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Second Language Reading: Teaching Decoding Skills
Author(s) -
Phillips June K.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1975.tb01553.x
Subject(s) - reading (process) , reading comprehension , task (project management) , meaning (existential) , computer science , psychology , linguistics , root (linguistics) , foreign language , comprehension , mathematics education , philosophy , management , economics , psychotherapist , programming language
The teaching of the reading skill has been neglected in foreign language methodology due to inadequate definition of the reading task. Many language activities that purport to deal with reading actually emphasize productive skill outcomes and fail to develop the decoding aspect of the reading process. The goal of the reader is to assign meaning to a printed message, and a delineation of the strategies and skills that enable him to solve that problem will clarify the teaching role. An interview technique that encourages students to think aloud as they read identifies strategies pursued by language learners. Tasks identified as advancing contextual guessing include categorizing words grammatically, interpreting grammatical operations, and recognizing cognates and root words. Reading materials need to be designed that adhere to the nature of the receptive skill so that students receive practice in decoding. Evaluation instruments must stress comprehension factors rather than manipulative language skills.