When there are problems with reading comprehension the key to solve the promlems is to identify the causes for the difficulties: lack of vocabulary, grammatical knowledge or skill in translation, or dyslexia, for example. The next step is to find the remedies.
The foundation for reading comprehension is laid in the elementary school or in the basic lessons. I have discussed these ideas under the last horizontal main heading ‘The structure of a text-book based lesson’ THE STRUCTURE OF A TEXTBOOK-BASED LESSON and expand the ideas at the end of this article.
- the most important piece of homework: students study or translate the next chapter in the textbook in advance at home
- if the students come to the lesson and understand, say, 80 % of the text, a lot of time is saved and a proper foundation for the lesson is laid
- however we must remember that understanding a text is a much more profound process than word by word translation
- we can teach reading only indirectly by giving tips on the process of reading but we have no idea what is really going on in the heads of the students when they are reading a text
- becoming a good reader is a long process in the mother tongue and even longer in a foreign language; time, patience and guidance are needed
- we can help students if we can identify what causes the problems in understanding: lack of vocabulary, unknown grammar, translation skills or reading strategies are inadequate
Those suffering from dyslexia are not lazy or stupid. They can’t help it but they can be helped by experts. On average every class has 2 – 3 students who need help either in reading or writing or both.
- if the reason for reading difficulties is some form of dyslexia, a specialist’s help is neeeded, up to 10 % of students suffer from it and the issue was acknowledged by school authorities only 20 years ago and many teachers pay little attention to it
- the symptoms of dyslexia can be manyfold: slow or erratic reading, weak short-term memory, mixing or ignoring letters, problems in concentration, often the same problems in writing
- identifying dyslexia is vital since often these students carry a stigma of being lazy or stupid even if they are trying their best and it unnecessarily breaks their self-confidence
What I mean by reading here is reading comprehension as opposed to reading aloud in class, which was discussed under heading ‘Pronunciation’. Reading is sometimes taken for granted with a false assumption that everyone understands a sentence or a text in the same way if they master the basics of reading. This is wrong since the process of understanding a text is an individual process and there are many things that can prevent proper understanding.
A short individual discussion with a student about a text the students do not understand will reveal to an experienced teacher where the problem probably lies. Most likely it is one of the reasons below.
Common reasons for reading difficulties
- First of all the student’s vocabulary has to be wide enough to understand a text. If the student stumbles too often with unknown words, understanding the text turns out to be impossible. In the vocabulary section we already pointed out that there are many things the students must master in order to ‘know’ a word. In reading ‘the recognition of the written form’ is vital and so is knowing the ‘meaning’ of the word. Sometimes the context reveals the meaning but this ‘guessing game’, which is perfectly acceptable, is a skill of its own and has to be taught to students as well.
- Secondly, I also noted that in some simple situations it may be enough to know the words to understand the sentences or ideas. However, in most cases the students have to have some idea about the grammar of the new language; i.e. he/she has to know how to combine words, how they are arranged in a sentence. Knowledge of grammar helps us to guess the meanings of words. If the student is not able to translate a particular sentence or explain the meaning in his/her own words, the source of not understanding the sentence can usually be easily found by the teacher. But the trick is to let the student get stuck and pinpoint the difficult point him-/herself – and then you can find the remedy together.
- Thirdly, when I discussed the model for a text-based lesson, I strongly recommended that the students always study/translate the text for the next lesson in advance at home. I also discussed the reasons for it: saving time in the lessons and preventing frustration in class due to not understanding the text. The benefits of this kind of flipped learning are undeniable: The students come to school and understand most of the content of the new text. True learning can start!
- Fourthly, we teachers have to teach our students what to do at home when they study / translate the text at home. I discussed the ideas already in the model lesson. Everything becomes so much easier if the students have prepared themselves for the lesson. I think this preparation is by far the most important piece of homework, much more important than exercises (which are often mechanical).
- Fifth, every time I get a new class in junior high (aged 12) I check that they know how to translate a text since far too many students have no clue how it is done; how to use bilingual wordlists or a dictionary, for example. These student float somewhere in mid-air understanding only fragments of what they need to grasp.
- Sixth,as for translation at home I give my students three options: a) the text is fully translated in the mother tongue in their notebook, b) new words are translated with pencil in between the lines in the textbook, c) the translation is done immediately if I snap my finger in class, no need to write down anything.
- Seventh, there are many other things as for reading that we can teach our students. Linguists call them reading strategies but in simple terms they are just tips how to become a better reader. I will discuss these reading tips / strategies in another article.
Slide the photos using the arrows. Which groups do you think your students want to be in? Those who enjoy your lessons or those who come there with little hope to learn anything.
The benefits of studying or translating chapters in advance at home
I perfectly understand if some of you wonder why I talk so much in favour of translating the texts into the mother tongue. ‘Translation’ is not a curse word for me and should not be for anyone else. I give up all translation the minute I know there is no need for it in my class. Let me clarify my points in the matter.
- First of all, I want the students to learn to do translations at home and minimize the time spent on translating the text in class. Besides this is a way for the parents to get involved in their kid learning a new language. At school time is more wisely used in practising using the language than translating the text.
- Secondly, I see no point in going through a text if it is not understood. It will only lead to restlessness in the class. If I am learning, say, Polish and understand next to nothing of the text, I cannot participate at all and I will find something else to do in class. Talk to my friends, fiddle with my phone or anything just to make the time go by. Too many students face this situation but feel ashamed to admit it or pretend not to care. itself
- Thirdly, I cannot stand the idea of students sitting in lessons for many years learning just a few words when the learning process could be drastically improved by helping them to do the translation for every lesson. It might take a few lessons or a couple of weeks but in the end the students would thank you for doing it.
- If some of your students have this problem, have a special lesson for them. If very many students suffer from this problem, ask your star students to teach the others how to do the translation in groups. I’ve bribed them with candy and doughnuts.
- If lack of translation skill was the problem and my advice helped any of you, I’d like to hear about it. Stop teaching your language for a while and lay the foundation again. You will get the time back manyfold in better results and raise in students’ motivation.
- N.B. The translation method itself, translating texts from English into the mother tongue and vice versa, is an appalling method and that is why I never learnt English properly at school in the 1970s.
Learning to translate a text is the foundation for understanding a foreign language and it is a massive boost to motivation and self-confidence. However, the final aim is to think in English and skip mental translations altogether.
