1. EFFICIENT READING
KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT FROM READING
If you are in a hurry to find out how to use a fire extinguisher, speed is at a premium: but there is no advantage
in reading the instructions quickly if you still can´t operate the extinguisher at the end. The first requirement for
efficient reading is to know what you want, then judge.
The criterion of efficiency is of course not always appropriate. If you are reading for pleasure, there is not much
point in defining your purpose. However, if you are reading to learn or for many practical purposes.
So the first thing for student to do is to decide exactly what he wants to get out of his reading.
Try to set tasks that reflect the real needs of the class.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT MATERIAL
Once a reader has defined his objective, he must next decide what sources to consult. If students are able to
use skimming and scanning, they can shorten the time taken to choose material and also make their selection
more reliable.
USING EXTERNAL RESOURCES
A biography of a knowledgeable person is the first resource for choosing material. After that you must rely on
biographies from other resources, and on library catalogues and so on.
USING RESOURCES WITHIN THE TEXT
Linear and non-linear text
When we use the word text, we normally have in mind the expression of ideas in sequences of sentences and
paragraphs, this is often called linear text, other parts of a text are non-linear, they do not enter into the
organization of sentences, paragraphs and so on.
Reference apparatus: all the parts of a text that helpthe reader to locate information or predict what the
text contains.
Figures: we include under this heading all information such as diagrams, tables, maps, graphs and
illustrations.
Graphic conventions: layout, punctuation, type face, use of symbols and so on.
TITLES AND HEADINGS
Titles are not always reliable indicators of content, but they are a reasonable starting point in choosing relevant
texts.you can take them from several angles:
1. Get students to predict from the title the likely content of the book, article, etc.
2. Get students to choose, from titles alone, they could consult first on a given topic.
3. Present students with an article or chapter that has headings at various levels.
THE BLURB
There is usually a blurb on the back cover of a book, or on the inside fold of the dust jacket, blurbs may include
press comment. Blubs are useful for selecting the right book: yet students seem unaware of them. Use some
activities to draw attention to them.
1. Supply a list of titles
2. Supply a selection of blurbs
Efficiency means using the least effort to obtain satisfactory results: we want students to
use their time and energy to best effect.

2. 3. Supply a selection of blurbs + titles
4. Supply some blurbs
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE WRITER.
THE SUMMARY, RUNNING TITLES, TABLE OF CONTENTS, LIST OF FIGURES.
1. Supply several books that provide summaries in different forms.
2. Supply a table of contents and a set of questions.
3. Supply a table of contents of a book where topic x is likely to be mentioned in several chapters.
PRELIMINARY MATERIAL: FOREWARD, PREFACE, INTRODUCTION
The usefulness of these sections depends on what use the writer makes them, they often include statements
of purpose and sometimes outline the writer´s qualifications for writing the book.
INDEX
Skimming through an index is another short cut in deciding whether a book suits your purpose.
Students should be able to:
Explain the kind of material likely to be found in an appendix.
Locate notes indicated in the text.
Give the full details of an abbreviated bibliographical reference by referring to the bibliography
Use a bibliography to choose potentially suitable texts for further reading for a given purpose.
Look up the meaning of any symbol, abbreviation, or technical term and interpret accurately the
passage of text in which it occurs.
GRAPHIC CONVENTIONS
Writersand printers use a variety of conventions to help readers find the way through a text, print size and
style, layout, even punctuation.
In English, the conventions that are useful but likely to be unrecognized by some learners include the following.
LAYOUT, SPACING, IDENTATION
LAYOUT: in general is used to indicate which parts of the text go together, to signal the start of a new topic.
SPACING BETWEEN LETTERS AND WORDS: is seldom significant, but spacing between lines.
IDENTATION: often signals the start of a new paragraph or section.
TYPE FACE
It is safe to say that a change in type is usually significant, but less easy to say how, since publishing houses
have different styles. Type can vary in four ways:
1. Type design.
2. Standard, italic or bold
3. Type size
4. Upper or lower case.
Functions just outlined are not difficult to interpret, once you are aware of them more tricky.
The main functions are as follows:
1. To make words easy to locate:
Proper names in some styles of journalism
Technical terms at the point where they are defined

3. Phrases of linear text that serve as summaries or subtitles.
2. To mark the use of a foreign word or phrase.
3. To cite the title of a book, film, etc.
4. To distinguish a cited word/phrase.
5. To indicate emphasis.
PUNCTUATION
Yet punctuation reflects meaning.
SYMBOLS
Symbols referring to notes such as asterisk.
Symbols relating to text continuity such as the arrow or similar pointing.
FIGURES
The figures accompanying text are the finalresource to be discussed again, the are often under-used.
IMPROVING READING SPEED
This topic comes last because, as we have seen, speed is not the only factor to consider when judging
someone´s reading efficiency.
Speed and comprehension
Eye movement and sense groups
Training students to take in longer chunks
* Texts are set out in narrow columns with one sense group in each line.
* You can prepare similar material
* Practice materials is available on film and computer with one sense group displayed at a time.
Choosing texts for speed practice: th time needed to read a text depends on its linguistic difficulty and
on the density of the information it carries.
FINDING OUT STUDENTS´ READING SPEED
First get the students’ cooperation by explaining the program, this is important. Begin by finding out how fast
your students read now. Explain how the activities will be organized and emphasize that nobody must start
reading until you are ready. Stand beside the chart where every student can see it and keep count of the time.
When students finish reading, he immediately looks at your pointer and notes the time it shows.
The procedure is more complicated to explain than to do!
BALANCING SPEED AND COMPREHENSION
As reading is partly a physical skill, to some extent speed can be improved without reference to
comprehension. However speed is worthless unless the reader understans what he reads.
READING HABITS IN THE L1
We noted that some students do not read efficiently even I their l1. This hinders the development of efficient
reading in the foreign language, for there is a strong transfer or reading habits from one language to another.
FAULTY READING HABITS
The books listed in further reading include techniques that can be adapted to speed training in any language.
Some were written with learners of English as a foreign language in mind, but others are for l1 readers, so we
need to treat cautiously some of the suggestions made about faults in reading technique.

4. CAUTION
All these habits can slow down a reader, so students need to be aware that efficient readers seldom use them.
SOME APPROACHES TO IMPROVING READING SPEED
Using a card guide
Projected texts
Computers and other machines
A SPED READING PROGRAMME
In speed exercises of all kinds, students should be urged to beat their own records, not to complete with
another. There is no sense trying to read faster than someone else.
A REMINDER
If you cannot organize a regular program, at least talk to students about reading efficiently and give them
practice in some of the strategies we have considered.
SELECTING TEXTS
WHY TEACHERS NEED TO ASSESS TEXTS
Even if you have little control over the choice of textbooks, it helps to be aware of their strong points and
limitations so taha you can exploit them effectively, supplement them if necessary, and perhaps argue the case
for their replacement.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING TEXTS FOR READING DEVELOPMENT
Suitability of content
* Finding out what students like
*Selecting texts for classroom study.
Exploitability: the most important criterion after interest.
* The purpose of the reading lesson
* Integrating reading skills
* simulating real life purposes
* other integrative tasks
Using longer texts
Readability: is often used to refer to the combination of structural and lexical difficulty.
*assessing the students level
* learn new vocabulary
* Structural difficulty
* Calculating the readability index
* Cloze as an indicator of readability
* A word of caution
Variety: reading courses can be made more interesting if a variety of texts is used over the year. This
may be true even for classes with a fairly narrow and specific purpose for learning the language.
Authenticity: many teachers like to use authentic texts, are texts written for use by the foreign language
community, not for language learners. We have already suggested that these may be motivating.
Presentation
*looking authentic

5. * looking attractive
*reproducing material for the classroom
*copyright
APPROACHING READING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM
Reasons for using texts in th e foreign language classroom
Language lessons and reading lessons
AIMS OF A RADING PROGRAM
To enable students
To enjoy
To read without help
Unfamiliar texts
Authentic texts
Appropriate speed
Silently
With adequate understanding
ROLE OF THE TEACHER
Enjoying and valuing
Helping students to enjoy
Understanding what reading involves
Finding out what students can and cannot do
Choosing suitable texts to work
Choosing or devising effective tasks and activities.
ROLE OF THE STUDENT
Monitoring comprehension
Learning text talk
Taking risks
Learning not to cheat oneself
THE WRONG KIND OF HELP
Testing instead of teaching
Doing what the reader must do for himself
REASONS WHAT STUDENTS FAIL
Negative expectations
Unsuitable tasks
The wrong procedures
Expecting them to run before they can walk
The wrong texts
PROCEDURES THAT PROMOTE LEARNING
The next step level
Scaffolding
Oral classroom interaction
Text talk
Classroom atmosphere
Learner training
Equipping students for the future