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5.2          Extensive reading

We said earlier that people read for pleasure also. Reading for pleasure is called extensive reading. It generally consists in reading longer texts and it is a fluency activity focusing on a general understanding of the text.

     

Another important thing about extensive reading is that the reader reads a text of his choice.  This kind of reading can be done at any time at any place, at bedtime, in the library, at a bus station, and so on. This is why ELT practitioners feel that the best way to motivate learners to read is to encourage them to read extensively.

 

5.3          Intensive reading.

This involves a detailed understanding of  shorter texts. It is an accuracy activity. Text book-based reading or reading for exams calls for intensive reading.

 

5.4          Skimming

We do this when we run our eyes over a text quickly to get a gist of  it. This is how we read news reports, or a paragraph  to get the main stories or the central idea respectively.

 

5.5          Scanning

This is what we do when we read through a text, looking for a specific piece of information. For example, we go through a train time table to locate the schedule of a particular train.

 

Besides these, there are other subskills which advanced and experienced readers employ. They are: identifying the discourse structure/pattern, identifying cohesive devices and their functions in the text, deducing meaning from the text, making evaluative judgments etc.

 

6          Review

 

Do you agree with the following statements?

 

·                    Extensive reading is the best practice

·                    Extensive reading should not be done in the classroom

·                    Routine comprehension exercises only deter learners from reading.

·                    Students should use a dictionary while reading.

·                    Reading leads to better fluency, better accuracy and better vocabulary.

 

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H M Patel Institute of English Training & Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat, India

Phone : 091-2692-230193, 091-2692-230079