The enriching and powerful experience of reading
During
any learning process, whenever we think of the reading skill, we are used to
taking it for granted; even more when that learning process is related to
language. There exists the tendency to consider the ability of reading as
something basic in every learner’s life. To some extend that is true since it
is one of the things we are encourage to learn since the very beginning of our academic
life. The question is: do we really know how to read? Is our reading the simple
decoding of letters and graphemes? Those questions came to mind when we as
teachers are supposed to assess students reading ability. According to Brown
(2003) there is a distinction between bottom-up
and top-down strategies in reading
process. The first one refers to the ability to decode letters, words, and
small parts of texts. The other one refers to comprehension itself. These two
concepts lead to change our mind about what reading means and implies so that
teaching and assessing reading becomes a tough labor to do.
As soon
as I read chapter eight from Brown’s book I immediately realized that reading
is such an important skill but it is usually underestimated but widely
evaluated in language learning contexts. We have been asked to demonstrate that
we understand a text but we have had very little chances of receiving
instruction on that aspect because, as said before, it is taken for granted. It
is so important that it leads to learn other aspects: vocabulary, grammar,
writing, and even speaking, it facilitates the instruction of those skills and
therefore, it allows language integration.
When observing
the relevance of reading and how it has sometimes been taken in academic
environments, I conclude that it is a skill that deserves special attention,
mostly in foreign language learning where bottom-up as well as top-down strategies,
play a crucial role when teaching. Reading must be shown by teachers as an opportunity
to widen learning not only of language but also of the world. That is why a
great deal of reading should be carried to classes so that it permits that the
teacher provides appropriate feedback on the different tasks and/or assignments
and at the same time, an effective
assessment of it. To finish, teaching and assessment of reading should be
highly related, it means that reading assessment should look content valid as
there was enough reading practice during the classes with suitable feedback. Then,
when students take tests, they feel comfortable because they find reading
experience enriching rather than a confusing task. That implies the use of
bottom-up and top-down strategies appropriately.
 |
