دانستنی های انگلیسی

MOST IMPORTANT READING SKILLS

20 MOST IMPORTANT READING SKILLS

1- Using context clues:

You don’t need to understand the exact meaning of every new word. Instead you can guess the general meaning of the new words by looking at the context- the words before and after the new word, and in the sentences before and after the new word.

2- Different meanings of a word:

Many words in English have more than one meaning. You may know one meaning of a word. But it might not be the correct meaning for the word in that sentence. Use context clues to understand the correct meaning.

3- Previewing:

Pre means before. View means to look at. Before you read something, it’s important to look it over, or preview it. When you preview a reading you do three important things.

1) You identify the topic. (key words are very helpful.)

2) You think about what you already know about the topic.

3) You ask yourself questions about the topic.

Doing these three things will help you understand a reading better.

4- Making inferences:

An inference is a good guess or conclusion you can make from the facts you have.

Example: Mr. Smith owns 100 restaurants

Inference: He is probably very busy. He has a lot of employees.

5- Scanning:

When you need to find specific information in a text, you don’t have to read every word. Instead, you can move your eyes quickly over the text to find the information. This is called scanning.

6- Skimming:

When you skim a reading selection, you read it quickly to learn about its content and organization. You don’t read every word. Instead, your eyes move very quickly over the selection, trying to find general information (e.g., the topic of a reading).

7- Understanding the difference between topic and main idea:

A topic is the subject or general idea of a piece of writing. A main idea is the writer’s massage about the topic. Typically writers organize their writing around one or two main ideas.

8- Understanding the difference between facts and opinions:

When you read, it’s important to know the difference between facts and opinions. A fact is something you know is true. With a fact, there is information to show it is true. An opinion is something you think is true. An opinion is based on feelings, not facts.

Fact: Mobile phones send out small amounts of radiation.

Opinion: Using a mobile phone makes you look cool.

9- Summarizing:

When you summarize, you retell the most important information in your own words. Summarizing something you read can help you remember information.

10- Making predictions:

When you make a prediction, you guess what will happen. Before you read a story or article, it helps to look it over and predict what it will be about.

In this regard, the title, proper names, and key words are helpful.

11- Dealing with unfamiliar words:

When you are reading a paragraph in English, many of the words may be unfamiliar. However stopping to look up every word in a dictionary can make it more difficult to understand the paragraph. Instead, try to get the general meaning of the paragraph from the words you already know. Then use context to guess the meaning of other important words.

12-Writing margin notes:

As you read, try writing your thoughts and reactions in the margin. Your margin notes might be questions, phrases, single words, or symbols. Writing margin notes can help you read more carefully and actively. Example:

 Sample margin notes:

Phrases                                                     Symbols

Interesting                                                   !

Very interesting                                           !!

I don’t understand                                        ?

Important                                                   *

I agree                                                       √

I disagree                                                   ×

13- Asking yourself questions while you read:

As you read, it helps you to stop and ask yourself questions to check your comprehension. Here are some questions you can ask yourself while you are reading.

- Do I understand this?

- Do I know what this word means?

- What information do I remember?

- Do I need to read this again?

14- Reading words in chunks:

We don’t usually read a sentence word by word. Instead we read words in “chunks”, or groups. Reading words in chunks makes it easier to understand the ideas in a sentence. Example:

Reading word by word: It’s/ very / different / from / the / …

Reading in chunks: It’s very different from / the morning markets / where people shop for food / to cook at home.

15- Paying attention to headings:

A heading is a small group of words that serves as a title for a paragraph or several paragraphs:

                                                         How to pick a topic

You were probably asked to speak in the first place in the hope that you would be able to articulate a topic that you know something about. Still it helps to find out  .  .  .

When a reading is long or complicated, authors use headings to help guide the reader. Headings divide a reading into smaller parts and help the reader find specific information quickly.

16- Supporting main ideas:

Writers usually focus on one or two main ideas with details. These details help the reader understand and appreciate the writer’s main ideas.

17- Reading instructional materials:

Instructional materials tell you how to do something specific like study for an exam, fix your car, or take care of a baby. These readings often outline steps in a process or offer answers to specific questions people have. When you read instructional materials, think of specific questions you’d like to find answers for. It’s not advisable to read instructional materials from beginning to end like a short story. Instead, scan these readings to quickly find the information you need.

 18- Supporting details:

Writers usually provide details and examples to support their ideas and opinions. Recognizing these supporting details will help you understand the writer’s ideas.

19- Finding examples that help explain new ideas

Writers use examples to help readers remember new ideas. Finding and thinking about specific examples can help you understand and remember important ideas in a reading.

 20- Identifying organizational patterns:

As you read, it’s helpful to understand how the ideas in a piece of paragraph are organized. Below are three commonly-used organizational patterns in English.

-Organized by time. When writers tell a story, they often present the events in the story in the order in which they happened (chronological order). Dates and time phrases( at 4 p.m; then; when I was 16) indicate that the writing is organized by time.

- Organized by order of importance. When writers want to explain something, they may provide their reasons or examples starting with the most important information and ending with the least important (descending order). Alternatively, they may start with the least important information and end with the most important (ascending order).

- Organized by differences. When writers want to show how two things are different, they can first describe one thing in detail and then go on to describe the other thing. Alternatively, they can contrast the differences between the two things. (Point-by-point style, Blocked style)

Knowing all these skills is very important to understand a text better, but you should also bear in mind that concentration and attention at the time of reading is always necessary.