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POLYTECHNIC ARMY SCHOOL
LANGUAGE DEPARTAMENT
Theme:
The lack of emphasis on the cognitive strategies and reading skills leads to a deficient reading
comprehension on students. An study on strategies to reduce these flaws.
TUTOR : Msc. LIilian Avalos C.
AUTHORS: Paolo Cedeño (0993027660)
Lester Peredo (0993025332)
Guayaquil-Ecuador
2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH PROBLEM ............................................................................................ 4
1.1 Problem Identification: ......................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Problem-formulation ........................................................................................................... 4
1.3. Variables matrix .................................................................................................................. 5
1.3. Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 6
1.3.1 General Objective: ......................................................................................................... 6
1.3.2 Specific Objectives: ........................................................................................................ 6
1.4. Justification ......................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................ 7
2.1. Theoretical and Conceptual Focus ....................................................................................... 7
2.2. Structure: ............................................................................................................................ 9
2.3. Hypothesis system............................................................................................................. 10
2.3.1 Working Hypothesis:.................................................................................................... 10
2.3.2. Null Hypothesis........................................................................................................... 10
2.3.3. Alternative Hypothesis................................................................................................ 10
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN ............................................................................. 11
3.1. Research type and design: ................................................................................................. 11
3.2. Population and sample: ..................................................................................................... 13
3.3. Field work ......................................................................................................................... 14
3.4. Instruments for data collection: ......................................................................................... 14
3.5. Processing and analysis: .................................................................................................... 16
CHAPTER FOUR: ADMINISTRATIVE FRAME.................................................................................. 17
4.1 Material resources: ............................................................................................................ 17
4.2 Human Competence: .......................................................................................................... 17
4.3 Budget: .............................................................................................................................. 17
4.4 Chronological distribution: ................................................................................................. 17
4.5 Bibliography: ...................................................................................................................... 17
4.6 Glossary: ............................................................................................................................ 18
ANNEX 1: BUDGET.................................................................................................................... 21
ANNEX 2: CRONOLOGYCAL DISTRIBUTION ............................................................................... 21
TIMETABLE ............................................................................................................................... 21
APPENDIX SECTION .................................................................................................................. 22
Reading Test to evaluate .......................................................................................................... 22
Examples of Reading Assessments: .......................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER FIVE: TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS ................................................................................... 30
4.1. Graphical exposition of results: ......................................................................................... 30
4.2. Analysis of results: ............................................................................................................. 31
4.3. Conclusions: ...................................................................................................................... 33
4.4. Recommendations: ........................................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER SIX: THE PROPOSAL...................................................................................................... 36
4
CHAPTER ONE: RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.1 Problem Identification:
Psychologists interested in how individuals learn have devoted much
attention to the cognitive processes involved in encoding, storing, and retrieving
information of all types. According to the Simple View of Reading (SVR), reading
comprehension is a product of the joint effect of word-level reading skills
(decoding) and linguistic comprehension.
An examination of reading curricula of some English Academies and Public
Schools, reading assessment is an important ability every student must achieve
while they are studying a foreign language. However, when they have to apply their
reading ability, apparently previous learnt in daily activities or some special
situations, they demonstrate a deficient in reading comprehension, which reveals a
lack emphasis on the cognitive strategies and skills of reading.
1.2. Problem-formulation
Independent Variables
The lack of emphasis on the cognitive strategies and reading skills.
Dependent Variables
A deficient reading comprehension on students.
Formulation of the problem:
The lack of emphasis on the cognitive strategies and reading skills leads to
a deficient reading comprehension on students.
5
1.3. Variables matrix
Variables Conceptual definition
Dimensions Sub-dimensions
Independent Variables
A correct emphasis on cognitive strategies considers all mental processes that underlie the acquisition, storage, production and understanding of speech and writing.
Language acquisition
How learners acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language.
Cognitive strategies and reading skills.
Native language
How native language influences on reading second-language texts.
Second-language acquisition
Second-language acquisition refers to what learners do; it does not refer to practices in language teaching. Here we will identify what obstacles students should overcome while learning to read.
Variables Conceptual definition Dimensions Sub-dimensions
Dependent Variables
Recognition of words is not enough on its own to constitute reading. Understanding what we are reading is key and is certainly the main point of teaching reading in a class.
Language teaching
Methodology
Different reading
techniques.
Reading comprehension on students.
6
1.3. Objectives
1.3.1 General Objective:
Determine the possible main cause of deficiency in reading comprehension
and how to improve students´ reading ability.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives:
1. To verify the low expertise in reading English texts and corroborate which
reading ability has poor proficiency.
2. To demonstrate how incorporating strategic abilities to read in their curriculum
implies a high improvement in learners´ ability to read.
3. To determine which specific barriers students do overcome in acquiring reading
comprehension skills.
1.4. Justification
This Research clearly attempts to demonstrate specific barriers in acquiring
READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS as well as specific strategies to reduce
these flaws. It has established how reading is approached in both Public and
Private Schools in Guayaquil (Ecuador). It attempted to explore the field of study
and gather accumulative information on it. In order to do this exploration, data was
collected and assimilated from formal direct observation, field notes, references to
(researcher-written) profiles and reports. Even though the small sampling number
(up to 30). It is self-explanatory, in other words, this research clearly leads to
determine the actual origin of the problem as well as most necessary problem-
solving steps to be taken.
7
CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1. Theoretical and Conceptual Focus
In the last several decades, theories and models of reading have changed,
from seeing reading as primarily receptive processes from text to reader to
interactive processes between the reader and the text (cf., Adams, 1990; Eskey
and Grabe, 1988; Perfetti, 1985; Samuels, 1994; Stanovich, 1992; and Swaffar,
1988). Approaches to the teaching of foreign language reading have attempted to
reflect this development through interactive exercises and tasks. The use of
questions is an integral aspect of such activities, and based on some language
teachers´ experiences we have seen that well-designed comprehension questions
help students interact with the text to create or construct meaning. We believe that
it is critical that teachers help their students create meaning. Having students
actively engaged in actual reading and writing through activities that involved
reading, writing, and doing things with the text improve their well-developed
comprehension questions and help our students to begin thinking critically and
intelligently.
Undoubtedly good reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading
instruction at all grade levels and for all students, including those with learning
disabilities. Accurate assessment of reading comprehension is necessary to know
if this goal is being met, to identify children who need remediation, and to help plan
future instruction. However, many scientific investigators of reading agree that
further work on measures of reading comprehension is essential, including
development of comprehensive systems of assessment that pinpoint key strengths
and weaknesses in individual learners.
In general, different measures of reading comprehension correlate
significantly, and quite substantially, with each other. That is, students who score
highly on one measure of reading comprehension also tend to score highly on
other measures, whereas those who do poorly on one test tend to have difficulty on
other measures as well.
8
However, there is evidence that different tests may tap the abilities that
underlie reading comprehension – such as word decoding, vocabulary, listening
comprehension, and speed of reading – to different extents, such that scores
sometimes can vary substantially in individual cases.
For instance, although all reading comprehension measures tap word
decoding, cloze format tests may tap word decoding skills relatively more heavily
than do question-answering tests, perhaps because children can rely on the gist of
a passage or background knowledge in answering many typical comprehension
questions.
Similarly, reading comprehension assessments that require students to write
answers to open-ended questions – as do some state-mandated assessments –
may be tapping components of writing as well as reading. And a test with stringent
time limits clearly will tap speed of reading more than does an untimed test.
Therefore, if only one measure of reading comprehension is given, as is
often true, the results can potentially be misleading in certain cases.
In addition, tests of reading comprehension are broad measures that, by
themselves, do not usually help teachers pinpoint difficulties in individual students.
Two children might obtain the same score on a measure of reading comprehension
but might arrive at that score in very different ways. If one child has a strong
vocabulary and strong oral comprehension skills coupled with weak decoding, and
the other decodes well but has an impoverished vocabulary, then instruction for
those two youngsters will need to differ in some important respects. Assessment of
key component abilities, such as those mentioned above, is essential in order to
interpret reading comprehension performance and facilitate instructional planning.
Finally, current measures of reading comprehension are not geared toward
distinguishing specific comprehension processes that might underlie poor
comprehension in both listening and reading. Measures identifying such processes
could be enormously helpful in diagnosing and remediating comprehension
problems. Developing these kinds of measures is currently an area of much
interest in the scientific community.
9
2.2. Structure:
CHAPTER ONE
COGNITIVE SKILLS
1.1.Language acquisition
1.2 Reading matters: What is reading?
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE LEARNER READER FACE?
2.1 Native language influences
2.2 Does reading in a foreign language differ from native language reading?
2.3. What obstacles should learners overcome to achieve reading ability?
CHAPTER THREE
HOW TO IMPROVE READING DEVELOPMENT AND OVERCOME READING
DIFFICULTIES
3.1 Types of reading comprehension
3.2 The importance of a correct methodology
3.3. Reading Assessment Techniques
3.3.1 Summarizing
3.3.2 Looking for important information
3.3.3 Determining word meaning
3.3.4 Reflecting
CHAPTER FOUR
EXPLORING THE MANIFESTATION OF COMPREHENSION
10
4.1 How should we asses reading comprehension
4.2 Monitoring reading strategies
4.3 Developing and Evaluating Reading Comprehension Questions
2.3. Hypothesis system
2.3.1 Working Hypothesis:
The teaching of reading strategies helps effectively in developing reading
skills and improving comprehension abilities in students from an intermediate level.
2.3.2. Null Hypothesis
The teaching of reading strategies doesn´t help effectively in developing
reading skills and improving comprehension abilities in students from an
intermediate level.
2.3.3. Alternative Hypothesis
The teaching of reading strategies and the methodology used by the
teachers are decisive to develop students‘ ability to read English texts, acquiring a
highest comprehension competence.
11
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN
3.1. Research type and design:
In today´s world the ability to read is valued and vital skill. People in the
developed world are surrounded by print and it is difficult to imagine a life in which
you did not interact with written text on a daily basis. Reading is clearly an
important skill. In fact, reading is much more than a single skill: it involves the
coordination of a range of abilities, strategies and knowledge.
As we have read in the theoretical framework, learning to read involves two
components: word reading and comprehension of what we read.
This project is concerned with assessing the abilities to read our teenaged
students have, then determining which reading ability they most lack by classifying
each ability with an specific task included in the exam and proposing some
feedback and recommendations that should be considered to improve or reinforce
their reading comprehension. Two main variables we want to analyze are:
The first concerns the nature of poor comprehension. In it, we´ll review the
characteristics of poor comprehenders in relation to their wider literacy skills, in
involves only literal meaning of the text.
The second examines which reading and reading-related skills cause
difficulties for poor comprehenders and the evidence that these difficulties area
causally related to their general reading comprehension problems. In this variable,
reading comprehension involves going beyond the literal meaning of the text,
making links between ideas within the text and between the text and general
knowledge, in order to construct a coherent representation of a text´s meaning.
This kind of research is considered to be explanatory. It is focused to
determine which of the main two variables described above influences more in
their poor reading comprehension: word reading and word comprehension.
12
Methods:
Consulting some teachers with experience for teaching a second language
who may contribute with their knowledge in finding some reading
methodology that should be implemented in student´s approach.
Carrying the reading tests prepared above, with a previous instruction
explaining how it is structured and how their answers will be scored.
Showing them which were the correct answers, to help them clarifying some
doubts they may have about the tasks and explaining why the answers
shown are the correct and only ones.
Providing some feedback to students when having the final results, we´ll
explain which reading abilities were tested and which ones should be
reinforced.
Explaining to students what involves each reading abilitiy and how it may be
improved giving some examples, exercises and resources.
Explaining to teachers what involves each reading abilitiy and how it may be
improved with a correct methodology, implementing some strategic reading
abilities teaching in student´s approach, giving some examples, exercises
and resources.
Techniques:
Scaling, which is a technique that allows researchers through their
respondents to categorize certain variables that they would not be able to
rank, focused on a topic or construct of interest, involving input from one or
more participants, that produces an interpretable pictorial view (concept
map) of their ideas and concepts and how these are interrelated.
Listening students´ doubts about tasks done and explaining why only some
options were considered as right.
Giving some tips for increasing their ability to read while giving examples
and exercises to support them.
13
Teaching some strategies to help them determining word meaning using
context and some known words.
Giving teachers enough material about reading abilities and how to improve
them, to start including in their classes at least twice a month.
Giving some demonstrative classes for teachers, so they can learn about
the methodology, how to use the resources given and how better to include
in their student´s approach.
Instruments:
Didactic materials.
Classroom observation direct
Register of Notes
Test of Abilities
Additional reading tests and resources
3.2. Population and sample:
This study is developed to a specific English academy: “Tnte. Hugo Ortiz
High School”. The scope of this project will only be intermediate level, which has
32 students. It means there will not be a sample because all the students
population on this level will be tested.
The purpose of this study is to reflect what reading abilities students lack
and propose an alternative methodology this academy may use to improve
students´ performance on reading comprehension depending on the results
obtained.
As was described before, it is a descriptive project which aimed at
discovering inferences or a specific problem. We decided to select only the
intermediate level. Some reasons to support this idea are: Firstly, they may
14
generally represent a student with all the abilities and skills acquired along their
educational formation in the academy. So their results may easily be extended for
the rest of the academy because all of them have learnt with the same curricula.
Secondly, they represent the 37% of students this academy has and where most of
them have started to study English in the same academy since the first level.
Thirdly, we would like to have the opportunity to improve their reading abilities on
their last level. This will increase their abilities to read before graduating from
teenager courses as we take them as reference from before and after methodology
applied.
3.3. Field work
The present research will be applied at “Tnte. Hugo Ortiz Academy”. It is
located in front of Samanes 6, in “Tnte Hugo Ortiz Military High School, at the north
of Guayaquil, Guayas Province; with all the students from the intermediate level of
the first term, 2013.
3.4. Instruments for data collection:
The instruments that are going to be employed to collect new facts and
different kind of information are: tests, interviews and questionnaire.
TESTS
As data gathering devices, tests are among the most useful tools of
educational research, for they provide the data for most experimental and
descriptive studies in education. These instruments assess variety of human
abilities, potentials achievements and behavior in our specific case we would focus
on reading comprehenssion tests.
READING COMPREHENSSION TESTS.
It includes one reading. The evaluation will asses three dimensions
15
while they are reading: literal comprehension which refers to an
understanding of the straightforward meaning of the text, making
inferences which involves more than a literal understanding, and
prediction which involves using both their understanding of the
passage and their own knowledge of the topic.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Questionnaire is a self report data collection instrument that each research
participant fills out as part of a research study. These questionnaires would include
questions like: where did you learn English? Did you learn it in English-Speaking
Country? if the answer is yes... Where? How long did you stay in that country? Did
you learn English in Ecuador? Was it at high school? Was it at University?, etc .
FORMS/KINDS OF QUESTIONNAIRE
The researcher can construct questions in the form of a closed, open
pictorial and scale items.
1. Close form
Questionnaire that calls for short check responses as the, restricted
or close form type. They provide for marking a Yes or No a short
response or checking an item from a list of suggested responses.
INTERVIEW (FACE TO FACE)
The interview is in a sense, an oral questionnaire. Instead of writing the
response, the subject or interviewee gives the needed information verbally in a
face to face relationship.
Interview that are done face to face are called in person interviews; interviews
conducted over the telephone are called telephone interviews.
The four types of interviews are:
The closed quantitative interview.
The standardized open ended interview.
The interview guide approach.
16
The informal conversational interview.
These four types can be grouped into quantitative interviews (which include
the closed quantitative interview) and qualitative interviews (which include the
standardized open ended interview, the interview guide approach and the informal
conversational interview.
3.5. Processing and analysis:
The Reading Test has one text from B1 level. There are four types of
questions which will evaluate three dimensions: literal comprehension, making
inferences and prediction. All questions are objective with only one answer, all of
them with multiple choices. The test will be grade over twenty which scores are
categorized into three levels: excellent ability to read (from 20 to 18), medium
ability to read (from 17 to 15) and lack ability for reading comprehension (˂14). In
the result section, scores were shown as percentage in each category according to
the reading ability that was evaluated. It helps to determine which ability should be
reinforced.
Then, depending on the scores, problem formulation will be proposed and in a
scientific way confirm or deny the work hypothesis for this investigation.
For this research the ― with median, maximum and minimum grade- test
will be carried out as a model of a hypothesis test, which will enable to determine if
the pattern of frequency observed in the students of the intermediate level
corresponds or fits the prospective or expected pattern.
17
CHAPTER FOUR: ADMINISTRATIVE FRAME
4.1 Material resources:
Cassette recorder
CD
Video tapes
Photographic camera
Film camera
Computer
Printer
Copy Machine
Surveys
Presentation Cards
4.2 Human Competence:
English Teachers of Tnte. Hugo Ortiz Academy
Tutor appointed by Polytechnic School.
Directors of English Department.
Researchers
4.3 Budget: Please check the ANNEX 1 at the end of this work.
4.4 Chronological distribution: Please check the ANNEX 2 at the end of this work.
4.5 Bibliography:
Aaron, P. G., Joshi, R. M., & Williams, K. A. (1999). Not all reading
disabilities are alike. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 32,120-137.
Kate Cain, Reading: Development and difficulties, BPS Blackwell BPS
Textbooks.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel:
Teaching children to read:
An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on
reading and its implications for Reading instruction. Washington, D.C.:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD),
18
National Institutes of Health [online] available:
www.nationalreadingpanel.org
RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward an
R&D program in reading comprehension. Santa Monica, CA: author.
Taylor, B. & Pearson, P. D. (Eds.) (2002). Teaching reading: Effective
schools, accomplished teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum
Associates.
4.6 Glossary:
Here you will find some specialized terms, used during the project, in alphabetical
order
Anticipation/Prediction: to guess or forecast an idea depending on the
context presented.
Authentic Questions: Questions generated by learners in response to
natural curiosity about the content. Questions spontaneously asked by
learners without prompting by teachers.
Categorization: Thinking skill that allows students to sort objects or concepts
into categories according to a variety of criteria.
Central Idea: main idea in a reading.
Closure: Any activities which help students summarize key points learned
and how the new knowledge relates to the objectives to be learned.
Cloze Procedure: An activity created by the teacher to give students
practice with language usage. The teacher selects a passage of text, marks
out some of the words, then rewrites the text with blank lines where the
marked out words were. The result is a "fill in the blank" that should be
enjoyable for the student while at the same time giving the teacher informa
Curricula. - All the courses of study offered by an educational institution.
(Social Science /Education) A course of study in one subject at a school or
college. Any program or plan of activities.
Data Analysis: Having students gather and analyze data can connect them
to real-world problems and also improve their critical thinking skills.
Evaluating: A critical thinking skill involving judging to place a value on ideas
or work.
Guided Reading: Structured reading where short passages are read, then
student interpretations are immediately recorded, discussed, and revised.
Inductive Thinking: Analyzing individual observations to come to general
conclusions. Proceeding from facts to the "big picture." Inferential Strategy
Like DR-TA but occurs only before and after reading.
19
Inferring: A thinking skill, demonstrated when a student can make
conclusions based on reading or prior knowledge.
Intra-Act: Students' valuing of reading is expressed by students responses
to opinion questions and their predictions of classmates' opinions on a
"game sheet."
Meaningful Sentences: Given vocabulary terms, students can be shown
sentences in which the terms are used in a context that helps them to
understand the meaning of the terms, or as an assessment, students can be
asked to write meaningful sentences containing key words.
Oral Reading: Oral reading of existing texts can be used to scaffold learning
of vocabulary, pronunciation, and connections to related topics. During the
writing process, oral reading becomes a proofreading strategy.
One Sentence Summary: Students are asked to write a single summary
sentence that answers the "who, what, where, when, why, how" questions
about the topic.
Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing involves careful reading, then rewriting the
ideas of the author in your own words. Learning to paraphrase is critical to
understanding how to do research from texts, then properly cite those texts
without plagiarizing.
Partner Reading: Pairs of students read together and the listener corrects
the active reader. One special form of partner reading is called "Reading
Buddies." Reading buddies are pairs whose members are several years
apart.
Population. - All matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies, and
the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole. The entire
aggregation of items from which samples can be drawn.
Predict / Check / Connect: A reading strategy by Edwin S. Ellis encouraging
predictions based on the beginning of a text.
Problem-Solving: A Meaningful Use Task which centers on overcoming
constraints or limiting conditions
Process Writing: Students write following a model specified by the instructor.
Emphasis shifts from the nature of the final product, to the process used to
create the final product.
Questions Into Paragraphs (QuIP) A reading and writing strategy by Elaine
McLauglin in which students are taught how to use questions to research
answers from multiple texts and incorporate them into a coherent
paragraph.
Reading.- The skill or activity of getting information from written words
20
Reading for Information: A type of reading in which learners interact with
text to collect information, or to improve their understanding of specific
topics.
Recall, Summarize, Question, Comment, and Connect (RSQC2): A
summarization technique in which students Recall (list) key points,
Summarize in a single sentence, ask unanswered questions, Connect the
material to the goals of the course, and write an evaluative Comment.
Reflection: A metacognitive activity. Learner pauses to think about, and
organize information gathered from reading, discussions, or other activities.
Reinforcement: something added to provide more strength or support.
Sample. - A portion, piece, or segment that is representative of a whole.
Statistics A set of elements drawn from and analyzed to estimate the
characteristics of a population. A set of individuals or items selected from a
population for analysis to yield estimates of, or to test hypotheses about,
parameters of the whole population.
Scanning: By Reading or looking at material quickly to gain an overview of
the content.
Self-Correction: Students correct themselves during reading, speaking, or
performing skills.
Self-Selected Reading: Students select the materials to read. It Improves
motivation as students can select materials of interest to them.
Similarities and Differences: A form of comparison in which students first list
all the similarities they can find between the two objects or concepts being
compared, then they list all the differences.
Skimming: Reading or looking at material quickly to gain an overview of the
content.
Study aids: The teacher provides students with carefully constructed tools to
assist students in learning for specific structures or environments. For
example, the teacher may distribute a "Guide to Using the Library" before
taking students to the library to do research. Before a multiple choice test,
the teacher may provide test-taking tips or tips on how to study for the
upcoming test.
Syntax: The use of the structure of language, or knowledge about the
structure of language to solve problems or understand text.
Teaching for Understanding: The approach used by teachers in order to
make learning a smooth process.
21
ANNEX 1: BUDGET
DESTINY VALUES
Materials: brochures, cds, surveys, evaluation tests.
40,00
Transportation 15,00
Background: research and presentation cards.
10,00
Unexpected expenses 20,00
Total 85,00
ANNEX 2: CRONOLOGYCAL DISTRIBUTION
This research project starts on March 25th and ends on June 10th.
TIMETABLE
MONTH
ACTIVITIES
MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE
Planning and Project Presentation Approval
X
The beginning evaluation test X
Collecting of data analysis information
X X
Development final report elaboration
X
Final evaluation test X
Inform X
22
APPENDIX SECTION
Reading Test to evaluate
Helen Adams Keller was worn in Alabama in 1880 and in 1968. Helen became deaf
and blind after a short childhood illness when she was 19 month old. 1886, aged six, Helen
was introduced to Anne Sullivan, a twenty year old teacher who was partially blind. Ann
was the first person to teach Helen the meaning of words. The first words Helen learned
was `water’ which Anne taught her by running cool water over her palm. She also taught
her how to speak by touching the lips and throats of other people which is known as the
Tadoma method. Helen was very closed to Anne, and called her `Teacher’. They remained
close friends and companions for 49 years.
In 1894, they moved to New York to study at Wright-Humason School for the Deaf. In
1898 Helen entered the Cambridge School for Young Ladies in Massachusetts and in 1900
she was admitted to Radcliffe College. In 1903, she wrote an autobiographical book called
The Story of my Life. In 1904, Helen graduated from Radcliffe College becoming the first
deaf and blind person to graduate from college.
The Story of Helen Adams Keller
23
Helen became famous all over the world as an author and speaker and travelled to over
39 countries with Anne. Ann Sullivan died in 1936. Helen devoted the rest of her life to
raising funds for blind and deaf people of America. In 1960, she published another book,
entitled Light in my Darkness. She died in June, 1968 in Connecticut.
Helen Keller will always be remembered as an exceptional person who overcame her
blindness and deafness to achieve great things. As she always said, `The best and most
beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the
heart.’
I. Read the text and choose the correct answer (A-D) for questions 1-5
1. What is the author main purpose in writing the text? (2 p)
A. To present us with a short biography of Helen Adams Keller
B. To talk about the success a deaf and blind person can achieve in life
C. To explain why Helen Adams Keller is such an inspiring person.
D. To describe Helen Adams Keller’s personality.
2. What would a reader learn about Anne Sullivan from the text? (2 p)
A. She was like a sister to Helen.
B. She was Helen’s teacher and close friend.
C. She was very close to Helen.
D. She was an inspiration for Helen.
3. What did Helen do after she graduated from college? (2 p)
A. She went to Massachusetts.
B. She wrote The Story of my Life.
C. She travelled the world as an author and speaker.
D. She moved to Alabama.
24
4. Helen was an exceptional person because (2 p)
A. She managed to achieve great things.
B. She was the first blind and deaf person to write a book.
C. She was the first blind and deaf person to graduate from college.
D. She raised funds for blind and deaf person in America.
5. Which is the best description of Helen? (2 p)
A. An exceptional person who overcame blindness and deafness to achieve great things
B. A blind and deaf author who travelled over 39 countries.
C. An exceptional blind woman who was speaker and author.
D. A gifted blind and deaf speaker who wrote many books.
II. Match each word with a word or phrase that is similar to meaning: (6 p)
1. Remain ( par 1)________
2. Raising ( par 3)_______
3. Overcame ( par 4)_______
4. Blindness ( par 4)______
A. Collecting
B. The state of not being able to
see
C. To stay in the same condition
D.To defeat or succeed difficulties
What do these words refer to? (4 p)
1. She (par 1, line 5) : __________________
2. Her (par 1, line 6) : __________________
Reading: Level B1+
25
Examples of Reading Assessments:
26
27
28
29
30
CHAPTER FIVE: TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS
4.1. Graphical exposition of results:
68%
33%
Final Results
Correct
Lack of ability
31
4.2. Analysis of results:
Summarizing:
This ability is one of the hardest reading and comprehension skills to be
achieved as it requires a thorough evaluation of facts. It is required for learners to
provide a global or comprehensive judgment about some aspect of the text plus
inherent skill of summarizing main ideas. The figures show that 62 percent of
students could summarize properly which means that almost 4 out of ten learners
are still deficient in this area. It is also worth mentioning that these learners mostly
come from medium class families who can afford, to certain extent, private English
classes. It leads that the number of students with this lack of ability of summarizing
would considerably increase if students from poor areas would be surveyed.
Determining word meaning:
This type of comprehension is closely related to literal meaning, it also
deeply connected to the straightforward understanding of meaning of any given
62,5%
37,5% Summarizing
Correct
Lack of ability
67%
33%
Determining Word Meaning
Correct
Lack of ability
32
text, this includes: facts, vocabulary, dates, times, and locations. Under the latter
category we would also find those questions that are categorized as literal
comprehension, indeed they can be answered directly and explicitly from the text.
It seems these parameters need to be heavily reinforced as it seems learners still
do not have enough vocabulary that allows them to recognize words and phrases
properly. The figures, however, are not totally discouraging, almost 67% of learners
could identify word meaning. Regretfully our sample is small but experience has
shown that this amount would tend to get lower when it comes to deal with school
in deprived areas. Therefore, teachers should increase the amount of vocabulary
focusing on those words and expression which are really useful for their daily
interactions or careers rather than unnecessary one.
Reflecting:
It is well-known that reflecting on a passage of reading is a practical way of
connecting learners´ experiences, beliefs, and values, which in turn helps students
to remember the material better. Results are on the figure which appears to be on
an average of 62%. It is undoubtedly that this percentage would be less positive in
poor and rural areas.
63%
38%
Reflecting
Correct
Lack of ability
33
Literal comprehension:
Literal comprehension refers to an understanding of the straightforward
meaning of the text, such as facts, vocabulary, dates, times, and locations.
Questions of literal comprehension can be answered directly and explicitly from the
text. In our experiences working with teachers, we have found that they often
check on literal comprehension first to make sure that their students have
understood the basic or surface meaning of the text.
In our study, when we test children, all of them got the maximum grade of 2/2. This
means students don´t have enough problem looking for relevant or specific
information such as names, dates, reasons and some punctual information written
in the same way the question asks.
4.3. Conclusions:
Comprehension is a complex process that requires a number of skills from
recognizing individual words through to forming a coherent and cohesive
mental model of a text. In turn, these skills place demands on a variety of
linguistic and cognitive processes.
100%
0%
Looking for important information
Correct
Lack of ability
34
It was found that poor readers constituted four heterogeneous groups which
may be classified or identified depending on the deficiency in any of the
following skills: (a) decoding only, (b) comprehension only, (c) a combination
of decoding and comprehension, and (d) a combination of orthographic
processing and reading speed.
The criteria used in selecting poor readers influenced the distribution of the
ratio of the four types of poor readers within any given group. As it has been
stated throughout this research the conclusions are limited to this specific
group. However, teaching experience has shown that reading flaw seems
much bigger in other population segments.
It is also worth mentioning that these learners mostly come from medium
class families who can afford, to certain extent, private English classes. The
number of students would considerably increase if students from poor areas
would be surveyed.
4.4. Recommendations:
It is clear that Ecuadorian teachers need to deepen their preparation in all
areas, of course, reading cannot be exception. Ecuadorian teachers need to
embrace cutting edge techniques which encourage group activities. Those
activities establish and promote the discussion of the answers, even if this also
implies to deal with those that are wrong in order to have learners really involved in
creating useful meaning. Regretfully we have a weak reading culture and this is
reflected on the way our students see reading, therefore, these activities should be
interesting and useful to students´ interests.
In addition, some specific recommendations we would like to be considered for
teachers are:
35
Provide explicit instruction and practice in the use of comprehension
strategies
Begin with a text about a familiar topic in which the structure is easy to
identify.
Move on to a text on a less familiar topic and with a somewhat more
complex structure
Encourage students to make predictions, select a text in which many
outcomes are possible
Increase the amount and quality of open, sustained discussion of reading
content
Set and maintain high standards for text, conversation, questions, and
vocabulary
Increase students' motivation and engagement with reading
Teach essential content knowledge so that all students master critical
concepts rather than unnecessary.
Finally, we would like to mention that in the appendix section, you´ll find some
model of reading assessments to take as reference when evaluating student´s
performance. These ones could be applied after applying some reading strategies
described in the proposal chapter.
36
CHAPTER SIX: THE PROPOSAL
One of the most important treasures that human being has is the ability to
communicate with language. Good reading comprehension is the ultimate goal of
reading instruction at all grade levels and for all children, including those with
learning disabilities. Accurate assessment of reading comprehension is necessary
to know if this goal is being met, to identify children who need remediation, and to
help plan future instruction. However, many scientific investigators of reading agree
that further work on measures of reading comprehension is essential, including
development of comprehensive systems of assessment that pinpoint key strengths
and weaknesses in individual youngsters.
Start discussing why poor comprehenders fail to understand text will involve
designing another project with an explicative research design to determine its main
reasons. However, by some experience and investigation, we can generally
classify those problems into three broad categories: text-level processing,
exploring underlying language weaknesses and poor comprehenders’ memory
skills.
Our purpose is not to investigate deeply on each broad category. On the
contrary, bring teachers some functional tools to overcome those reading
obstacles. For this reason, as a strategy to reinforce students´ abilities for reading
comprehension, we have decided to share some material and strategies found on
the internet that may be inserted in student´s approach, without changing its
general structure.
Developing Reading Comprehension Strategies
Some teaching techniques that have been shown to be effective in promoting
reading comprehension are:
37
Comprehension monitoring
Graphic/semantic organizers (diagrams) for learning new vocabulary
Story structure training focusing on plots, characters and main events
Question answering
Question generation
Summarization (identifying and integrating details to create a coherent and
succinct summary of a text)
Multiple strategy teaching, based around discussion between children and a
tutor.
Some effective strategies that lead to better reading skills standards:
Active comprehension monitoring that leads to the use of fix-up strategies when
comprehension fails; use of graphic and semantic organizers, including:
Story maps
Question generation
Summarization and paraphrasing
Selective rereading.
Interventions for Poor Comprehenders
A number of small-scale training studies provide evidence that reading
comprehension can be improved in poor comprehenders. Strategies include
training in:
Inferencing and monitoring skills
Lexical inference resolution, question generation and prediction.
Mental imagery encouraging children to make representational and
transformational pictures in their minds.
Visualizing and Verbalising
38
Finally, we would like to share with you one interesting and amazing channel we´ve
found on the internet:
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/balancedliteracydiet/Reading_Comprehension_Strategies.ht
ml
The Balanced Literacy Diet presents literacy concepts using the familiar
terminology of a healthy diet. This channel is organized around 15 key "food
groups" for literacy. These are based on what is known from research and practice
to be essential for effective literacy instruction. Through hundreds of brief engaging
videos, educators can learn about the essential food groups for literacy and hear
from "classroom chefs" presenting "literacy recipes" in their own personal styles.
Here we will find hundreds of detailed lesson plans and Virtual Tours of the
classrooms of exemplary literacy teachers, who share insights on implementing
effective and engaging instruction in classrooms from Pre-K to 6th grade. However
some of these techniques may also be used with teenagers with hardly little
changes on methodology. In the Appendix, you´ll find come recommended videos
about how to improve students´ reading abilities and comprehension.