READING SKILLS UNIT III

READING: MEANING, MECHANICS AND PROCESS

1. What is Reading?

Reading is one of the four basic language skills and plays a central role in education. It is not merely the recognition of printed symbols, but a meaning-making process through which a reader understands, interprets and evaluates written language.

Reading involves:

• decoding written symbols,
• understanding words and sentences,
• interpreting ideas, and
• responding meaningfully to the text.

Thus, reading is essentially comprehension and not mere pronunciation or word calling.

2. Mechanics of Reading

The mechanics of reading refer to the physical and visual processes involved while reading. Reading does not take place through smooth eye movement.

Eye Movement: The eyes move in quick jumps while reading, not smoothly along the line.

Fixation: The short pauses between eye movements are called fixations. Actual reading and comprehension occur during fixation.

Eye-Span: Eye-span refers to the amount of print the eye can recognize in one fixation.

• A good reader has a longer eye-span.
• A poor reader has a shorter eye-span.

Reading efficiency depends not merely on speed, but on understanding and comprehension.

3. Process of Reading

Reading is a psychological and cognitive process which takes place in three stages: Pre-reading, While-reading and Post-reading.

3.1 Pre-Reading

Pre-reading is the preparatory stage in which the reader is mentally prepared to understand the text.

Examples:

• Discussing the title of the lesson before reading
• Predicting content using pictures or headings
• Asking questions related to learners’ prior knowledge

3.2 While-Reading

While-reading is the actual reading stage where the learner interacts directly with the text.

Examples:

• Silent reading to understand meaning
• Guessing meanings of unfamiliar words from context
• Identifying main ideas and details

3.3 Post-Reading

Post-reading is the follow-up stage where comprehension is reinforced and evaluated.

Examples:

• Answering comprehension questions
• Writing a summary of the passage
• Discussing the theme or message of the text

PRE-READING → WHILE-READING → POST-READING

Conclusion: Effective reading instruction must develop both the mechanics of reading and the process of comprehension, enabling learners to become fluent and independent readers.

THE PROCESS OF READING

Reading is not a mechanical activity but a complex cognitive and linguistic process through which a reader constructs meaning from written symbols. Educationally, the process of reading takes place through three interrelated stages: Recognition Stage, Structuring Stage, and Interpretation Stage.

1. RECOGNITION STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The recognition stage is the first and basic stage of reading. At this stage, learners simply recognise written symbols and words and relate them to their spoken forms. Reading here is largely visual and mechanical.

For Indian learners, this stage becomes difficult because English uses a different script and is a non-phonetic language, where spelling and pronunciation often do not match.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Classroom):
The teacher writes the word “apple” on the blackboard. Students match the written word with the spoken word they already know.

Example 2 (Pronunciation Difficulty):
The learner reads “knife” as /k-nai-f/ instead of /naɪf/ due to silent letters.

Example 3 (Non-phonetic Nature):
Words like though, through, thought confuse learners because spelling and sound differ.

“Recognition stage involves identifying written symbols and relating them to spoken words, often causing spelling and pronunciation difficulties.”

2. STRUCTURING STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The structuring stage refers to the learner’s ability to understand grammatical relationships among words. Meaning is derived from sentence structure, word order, tense, and agreement.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Word Order):
“The teacher scolded the student.”
“The student scolded the teacher.”
Same words, different structure, different meaning.

Example 2 (Tense Understanding):
“Rama is playing football.”
Learner understands the action is happening now.

Example 3 (Condition):
“If it rains, we will stay at home.”
Learner understands the cause–effect relationship.

“At the structuring stage, learners understand sentence meaning through grammatical relationships.”

3. INTERPRETATION STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The interpretation stage is the highest stage of reading. Learners go beyond words and grammar to understand ideas, emotions, opinions, author’s intention, tone, and theme.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Fact vs Opinion):
“Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest cricketer.”
Learner identifies this as an opinion.

Example 2 (Mood):
“She sat silently, staring at the empty road.”
Learner interprets sadness or waiting.

Example 3 (Author’s Purpose):
A poem on pollution is understood as a warning and awareness message.

Example 4 (Real Life):
Reading a newspaper editorial and forming one’s own opinion.

“At the interpretation stage, learners analyse meaning beyond words and understand the author’s intention and message.”

COMPARATIVE VIEW

Stage	Focus	Nature	Example
Recognition	Words & symbols	Mechanical	Misreading “knife”
Structuring	Grammar	Linguistic	Teacher vs student sentence
Interpretation	Ideas & evaluation	Critical	Fact vs opinion

CONCLUSION

The process of reading moves from recognition of written symbols, to structuring of grammatical meaning, and finally to interpretation of ideas. True reading takes place only at the interpretation stage where reading becomes reflective, meaningful, and critical. Therefore, all three stages must be developed systematically in reading instruction.

TYPES OF READING SKILLS

1. Oral Reading

Oral reading is the type of reading in which the learner reads the text aloud. It focuses on pronunciation, stress, intonation and fluency.

Purpose of Oral Reading:

• To improve pronunciation and intonation
• To build confidence in speaking
• To check accuracy of reading

2. Silent Reading

Silent reading is reading without speaking aloud. The main focus is on understanding meaning rather than pronunciation.

Purpose of Silent Reading:

• To develop speed and comprehension
• To encourage independent reading
• To improve concentration

Silent reading is of two types:

SILENT READING → INTENSIVE READING + EXTENSIVE READING

I. Intensive Reading

Meaning

Intensive reading means careful and detailed reading of a short text to achieve full understanding of language and content.

Characteristics

• Classroom-based reading
• Focus on grammar, vocabulary and meaning
• Text is read carefully and repeatedly
• Emphasis on accuracy and comprehension

Materials

• Short texts (usually less than 500 words)
• Chosen by the teacher
• Selected according to difficulty level

Skills Developed

• Vocabulary development
• Grammar awareness
• Word-attack and text-attack skills
• Understanding implied and stated meaning

Activities

• Identifying main ideas and details
• Making inferences
• Understanding connectors and discourse markers
• Analyzing order of information

Assessment

• Reading comprehension tests
• MCQs and short-answer questions
• Quizzes

Role of the Teacher

• Selects suitable texts
• Designs tasks and activities
• Guides before, during and after reading
• Encourages independent thinking

Advantages

• Improves accuracy in reading
• Builds vocabulary and grammar
• Checks individual comprehension

Disadvantages

• Limited amount of reading
• Less enjoyment
• Reading may feel like testing

II. Extensive Reading

Meaning

Extensive reading means reading large quantities of material for pleasure, information and general understanding.

Characteristics

• Students read as much as possible
• Wide variety of reading materials
• Students choose their own texts
• Reading is silent and individual

Materials (Guidelines)

• Easy and interesting texts
• Vocabulary within learner’s level
• Stories, novels, newspapers, magazines

Activities

• Book reports and reading journals
• Group discussions
• Speaking and writing activities

Assessment

• No formal comprehension tests
• Evaluation through journals, reports and projects

Role of the Teacher

• Recommends suitable books
• Guides students in choosing level-appropriate texts
• Acts as a role-model reader

Role of the Student

• Takes responsibility for reading
• Reads without dictionary
• Develops reading habit

Advantages

• Develops confidence
• Encourages autonomy
• Creates independent readers

Use of Intensive and Extensive Reading Together

• Intensive reading develops accuracy and language awareness
• Extensive reading develops fluency and enjoyment
• Both together ensure balanced reading development

Specific Reading Skill: Scanning

Scanning is quick reading used to locate specific information such as dates, names or numbers.

When Used

• Timetables and schedules
• Dictionaries and directories
• Scientific and technical texts

Role of Teacher

• Selects suitable texts
• Uses real-life materials
• Trains students to notice keywords

Role of Student

• Knows what information to search
• Looks for clues like numbers or capital letters

Activities

• Finding dates or prices
• Locating facts from charts or tables

Specific Reading Skill: Skimming

Skimming is quick reading to get the general idea or overall meaning of a text.

When Used

• Previewing a chapter
• Revising for exams
• Deciding whether to read a text fully

Role of Teacher

• Explains purpose of skimming
• Guides students to read headings and first sentences

Role of Student

• Reads title and headings
• Focuses on main ideas

Activities

• Identifying topic or theme
• Writing a one-line summary

Difference Between Skimming and Scanning

Skimming	Scanning
Reads for general idea	Reads for specific information
Focus on main points	Focus on details like dates or names
Overall understanding required	No full understanding required

INTENSIVE = ACCURACY | EXTENSIVE = FLUENCY
SKIMMING = GENERAL IDEA | SCANNING = SPECIFIC DETAIL