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58PHILOLOGICAL SCIENCES
READING AS A PRIMARY SKILL IN FOREEIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Ahapitova A.
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine,
Department of English Philology, Senior teacher of English
Abstract
Reading comprehension skill is a key aspect in terms of learning and achieving certain scientific, educational or professional goals. Undoubtedly, development of reading skills is vital for students' development and growth. It is particularly important for students for whom English is not the first language. It is crucial with regard to acquiring new knowledge, development critical thinking, analyzing, and boosting their vocabulary. The article considers various aspects of this receptive skill on the basis of different scholars' views. It highlights the importance of reading skills development for both L2 learners and for native speakers.
Keywords: receptive skill, reading, reading comprehension, extensive reading, intensive reading, silent reading, loud reading.
1. Introduction
In his book Patel Praveen regards reading as not only a source of information, but also as a mean of consolidating and extending one's knowledge of the language. He considers reading to be crucial in terms of widening the mind and gaining and understanding of the foreign culture. It also contributes to expending knowledge of a language and consequently to academic success. Reading habits is also a very useful tool for recreation. Therefore it is essential to develop certain reading habits in L2 learners. [1, p.113]
The purpose of the article is to describe the terms "Reading" and "Receptive skills", highlight general approaches to reading skills development, define their types, look into reading techniques and effective strategies in the context of learning process. Most scholars have similar view of the skill. They agree on the significant impact the skill has on learning process, and emphasize that the ability to read quickly and precisely allows students to find out more information and acquire necessary knowledge. Consequently scholars focus on the development of effective reading strategies.
2. Definition of reading.
Cambridge dictionary defines reading as the skill or activity of getting information from books. [2] According to Patel Praveen, reading means to understand the meaning of printed words i.e. written symbols. It is an active process which consists of recognition and recognition and comprehension skill.
In Longman Dictionary of applied Linguistics reading has been defined as "Perceiving a written text in order to understand its contents. This can be done silently (silent reading). The understanding that result is called reading comprehension. Oral reading is saying a written text aloud. This can be done with or without understanding of the content."
Collin's English Learner's Dictionary claims that reading of a word, text or situation is the way in which the individual understands and interprets it. [3]
The RAND Reading Study Group (2002) defined reading as the process of extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with
written language. They claim that reading comprehension happens through interactions among the reader, the text, the activity, and the larger sociocultural context. [4 pp. 7-14]
Harmer regards the process of reading involves not only just knowing the language, but also a mental codification of experience that includes a particular organized way of perceiving cognitively and responding to a complex situation or a set of stimuli. [5] Such mental process is referred to schema. When we are stimulated by particular words, discourse patterns, or contexts, such semantic knowledge is activated and we are able to recognize what we see or hear because it fits into patterns that we already know. [10, p. 199]
In his book Patel Praveen regards reading as understanding the meaning of printed words i.e. written symbols. It is an active process which consists of recognition and recognition and comprehension skill. [1, p. 113]
Reading skill involves correlating elements of language with meaning. The most familiar of all elements of language are "words" and it must be quite clear that part of what is involved in understanding a text is understanding the meanings of individual words in that text. Though, it is not enough to understand the meaning of individual words. It is essential to understand the patterns of relationships between words - the semantic patterns of lexical items. Likewise a good reader must be aware of the grammatical relationships between lexical items, particular grammatical devices used, structure words, word order, word forms and broad patterns of sentences. [9, p. 95]
3. Reasons for reading.
According to Harmer, reasons for reading and listening can be divided into two types. Instrumental: a large amount of reading and listening occurs to help the individual in achieving certain goal. For example, we read a travel guide to find out information about the rout, or we look through the flight departures board to know if the flight is delayed. When we listen to weather forecast we usually try to catch the information about the city we live in. This type of reading or listening takes place in accordance with our personal purpose.
Pleasurable: people also read or listen for their pleasure. Reading magazines, some illustrated cartoons, books or papers might be a pleasurable pastime.
Dr. Fadwa D. Al-Jawi in their scientific work divides the reasons for reading and listening into four broad categories:
1. For maintaining good social relations. Talk to a friend is not usually message-oriented. What is really important is a goodwill that is maintained or established through the talk.
2. For entertainment. Listening to some jokes, stories, songs, plays, radio broadcasts is mainly for entertainment rather than for the sake of say professional growth or education.
3. For obtaining information necessary for day-today living. Listening to news broadcasts, directions on how to get to different places, weather forecasts and travel is essential for people in their everyday life.
4. For academic purposes. Listening and reading are crucial skills in education. Students listen to lectures, seminars and talks, read books, scientific papers to extend their knowledge and skills. [6, p. 4]
4. Reading approaches and techniques.
According to Wegmann, Knezevic, and Bernstein (1996), reading approach is frequency associated with language learners' cognizant skills of guessing, anticipating, remembering previous content, skimming, scanning, evaluating, identifying sequencing, predicting and summarizing. These abilities are crucial for effective reading. [7, pp. 97-100]
Many learners approach reading texts expect learners to read them thoroughly and understand every word. Undoubtedly there is a certain value in such way of reading, as it increases students' vocabulary and strengthens their command of grammar. But this approach doesn't necessary benefit their reading skills and abilities, as people do not usually read word-byword in their real life. To become a better reader one does not have to understand every word, but rather read to achieve specific and useful goal. [8, p. 265]
Scholars consider the following reading techniques:
1. Intensive reading, that is reading texts closely and carefully to understand as much detail as possible. [8]. In their book, English Language Teaching: Methods, Tools & Techniques, M.F. Patel Praveen and M. Jain define intensive reading as follows: intensive reading - text reading or passage reading which is done to get specific information. The characteristics of intensive reading are: this reading helps to develop active vocabulary, teacher play main role in this reading, linguistic items are developed, this reading aims at active use of language, intensive reading is reading aloud, in intensive reading speech habit are emphasized and accent, stress, intonation and rhythm can be corrected. [1, p.119]
2. Extensive reading: the reader focuses on the extraction of information from the text, rather than on the reading process itself. Extensive reading is the reading for pleasure. The reader does not care about specific or important information after reading. This reading technique corresponds to skimming, that is reading quickly to get the gist of a passage; it is a fast reading for key
topics, main ideas, overall theme, and basic structure. Scanning, i.e. fast reading for specific individual pieces of information, without reading the whole text (names, addresses, facts, prices, numbers, and dates). [ 8, p.185]
M.F. Patel Praveen and M. Jain specify the following characteristics of extensive reading: it helps to develop vocabulary, it is a silent reading, the subject matter is emphasized, the learners play main role because they are asked for measures, the idea can be developed, the aim is to enrich learner's knowledge, good reading habit could be developed. [ 1, p.120]
3. Aloud reading, this is given at primary level because it is the base of word pronunciation. [1]. It must be recognized that reading aloud is primarily an oral matter. For those who teach foreign languages it is closer to "pronunciation than it is to "comprehension". While it is perfectly proper to try to develop the skill of reading aloud it clearly cannot be done using an unfamiliar text. It requires a familiar text whose content and language are clearly understood, detailed explication and practice of special pronunciation problems in it, and small group techniques. The usefulness of the skill of reading aloud is limited, as in real life very few people are required to read aloud. [9, p. 91]
4. Silent reading, this is done to increase reading ability among students, to acquire a lot of information. [1, p. 123] The greatest amount of reading that is done in the world is silent. Silent reading varies according to the purpose: to survey a material which is going to be studied, i.e. to look through indexes, chapter headings, and outlines; to skim the text for spotting the required information; to obtain superficial comprehension while reading for pleasure or getting ready to read aloud; to study the content of the text in detail; to study the language in which the material is written. Yet survey reading, skimming, superficial reading might be grouped together and called extensive reading. Such reading is aimed at covering the greatest possible amount of the text in the shortest possible time. The other two kinds of reading activity, content study reading and linguistic study reading are referred to intensive reading. The term implies deep and thorough understanding of the black marks on the paper. Intensive reading usually occurs when the text is relatively short, not more than 500 word in length. [ 9, p. 92-93] The goal of such reading is to read the text closely to answer certain comprehension questions, to learn subject matter, to learn vocabulary, to study author's intentions. [11]
In intensive reading the texts are more complicated in terms of content and language, than the texts used for extensive reading.
5. Stages of reading
According to M.F. Patel Praveen and M. Jain, the process of reading involves three stages, that is, the recognition stage (graphic counterparts of the phonological items recognition), the structuring stage (understanding the structural meaning of the syntactical unit), and the interpretation stage (the learner comprehends the significance of a word, a phrase, or a sentence in the overall context of the discards). At the interpretation stage the learner usually reads to get some information or for pleasure.
6. Reading skills
"Skill is the ability to use one's knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance", Mer-riam-Webster Dictionary [12]
The process we go through when reading a novel are likely to be different from those we use when we are looking for someone's number in a telephone directory. We use different skills in accordance with purpose of reading. Harmer distinguishes the several reading skills which are crucial for effective reading. Identifying the topic is a skill, which allows students to pick up the topic of a written text very quickly. Predicting and guessing helps students to understand what is being written about. Their subsequent reading confirms their expectations of what they have predicted or to readjust what they thought was going to happen. Reading and listening for general understanding is essential skill related to understanding the gist of the text without worrying about details. This is a top-down processing which suggests getting a general view of the reading passage by understanding general sense. A term skimming is commonly used in relation to getting the quick idea of the gist of the text. [10, p.201-202]
In contrast, reading and listening for specific information is used for getting specific details. We usually ignore all the other information ad focus on what we are interested in. The term which is usually referred to this skill is scanning. Reading and listening for detailed information usually occurs when the text has to be fully understood. This skill usually referred to bottom-up processing, when the reader focuses on individual word or phrases. Teaching the receptive skills P3 Interpreting text concerns the ability of a reader to understand what writer or speaker implying or suggesting. It usually goes beyond literal meaning of word in passage. [10, p 202]
7. Reading principles.
Reading is a vital life skill. Undoubtedly, professional development, personal growth and successful learning of both children and adults are determined by the ability to read. Therefore, in order to improve students' reading skills methodologists developed certain principles. According to Geremy Harmer they are as follows:
1. Encourage students to read as often as much as possible, students need to be engaged with what they are reading;
2. Encourage students to respond to the content of a text, not just concentrate on its construction;
3. Use prediction while reading: book cover, the headline or the web-page banner is often a clue to what's in the book - our brain starts predicting what we are going to read;
4. Match the task to the topic when using intensive reading texts: it is vital to choose the right imaginative and challenging activities to provide effective reading.
5. Good teachers exploit texts to the full: integrate the reading text into interesting lesson sequences, using the topic for discussion and further tasks, use the language for study and then activation. [13, p. 101-102]
According to Harmer, it is a misconception that the more language we expose students to the more they will learn. The scholar suggests that teachers should
avoid incomprehensible input, which de-motivate students rather than arouse their interest in reading. Harmer distinguishes specific ways to solve the problem of language difficulty:
1. Pre-teaching vocabulary: this moves at least some of the barriers to understanding which students are likely to encounter. However, if the goal is to comprehend the text despite some unknown words, the vocabulary work can be left till later. [10, p. 203]
2. Extensive reading: Colin Davis suggests that extensive reading improves students' overall comprehension skills, and give them wider passive and active vocabulary, develop automaticity, i.e. the automatic recognition of words when they see them. It is required that the reading material should be written specially at the level of students. [10, p. 204]
3. Authenticity: using authentic texts is aimed at development crucial skill to extract the general meaning. Authentic materials are reading texts that were written by native speakers and published in contexts designed specifically for native-speaker consumption, with no thought given to non-native accessibility. The topics, language, syntax, structure are all pitched at a target audience of native speakers and offered through media intended primarily for native speakers. Undoubtedly, using authentic materials has certain advantages: they help to prepare learners for the "real" life communication; guide learners toward the language they need for their particular context; motivate learners to communicate, because they help make communication "real". [14] But, at the same time, authentic material, which has been carelessly chosen, can be extremely de-motivating for students since they will not understand it. Authentic texts may be simplified, but they must not be unnatural, the tasks that go with the texts should be well designed and help students to understand the texts better rather than showing them how little they know. [10, p. 205]
8. Conclusions
Reading is a receptive skill which is formed from the early age. Ability to efficient reading is a very powerful factor concerning further learning progress and consequently professional and personal growth. For that reason much attention is being given to this issue. Scholars claim that to develop good reading comprehension skills, teacher should chose appropriate approaches and techniques taking into account the purpose of reading. Good reading skills are seen as the ability to read various types of texts for different purposes.
References
1. Dr. M.F. Patel, Praveen M. Jain, 2008. English Language Teaching (Methods, Tools & Techniques): Sunrise Publishers & Distributors.
2. Cambridge Dictionary: https://diction-ary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/reading
3. Collins Dictionary: https://www.collinsdic-tionary.com/dictionary/english/reading
4. Katherine K. Frankel, Bryce L.C. Becker, Marjorie W. Rowe, P. David Pearson, 2016. From "What is reading?" to "What is Literacy?", Journal of Education, Vol.196, № 3.
5. Merriam-Webster Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schema
6. Dr. Fadwa D., Al-Jawi, 1431/2010. Teaching the Receptive Skills. Listening & Reading Skills: Umm Al Qura University, Methodology 2.
7. Grace Hui-chin Lin, Paul Shih-chieh Chien, 2010. An Introduction to English Teaching. A Textbook for English Educators: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
8. Jim Scrivener, 2005. Macmillan Books for Teachers. Learning Teaching. A guidebook for English language teachers: Macmillan.
9. Geoffrey Broughton, Christopher Brumfit, Roger Flavell, Peter Hill and Anita Pincas, 2003.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Routledge Education Books.
10. Jeremy Harmer, 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching: Third Edition. Longman.
11. https://www.edumaxi.com/what-is-intensive-reading
12. Merriam-Webster Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skill
13. Jeremy Harmer, 2007. How to Teach English. New Edition: Pearson Education Limited.
14. Cambridge Dictionary: https://www.cam-bridge.org/elt/blog/2014/05/16/authentic-materials-classroom-advantages
ГИПОТЕЗА НЕОПРЕДЕЛЕННОСТИ У. КУЭЙНА, ПЕРЕВОДНАЯ ДИСПЕРСИЯ
Беглярова А.Л.,
Адыгейский Государственный Университет, филиал в г. Белореченске, доцент кафедры правовых
дисциплин, кандидат филологических наук
Асланова М.А.,
Адыгейский Государственный Университет, г. Майкоп, доцент кафедры иностранных языков, кандидат педагогических наук Читао И.А.,
Адыгейский Государственный Университет, г. Майкоп, доцент кафедры иностранных языков, кандидат филологических наук Хатхе А.А.
Адыгейский Государственный Университет, г. Майкоп, доцент кафедры иностранных языков, кандидат филологических наук.
W. QUAIN'S UNCERTAINTY HYPOTHESIS, TRANSLATION VARIANCE
Beglyarova A.,
Adyghe State University, branch in Belorechensk, Associate Professor of of Legal Disciplines Department,
Candidate of Philological Sciences;
Aslanova M.,
Adyghe State University, Maykop, associate professor of foreign languages department, candidate of pedagogical sciences;
Chitao I.,
Adyghe State University, Maykop, associate professor of foreign languages department, candidate of philological sciences;
Khatkhe A.
Adyghe State University, Maykop, associate professor of foreign languages department, candidate of philological sciences.
Аннотация
В статье рассматривается гипотеза неопределенности перевода, выдвинутая американским логиком У.Куэйном в его монографии «Слово и объект». У Куэйн стал первым, кто системно и последовательно изложил суть неопределенности перевода. Основным тезисом его гипотезы является мысль, что любой перевод является принципиально неопределенным, т.к. он лишь приблизительно передает смысл оригинала. И, таким образом, нельзя отдать предпочтение какой-либо схеме перевода как более правильной.
Своей гипотезой У.Куэйн подчеркивает отсутствие объективных оснований для выбора из ряда приемлемых, но не совместимых друг с другом переводов. Поскольку язык характеризуется им как комплекс предрасположенностей к речевому поведению, возникает поведенческая концепция языка и связанная с ней гипотеза о неопределенности перевода.
Также анализируются взгляды и подходы в формулировке неопределенности перевода выдающихся лингвистов нашего времени, таких как Гак, Бархударов, Лысенкова и др.
Abstract
The article considers the hypothesis of translation uncertainty put forward by the American logician W. Quain in his monograph "Word and Object". Quain was the first to systematically and consistently expound the essence of translation uncertainty. The main thesis of his hypothesis is the idea that any translation is fundamentally indefinite, because it only approximately conveys the meaning of the original. And thus, one cannot give preference to any translation scheme as being more correct.
