, skills to divide words into syllables, isolate phonemes from words and syllables, forming phonemic analysis and synthesis, differentiating sounds, distinguishing and assimilating the image of a letter and correlating it with the sound of the language, reading words and words. The material for learning at this stage is sound and letters, as well as the establishment first of sound-letter and then alphabetic-sound relationships. The opinion that learning to read should begin with familiarization with the sounds of the language and the establishment of phone-grapheme (rather than grapho-phoneme) connections is also shared by R.I. Lalaeva. Investigating disorders in the process of mastering reading by primary schoolchildren, she draws attention to the fact that “it is not the sound that is the name of the letter, but on the contrary, the letter is a sign, a symbol, a designation of a speech sound.” The author proves that taking this fact into account to a certain extent ensures correct and successful learning of the letter. Having analyzed the research of T.G. Egorova, we came to the conclusion that at the initial stage of education, the ability to read is formed as follows: )awareness that speech consists of sentences, words and sounds; 2)extracting speech sounds from speech; )awareness that sounds have correspondences - letters; )familiarization with letters; )mastering phoneme-grapheme connections; )recognition of letters as symbols of phonemes; )mastering grapheme-phoneme connections. In the methodology of teaching the native language, there are pre-primer (or oral introductory course), primer (familiarization with letters and reading words, sentences, etc.) and post-primer periods (improving the already formed ability to read at the level of specially created mini-texts). Taking into account the stage-by-stage development of the ability to read, the following list of knowledge and skills was identified that students must master, presented in Table 3: Table 3 - Knowledge and skills that children must master when learning to read in their native language StagesKnowledgeSkillsBefore learning your native language1. Must master knowledge of basic vocabulary. 2. Must acquire knowledge about language and speech (what is a word, the meaning of a word; what is a sound and what is a letter and, possibly, knowledge about some of them; about oral and written speech; about text as a way of transmitting information). Must : 1. Understand the meaning of what they say. 2. Voice your thoughts. 3. Speak in sentences and groups of sentences. 4. Pronounce sounds and words correctly. 5. Pronounce sentences with correct intonation. 6. Distinguish the intonations of heard sentences. 7. Use some grammatical and lexical means of the language (at a subconscious level). Pre-letter period Must acquire knowledge: 1. About sounds and their classifications. 2. About the organs of articulation. 3. About syllables and stress. 4. About the sentence. Must learn: 1. Isolate sounds from words. 2. Identify and differentiate them. 3. Divide statements into sentences. Letter period: reading syllables and words Acquire knowledge: 1. About the graphic system of language. 2. About the letters of the alphabet. 3. About words (that words are made up of letters). 4. About writing (that letters are a graphic reflection of sounds in written speech). 5. About phoneme-grapheme and grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Must learn: 1. Correlate sounds with letters. 2. Convert graphic images of letters, syllables and words into sound images. 3. Voice letters. 4. Voice syllables and words. 5. Understand the words read. Alphabet period: reading sentences Acquire knowledge: 1. About punctuation marks, rules for formatting sentences. 2. About intonation. Must learn: 1. Voice sentences with correct intonation. 2. Understand the meaning of the sentence read. Letter period: reading texts Must acquire knowledge about the rules for formatting texts. Must learn: 1. Read texts with correct intonation and pausing. 2. Understand the meaning of the text. In addition, to determine a rational sequence for teaching reading techniques, it is necessary to take into account the difficulties that arise when reading in a foreign language. They can be divided into three groups. The first group includes difficulties associated with disagreements between the sound and grapheme systems of the native and foreign languages. These difficulties arise when recognizing graphic signs and voicing them. The second group includes difficulties associated with stress in various types of words when reading aloud. The third includes difficulties that arise with intonation, division into syntagmas and logical stress when reading sentences. Defining three groups of problems helps build the educational process to develop students' reading skills in an appropriate logical sequence. The main principle of organizing training is the gradual complication of the material (from a sound to a letter, from a letter to a word, from it to a sentence). To master sound-letter and letter-sound connections, children should be offered exercises such as: determining the number of sounds and letters in a word; find and show/write letters that correspond to the sound pronounced by the teacher; read a letter in various positions in a word and others. You should also teach children the configuration of letters of the alphabet in the receptive (visual perception, recognition and identification of letters) and reproductive (knowledge and reproduction of all functional variants of a letter - large, small, printed, handwritten) plans. For this purpose, exercises are used to recognize and read individual letters and letter combinations, covering educational operations in the alphabet: pronounce the letters indicated by the teacher, select the named letter from a number of those proposed; Match lowercase letters with uppercase letters (and vice versa), and pronounce them. We remember that children of primary school age primarily perceive what is bright and unusual. Therefore, the various illustrated supports should be used extensively at this stage. After complete and strong assimilation of these connections, you can move on to the next stage of learning. N.K. Sklyarenko believes that it consists in the formation of automated skills to carry out the “test-synthesis” operation of isolated words. The development of these skills contributes to the quick and accurate perception of a word, its correct pronunciation and adequate correlation with the meaning. 1.4 Monitoring the development of reading technique
The results of teaching reading according to the approximate basic educational program of primary general education should be as follows: 1)students will learn to correlate the graphic image of English words with their sound images; 2)students will acquire the skills of reading aloud a short text based on the studied language material, observing the rules of pronunciation and intonation; 3)students will acquire the skills of reading silently and understanding the content of a small text, which is built mainly on already studied language material; 4)Students will acquire the skills of reading silently and finding the necessary information in the text. As a result of learning to read, a secondary school graduate will have the opportunity to learn: 1)guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context; 2)do not pay attention to unfamiliar words that do not interfere with understanding the main content of the text [ibid]. In our opinion, control of the development of reading technique should occur at the technical and semantic levels. According to E.N. Solovova and A.N. Shchukin, if we are talking about the first level, when assessing reading technique we should take into account: 1.Rate of speech, that is, the number of words per minute. 2.Compliance with stress norms (semantic, logical, no stress on function words). 3.Compliance with pausing standards. 4.Application of intonation patterns that correspond to the meaning of the statement. 5.General understanding of the text read. According to K.V. Goryacheva and E.N. Grigorieva, in the first half of the year of language study, the following program requirements must be achieved: -syllabic reading with clear pronunciation of syllables and words, which is characterized by correctness, awareness and smoothness; -reading whole words, which is characterized by awareness and correctness. Words with a complex syllabic structure are read syllable by syllable. II half of the year: -The reading pace should be at least 35-40 words per minute. -awareness, correct reading of whole words, observing logical stresses. Words with a complex syllabic structure are read syllable by syllable. 3rd grade, 1st half of the year: -the reading pace should be at least 40-50 words per minute; -awareness, correct reading of whole words, observing logical stress, pauses and intonation. 3rd grade, 2nd half of the year: -The reading pace should be at least 55-60 words per minute. When monitoring the level of development of reading skills, the following errors should be analyzed: a) omissions of letters, syllables, words; b) adding sounds; c) rearrangement of words; d) a mixture of letters that denote vowel sounds and have acoustic-articulatory similarities; e) a mixture of letters that denote consonant sounds and have acoustic-articulatory similarities; f) mixing visually similar letters; g) errors in the endings of words; h) replacing words based on visual similarity; i) errors in placing emphasis; j) errors in intonation designation of sentence boundaries; k) unconscious transfer of the method of reading from the native language to a foreign one. All errors are grouped according to the selected types. To determine the reading accuracy parameter, the number of errors of each type and the total number of errors made by children when reading texts are counted. In order to test reading technique, according to the recommendations of methodologists, it is necessary to select special texts. According to these requirements, the text must be unfamiliar to the child, but understandable. Sentences in the text should be short and should not contain complicating structures or signs. It is best if the text intended for reading testing does not contain illustrations and dialogues that distract students during the reading process.
One of the most difficult tasks in teaching English to schoolchildren is learning to read.
At the initial stage of learning a foreign language, it is very important to learn to read correctly in order to extract the maximum information from what you read. But, having seen a graphic representation of English words in the textbook, having read them behind the teacher, when reading independently, students, nevertheless, try to spell the words, as in the Russian language. Many students, even in high school, make many mistakes when reading, unconsciously transferring the way they read from their native language to a foreign one. In addition, in most existing teaching and learning centers, the educational material for teaching reading is selected in such a way that it requires a lot of help from the teacher; it is presented in a traditional form and does not meet the interests of schoolchildren.
In order to facilitate students’ tasks and increase their interest in reading, it is necessary to make the exercises communicative by creating interesting game situations and formulating cognitive speech tasks.
The communicative method requires that the teaching tools be adequate to the goal, which in our case is reading technique skills. Therefore, it is quite logical to assume that the exercises for their formation should be adequate in quality to the skills of reading techniques, taking into account the conditions of their functioning in reading as a type of speech activity. The effectiveness of these exercises is also determined by their number and sequence, which can be established taking into account the level of training and psychological and pedagogical characteristics of students at the junior level of teaching foreign languages.
Reading as a type of speech activity is a perceptual-mental activity and is correlated with a skill that is based on the following skills:
The effect of reading technique skills is determined by the purpose of reading, i.e. extracting information from what is read, which manifests itself in a certain reading situation and speech task. Reading technique skills are determined by the functioning of such mechanisms as: visual perception of material, correlation of the resulting auditory-motor complex with a certain meaning, semantic processing of the information received. The unit of perception is usually considered to be the word, because it is the minimum linguistic unit that has a certain meaning. The syntagma is taken as a unit of semantic processing, since it ensures the joint occurrence of the processes of perception and comprehension.
Reading skills are characterized by certain qualities:
The condition for the functioning of the skill is the reader’s knowledge of the purpose or result of reading, which determine the speed of reading, field of coverage, accuracy and completeness of understanding. Therefore, it is precisely these conditions that should be modeled in exercises for teaching reading techniques.
Data from the analysis of the exercises proposed in the methodological literature showed that they are purely educational in nature, without the goal of extracting information from what they read.
All exercises are divided into 3 groups:
Using the idea of the adequacy of exercises to reading technique skills, we can conclude that for learning to be effective, a set of exercises containing communicative task and a reading situation, which will allow students to develop reading technique skills capable of acting in this type of speech activity.
By a set of exercises we mean a set of exercises of a certain quality, the quantitative correlation and sequence of which ensures the acquisition of skills of all characteristics necessary for its functioning in speaking. The purpose of a set of exercises for developing reading technique skills is to ensure the optimal way of firmly assimilating a certain dose of speech material to the level of skill. The qualitative side of the exercises that should be included in the complex for the development of reading technique skills is determined by us taking into account the criterion of their adequacy to the reading technique skills (this means exercises designed to teach reading accuracy or error-free reading, reading speed and expanding the reading field).
Such exercises are those exercises that contain a reading situation and a communicative task. As for the sequence of exercises, it is advisable to arrange them according to the degree of increase in difficulties, namely, first include exercises for teaching error-free reading, then to expand the reading field and, finally, increase its speed. When developing a set of exercises for teaching reading techniques, one should proceed from the need to create conditions for the development of reading skills. Such conditions include the uniformity of examples for the reading rule, the regularity of their occurrence in a diverse environment, and the focus of tasks on extracting information. Moreover, the arrangement of these exercises is stepwise, which allows them to be used in a number of lessons. The form of these exercises and their number are established taking into account the psychological and pedagogical characteristics of younger schoolchildren. For most schoolchildren of this age, the predominant type of attention is still involuntary attention, which is characterized by such distinctive features as instability and easy distractibility. It has been established that the attention of schoolchildren is stable when the students are fully engaged in work that requires maximum mental activity from them, activating thinking. At this age, a person has not yet fully developed the ability to independently think creatively, make generalizations and conclusions. As for comparison, younger schoolchildren find differences more easily than similarities. Processes associated with memorization still depend on the presence or absence of visualization. Thus, students firmly retain in their memory specific material that is presented to them repeatedly (which is explained by rapid forgetfulness) and based on clarity. It is also important that schoolchildren of this age still respond with great interest to this type of activity as a game, so it is logical to assume that exercises for teaching reading should contain game elements. However, at the same time, these exercises should allow students to show their independence, thereby giving them the opportunity to feel like adults. Based on the above description of the structure of a set of exercises for developing reading technique skills, we can conclude that when compiling it, it is necessary to strictly take into account the quality of the exercises included in the complex, their sequence, quantity, form and method of conducting them, which will allow the necessary skills to be formed more quickly and efficiently.
An example of such a complex, consisting of 9 exercises, is presented in the form of an Appendix.
Practice shows that most students, while working with such complexes, quickly remember the rules of reading (for example: reading vowels in open and closed syllables) and then read short texts at a normal pace with virtually no errors. It is also important that students read the exercises with pronounced interest. The presence there of symbols and pictures illustrating tasks for exercises allows you to relieve the fatigue of schoolchildren and attract their attention for a long time, as well as speed up the process of perception and memorization of linguistic information, facilitate the reading process and overcome the barrier of fear. Finally, the joy from the results of mental activity and positive marks for reading technique forms a positive attitude towards further study of the English language and maintains interest in the subject. And the presence of interest in the learning process indicates its proper organization.
INTRODUCTION
This thesis is devoted to the study of methods for organizing work on teaching reading techniques in grades 5-6 of a secondary school. IN modern school The main task in this regard is to teach reading and understanding authentic foreign texts of average difficulty with the help of a dictionary. The texts should cover a fairly wide range of topics. This must be excerpts from the original fiction, texts on socio-political, general technical and popular science topics. By texts of average difficulty we mean those that are not stylistically complicated and do not contain a large number of highly specialized and rarely used words.
The program provides clear reading standards that a student must master in each grade upon graduation. These reading standards are given in printed characters per hour, three to a certain percentage of unfamiliar vocabulary.
To properly teach reading in a foreign language (FL), it is first necessary to clearly imagine the essence, nature of reading skills.
In a modern secondary school, the initial period of teaching a foreign language is based on the phonetic - orthographic principle, from which it follows that pronunciation and work on developing the necessary pronunciation skills are carried out simultaneously with familiarization with traditional spelling.
The initial stage of learning to read, i.e. learning to pronounce individual letters and letter combinations can take at least two routes.
Teaching pronunciation can be based on the syllabic principle. In this case, the rules for reading vowel letters depend on whether a given vowel is in an open, closed or conditionally open syllable.
It is possible to base learning to read on determining the sound meaning of a vowel depending on the letters surrounding it and the stress in a word on the basis of studying the elements of word formation.
The second way of learning to read is more accurate. It allows you to accurately determine the sound meaning of vowels, but it is complex, since it presupposes knowledge of the rules of verbal stress and word formation.
Therefore, the school uses the syllabic principle.
It is easy to imagine that at different levels of proficiency in the reading process, the participation of consciousness in the technical side is different. In grades 5-6, when mastering the reading process, the reader’s attention is completely absorbed by the perception of letters, letter combinations, i.e. process technique. This situation is natural, since at the middle stage of learning to read it is to some extent an end in itself, and understanding depends on the nuance of visual perception, the role of which at this stage of learning is especially great.
In order to ensure that students’ attention is not entirely absorbed only by the reading technique, it is necessary to give them a focus on understanding what they are reading already at the initial stage of learning to read, it is necessary to educate students about the relationship between reading skills and understanding the content of what they are reading.
As the technical side of the process is mastered, this latter is more and more turned off from the consciousness of the reader and its place is increasingly taken by the process of penetration into the content of the text. Opportunities for imagination, emotion, critical analysis, etc. are constantly created.
Reading, perhaps more than any other type of work on language, is associated with the whole variety of language activities. As a result, when learning a foreign language, the role and functions of reading change depending on the stage of learning a foreign language.
Students in grades 5-6 tend to ignore context as a mandatory means of determining the meaning of a word. If students encounter a number of unfamiliar words and are forced to turn to the dictionary, then they first write down one or another meaning of each of these unknown words and then try to somehow comprehend the sentence. This approach to translation either leads to ridiculous options or simply does not make it possible to translate the sentence.
In grades 5-6, where students cannot directly perceive textual material in a foreign language, from the very first lessons they get used to an analytical approach to each linguistic fact. This direction continues in the work in the future, since the student learns something new at every lesson, and learning new things (words, grammatical rules, combinations of letters, etc.) necessarily includes an element of analysis, which contributes to the understanding of new material and its assimilation . The lack of a direct connection between the words of a foreign language and the concepts that are enshrined in them, since these concepts were acquired by students on the basis of their native language, interferes with the direct perception of thoughts expressed in a foreign language, even in cases where the words are known to the students. Two factors prevent this: the inability to combine purely sensory processes with the processes of comprehending what is read and disbelief in one’s ability to directly understand the thought expressed in a foreign language.
1.The student reads part of a given passage and makes a selective translation.
2.The student reads a passage of text, others translate, selectively - one or two sentences.
.One student reads a passage of text, another translates it, and the third highlights the main idea of the passage.
.The teacher asks students questions about the text in a foreign language, the students answer in their native language.
.The teacher asks questions about the text in a foreign language, and students answer them in a foreign language.
.Several students read the entire assigned text sequentially, after which two or three students retell it in Russian.
These exercises and others like them allow you, firstly, to check your understanding of the text, and secondly, they contribute to its better understanding. However, the degree of understanding of the text is controlled only in general terms and quick orientation in the text is not yet achieved. The presence of similar shortcomings, which are also widespread in other areas of developing reading technique skills in grades 5-6 in a broad sense, prompted us to study methods for organizing reading technique at the middle stage of schooling.
The formation of these qualities of communicative reading skills depends on the level of proficiency in both active and passive language material. When teaching this quality of reading, it is necessary to take into account the nature of the texts (easy, medium, difficult), the nature of mastery of the material (active or passive, or passive-active or active-passive mastery).
The object of the study is the process of formation and development of reading skills and abilities in English in a public school at the secondary stage of education.
Subject of research this development is a methodology for developing reading skills and techniques in English among students in grades 5-6 of primary school.
Based on the above, we defined the goal of our research as “expanding and deepening theoretical knowledge on methods of organizing work on the reading process in grades 5-6 of secondary school, solving practical problems during independent observations conducted during teaching practice.
Research hypothesis:
Teaching reading techniques in English in grades 5-6 of a mainstream school can be effective if it:
will be based on preventing and overcoming the interfering influence of skills from the native and Russian languages on the formed stereotypes of reading techniques in English;
will be focused on a specially developed system of exercises for teaching reading in grades 5-6 of primary school.
And the task of our research is to create and carry out the most effective method of organizing work in the process of working on reading techniques in grades 5-6 of secondary school.
The following research methods were used to solve the problems:
observation of the process of teaching English in general education (basic and complete) schools;
questionnaires, timing, interviews and testing in order to determine the reliability of the results obtained, as well as to identify data on the competence of trainees;
Pedagogical experimental activities to test the results of teaching reading at the middle stage of the main public school.
Above we outlined the general features (characteristics) of reading at all stages of learning, and in our study we must pay special attention to reading at the middle stage of learning.
At the middle stage of learning, reading becomes an important type of speech activity. Oral speech acquires a certain qualitative development in terms of content, greater naturalness, motivation and information content.
The secondary school curriculum formulates the following requirements for the reading skills of ninth-grade students: “In order to extract basic information, students must be able to read to themselves simple texts presented for the first time from adapted literature by foreign authors, built on the program language material of these classes and containing up to 2-4% unfamiliar words whose meaning you can guess. Reading speed - at least 200 printed words per minute.
Students must, in addition, “in order to extract complete information, be able to read to themselves simple texts from fiction that are presented for the first time, containing up to 4% of unfamiliar vocabulary.”
Having briefly described reading at the middle stage of learning, we will consider the indicative plan of research we have developed for our thesis.
The plan consists of: introduction, two theoretical, one practical chapters, conclusion and list of references.
In the first theoretical chapter, we will consider the psychological and linguistic foundations of teaching reading, in the second, the teaching methods and organization of the process of reading fable texts, and in the third, practical chapter, we will summarize the results of experimental work on approbation. Among the means of teaching a foreign language, during the research, we will use: a textbook, a “Book for reading”, plot and thematic pictures.
We know that research methods are aimed at obtaining scientific data on the patterns of learning foreign languages, on the effectiveness of the educational materials used, methods and forms of the educational process.
Research methods in pedagogical sciences include (according to S.F. Shatilov): retrospective study of the experience of domestic and foreign schools (educational materials and documents), pedagogical and methodological theories in the past and at the present stage, generalization of positive experience in teaching foreign languages in schools, observations, conversations, questioning, testing, experiment [S.F. Shatilov: 48].
Using these methods in conjunction, we will increase the degree of reliability and scientific objectivity of the results of our research.
In order to increase the effectiveness of the research, we need to carry out colossal work, which consists of (by introducing new, developed exercises) increasing the level of student achievement in one of the leading types of speech activity - reading, using the teaching tools mentioned above and research methods.
In our thesis we used the works of such authors as Artemyev V.A., Baryshnikov N.V., Belyaev B.V., Benediktov B.A., Bogoyavlensky D.N., Buchbinder V.A., Vedel G. E., Ganshina K.A., Gez N.I., Denken M.H., Karpov I.A., Klychnikova Z.I., Kolker Ya.M., Komkov I.F., Lapidus B.A. , Leontyev A.A., Nikitin M.V., Folomkina S.K., Rabinovich F.M., Rogova G.V., Sakharova T.E., Skalkin V.L., Strakhova M.P., Ustinova E.S., Ushinsky K.D., Shatilov S.F., and others.
We have developed a number of exercises through which we hope to obtain positive results during the experiment, that is, to increase the efficiency of the process at the middle stage of education in grades 5-6.
training speech reading English
CHAPTER I. Psychological and linguistic foundations of teaching reading as a type of speech activity
The history of “joint work” between psychology and linguistics is very long: their union is more than a hundred years old. It begins with the works of the most prominent German linguist, W. Humboldt's closest student, G. Steinthal.
The most important thing in Humboldt’s linguistic concept, the most important thing that he introduced into the linguistic science of the 19th century, and was subsequently largely lost by this science, is a clear understanding of the dialectic of the relationship between the social and the individual in speech activity. For Humboldt, language is the link between “public” and man. The form of language is social by nature: in speech activity it serves as an organizing principle for the “matter of language.” And this latter “is, on the one hand, sound in general, on the other, a set of sensory impressions and amateur mental movements that precede the formation of a concept with the help of language.” Both are individual phenomena. Language therefore “forms a unique essence, which, although it can always retain its significance only in the transitory act of thinking, is in its totality independent of it”; although the form of language manifests its specificity only in the process of organizing linguistic matter, it has its own “independent, external existence that controls the person himself.”
Humboldt sought the reasons for the similarity of language among different people in the unity of sound and the unity of mental content. He explained the unity of sound material by hereditary predisposition, and in the unity of the psyche - by the unity of society, social factor.
Steinthal reasoned differently. If Humboldt considered language both as a process and as an ontological given, and as the most important part of human mental activity, and as a property of society, then Steinthal could not rise to such a dialectical understanding and found himself faced with an alternative: either an ontological given, or a process. But having made this choice, Steinthal, reasoning logically, went further along the path that ultimately leads him to a subjective psychological understanding of language. P.O. Shor at one time correctly noted that Steinthal “significantly reconstructs” Humboldt’s ideas, “replacing the epistemological problem, the problem of the relationship between language, consciousness and being, posed by Humboldt, with a psychological problem, the problem of the development of individual speech and individual thinking [R.O. Shor: 49 ] One cannot but agree with one of the patriarchs of modern linguistics, Marcel Cohen, who said that “it is impossible to imagine the progress of linguistics without its close connection with scientific psychology” [M. Cohen: 27].
1.1 Psychological foundations of learning to read
Psychological issues of learning to read are resolved based on the analysis of a number of issues:
1)psychological and linguistic features of the perception of text as the basic unit of written speech;
2)psychological characteristics of the links of speech communication when reading;
3)features associated with the scheme of semantic perception;
4)features of the operation of the basic mechanisms of speech activity. We will begin our consideration of the psychological foundations of learning to read with an analysis of those features of the text that determine its perception. In perceiving the text, we follow B.V. Belyaev will consider sensory understanding, limited by the activity of the first signal system, and understanding - conscious perception, conditioned by the activity of the second signal system. The perception of oral or written speech is associated with the direct impact of its physical properties on the senses, occurring in unity with the impact of its semantic content on the reader or listener. The person who receives visual signals must transform them into thoughts based on knowledge of the system of meanings of the corresponding language and his life experience. When perceiving written (printed) text, we are not aware that this process begins under the influence of signals (physical properties of printed or written symbols) on our organ of vision. It seems to us that we are directly revealing the content of the text. Analysis of this process shows that reading is primarily determined by the physical properties of the text.
Text as a certain physical object to be perceived is a sequence of graphemes (letters). Optical signals, from the point of view of their physical properties, have several modulations: the number of oscillations of radiant energy waves, their intensity and duration, which in sensation correspond to tonality (color tone), saturation and lightness.
Letters are like a trigger mechanism, under the influence of which the physiological process of excitation in the organs of vision begins. It ends with complex physiological phenomena in the cerebral cortex, the function of which is the mental phenomenon - the perception of graphic symbols of printed and written text and mental activity reader In other words, under the influence of the physical properties of an object, a physiological phenomenon arises, and on its basis a mental phenomenon arises, which is inextricably linked with it.
By analogy with the physical (acoustic) properties of an oral speech signal, we can talk about the bifunctionality of the physical (optical) properties of the text, that is, about the primary and secondary physical properties of graphemes. The primary physical (optical) properties of printed (or written) text determine the visibility and readability of the text. These physical characteristics of the text, although they contribute to the distinction of polygraphic signals, do not lead to their distinction in semantic contrast. Without directly influencing the recognition of linguistic and semantic features of the text, primary optical properties are not relevant in linguistic and semantic terms. The secondary properties of graphemes contribute to distinguishing them from one another. It seems to us that the secondary physical properties of letters should include the features of their outline, which cause the integral effect of the above physical properties. Secondary physical properties begin to serve as a material means of distinguishing alphabetic-graphic forms and, naturally, influence the adequacy of perception and understanding of the linguistic and semantic features of the text. The study of visual signal recognition has shown that to a very large extent it depends on the configuration of the presented sign.
Selective mixing of visual signals
In domestic studies, the selective nature of mixing visual signals is different. Some signs mix with certain signs more often than others, and some don't mix at all. It was also hypothesized that different probabilities of the appearance of signs would influence their memorization, and hence recognition.
It is known from teaching practice that the most difficult letters to learn and recognize are those that are similar to the letters of the native language. Very often, students incorrectly read the capital Latin letters H, P, S, and the lowercase letters q, p, d, b, s, t. An illustration of this can be the reading of the English sentence Didn’t know where to go.
The students confused the Latin letter “g” with the Russian letter “d” and read the word as .
A few more examples of interference of the Russian alphabet: the word how is read as [pai], boy as [boi], tu as, cap as. Interference is observed both in relation to completely identical letters and letters that have a slight discrepancy in spelling.
Psychologically, this is explained by the fact that the connections “letter -> sound” in the native language are so strong that they serve as a barrier to the formation of a new letter-sound connection. Interference can also occur when handwriting letters. Students make similar mistakes when learning German and French. It should be borne in mind that when learning to read in different languages, interference with images of letters of the native alphabet manifests itself in different ways, occurring more often in relation to some letters than others.
Taking into account interference in letter recognition and the importance of the strength of the “letter-sound” connection, it is advisable to place appropriate instructions in a textbook or teacher’s book for the letters of the alphabet that are especially susceptible to it. Exercises should also be provided to help students remove possible interference. When explaining the new alphabet, you should pay attention to the letters of the general outline, note their similarities and differences, and train students more in reading words in which interference of their native language may appear. In addition, obviously, it is necessary to pay attention to letters within the system being studied that are similar in external outline, since students may not have the necessary differentiation during perception for a long time. Students do not notice differences in letters of similar shape, for example, the difference in the letters l and t in the German alphabet. Therefore, it is advisable to train them in the visual selection of one or another letter from a number of letters similar in outline and in the pronunciation of the corresponding sound.
Dependence of perception on font features of the optical signal
The physical characteristics of a text enable the act of reading because they facilitate or hinder its perception. This, in turn, has a positive or negative effect on the understanding of the text, without which reading does not fulfill its main function - to serve as a source of communication.
Text visibility and readability are prerequisites for productive reading. The concept of readability is broader than the concept of visibility. The visibility of text depends only on the quality of the visual signal itself. Readability is affected not only by the shape, size, and color of the font, but also by a number of conditions related to the specific design of the printed material, for example, different ratios of material, location on the page (line length, spacing, interletter spaces, type of layout of the text of the publication), color paper, printing method, as well as the subjective characteristics of the reader, due to his profession, qualifications, attention, fatigue, etc. You need to know about some patterns of readability because this will determine the attitude towards the text offered to students for reading. Readable text will make their reading task much easier. When choosing books for extracurricular reading, this is sometimes crucial. After all, it is precisely because the text is unreadable that students are often reluctant to read even a textbook.
When we pick up a book, and in particular a book to read in a foreign language, we first of all pay attention to its font. The font includes letters of the alphabet, numbers, punctuation marks, and some other font characters.
Readability of color printing
Knowledge of the laws of legibility of color printing is very great importance for school in general and for a foreign language in particular. Currently, color printing is increasingly included in books, textbooks, popular science magazines and even newspapers. Therefore, the problem of its readability occupies many psychologists. However, despite the interest in this issue, a number of problems associated with the readability of color printing remain unexplored. And this is understandable. For example, in foreign language newspapers and magazines, green, purple, orange and blue colored fonts are widely used. This is done in order to attract attention to the material being read. Which of these colors is more readable? What is the readability of text in colored font? Why are students more likely to read text in blue or brown rather than light green? These and many other questions confront the researcher. They are not indifferent to a foreign language teacher. For example, in the USA this technique is used at the initial stage of learning to read in their native language; it is called “color reading” or “color dictation”.
As you know, the main difficulty in mastering reading in English is the discrepancy between the spelling of words and their pronunciation. Many children sometimes cannot overcome the confusion that arises because the same letter in one word is pronounced differently than in another, and different letters in different words indicate the same sound. An example is the letter a in the words cat, Kate, car, in which it is pronounced in three different ways: [x], , [a:], and the sound, which has eight different spellings, illustrated by the words to, too, two, crew, through, true, fruit, shoe.
Naturally, the student is lost in front of all this variety of reading facts. And this is where color comes to his aid. One system developed for teaching reading in English as a foreign language uses 47 colors that are assigned to specific speech sounds.
Teachers using this teaching system must have 47 colored crayons, with the same colored chalk used to represent letters and combinations of letters that make the same sound when reading words aloud from the board. So, the letter o (to) and the combination of letters oo, wo, ew,. ough, ue, oe, oi read as sound, colored in green color. The letter p in the word po, the combination on in the word phone, the combination kp in the word know, the combination rp in the word pneumonia are also given in one color - lavender. With this teaching system, only the teacher uses color symbols. Books for reading are typed in black, and when writing on the board, students use only white.
By the way, color is also used to teach language grammar. Each part of speech is assigned a specific color. Words are written on cards that match the color of the given part of speech. By putting together sentences from these words, children, without realizing it, learn their structure. Color printing is also used for the purpose of distinguishing grammatical forms during the reading process.
The foregoing indicates that reading is conditioned by the properties of the text. The teacher should always keep this objective factor in mind and, if possible, select the texts that are most favorable from an optical point of view if he wants to make reading an enjoyable activity.
PHYSIOLOGICAL LINK OF READING
Conditionality of the process of oculomotor activity of the reader.
Considering reading as a process of communication through language based on the material of written speech, we understand that it is also determined by the mechanisms of visual decoding of optical signals.
Consideration of reading as a type of speech activity allows us to consider N.K.’s concept as its physiological basis. Anokhin about functional system. It can be assumed that familiar graphic images play the role of a trigger when reading.
It has been established that in the contour of the grapheme there are parts that serve as identification marks in the perception of letters. The nature and number of such features are different for each letter. They change depending on the conditions of perception. To determine the letters of the alphabet, there are a number of parts of letters that are not divided, in particular, for the Russian alphabet there are 24 of them.
Recordings of eye movement show that it occurs in inconsistent (arrhythmic) jumps of a progressive nature. Visual decoding of optical signals occurs while the eyes stop (fixate). Changing eye fixations as a result of their movement makes it possible not to mix signals.
What happens when the eyes move from one fixation to another? It has been established that about three letters in the center of each visually perceived letter complex are imprinted on the retina with extreme clarity, the remaining letters become less and less clear as the number of perceived graphic signals increases, that is, as the recognition field increases. If we compare the recordings of eye movements, which reflect the duration and number of fixations per line, with the facts characterizing vision, it becomes clear that to recognize a word, a vague, indistinct vision is sufficient. The eye retains impressions only of special features, as mentioned above, most characteristic of a given letter, a striking form, of the dominant features of letters and words. The rest falls on the replenishing role of consciousness. This process is compared to the process of recognizing a familiar landscape. One glance is enough for us to evoke a mental image of all its details. A closer examination of the landscape reveals a thousand details that we were sure we saw at first glance. But if we were asked to describe these details immediately after the first look, we would not do it. With regard to many more famous details of a familiar landscape, we cannot say whether we saw them or imagined them in our minds. When we look at a landscape a second time, we often notice that details that we thought we saw the first time have changed greatly or have completely disappeared. Currently, it has been experimentally proven that the reader grasps 7 ± 2 graphic images in one fixation and makes an average of 4 - 5 fixations per line, and he can recognize the whole word, or a significant part of the word, or several words in one fixation (M.Ya. Goshev).
The difference between a “good” and a “bad” reader lies not in the speed at which the eye moves, but in the quantity and quality of the information it perceives at each fixation. In addition, this difference is expressed in the number of regressive eye movements. It has been experimentally established that elements smaller than a word are probabilistically organized in human memory. As the reading progresses, the reader develops a model of future results, therefore, if what is expected and what appears do not actually correspond to each other, a mismatch occurs and the reader moves his eyes back through the text (makes regressive movements). When studying reading in their native language (English), it was found that 23% of all eye movements made by first grade students are regressive. In high school, regressive movements are observed in 15% of students. It is believed that regressive movements are associated with difficulties in understanding the text. When reading a difficult text, a discrepancy arises between the time it takes to read individual words and the time it takes the reader to comprehend them. As a result, the reader experiences more regressions and the number of fixations increases. Accordingly, the reading speed slows down. Moreover, the difficulties of the material have a great influence on people who do not read well. This manifests itself in disruption of the regularity of the reading process. An increase in the number of regressions and the number of fixations, as well as an increase in their duration, was also observed in good readers, but these changes are more orderly.
In a normal reader, regressive eye movements do not disrupt the order of words in a sentence when perceiving the test. This makes us think that some process parallel to visual recognition of printed text is taking place. It is assumed that this is a process associated with retaining in memory what has already been perceived while the eye returns back to another piece of information. Therefore, at the moment of regressive fixation, the information that the reader receives is not disrupted when reading.
It can be assumed that at the moment of fixation, that is, receiving information, an “image of the future” is formed, and the time the eye slides along the line is necessary for the body for the enormous work of processing the received information. If the result obtained corresponds to the image, then the next reception of information occurs. As noted above, a “good” reader differs from a “bad” one in that he perceives large quantity information in one fixation and makes fewer regressive movements. Considering reading from this point of view, its external characteristic can be called reading technique, internal characteristic there will be a semantic interpretation of the text. The result of this single process will be a level of understanding achieved to varying degrees.
Considering the above, when learning to read and, in particular, when learning to read in a foreign language, we must strive to ensure that the student’s eyes make fewer fixations per line, that is, increase the reading field so that fixations are short-lived, and regressive movements are reduced to a minimum .
It has been experimentally established that the higher the level of understanding achieved, the fewer fixations and regressions the subjects make per line, the larger their reading field, or, conversely, the fewer fixations and regressions the subjects make per line, the larger the reading field they have, the greater the high level of understanding achieved by them.
The experiments thus confirm the rule of interaction between understanding and perception during reading and show that this interaction is also associated with the nature of eye movement, that is, changes in eye motility.
Speech movements and their influence on the reading process
The role of articulation is different at different stages of learning to read, ranging from complete subordination of this process to articulation and ending with complete liberation from it. The perfection of articulation determines the perfection of the reading process.
Based on many years of observations, it seems possible for us to distinguish the following six pronunciation levels:
1.The level of pronunciation of an individual sound. This level is characterized by the fact that a student of a foreign language can correctly pronounce a sound when presented with a transcriptional sign or letter denoting this sound. In combination with other sounds (syllable, word), the correct pronunciation of this sound is disrupted. In this case, the student does not have reading skills; he cannot correctly articulate the words of the text.
2.Level of pronunciation of an individual syllable. A student of a foreign language can correctly pronounce sound combinations consisting of the sounds he has acquired. In a broader complex (bisyllabic and polysyllabic words), pronouncing these sound combinations when speaking or reading is difficult.
3.Word pronunciation level. This level is characterized by the ability to correctly articulate individual new or learned words. When these words are spoken or read in combination with other words, their correct articulation is impaired.
When teaching reading in a foreign language, we can sometimes observe the long-term persistence of “whisperers” among students. This is explained by their undeveloped reading technique or difficulties in understanding the content of the text. At more advanced stages of learning, “whispering” reading manifests itself when reading parts of the text that are difficult in pronunciation or semantics. Consequently, the work of the articulatory apparatus is an essential component of not only reading aloud, but also reading silently.
It is known from the psychological literature that when reading to oneself, the motor component appears in the form of hidden, collapsed, internal articulation or internal pronunciation, which represents the bioelectrical and sometimes mechanical activity of the muscles of the speech apparatus. Research by A.N. Sokolova show that as the perceived material becomes more complex, both during reading and listening, the recorded electrical activity of the articulatory muscles increases. Similar data regarding reading were obtained by the Swedish scientist Edfeldt. This confirms the general pattern according to which hidden articulation is manifested more strongly, the more complex the mental task that the subject had to solve was. If the skill of solving a mental problem became strong and turned into an automatic action, hidden articulation disappeared. A study of latent speech-motor reactions showed that when reading silently texts in native and foreign languages or when mentally solving arithmetic examples, very significant excitations took place. It was noted that the transition to new actions, even if fairly automated, causes an increase in speech motor excitation. These works note that repeated reading of a text (in the native language) occurs with very weak, and at some moments completely disappearing, speech motor excitation. This suggests the possibility of having so-called “visual reading” under some conditions. When reading with the instructions “read more carefully” or “remember more accurately,” an increase in speech motor excitation was observed compared to the first reading, but without such instructions. It is interesting to note that reading unadapted texts, compared to reading adapted texts in foreign languages, was accompanied by more pronounced stimulation in the speech apparatus. Obviously, this is due to the fact that the unadapted texts turned out to be too complex for the subjects and required reference to a dictionary. Without a dictionary, the subjects could only read the text, highlighting only familiar words, without understanding the semantic content of the text.
PERCEPTUAL LINK OF READING
Recognition of letter signals. Recognition of letter images and their combinations.
Recognition is the result of selecting and comparing objects with a standard embedded in a person’s long-term memory, and on this basis their identification.
The optical reading component is only a means of providing it. Eye movement does not determine, but reflects the reading process, because reading is a mental process. The importance of the visual mechanism in reading cannot be exaggerated, although it depends on it. Recognition is a constructive, rather than reproductive, process in which the reader constructs a perceived object using mental operations.
According to K. Wikelgren, the mixing of letters based on the similarity of the corresponding sounds occurs in short term memory. From experiments it is clear that the operator makes more mistakes when he needs to remember only two letters with similar phonetic images than when reproducing 6-8 letters that differ greatly in the characteristics of articular-acoustic images. Thus, identification results depend on the phonetic structure of code chains stored in short-term memory: the less similar the phonetic characteristics of a sequence of letters perceived through a visual analyzer, the less the likelihood of errors due to interference during their reproduction.
Very interesting data that allows us to understand this side of the reading mechanism is the work of Wenzel, who studied the “reading time” of the letter signal. Reading time is the time from the moment a letter is presented to its naming. It includes, according to this study, the following stages:
Experiments have shown that letters combined into syllables are read faster than isolated letters; the speed of reading letters in combinations that imitate a word increases compared to the speed of reading them in syllables; at the same time, meaningful words are read faster than meaningless letters or phrases.
The relatively large reduction in the time it takes to read a letter in a syllable compared to the time it takes to read an isolated letter is explained by the frequency of all letter combinations used in these experiments in speech in the native language. Artificial words, consisting of syllables, were in the nature of unusual combinations (they had an unusual spelling and phonetic appearance). This is why artificial word formation has little effect on reading speed. The familiarity of combinations explains the difference in the time it takes to read a letter in four-syllable artificial words and in texts in which the semantic content was violated by replacing letters in words. However, the latter were perceived much more naturally than meaningless words. There were no significant differences in letter reading time between meaningful words and meaningful text. This is explained by the fact that this author’s opinion is that the linguistic connection in meaningful polysyllabic words and meaningful text is almost the same. The familiarity of meaningful words is much greater than that of meaningless words, which is expressed in a significantly higher rate of reading the former. The latter is confirmed by experiments conducted on the material of the English language.
Word recognition when reading
The transformation of the physical (optical) properties of the text into perceptible qualities, that is, the process of reading the text, as well as its understanding, is determined by the linguistic and semantic system, the linguistic system and thoughts realized in the text through language. This is a very complex process, the psychological patterns of which are still far from being revealed. However, literature data and results experimental research provide grounds for expressing some fundamental provisions on this issue. First of all, it should be noted that the determination of reading by a language system begins with the recognition condition, that is, the reading of letters (graphemes). Only by analytically understanding the sound and alphabetic-graphic systems of a given language and establishing visual-auditory-motor relationships between them based on feedback does a person learn to read. In this case, it is not so important which way these connections are formed: from sound to graphic form or from optical signal to sound.
When recognizing words, part of the word falls into the field of peripheral, unclear vision. The reader completes his vision as if mentally, based on the standards stored in his memory. Instant or rapid recognition is possible only in relation to words that are well known to us due to the fact that we often encountered them in previous reading. Words that were encountered less frequently are recognized more slowly. These words require a more precise vision of all their elements, as well as analysis. In addition, they require voice acting.
After identifying the visual image and internal articulation of the perceived word, a search begins in the area of its linguistic meaning.
The assumption that reading is a sequential addition of letters is rejected by most researchers of this process. It was experimentally established that recognition occurs in whole words, and not letter by letter. Learned by the students in a certain order and with the same strength with which they knew the alphabet, words presented at a distance further than that from which the letters were recognized were recognized and recognized in almost all cases.
Age-related changes in the recognition of optical signals.
With age, the recognition field increases, which is expressed in an increase in the average number of letters and words recognized per minute. It has been established that an adult perceives from two to four words in one fixation. When reading in their native (English) language, the recognition field for adults is 8-13 letters; for children, the recognition field is correspondingly smaller.
Features of identification of optical systems in a foreign language.
The letters of a foreign alphabet are unusual for our students at the beginning of their studies. The letter-sound connection is not yet strong. As a result, letter recognition is delayed. The preparation of the organs of articulation for their pronunciation is also delayed. Combinations of letters are also unusual for them. In students' linguistic experience, individual words do not appear often. The word is perceived as a simple set of letters; the mechanism of comparing each letter works, and not the mechanism of comparing their complex. The mechanism for comparing a set of letters operates when the image of the word enters long-term memory as an indecomposable whole that has linguistic meaning. In the meantime, they are perceived only as physical stimuli. All this interferes with the normal reading of words, phrases, and text. As a result, reading in a foreign language is slower than reading in your native language. When reading, students not only see the text and speak it out loud or silently, but also seem to hear themselves. The organs of vision, hearing, and speech interact. Auditory images control and reinforce the correctness of speech movements and their correspondence to visual images.
With the current method of oral advance, students begin reading only when they have mastered the articulation of sounds, syllables, words and even small phrases. And yet, observations show that, when moving on to reading, students make errors in articulation and intonation where they do not make them orally.
This is explained by the fact that when reading, another difficulty arises: the comparison of letter signals and their recoding into articulatory systems. The inclusion of the visual component disrupts an insufficiently developed pronunciation skill, there is a delay in the stage of comparing what is perceived with the standard, and hence a violation of articulation. The lack of development of letter-sound communication acts as an inhibitor. This requires the teacher to pay special attention to the initial stage of teaching reading.
Probabilistic forecasting as one of the reading mechanisms
As is known, the phenomenon of prediction (anticipatory synthesis) is one of the forms of adaptation of the organism to the environment. From a biological point of view, forecasting is very useful and contributes to the survival of the organism. It is the result of adaptive acts of a living organism to recurring events in the environment. The basis of forecasting is the traces of temporal relationships that took place in the past stored by the brain. If event B followed event A, then event A becomes a signal by which the body predicts event B, as if preparing in advance for the onset of event B, and anticipates it.
In the life of an organism, each event occurs in various combinations with others. Moreover, there are combinations, some of which are repeating, in other words, actually stable, and some of them are random. Therefore, event A is not always an absolute signal of the occurrence of event B. Because of this, the expediency of an organism’s behavior is to “react” to event A in accordance with the event that in the past experience of this organism most often followed event A, in other words, react in accordance with the event that most likely occurs after event A. Therefore, forecasting based on past experience cannot be absolute and is always, according to I.M. Feigenberg, probabilistic forecasting. Probabilistic forecasting means anticipation of the future, based on the probabilistic structure of past experience and information from the current situation. Past experience and the current situation provide the basis for creating hypotheses about the upcoming future, and each of them is assigned a certain probability. In accordance with this forecast, pre-tuning and preparation for actions in the upcoming situation is carried out, leading with the greatest probability to achieving a certain goal.
In humans, probabilistic forecasting can be conscious or unconscious. Forecasting allows the body to sharply reduce the number of erroneous reactions that do not correspond to the real development of events. Based on observations and experimental studies of probabilistic forecasting in speech, the following features can be pointed out.
Firstly, this is the reader’s knowledge of the words that are used to express a given thought. The more familiar a student is with a word used in a text, the sooner he will guess about it, even if he only partially comprehends it. The same thing is observed in relation to the phrase and even the entire phrase. An experienced reader follows, first of all, the development of thought and already from this angle perceives the words of the text. What has been read before tells the reader what will be discussed next. Prediction of words corresponds to the frequency of their occurrence in the reader’s speech experience.
Secondly, the number of derivative words that can be formed from a certain stem plays a significant role in forecasting. For example, the reader perceived 4 signs - hang- - in a German text as one fixation. His linguistic experience can tell him several prediction options: hangen, abh "dngen, abhangig. But he perceived the combination -fahr-. Obviously, it can be fahren, abfahren, etc. Obviously, the more options that can arise from the perceived with one fixation of a part of words, the less chance of prediction strength.
Thirdly, the prediction of words in a readable text is influenced by semantic associations, which are involuntarily taken into account in the individual language experience of the reader.
Prediction within a sentence is determined by: 1) the strength and unambiguity of other words associated with a given word; 2) the presence of a definition and other dependent words in the word; 3) the position of the word in a sentence; 4) the depth of the sentence and 5) the defining context that emerges based on the words read. All these factors determine the speed and speed of guessing when reading. If a student reads in a foreign language, then the effect of these factors is weakened due to the limitations of his language experience.
The determinability of reading by the language system at higher levels, that is, when reading a line, phrase, paragraph and the entire text as a whole, as is clear from the above, is also closely related to the mechanism of probabilistic prediction of the semantic content of the text and its individual sections. At some stage of reading, the reader unmistakably reconstructs in his mind those parts of the printed material that were not objectively perceived by him. In other words, it predicts words based on the perceived part, guesses the next word and the combination of words. When perceiving speech, not only words are predicted, but also entire sentences. Therefore, those researchers who pointed out that a person reads a text not only, and perhaps not so much with his eyes, but with his head, are right.
All of the above is especially important when learning to read in a foreign language. It is the lack of relevant experience that does not prompt the student to solve the question - to correctly guess each word.
The importance of the familiarity of a visual image for reading leads to the conclusion that students need to perceive the graphic image of foreign words quite often. This will ensure they are recognized as you read. Students should not be expected to read well if they only have strong oral language skills.
Experiments have shown, for example, that success in mastering unprepared oral speech is observed in cases of intensive training in precisely this type of speech activity. Obviously, this provision is also valid for reading. If we want our students to read well, we must devote sufficient time to this activity. Moreover, optimal reading training should combine letter-by-letter teaching techniques with teaching to read whole words. The predominance of the first over the second or the second over the first must be established experimentally for each language.
1.2 Linguistic foundations of teaching reading
Linguistics has always had a great influence on the practice of teaching foreign languages in secondary schools.
Thanks to the achievements of linguistics in teaching methods, they began to take different approaches to teaching language material and speech activity, and systems of exercises designed for different learning conditions and with different populations of students became more motivated.
In terms of rationalizing foreign language teaching, the problem of selection has always been and remains very important. educational material at different levels: sounds, words, sample sentences, speech patterns, typical texts, etc.
The selection of linguistic content in teaching a foreign language is also influenced by such a branch of linguistics as sociolinguistics, which studies the relationship between language and culture, language and society. Language is the guardian of the national culture of the people who speak it. Therefore, it is necessary to teach a foreign language not only as a way of expressing thoughts, but also as a source of information about the national culture of the native people of the language being studied by students, based on the fact that language performs two main functions: communicative - it ensures communication between people and cumulative culture-bearing. Modern methods of teaching a foreign language are characterized by the desire to include regional information from geography, history, and social life into the content of teaching - into speech material and, in particular, into reading texts.
Attention should also be paid to the importance of text linguistics, which has been rapidly developing in recent years, the theoretical solutions of which can play an important role in significantly increasing the effectiveness of teaching reading literature of various styles and genres in a foreign language.
The ideas of whole-text linguistics, which are gaining more and more adherents, allow us to consider the text as a semantic indivisible whole. Such positions encourage methodologists to look for new ways of working on text when teaching reading. One of the new approaches in this regard can be considered the desire to determine the complexity of texts of different types, which will subsequently make it possible to build graded exercises adapted specifically to this level of complexity and aimed at significantly reducing reading difficulty.
The complexity of the text is determined by the way of expressing compositional speech forms. Is each text characterized by structural design, thematic unity, and informational completeness? logical interdependence of all its components. Consequently, students must be taught not only to penetrate into the essence of each word, phrase, and grammatical phenomenon used, but also to embrace the entire text, understanding its overall compositional and content essence.
Thus, without a carefully developed linguistic basis, not a single, somewhat solid method of teaching a foreign language can be created, and this is now well understood by all methodologists. Proof of this can be found in methodological studies conducted in recent years, in which a philological component is necessarily presented, either borrowed or proposed by the author as an independent development.
CHAPTER II. Teaching methods and organization of the reading process at the middle stage of teaching a foreign language in a school setting.
1 The problem of selecting educational material for learning to read
To introduce students to reading in a foreign language, it is necessary, firstly, to stimulate reading motivation, and secondly, to ensure its success with the help of appropriate tasks for exercises. These moments are interconnected and interdependent. To develop reading motivation, the quality of texts plays an exceptional role. Their practical, general educational, educational significance can only appear if they impress students. Many methodologists believe that “a text acquires meaning for a student when he can establish a certain relationship between his life experience and the content of this text” [M.Kh. Duncan: 19 ].
Michael West believed that an interesting text is the main prerequisite for students to start reading in a foreign language. In his famous educational series, he included the most fascinating works of world literature.
Methodological researchers have noticed that students cope better with more difficult but exciting texts than with easy but meaningless ones.
The texts should be adventure and detective stories so that students read with pleasure. Texts must meet certain requirements:
The first requirement is that the stories given to students to read should not be too long. No matter how interesting these texts are, they will still become uninteresting in the end if students read for half a year, or even the whole academic year one and the same work. This implies a requirement for authors of books for home reading to compose texts in such a way that each story does not exceed the norm established by the program.
The second requirement is that these texts be accessible, that is, that their language be at the level of real knowledge of students in the corresponding class. After all, an objectively interesting text, if it contains insurmountable difficulties, loses all attractiveness. It must be taken into account that students’ actual knowledge of the English language, with a few exceptions, is lower than the level indicated in the program. In this regard, the question of adaptation arises, without which it is impossible to imagine a school reading course.
It seems to us that adaptation is objective in nature when reading silently in a foreign language; Regardless of whether the text is adapted by the authors of the textbook to the capabilities of the students, the student himself adapts it in accordance with his language and life experience, omitting the incomprehensible or interpreting it approximately in his own way.
Self-adaptation also occurs when reading in one’s native language. Reading, for example, “War and Peace” in adolescence, the reader places his own emphasis: he reads “peace” or “war” more carefully. In this case, an involuntary reduction or self-adaptation occurs, corresponding to age and psychological interests, as well as prior knowledge. Self-adaptation also occurs in the sphere of language: the reader omits words unknown to him, associated, for example, with the art of war, etc.
It must be said that adaptation develops in parallel with compensation of meaning, which is also individual in nature, due to which the “leakage” of meaning is not so great. It is clear that controlled, rational adaptation, which facilitates the perception and understanding of a foreign language text, has even more the right to exist. Adaptation builds a bridge between the text in a foreign language and the reader. It is important to emphasize that it is a flexible phenomenon; its measure decreases in connection with the progress of students in a foreign language in general and in reading in particular.
Adaptation methods can be ranked as follows, if we consider the goal to be reading original works of average difficulty:
If the first two methods involve simplifying the text and adapting it to the reader’s level, then the latter raises the reader to the level of understanding the original text.
Third requirement. The stories offered to students must meet the age needs of students, not only contribute to the acquisition of certain grammar vocabulary, but also be educational in the true sense of the word.
Suitable in this sense are stories about Robin Hood, processed for students in the middle stage of education.
Stories about various English scientists and writers who left behind classic works, both in the field of literature and in the field of science, can also be useful.
Thus, stories describing individual episodes from the life of such representatives of the English people as Shakespeare, Byron, Shelley, Dickens, Darwin, Newton could be of great educational interest for students at the secondary stage of education.
Stories of a regional nature would be of great interest.
It goes without saying that familiarity with excerpts from the works of English and American writers could provide very valuable materials for satisfying the cognitive needs of students.
The point of view of another methodologist - Rogov G.V. opposite to Arakin's opinion regarding the volume of texts.
According to Rogov G.V. motivation is directly dependent on the awareness of the success of the work performed. Students should feel their progress, which consists not only in their understanding of increasingly complex texts, but also in the desire to read large texts. It seems that it is possible to develop a complex reading skill, including all the private skills that provide it, only with detailed texts. There is an apparent paradox here: the longer the text, the easier it is to understand (other things being equal). This paradox can be explained as follows: firstly, a context that stimulates understanding comes into force, which introduces the reader into the content-semantic plan of the narrative, creating the prerequisites for prediction and linguistic guesswork; secondly, redundancy appears, that is, the same fact/phenomenon or person is characterized differently different sides, with details, while reducing the density of information; Finally, as students progress in reading larger texts, they are more likely to encounter words belonging to the same thematic area, which makes them easier to semantize. Therefore, it is important to provide for a systematic increase in the volume of text in the reading course [G.V. Rogova: 37].
In our opinion, the opinion of Rogova G.V. is the most acceptable and reasoned.
Of course, it is impossible not to mention in this paragraph the requirements for the content and language of texts used in the process of teaching reading, which were formulated by S.K. Folomkina in her works. The requirements for the content of the texts are as follows:
A) ideological consistency of the content of texts, their ideological and educational value;
b) the cognitive value of texts and the scientific nature of their content;
V) correspondence of the content of texts to the age characteristics of students.
As for the linguistic side of the texts, the requirements boil down to two points: in texts for reading with a general coverage of the content, up to 25% of unfamiliar significant words are allowed, and in texts for a complete and accurate understanding of the content, 2-3 unfamiliar words per page.
Consideration of the above requirements shows that they are not without shortcomings. Thus, without touching on the ideological consistency of the texts, which was a tribute to the times, we note the absence of requirements in terms of regional studies and linguistic regional studies.
2.2 Methodology for organizing classroom and domestic species reading in middle school
The goal of teaching reading in high school is for students to master silent reading with immediate understanding of what they read. At an advanced stage, that is, in high school, silent reading acquires the features of reading itself: it becomes a means of obtaining new information in the cognitive activity of students. The cognitive nature of reading final stage makes it possible to make maximum use of it for educational and educational purposes.
Mastering the reading of texts of various functional styles (socio-political, popular science and fiction) constitutes the content of the advanced stage of mastering reading as a type of communicative activity. Here the main purpose of reading as a means of extracting information from the text is fully manifested. At this stage, the nature of reading changes radically. If before this reading was a goal towards which students’ activities were aimed, and the texts were educational in nature, and reading was educational, now reading becomes a means of obtaining information for cognitive purposes, and texts acquire an educational character.
In accordance with program requirements, students in grades 6-7 of secondary school master reading simple everyday and literary texts. The main attention is aimed at teaching students to understand texts in the target language and extract information from them at the level of program requirements in grades 6-7.
With a functional approach to reading, it is necessary to take into account the amount of information extracted from texts in accordance with the need for it. From this point of view, reading with the extraction of complete information from the text and reading with coverage of the general content of what is being read are distinguished.
During the first type of reading, students are required to penetrate deeply into the text and extract as much information as possible from the text. Such reading, called studying, can be extended to any text depending on the required amount of information of a particular nature.
Reading covering the general content of what is being read, called introductory, is aimed at extracting the main content from the text. This type of reading can be used in cases where the task is, without going into details, to cover the general content of the text or find out the main idea of the article, etc.
Reading with complete information extraction
Reading, extracting complete information from the texts being read, is an important type of reading at the middle stage of learning.
When aiming to fully extract information, students can resort to repeated reading of the text or its individual parts in cases where the first reading does not lead to understanding the text and the student cannot identify the main, main idea, establish the logic of events and actions, and understand the meaning of the content.
When working on a text, you cannot break it into parts and read it in parts, unless these are chapters or sections of the work, since this destroys the internal logic of the text and makes it difficult to extract information contained in the entire text.
Reading texts constitutes the initial stage of educational work, which is supplemented by completing tasks on the content and understanding of what is read. Comprehension of a read text is determined not by reproducing the text or part of it by heart and not by translating it into Russian. A high degree of understanding of it in Russian is manifested in the fact that the student can perform such actions as: identify the main thing and change the sequence of presentation; present it in a more abbreviated, or, conversely, expanded form.
General Reading
Reading covering the general content of the text is used when the reader does not need details and details. This type of reading is carried out only in the classroom under the supervision of a teacher. This is due to the fact that when it is carried out, as a rule, one-time reading to oneself is practiced, in which students must, despite the presence of unfamiliar words and some grammatical phenomena in the text, understand the main idea of the text. In this case, two reading modes are possible: without a time limit, when students spend as much time on the text as each person needs (after reading the text, each student closes the book), and with a time limit at a more advanced stage, when the teacher sets an exact deadline in advance , during which all students must read the text (this period should be realistic for weak students), and after it expires the teacher stops reading.
The second mode has a great educational effect, as it promotes the development of the technique of reading silently with condensed inner speech, in which students cover increasingly large sections of the text with their eyes.
Reading covering general content is carried out without using a dictionary or grammar reference; Moreover, unfamiliar words from such texts are not included in the textbook’s dictionary at all, and students read the texts based on linguistic and semantic guesses. Students guess the meaning of words by their form; These words include so-called international words formed from roots known to students using familiar affixes, converted words, as well as complex words formed from elements learned by students. In cases where the student cannot guess the meaning of words and grammatical phenomena in the text, he resorts to a semantic guess, relying on understandable fragments of the text.
The development of the linguistic and semantic structure of conjecture when reading is a special and very important task when teaching reading at the intermediate stage. For this purpose, special lexical exercises are also used to prepare such a guess.
The tasks for texts during such reading are small and have control functions - to check what new things the students were able to learn during a fluent one-time reading. To do this, use the following steps:
A) highlighting the main content of the text;
b) text interpretation;
V) assessment of its content by students.
It is recommended that tasks be offered first to less prepared students, whose statements are supplemented and expanded by more prepared students, which contributes to a better grasp of the meaning by less prepared students.
Reading covering general content is supplemented by searching for necessary or interesting information by anticipating (anticipating) the content of texts based on headings using selective reading of individual paragraphs of the text.
In grades 5-6, where students cannot yet directly perceive textual material in a foreign language, from the very first lessons they get used to an analytical approach to each linguistic fact. This direction of work continues in the future, since the student learns something new at every lesson, and mastering a new one (a word, a grammatical rule, a combination of letters, etc.) necessarily includes an element of analysis, which contributes to the understanding of the new material and its assimilation. The lack of a direct connection between the words of a foreign language and the concepts that are enshrined in them, since these concepts were acquired by students on the basis of their native language, interferes with the direct perception of thoughts expressed in a foreign language, even in cases where the words are known to students. Two factors prevent this: inability to combine purely sensory processes with processes of comprehending what is read and disbelief in one’s ability to directly understand the thought expressed in a foreign language.
The student reads part of a given passage and makes a selective translation.
The student reads a passage of text, others translate selectively one or two sentences.
One student reads a passage of text, another translates it, and the third highlights the main idea of the passage.
The teacher asks students questions about the text in a foreign language, the students answer in their native language.
The teacher asks questions about the text in a foreign language, and students answer them in a foreign language.
Organization of home reading
Mastering silent reading is a sequence of steps, each of which breaks down into two actions separated in time: students reading the next text at home and monitoring their reading comprehension, which is carried out by the teacher in class.
In fact, practicing silent reading takes place in the process of reading texts while doing homework. The teacher determines in advance the home reading assignment for the next week (in high school, such an assignment is given for two weeks). The scope of these tasks is determined in the “Book for Reading”, and they are scheduled by week, however, guided by the progress of the educational process in the class, the teacher can change the reading norm in one direction or another.
Students read the proposed text to themselves, penetrating its content, once or, at most, twice. During the reading process, the student’s full attention is paid not to linguistic forms, but to the content of the text. At the same time, students write down unfamiliar words that they encounter in the text in their vocabulary notebooks.
In his instructions, the teacher encourages students to make guesses based on context when reading a text.
After reading the text and understanding its content, students become familiar with the test assignments for this text and prepare them.
Delayed control of home reading, carried out by the teacher in the classroom, is aimed, firstly, to establish whether students read the given text, and, secondly, whether they understood it.
This check should take up a minimum of class time. For this purpose, the teacher selects and uses such forms of control that, with a minimum expenditure of time, give the teacher the opportunity to establish how students worked at home and have a stimulating effect on them.
Control of home reading in the lesson is carried out in one of two possible forms:
) The teacher conducts a quick frontal check in the class of all students maintaining vocabulary notebooks and understanding the content of what they read. For this purpose, first of all, control tasks placed after the text are used.
They are compiled taking into account the increasing complexity, and therefore answers to them should be started with weaker students, involving more difficult tasks. In addition to control tasks (or instead of them), the teacher can use general control questions on the content of what was read, an explanation of the motives for the actions of the characters, a listing of major facts or events described in the text read, etc. Control is carried out in English in a form accessible to students.
) Combining checking home reading with work on oral speech, the teacher conducts oral exercises based on the plot of the text read. The exercise is carried out in English in the form of a conversation based on the text, presentation of the content of what was read, discussion or expression of one’s opinion about what was read. Covering as many students as possible, such an exercise is aimed at developing oral speech, while at the same time giving the teacher the opportunity to judge the degree of students' understanding of the text read.
When checking a student’s homework on silent reading, one should clearly differentiate the degree of students’ understanding of the text read and the students’ ability to express their thoughts in English about the content of what they read and evaluate them separately.
2.3 System of exercises for teaching reading in grades 5-6
The exercise system, according to pedagogical science, is the main factor ensuring success in mastering speech in both native and foreign languages. “...The systematic nature of the exercise,” wrote K.D. Ushinsky, “is the first and most important basis for their success, and the lack of this systematicity is the main reason why numerous and long-term exercises give very poor results” [K.D. Ushinsky: 43].
I.A. Gruzinskaya associated students’ insufficient knowledge and skills in foreign languages with the defectiveness of the exercise system. The problem of creating a scientifically based and effective system of exercises for teaching a foreign language, taking into account the conditions of its teaching, is one of the most relevant in practical terms and the most complex in theoretical terms [I.A. Gruzinskaya: 18].
Its relevance is determined by the fact that practical methods of teaching foreign languages do not yet have a sufficiently effective, integral and complete system of exercises. Meanwhile, no matter how effective individual types or types of exercises may be, they do not determine the success of language learning as a whole. The success of training can only be guaranteed by a rational system of exercises.
In theoretical terms, this problem is one of the most complex, since it is associated with such incompletely solved problems of the methodology as issues of interconnected development of speech skills, issues of formation and improvement of skills as automated components of skills, issues of motivation in mastering a foreign language outside the language environment, and a lot others.
The concept of “exercise system” is defined by different methodologists as:
“A set of types and kinds of exercises, related to each other by purpose, material, method of execution and arranged according to the principle of composition and subordination (I.V. Rakhmanov)
“A natural combination of types of exercises in accordance with the stages of students’ acquisition of a foreign language” [I.F. Komkov:26]
“A set of necessary types, types and varieties of exercises performed in such a sequence and in such quantities that take into account the patterns of formation of skills in various types of speech activity in their interaction and ensure the highest possible level of mastery of a foreign language in the given conditions.”
Like other systems, the exercise system includes a number of subsystems. The components of the exercise subsystem are the types of exercises, and the connections between them are determined by the sequence of formation of individual stages of the assimilation process.
So, the exercise subsystem is a combination of types of exercises in accordance with the sequence of formation of individual stages of the assimilation process.
A system of exercises based on a combination of language and speech exercises has become widespread in the methodology. The component composition and types of exercises in this system are completely the same. The sequence of presentation was determined based on three stages of the assimilation process: comprehension, memorization and reproduction. Language exercises were correlated with the first two stages of acquisition, speech exercises with the last. At the same time, the system of exercises extended only to teaching certain aspects of language and, to a certain extent, types of speech activity. The traditional method could not create a general system of exercises for teaching language as a whole.
The current state of methodology and related sciences allows us to pose and solve the question of the general system and subsystems of exercises for teaching foreign languages.
The actual basis of the general exercise system
consists of two factors: psycholinguistic - types of exercises and psychological - the process of assimilation. When teaching foreign languages, it is advisable to distinguish between two types of exercises - training-communicative and communicative-cognitive (cognitive-communicative). When describing the learning process, modern psychology uses terms such as knowledge, skills and abilities. To create a system of exercises, it is necessary to correlate the types of exercises and the stages of the assimilation process. For the stage of knowledge formation, the most adequate are cognitive-communicative exercises, for the stage of skills formation - training-communicative ones, for the stage of skill development - communicative-cognitive ones.
The exercise subsystem is also built on the basis of two factors: psycholinguistic - types of exercises and psychological - the sequence of formation of individual stages of the assimilation process. The main types of exercises include differentiation, imitation, substitution and transformation. As for the formation of individual stages of assimilation, each of them has its own levels (substages). In the process of developing knowledge, two moments can be distinguished - the process of perceiving new material and monitoring the correctness of its understanding. The development of skills is also characterized by its own stages, namely: differentiation, imitation, substitution and transformation. And finally, skills include two components - transfer to a new situation using substitution and transformation.
Subsystems of exercises are created by analogy with the general system of exercises. The “knowledge” subsystem includes transformational exercises for perceiving the material and monitoring its understanding by students; the “skills” subsystem consists of four exercises: differentiation, imitation, substitution and transformation; The “skills” subsystem is based on exercises of substitution and transformation type.
Creating a rational system of exercises for teaching reading, as well as developing the most effective methods for their use, is the key to solving the entire problem of teaching reading, which is still far from being resolved.
What is the main criterion to be based on when constructing a system of exercises for teaching reading?
This main criterion is, in our opinion, the goals that are set for teaching reading in secondary school.
The main and leading goal in teaching a foreign language is the communicative goal, which determines the entire educational process. The educational and educational goal in teaching this subject is realized in the process of fulfilling the communicative goal.
In the act of communication, as is known, all its aspects are inextricably linked and proceed synchronously.
This implies the need to simultaneously work on both reading skills (the so-called “reading technique”) and reading ability (reading comprehension). This is achieved if students read new texts all the time. By repeatedly reading the same text, students develop only reading skills, since consciousness in this case moves away from its semantic content and, therefore, the ability to read with understanding is not developed.
Only untranslated reading is genuine, communicative reading, so the most important thing is that students practice untranslated reading. The untranslatability of reading as a type of speech activity is achieved with the simultaneous perception of linguistic means and understanding of the semantic content of the text. The latter is possible if the texts are accessible to students in form and content.
One of the important requirements for communicative exercises is that they must be situational and contextual in interpretation. Teaching practice suggests that it is impossible to teach reading on individual words, individual isolated sentences, and even small passages of 2-3 paragraphs, since reading parts of the text deprives the reader of the integrity of perception. Learning to read with a full understanding of the meaning and general content is possible only on a solid passage that contains interesting and sufficient information [N.I. Guez: 16].
Reading exercises are communicative in nature if they ensure an active attitude of students to the text being read, that is, they are performed in connection with a certain psychological task. It is necessary that each text be preceded by a specific task that explains to students the tasks that face them. For example, find answers to the questions posed in the text; choose necessary details; skim the text and select interesting facts; find the right link or help, etc. However, exercises before the text should not reveal its content, so as not to extinguish students’ interest in the reading itself.
Reading will be productive when the student constantly feels that he correctly understands what he is reading. It is known that the success of performing an action has a positive effect on the formation of skills. It follows that when teaching communicative reading it is necessary to provide constant feedback. Students should receive a hint when faced with difficulties, on the one hand, and reinforcement in the form of a positive or negative assessment of their work, on the other.
As is known, in the process of mature reading, the main role is played by the organs of vision and inner speech in conjunction with thinking. Therefore, teaching communicative reading should be based on silent reading exercises. In addition, this will entail a deeper understanding of the text and an increase in reading speed.
The optimal rate of communicative reading in a foreign language is approximately the same as the normal rate of reading in the native language for a given individual. The development of such a pace is, in our opinion, the result of fulfilling all the above requirements for communicative reading.
Based on the communicative purpose of teaching, the entire system of exercises for teaching reading should be divided into groups, and each group of exercises should be aimed at solving a specific, specific problem.
The most rational in this regard seems to us to be the following three-component system of exercises: K\~ Kn~ Kg, where K\ are communicative exercises for developing primary skills (introducing new material); Kn are non-communicative, or training, exercises for developing language skills (reinforcing material) , TO G - communication exercises for the formation of speech skills.
Level 1 communication exercises
We use coherent text or written speech as the basis for teaching reading using this system of exercises. In this regard, communicative exercises of the 1st level represent the introduction of new words through a written context, in other words, this is the presentation of a linguistic sign. As is known, the sound image is primary in the mechanisms of speech [N.I. Zhinkin: 20], in this regard, at the primary stage of action formation, it is necessary to create a sound-motor image of this lexical material. This process must be active, since the sound-motor image is formed in the process of repeated listening and pronunciation of language material. Without this, it is impossible to memorize a linguistic sign, and therefore, to act with it.
At this stage, in the process of doing the exercises, the meaning of new words also becomes familiar. This should also include familiarization with the mechanism of using language material (through context). Thus, at the first stage of performing communicative exercises, the student receives guidance for subsequent actions on the use of new language material in speech.
Level 1 communicative exercises may include the following types of reading:
1) reading with a guess (based on context, word structure, related root), or untranslated reading;
2)reading with a dictionary, that is, translated reading;
3) reading according to a programmed manual (here both untranslated reading and reading with elements of translation are possible).
However, in general, reading at this stage is educational or training. Due to the fact that the text includes a significant number of new words, students must pay attention to linguistic form. Therefore, reading time at this stage should not be limited. The vast majority of psychologists and methodologists are of the opinion that the benefits of greater reading speed will only be felt if the words are familiar. In all other cases it will be most favorable average speed, which allows students to understand the meaning of the material being read and to easily and correctly perceive its elements [G. Ebbinghaus: 50].
It should be taken into account that in the process of reading with the expansion of the dictionary, students must remember new words.
In connection with the above, at this stage of training it is recommended to pay attention to the accuracy and precision with which the student reads, and not to increasing the reading speed.
It is advisable to control understanding of level 1 communicative reading in various ways (find answers to questions in the text, retell them in their native language, give titles to individual parts of the text, determine the correctness and falsity of judgments, etc.) in order to determine whether the student understands the general meaning of what was read. Due to the difficulty of mastering foreign language vocabulary, it is not excluded at this stage to also check the degree of mastery and the correct understanding of individual words.
The second stage in teaching communicative reading, or Kn, is training in the use of language material. It occupies the main place in the process of mastering this material, since during this stage skills are formed that are then included in complex speech skills. It is known from psychology that synthesizing individual skills and forming a complex skill on this basis requires long-term training [V.A. Artemyev: 4].
At this stage, reading techniques are developed, reading aloud is practiced under the guidance of a teacher, with technical means, with a tape recorder, etc. At this stage, difficult language phenomena are trained. Basically, systematic exercises are used at this stage. Let's point out some of them:
Reading stories aloud by the teacher and then retelling them by students in their native and foreign languages (depending on the complexity of the text).
Exercises to reveal the meaning of words by context, word-formation and syntactic features.
Exercises in reading “silently” followed by retelling the content in native and foreign languages (depending on the complexity of the text). Reading “to yourself” should be regulated in time.
Exercises in the so-called “translation” reading. Their essence is as follows: the teacher invites students to take some long-studied and well-understood text and quickly find in it and read aloud sentences or phrases that the teacher gives in Russian. The teacher should give these sentences or phrases in a different order than they appear in the text, thereby forcing students to scan the entire text (or sentence) in search of the desired equivalent. This technique, by developing the skill of quickly scanning the text with the eyes, also helps to create in students the idea that often one or two words of their native language correspond to more or less of them in a foreign language.
Through exercises in reading texts that are close in topic, but contain new information, students are led to reading the subsequent text without using a dictionary; the more advanced students are in a foreign language, the greater the dose of material introduced for training can be and the faster, despite this, they can move from training to practice. The basic training requirements are briefly summarized as follows:
4.Students, when starting training, must know the methods of actions to be performed, know how these actions can be carried out in the best way [I.D. Salistra: 39].
Second level communication exercises.
At this stage of Kn, the formation of secondary skills occurs. In psychology, as is known, two types of skills are distinguished: primary skills, that is, skills associated with the conscious performance of any action while concentrating voluntary attention on this action, and secondary, complex skills, in which certain actions are performed automatically [V.A. . Artemov: 3]. Speech activity in any of its forms is precisely a secondary skill and, therefore, reading as one of the types of speech activity is not a skill, but a skill that only relies on skills, but is not reduced to these skills. Reading skills are actions that become automatic through repeated repetition. When reading, a person perceives and understands mainly new speech material.
Thus, the ability to read is an activity of the student’s choice in accordance with specific situation communication of the necessary language material from everything he has learned. Consequently, at this stage (KN) a new creative combination of reading skills should occur in the process of reading a new text, the transfer of acquired knowledge, skills and abilities to new objects, which is the main and most important result of learning.
So, let’s briefly summarize everything said above regarding our proposed system of exercises for teaching reading in grades 6-7 of secondary school:
The K\~Kn~Kg exercise system represents three levels of information processing:
) K\ is the level of perception of new material, when all attention is concentrated on the semantic side;
2)Kn is the level of formation of ideas, attention is concentrated on the reproduction of the material by students;
3)Kg conceptual level, the material is processed so that it can be used in another situation (context).
The stages of the process of learning to read discussed above are largely conditional, showing the path from the primary ability to use language material to speech ability. In the practice of teaching reading, all these phases can appear simultaneously in the same lesson, since the formation of speech skills is constantly intertwined with the acquisition of new language material.
A characteristic feature of this system of exercises is that these exercises are not of an aspect nature, but take all reading training in a complex. The system includes all stages of mastering the material: introduction, training and practice.
In addition to exercises, it also uses such methodological techniques as explanation and demonstration [A.A. Mirolyubov et al.:34]. Through this system, the main goal is realized, which is to correctly read and understand the text.
CHAPTER III Results of experimental work on testing the results of teaching reading at the middle stage in school
In this chapter we will review and reveal the effectiveness of the exercise system we have developed during the experiment. The experiment was carried out during teaching practice at secondary school No. 17 in Makhachkala in grades 5-6.
10 students took part in the experiment. We conducted a pre-experimental test, the essence of which was to find out how high the level of understanding of the content of the read plot text was among students. The results of the pre-experimental section left much to be desired: six students understood the content of the literary text, i.e. 60%.
Mastery of reading technology is carried out as a result of completing pre-text, text and post-text tasks.
Pre-text tasks are aimed at modeling background knowledge necessary and sufficient for the reception of a specific text, at eliminating semantic and linguistic difficulties in its understanding and at the same time at developing reading skills and abilities, developing a “comprehension strategy”. They take into account the lexico-grammatical, structural-semantic, linguistic and cultural features of the text to be read.
In text tasks, students are offered communicative guidelines that contain instructions on reading speed, type and the need to solve certain cognitive and communicative tasks in the reading process.
Post-text tasks are designed to test reading comprehension and to monitor the degree of development of reading skills.
Taking into account all of the above, we have developed a number of exercises for teaching reading fable texts in grades 5-6 of secondary school.
PRE-TEXT STAGE
Exercises to understand the lexical-thematic basis
3.Read the text and complete the proposed thematic basis of the text with the necessary words.
4.Read the text and write down the key words and phrases that form the thematic basis of the text.
5.Read the text and find repeated words in it that form the thematic basis of the text.
11.Based on the text, prepare a message in the form of a telegram.
12. Name and write down key words from the text that can be used as support when discussing the problem covered in the text.
Exercises to determine the connecting means of a text
3.Read the text with the key sentences highlighted. Justify your choice of key sentences, determine the structure of the paragraph.
4.Read a passage of text and write down the connecting elements of the text.
5.Read a passage of text with missing conjunctions and allied words. Fill in the gaps using the appropriate conjunctions and allied words below.
6.Name the sentence that serves to connect the semantic parts of the text.
7.Enter additional words into the text that indicate a semantic transition from one thought to another.
8.Find and correct errors in the connection of these sentences.
9.Make a short outline of the text. Find introductory phrases and connecting sentences in the text.
10.Look again at the first four paragraphs. Watch how the main theme develops in them.
Exercises to understand sentences containing unfamiliar words that do not affect the understanding of the general meaning
5.Read a paragraph of text and, ignoring unfamiliar words, find a sentence in it that contains basic information.
Exercises to highlight and understand the structural and semantic components of a text
3. Divide the text into an introductory part (beginning), an informational (main) part and a final (ending).
4. Divide the text into meaningful parts and title each part.
5. Read the text, pay attention to the drawing (illustration) and its title.
6. Select the title from those listed below that best reflects the main idea of the text.
7. Read the text and try to determine its topic. Use the title, head lines, photographs, and terms - international words - as reference points.
8Try to determine the theme of the text from the illustration (drawing).
9. Select from the data below sentences (paragraphs) that supplement the content with brief information.
10. In each paragraph of the text, identify the key sentence. Find the paragraph that contains the main idea of the entire text.
Exercises for predicting text content
Tell me what, judging by the title, endings, and pictures, this text may be about. Read the text, find confirmation or refutation of your assumption
9.Tell me what words can be used to establish that this is happening
TEXT STAGE
Exercises to highlight semantic milestones in the text and understand individual facts
1.Read the first paragraph of the text and find in it a sentence containing basic (main) information.
10.Tell which of the following statements correspond to the content of the text.
Exercises to establish semantic connections between individual facts of the text
1.Arrange the following sentences of the text in a logical sequence and number them in order.
2.Read the following paragraphs and identify those in which the second part contradicts the first.
3.Regroup the proposed points of the plan in a sequence corresponding to the content of the text read.
4.Read the text and say how many parts it can be divided into, and what each individual part is dedicated to.
7.Read the text. Choose from the suggested titles the one that best matches the content
8.Read part of the text (on the card). Find a card with continued text.
9. Read the given parts of the story randomly (sentences, paragraphs). Discuss the order in which they follow, connect the parts to make a coherent story.
10.Find arguments in the text that support...
Say which of the following sentences can serve as titles for parts of the text. Tell me their sequence.
12. Make up questions for the text, the answers to which could serve as a plan for retelling the text.
14.Arrange the following sentences in a logical sequence that reflect the main facts of the text.
Exercises to combine individual facts of the text into a semantic whole
1.List the facts contained in the text that can serve as evidence for each of the following statements.
2.Read aloud a sentence from the text that explains the name of its topic.
3.Formulate the idea of the text.
4.Briefly include details that can be omitted without affecting the content.
6. Convey the main content of the text in 2-3 sentences.
POST-TEXT STAGE
Exercises to control understanding of the main content of the text read
3.Choose the correct answer to the question about the text from several data points.
4.Make a plan for the text you read.
5.Arrange the semantic parts of the text in a logical sequence.
Exercises to develop the ability to express value judgments about what you read
1.Express your attitude to what you read. Tell me whether you agree with the author’s assessment of events and facts.
2.Tell me what was especially interesting for you to learn from the text and why.
After conducting the experiment, during which the above-developed exercises were used, we conducted a post-experimental section, which gave positive results. During the post-experimental section, as well as during the pre-experimental section, students were given an edited excerpt from a fairy tale with accessible content. Students read the text silently and became familiar with the content of the text. We found out how much the children understood the text through post-text assignments, tests, and conversations. The effectiveness of the post-experimental cut was 90%.
CONCLUSION
Summing up the results of our thesis, we note some, in our opinion, significant points that mark this work:
In the course of this work, we significantly expanded our thesaurus in the field of methods of teaching reading. The work attempts to show that an effective system of exercises increases the efficiency of the entire process of teaching a foreign language. It is also interesting that the content of texts for the middle stage of education is of no small importance.
The question of the volume of provided plot texts remains open, since different methodologists have different opinions on this issue.
As a result of the work done, we came to the conclusion that reading is one of the most essential aspects of language activity and plays an important role in the development of thinking.
Mastering reading allows the student to extract the necessary information, and also gives him the means to master other types of speech activity.
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