Definitions of Reading and Word Identification

Establishing a clear definition of reading provides an important perspective for

evaluating approaches to teaching word-identification skills. Most educators
would agree that the major purpose of reading should be the construction of
meaning -- comprehending and actively responding to what is read. Two of the
most widely cited and agreed-upon definitions of reading are the following:

Reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a

complex skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of
information (Anderson et al., 1985).

Reading is the process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction

among: (1) the reader's existing knowledge; (2) the information suggested by
the text being read; and (3) the context of the reading situation (Wixson, Peters,
Weber, & Roeber, 1987, citing the new definition of reading for Michigan).

Older, mechanistic definitions of reading as the translation of printed symbols

into oral language equivalents are incomplete, given the progress made in
understanding the nature of the reading process. There is widespread agreement
that without the activation of relevant prior knowledge by a cognitively active
reader and the melding of that prior knowledge with the text information, there
can be no reading of text.

Even definitions of reading that emphasize meaning indicate that reading is

activated by print. The reader must be able to translate the written words into
meaningful language. Virtually all four- and five-year-old children can
communicate with and learn from oral language, but very few can read, because
they lack the ability to identify printed words. While simply being able to
recognize or "say" the printed words of text without constructing the meaning of
that text is not reading, constructing meaning from written text is impossible
without being able to identify the words.

The terms word identification, word recognition, and decoding are frequently
used interchangeably. The new Literacy Dictionary (Harris & Hodges, 1995)
defines both word recognition and word identification as "the process of
determining the pronunciation and some degree of meaning of an unknown
word" (pp. 282-283). For words that are in a reader's meaning vocabulary,
unlocking the pronunciation leads to the word's meaning. If a printed word is not
in a reader's meaning vocabulary, word-identification skills may allow access to
the word's pronunciation, but not its meaning. Being able to arrive at the
pronunciation of a printed word constitutes word identification in the most
minimal sense; however, if the reader is unable to attach meaning to the word,
then he or she has not read the word, since reading must end in meaning
construction.

Writing is a method of representing language in visual or tactile form. Writing

systems use sets of symbols to represent the sounds of speech, and may also
have symbols for such things as punctuation and numerals.

Definitions of writing systems

Here are a number of ways to define writing systems:

a system of more or less permanent marks used to represent an utterance in

such a way that it can be recovered more or less exactly without the intervention
of the utterer.

From: Daniels, Peter T. & Bright, William, The world's writing systems, P.3 (Oxford,
Oxford University Press, 1996)

a set of visible or tactile signs used to represent units of language in a

systematic way, with the purpose of recording messages which can be retrieved
by everyone who knows the language in question and the rules by virtue of
which its units are encoded in the writing system.

From: Coulmas, Florian, The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems (Oxford,

Blackwell, 1999), P.560

All writing systems use visible signs with the exception of the raised notation
systems used by blind and visually impaired people, such as Braille and Moon.
Hence the need to include tactile signs in the above definition.

In A History of Writing, Steven Roger Fischer argues that no one definition of

writing can cover all the writing systems that exist and have ever existed.
Instead he states that a 'complete writing' system should fullfill all the following
criteria:

it must have as its purpose communication;

it must consist of artificial graphic marks on a durable or electronic surface;

it must use marks that relate conventionally to articulate speech (the systematic
arrangement of significant vocal sounds) or electronic programing in such a way
that communication is achieved.

From: Fischer, Steven Rodger, The History of Writing (London, Reaktion, 2001),
P.12

Writing systems are both functional, providing a visual way to represent

language, and also symbolic, in that they represent cultures and peoples. In The
writing systems of the world, Florian Coulmas describes them as follows:

As the most visible items of a language, scripts and orthographies are

'emotionally loaded', indicating as they do group loyalties and identities. Rather
than being mere instruments of a practical nature, they are symbolic systems of
great social significance which may, moreover, have profound effect on the
social structure of a speech community.
Listening is the act of hearing attentively. Research shows that 45% of our time is
spent on listening. We listen more than speak.If this listening skill is used in a
proper way we can master the tools of communicative skills. Listening is difficult,
as human mind tends to distract easily. A person who controls his mind and
listens attentively acquires various other skills and is benefited.

Listening skill can be defined as, Listening is the act of hearing

attentively. It is also a process similar to reading which should possess
knowledge of phonology, syntax, semantics and text understanding. Thomlison
(1984) defines listening as, Active listening, which is very important for effective
communication. Listening can be also defined as, More than just hearing and to
understand and interpret the meaning of a conversation.

Listening skill makes you successful in workplace, family and in the society.
Good listening skill is mandatory to get into a profession in communications,
management, planning, sales, etc. Listening skills involve a different set of
etiquettes, questioning for explanation, showing empathy and providing a
suitable response. Good listening skills include the understanding ability. Body
language is also a part of listening skill. Eye contact with the speaker, sitting
straight and alert are the good gestures of a good listener.

Define Listening Skills -types of Listening

There are different types of listening depending upon the situation and the
environment, where the listening takes place. Few important types are the
following

* Whole-person listening-understanding the speaker, his words, thought,

motive etc.

* Appreciative Listening- Listening for appreciation and pleasure.

* Attentive Listening attentively listening each and every word.

* Casual Listening- Listening not very attentive, listening casually without any
interest.
 * Evaluative Listening- Listening to evaluate or judge something.

Define Listening Skills -tips for Effective Listening

Few tips to master the tool of listening skill are given below.

* Have eye contact with the speaker.

* Sit straight and adapt a posture to tell the speaker that you are listening.

* Show some gesture which represents attentive learning, for example

nodding of the head.

* Verbal responses while listening shows that you are a good listener.

* Wait for the speaker to complete his speech and then share your views, dont
interrupt him.

* Try to concentrate on the complete speech.

* Do not give your views unless you are asked to do so. Interrupting and
thrusting your views are mostly not liked by all people.

Listening skill is a technique used for understanding, what is being said

by taking into account how something is said and the nonverbal signs and body
language that accompanies it. This technique requires practice as listening is
very difficult. A person who controls is mind and practices attentive listening will
be successful in life and his career .

Listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the

communication process.

Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen

effectively messages are easily misunderstood communication breaks down
and the sender of the message can easily become frustrated or irritated.

Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training
for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening
skills can lead to: better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer
mistakes, increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative
and innovative work.

Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective

listening skills. Richard Branson frequently quotes listening as one of the main
factors behind the success of Virgin. Effective listening is a skill that underpins all
positive human relationships, spend some time thinking about and developing
your listening skills they are the building blocks of success.

See our pages: Employability Skills and Customer Service Skills for more
examples of the importance of listening in the workplace.

Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including:

A greater number of friends and social networks, improved self-esteem and

confidence, higher grades at school and in academic work and even better
health and general well-being. Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises
blood pressure, listening brings it down.

Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-

skills.html#ixzz3Wv9rJMIH
What speaking is

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves

producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns &
Joyce, 1997). Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it
occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the
physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous,
open-ended, and evolving. However, speech is not always unpredictable.
Language functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse situations
(e.g., declining an invitation or requesting time off from work), can be identified
and charted (Burns &Joyce, 1997). For example, when a salesperson asks "May I
help you?" the expected discourse sequence includes a statement of need,
response to the need, offer of appreciation, acknowledgement of the
appreciation, and a leave-taking exchange. Speaking requires that learners not
only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar,
pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that they
understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic
competence). Finally, speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions
different from written language (Burns & Joyce, 1997; Carter & McCarthy, 1995;
Cohen, 1996). A good speaker synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to
succeed in a given speech act.

NTRODUCTION

1.1 Teaching Speaking

 According to Hornby (1995: 37) teaching means giving the instruction to
(a person): give a person (knowledge skill, etc). While speaking means to make
use of words in an ordinary voice. So, teaching speaking is giving instruction to a
person in order to communicate.

Tarigan (1990) defines that speaking is a language skill that is developed in child
life, which is preceded by listening skill, and at that period speaking skill is
learned. It means that speaking is the basic language. The goal of teaching
speaking skills is to communicate efficiency.

Teaching speaking, in my opinion, is the way for students to express their

emotions, communicative needs, interact to other person in any situation, and
influence the others. For this reason, in teaching speaking skill it is necessary to
have clear understanding involved in speech.

2. DISCUSSION

2.1 Definition of Speaking

According to Grognet A.G (136:1997) Speaking is one of the skills that have to be
mastered by students in learning English. Speaking is an essential tool for
communicating.

Hornby (1995: 37) defines that speaking is the skill that the students will be
judged upon most in real-life situations. It is an important part of everyday
interaction and most often the first impression of a person is based on his/her
ability to speak fluently and comprehensively. So, as teachers, we have a
responsibility to prepare the students as much as possible to be able to speak in
English in the real world outside the classroom.

2.2 Characteristics of Successful Speaking Activities

(Brown, 2001: 270).says, spoken language is easy to perform, but in some cases
it is difficult, In order that they can carry out the successful speaking, they must
have some characteristics of successful speaking activity such as:
1) Learners talk a lot. As much as possible of the period of time allocated to
the activity is in fact occupied by learners talk. This may be obvious, but often
most time is taken up with teacher talk or pauses.

2) Motivation is high. Learners are eager to speak because they are interested
in the topic and have something new to say about it, or they want to contribute
to achieve a task objective.

3) Language is of an acceptable level. Learners express themselves in

utterances that are relevant, easy comprehensible to teach other and of
acceptable level of language accuracy.

2.3 Instructions to teach speaking

There are some instructions to teach speaking consist of :

1) Pair students up when doing a speaking activity. This often makes students
feel more comfortable and not too self-conscious of their language abilities.

2) Give a time limit with most speaking activities. Ten minutes is the
maximum for most activities. Gradually, aim for activities that involve more of a
dialogue and interaction based on authentic topics. z.

3) Start with a very small activity and then work your way up. Brainstorming
is a good activity for all levels because each student can participant at the level
s/he feels comfortable with. Wherever possible use lots of pictures especially for
lower level performing students or very young students.