1 INSIGHT ON EFFECIVE READING SKILLS Rotimi Taiwo (PhD)

READING One of the 4 Language Skills: 1. Speaking 2. Listening 3. Reading 4. Writing 2

3 READING: WHAT IS IT?  Reading is generally conceived as cognitive process of decoding written symbols.  It involves recognition of words and being able understand what such words mean and what the combination of words that make up the entire text really communicates.  The ultimate goal of Reading is comprehension

TYPES OF READING SKIMMING  The act of reading in order to quickly gather the most important information from the text.  It is not essential to understand every detail when doing skimming reading.  Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading.  Skimming is useful when there are lots of material to read in a limited amount of time  Skimming can be done sometimes before a detailed reading  Use skimming when trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is good for you. 4

SCANNING  Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information  Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases.  Scanning is useful for instance if you want to know if a book treats a topic and you look through the preface, introduction, glossary, index, introductory and concluding paragraphs of a chapter. 5

EXTENSIVE READING  This is the kind of reading you engage in when you need a general knowledge on a subject.  One may read as many different kinds of books/journals/papers as one can, chiefly for pleasure, and only needing a general understanding of the content.  The purpose of Extensive Reading is for pleasure and information 6

INTENSIVE READING  Intensive Reading involves reading with concentration and great care in order to understand exactly the meaning of what you read.  Another word for Intensive Reading is Study Reading  It is important the reader understands each word, illustration, number and facts in the text. 7

READING IN THE UNIVERSITY  University reading involves the four types of Reading described above  As a student, you need to know which of these to use each time you read.  It is however important to know that most of your reading in the university will be intensive (Study Reading) 8

9 WHAT DOES STUDY READING INVOLVE?  The goal of Study Reading is to learn and retain the learning  Paying more attention to the details of the text  Reading with a focus  Reading actively and critically  Reading carefully and reflectively  Mentally interacting with the message  Not taking a text at face value, but examining claims put forward in the text

READING ESSENTIALS  Interactive Reading  Reading Speed  Active Reading  Critical Reading 10

MEASURING YOUR READING SPEED You can measure your Reading Speed and improve on it. (a) Choose a passage you are not familiar with (b)Time yourself for 10 minutes (c) Count how many words you have read (d) Divide your total by 10 (e) Your answer tell you the number of words you can read comfortably NB: If it is less than 200 words per minute you need to work on your reading speed 11

SOME COMMON READING FAULTS  Head Movement (strains your muscles and slows you down)  Pointing to words (impedes understanding of thoughts and ideas)  Vocalization (reading aloud) (disturbs others around you)  Sub-vocalization (silent speech - imagining the sound of the word as it is read) (places extra burden on the cognitive resources, thus, slowing the reading down)  Regression (glancing back and re-reading words, phrases and sentences already read) 12

13 STRATEGIES FOR STUDY READING There are five basic steps to effective Study Reading, popularly represented as SQ3R:  SURVEY  QUESTION  READ  RECITE/RECALL  REVIEW

SURVEY Survey involves many processes, like:  Reading the title, objectives, introductory paragraph  Skimming the headings and sub-headings  Glance through pictures, graphs, diagrams  Read the summary, highlights and questions NB: All these give you an overview of the important information in a text 14

QUESTION  To stimulate your intellectual curiosity, write down questions that come to your mind as you survey.  Your questions may be open questions asked with What, How and Why or closed questions, asked with Who, Where and When, e.g, What do you know already about the topic? Why are you reading?  Read the questions after the chapter to know what the author considers important  You will be an active reader because your goal of reading will be to answer the questions you have raised 15

READ  Read with your questions in mind and try to answer the questions  While reading, it is good to highlight the key words and phrases  Take notes of important facts on a separate page 16

RECITE/RECALL  Recite means to think back and try to recollect all you have read by either saying them, writing them down mentally recalling them.  Your ability to recall accurately shows the extent to which you have retained what you have read 17

REVIEW A Review can be done by doing one of the following:  Answer questions on the text  Look through the notes you have taken  Write a summary of what you have read 18

10 ESSENTIAL STUDY HABITS FOR SUCCESSFL STUDENT 1. Try not to do too much study at a time 2. Plan specific times for studying 3. Try to study at the same times each day 4. Be clear about what you want to accomplish during your study time 5. Start studying when planned 19

ESSENTIAL STUDY HABITS (contd.) 6. Start with your most difficult assignments, since they will require most efforts 7. Review your notes regularly, especially before a class 8. Switch off your phone while studying 9. Discuss difficult aspects of your study with other students and your lecturers 10. Look for a good location where your attention will not be distracted to study 20

THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION Prayer  Never underestimate the importance of prayer in your study habit. Pray before and after reading. Remember, God is the custodian of wisdom, knowledge and understanding. He is the one who can help you to understand and retain knowledge of what you have read.  Even when some aspects of what you have read are difficult, God is able to give you an insight into understanding them. 21

Thank you for listening & God Bless you Webpage: 22