Self-study and classroom lessons based on newspaper feature stories

This column is for self-study or classroom use and gives guided help with reading the wide variety of writing styles and topics that appear as feature articles in the Bangkok Post. The lessons include background information, skill-building practice and vocabulary explanations.

November 18, 2003

Developing the reading habit

INTRODUCTION

Today’s story is a continuation of the article here in feature focus last week. That part of the story was about surveys showing that Thais do not like to read and are weak readers compared to those in other Asian countries.

It would be a poor idea to leave readers with such a negative picture and in fact, the writer did interview some experts to find out the reasons behind the poor survey results and some directions upward. That’s the part of the story for you to read today.
What and how to read

Before you read the story, think about the following statements and decide whether you think they are true or false. Write your choice. Then as you read the story, check to see if the speakers and the writer agree with you.

..... Young people read and write a lot on the Internet.

..... Internet reading is an adequate replacement for book reading.

..... The rapid pace of information on radio and television encourages quick and critical thinking.

..... Reading books allows for imagination and consideration of your own ideas.

..... Critical reading means getting the main ideas and being able to remember them for a test.

..... Critical reading includes thinking about whether the ideas make sense according to the information that is given and what you already know.

..... The best place to start developing a reading habit is in school.

..... Multiple-choice tests are better for testing memorised information than thinking skills.

..... In a good critical piece of writing a student should not insert his or her own ideas but refer only to the ideas of respected people.

..... The best way to study a piece of literature is to remember what the characters said and did.

..... After reading a novel it is good to talk about why characters behave as they do and the ideas the writer explores.

..... If students understand the best ways to learn, they will be able to get knowledge themselves.

There are some words in this story that you may be familiar with in general, but that have more specific meaning when we are talking about reading and learning. It is worthwhile thinking about those meanings before you read the story.

To process information means to read or listen to ideas and think how they relate to what you already know and new ways they can be used. Processing information involves criticising and analysing.

To analyse something you read or hear means to look at the information in detail to see if it makes sense according to the other information the writer or speaker has given.

To criticise something you read or hear means to comment on elements such as whether it is good or poor, if you can trust the source of the information and if everything is clearly explained.
Using what you learned

Activity One: As a way of summarising and demonstrating that you have processed and understood the ideas in the story, explain this statement in your own words: “Reading is not about being able to read.” What is the difference between being able to read and meaningful reading? Be sure to include your own understanding of the four points mentioned in the story.

Activity Two: Another way of using the information you have read here is to prepare a poster to promote reading in your school or among your friends and colleagues. For example, you might use the ideas in paragraph 6 – a comparison of electronic learning and book learning – as the basis of your poster; or you might illustrate the tips for promoting reading at the end of the story.

OUR STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST

TO BE OR NOT TO BE? Part 2
Do books have a future in Thailand?
Story by KARNJARIYA SUKRUNG
Picture by — SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT

Know these words and phrases

spearhead
person or group that begins an activity

symbolic
using drawings or figures to mean ideas or words

intelligible
easy to understand

divert
to take somebody’s thoughts or attention away from something

essence
the most important or main meaning

inborn
a quality or ability that you were born with

cultivate
to develop an attitude, a way of talking or behaving

foster
to help and encourage something to develop

hamper
to prevent something from happening easily

accumulate
to get more and more over a period of time

specify
to state exactly

motive
a reason for doing something

bulging
to be too full

under their wings
to protect and help to grow (like a mother hen)

“If we can't make reading fun and pleasant for children, they will not read,” said Dr Tanomwong Lamyodmakpol, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University.

Reading becomes a habit when we love to read, and read when we have free time, she said. Reading for exams was not, therefore, considered a habit.

More important than the amount of time spent on reading is the matter of what and how we read, said Dr Tanomwong.

“What we read and how we read determines the quality of our reading skill. Only through quality reading can we achieve the purpose of reading, which is the betterment of our intelligence and spirit,” said Dr Tanomwong, also a spearhead in the Federation of Organisations for Book Development and Reading Promotion of Thailand.

These days, many youngsters may not read books, but they do read and write a lot with regard to the Internet. However, some educators said, the short, abbreviated, symbolic language children use, and the content on many web sites they are exposed to, are not quite intelligible. E-libraries, or knowledge web sites, are not very popular either. Nor are educational television programmes or hard talk radio.

“Technology may divert kids away from books, but it cannot replace the things that books can offer. With reading, you have time to think, analyse and imagine. There is room for your input of thought and imagination [which is] unlike fast electronic learning; like television or radio, where the information comes and goes so quickly you hardly have time to think much,” Assoc Prof Witayakorn Chiengkul, director of Social Science Research Centre, Rangsit University says.

The real problem is the lack of effective reading skills.

This did not surprise many Thai educators. Prominent educator Khunying Manmas Chavalit once commented that Thais lacked critical reading skills. They could not capture and summarise the essence, content and theme of things they read. Also, they were slow readers, and accustomed to reading short rather than extended texts. They aimed to memorise rather than analyse the information they consumed.

READING SKILLS

According to Dr Tanomwong, reading is not an inborn skill. Indeed, it is an inclusive skill that has to be learned and cultivated from childhood.

“Reading is not about being able to read. It is the skill that includes one's ability to process information, criticise, analyse and make use of such information,” explained Dr Tanomwong. “Youngsters should be taught and encouraged to read with a critical mind.”

Reading habits start at home and in the school, she said.

“Parents are the very first persons to teach children to read and how to read. But mostly, what we teach our children is shopping and watching television,” said Dr Tanomwong.

Schools very often don't help foster the reading habit. On the contrary, formal education can hamper the process. Students are still learning by rote, memorising textbooks to excel in multiple-choice exams, Dr Witayakorn said.

“This doesn't test the students' ability in processing and critically analysing information. Anyone with a good memory or who is a good guesser can pass exams,” he said.

Student papers are largely a product of the “cut-and-paste” technique instead of the accumulating and processing of information and inserting their own critical and analytical ideas.

“I rarely enjoy books [that teachers have] assigned me to read. It's boring because we have to memorise the characters, what they do, what they say, and all the details. For example, in the exam, I had to specify the character who a given quote belonged to,” said Tanakorn, a 14-year-old student.

Memorising details leaves no room for literary appreciation, said Dr Witayakorn. “How can you study literature without discussion about characters, their motives and themes? Discussion on books will help build up student interest and give them guidance on ways to read.”

Dr Tanomwong, who has been working to promote reading and effective learning for more than two decades, said teachers should teach students how to study. “If children know how to learn _ how to read, listen, write and speak critically and effectively _ they can do the rest, searching and gaining knowledge by themselves,” she said.

Sad to say, teachers with a bulging number of students under their wings are rarely up to the task. Worse, reading is not especially popular with many teachers either.

PROMOTING READING

Do not force children to read. Rather encourage them to ready by creating a reading environment at home. Keep books in the house where they can grab them to read.

Introduce them to good books that fit their age and interest.

Take them to bookstores and help them choose books they would like to read.

Make good books gifts or rewards for your children.

Read books with your children as a part of family time and discuss the stories in the books.

Be a role model. Let hem see you reading books!

• This lesson was prepared by Maureen Paetkau, a professional teacher of English as a second and foreign language and Assistant Manager and Webmaster for Learning Post at the Bangkok Post.

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