Reading is a receptive type of speech activity. Recall that speech activity is an active, purposeful, and mediated by the language system and a process of transmitting and receiving a message caused by a communication situation [1]. “Reading is a process of perception and semantic processing of information, graphically encoded according to the system of a particular language” [2]. Reading consists of perceptual and meaningful information processing. Thus, a meaningful plan (the meaning of the text) and a procedural plan (how to read and voice the text) are distinguished in the reading. In terms of content, the result of the activity will be an understanding of the text (read), in the process — the process of reading itself, that is, correlation of graphemes with phonemes, formation of internal speech hearing, translation into internal pronunciation, reduction of internal pronunciation, etc. In order to proceed to a meaningful plan (i.e. understanding), it is necessary to work out a procedural plan for reading well.
The processes of visual perception are studied in psychology in sufficient detail (as opposed to comprehension). The initial moment of reading, its sensory basis is the visual perception of the text (the perception is carried out by complexes, that is, the unit of time is the word).
Any perception of a visual image of a word is accompanied by an act of its hearing-motor image, in other words, by internal pronunciation, without this recognition is impossible. In a mature reader, perception is automated, which allows him to focus on understanding the text (mental operations), rather than on language form. Internal pronunciation is minimized.
Reading forms the qualities of the most developed and socially valuable person. The peculiarity of reading, in contrast to the perception of such types of culture as television, video, is that it is always work — interesting, pleasurable, joyful, but work. It is the work invested by man in himself and forms these qualities in him [3].
From a psychological point of view, reading is a unified process consisting of a technique of reading and understanding when reading (that is, procedural and substantive aspects). Understanding is consistent with the technique of reading as a goal and means. In the structure of reading as an activity, one can identify a motive (communication using a printed word), a goal (obtaining information that interests the reader), conditions of activity (mastering the graphic system of the language and methods of extracting information), and result (understanding the text with varying degrees of accuracy).
Structurally, reading, like any verbal activity, is characterized by a level character, which leads to a phased work in teaching reading. Most methodologists distinguish the following steps: motivational incentive, analytical and synthetic, control executive.
Consequently, learning to read will be built in the same way as learning other types of speech activity, i.e., as a step-by-step process, and will include a pre-text stage: motivation, preparation for reading, textual (actual reading) and post-textual stages. The last stage is associated with the processing, comprehension of the obtained information and control of the correctness of its understanding.
Consider the example of the English language, as is learning the procedural side of reading, that is, reading technique.
Mastering reading in English presents great difficulties, caused by graphic and spelling features of the English language, because the language is 26 letters, 146 graphemes (i.e., letter combinations), which are transmitted by 46 phonemes. There are big differences between the alphabets of the Uzbek and English languages.
At the middle and senior stages of training, correction and improvement of the reading technique are carried out.
The level of development of skills and reading skills can be considered high enough if the student: automatically uses the rules of reading; can correctly articulate and intonate; instantly determines the graphic image by the auditory engine and vice versa; owns the mechanisms of visual coverage of compositional (structural) features of the text, combination.
Reading aloud should take place at an advanced stage of learning. This is a good phonetic exercise and contributes to the development of speaking skills (it is useful to use phonetic markup).
At the senior stages of training, it is necessary to cite exercises aimed at developing the fluency of reading to oneself. It is important to conduct this work regularly. Thus, to increase the reading speed, two conditions are necessary: reading regularity; the presence of light interesting texts in the period of the formation of skills reading techniques.
There are two ways to learn reading: by reading whole words and whole sentences. In the current textbooks for the initial stage, the first path is used.
Stage I: Schoolchildren first learn to read individual words, organized according to the rule of reading, represented by the highlighted letter, sound, keyword. The keyword contains a graphic image and a picture. Students impose a sound image on a graphic image and read the word first to themselves, and then out loud. In this case, it is important not to deprive them of their independence.
After the keyword, other words are given and their recording is intended to ensure listening to exemplary reading and reading by the speaker (it is important that students do not imitate but read). Reading behind the announcer will help to consolidate in the memory of the graphic images due to the active joint work of the auditory, speech-motor and visual analyzers. Students then read the following exercise on their own.
It is important to work out the pace of reading (it is recommended to use flash cards with the words written on them, gradually reducing the time for exposure of the card). It is useful to hold a competition for reading and the correct reading of words from the exercise presented in the textbook.
It is necessary to check the formation of the skill based on the rule. To do this, you should include in the exercises a small number of unfamiliar words (while reading the students independently, the teacher only corrects).
Stage II: Students begin reading phrases and sentences and their correct design.
The sequence of student work:
- Attentively peer at the offer, read it about itself, try to understand. The purpose of the actions performed is to prepare for perception.
- Listen, follow exemplary reading, understand the word combinations and sentences.
- Repeat for the speaker in a chorus, then there is an individual reading.
When learning to read sentences, it is important to demonstrate exemplary reading, since intonation is imitatively absorbed.
Stage III: Reading texts. The most common is the technique L. M. Urubkova, which is a definite sequence in the training of normative and expressive reading the text out loud. Let us consider in more detail the sequence of work on this method:
- Intonational marking of the text. The teacher offers to look through the text, listen to it and make a markup of the text, i.e. put the icons: '(phrase stress), || (pauses, division into syntagmas), (upward, downward tone of utterance).
- Collective reading aloud — the reception of acoustic visibility, its goal — the development of a conscious imitation based on the marked text.
- Pair-facing reading is the next stage of work, which is necessary to develop the ability to best understand the content and transfer it to another person (which is directed against monotonous reading).
- Individual whisper reading to strengthen articulation skills.
- Individual control reading out loud. The purpose of the last stage is to complete the work and control the result obtained.
The described modes of operation form the procedural plan of reading (reading technique) due to repeated reading, but with different tasks. Such detailed work is carried out not with all the texts, but with those that allow one to draw the attention of the student to normative expressive reading.
It has been discussed above how learning to read aloud occurs. With reading aloud, mastering reading to oneself also occurs, i.e., the quality of the initial stage depends on the assimilation of reading as a type of speech activity, since the procedural and informative reading plans are closely related to each other (although this connection is not straightforward, i.e. comprehension is also possible with an undeveloped reading technique and vice versa).
Already at the initial stage of learning to read, it is necessary to develop reading to oneself, reading with an emphasis on understanding.
References:
- Zimnyaya, I. A. Psychology of learning a non-native language: (based on the Russian language as a foreign language). M., 1989.
- Klychnikova Z. I. Psychological features of teaching reading in a foreign language: a manual for a teacher / Z. I. Klychnikova. — M.: Enlightenment, 1983. –— 207p.
- Plotnikov S. N. The bookishness as a cultural phenomenon (materials of the round table) // Philosophy. 1994. № 7–8. Pp. 9–11.
