How to Teach Reading for the CELTA

Summary

This video tutorial outlines a five-stage process for effectively teaching a reading lesson, including lead-in, pre-teaching vocabulary, gist and detail tasks, and a follow-up productive task. It emphasizes engaging students with the context, activating their background knowledge, and developing reading subskills for gist and detail. The video also provides rationales, tasks, and quotations from language teaching experts to aid in lesson planning and assignment completion, particularly for the LSRT assignment in the Salter course.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video outlines a step-by-step guide to teaching a reading lesson successfully, emphasizing the importance of each stage in the process.
• 🔑 The stages of a reading lesson are: lead-in, pre-teach vocabulary, gist task, detailed task, and follow-up productive task.
• 🤔 The purpose of the lead-in is to engage students, generate interest, and activate their schema, not to teach the subject matter.
• 🚫 Avoid the trap of teaching the subject matter during the lead-in; focus on developing reading subskills for gist and details.
• 📚 Pre-teach vocabulary by identifying 'blocking items'—words essential for understanding the gist or details of the text.
• 🔢 Limit the number of vocabulary items pre-taught to a maximum of seven or eight in a one-hour lesson, and use student-centered activities like matching tasks.
• 🔍 The gist task is designed to help learners quickly grasp the main ideas and overall meaning of the text.
• 🔎 Reading for detail or scanning involves locating specific information quickly and requires understanding the context of the text.
• 📝 Effective tasks for reading for detail include true/false questions based on the text, with a manageable number of questions to suit the lesson length.
• 🗣️ The follow-up productive task can involve developing a third reading subskill, writing, or speaking activities to engage students and provide feedback.
• 💬 Encourage speaking tasks for maximum student engagement, opportunities for feedback, and to consolidate understanding of the reading material.
• 🌐 The video also relates to an assignment on the Salter course, specifically the LSRT assignment, providing rationale and tasks applicable to language teaching.

Q & A

What are the five stages of a reading lesson according to the video?

The five stages of a reading lesson are: lead-in, pre-teach vocabulary, gist task, detailed task, and follow-up productive task.

Why is a lead-in important in the context of a reading lesson?

A lead-in is important to engage students with the context, generate interest, and activate their schema, which is their background knowledge of the world that helps them interact with the text.

What is the purpose of teaching reading according to the video?

The purpose of teaching reading is to develop students' subskills of reading for gist and details, not necessarily to teach them about the subject matter of the reading text.

What is a 'blocking item' in the context of pre-teaching vocabulary?

A 'blocking item' is a piece of vocabulary that, if students do not understand, they won't be able to complete one of the reading tasks, such as the gist or detailed task.

What is the recommended maximum number of vocabulary items to pre-teach in a 1-hour lesson?

The recommended maximum number of vocabulary items to pre-teach in a 1-hour lesson is seven to eight.

What is a gist task and why is it important?

A gist task is an activity focused on getting learners to read quickly and get an overall idea of the text. It is important because it helps readers quickly identify key information and comprehend the central message of the text.

What is an example of a gist task mentioned in the video?

An example of a gist task is to take the title of the article and invent another title that is similar in meaning, then have students read the text and decide which title best applies to it.

What is the purpose of reading for detail or scanning according to the video?

The purpose of reading for detail or scanning is to quickly locate specific information in a text, such as names, dates, or statistics, and to understand something about the text.

What is a recommended task type for achieving scanning or reading for detail?

A true/false task is recommended for achieving scanning or reading for detail, where sentences from the text are turned into questions for students to answer.

What are the three forms a follow-up productive task can take according to the video?

The three forms a follow-up productive task can take are: developing a third reading sub-skill in a meaningful context, a follow-up writing task, and a follow-up speaking task.

Why is a follow-up speaking task considered the most engaging and student-centered activity in a reading lesson?

A follow-up speaking task is considered the most engaging and student-centered because it allows students to share their opinions on points from the reading text, provides opportunities for interaction, and offers the teacher a chance to give feedback.