How to learn English reading well in middle school

董子贤

【Abstract】It is very important for students to learn English reading well in middle school.This paper states some useful reading strategies for readers.

【Key words】English reading； middle school

1. The Obstacles of English Reading in Middle School

English reading ability， as a comprehensive linguistic ability， is made up of two parts：comprehension extent and reading speed.Developing reading ability is affected by different factors that can be classified into two aspects：linguistic and non-linguistic factors.Linguistic factors refer to readers mastery of words， phrases， sentences and language regulations. They are the precondition for the enhancement of the reading ability. In the following part， some obstacles will be demonstrated and carefully analyzed.

1.1 Obstacles of lexicon

Lexicon is the foundation of the language. It is an important factor affecting English reading. Master ship extent of lexicon and the number of vocabulary one mastered affect the effect of reading comprehension directly. In the investigation we found that students who feel reading is difficult are these who have bad knowledge basis and little vocabulary accumulation. As we all know， sentences and text can only exist on the condition that words with fixed meaning and special function connected together systematically. Nowadays students all face such problems in reading as lack of vocabulary， unfamiliar mastery and use of learned vocabulary.They are not good at acquiring and remembering new words which prevent them from reading fast. And they always for?get the words they learned easily. A few new words in text can t affect reading a lot， but they will seriously affect the speed and the extent of reading comprehension when the words in text account to a certain extent.

1.2 Obstacles of grammar

As we know， English grammar is a systematical grammar system. We can only accurately understand the writers writing intention when we stably master the necessary grammar knowledge. Traditional teaching methods are grammar plus translation. At present， middle school English teaching have changed this method. They pay more attention to text. Students old grammar knowledge cant be stressed and consolidated. They also cant fully understand and use new grammar knowledge. So， they dont know how to analyze the structure of some long and complex sentences， thus the cant fully understand their meaning.

2. Basic Reading Skillsendprint

There are different styles of reading for different situations. The choices of the skillful readers will depend on the purpose of reading. For example， readers might be reading for enjoyment and information， or to complete a task. If a reader is exploring or reviewing， he might skim a document. If he is searching for specific information， he might scan for a particular word or words. Readers need to adjust their reading speed and technique depending on their purposes.

2.1 Skimming

Skimming is reading for the general idea or the big picture. As a rapid-reading skill， readers may not be so familiar to it. Therefore， here are some ways to skim. First， let your eyes “float” down over the content of the text， looking for clue words that may tell you who， what， when， where， how many， or how much. Second， you can also look for the writer's direction words. Such words as furthermore and also suggest that the preceding thought is still being discussed. Words such as however， yet and on the contrary suggest that the thought is apt to reverse itself or take another direction. Also， when you do not intend to read closely， you start skimming. The key word for skimming is “general”. Your attention should be focused on a general overview， not a detailed knowledge. You should look for only the topic， the main idea or the main points. Good skimmers read selectively， completely skipping over some sentences， paragraphs， even whole pages. They know that they can always come back and read for details， if they wish.

2.2 Scanning

Scanning is looking for the exact answer to a specific question. The difference between skimming and scanning is that skimming aims at gaining a general picture while scanning looks for one thing in particular. The important point is that you recognize what you are looking for. First， note the time when you start the exercise. Then， read carefully the first question on the text. Furthermore， scan， but do not read in the usual way， the paragraphs of the text to find the answer to the question. And go on to the second question immediately， and repeat this process until you complete all the questions on the text.

3. Conclusions

In a word， reading comprehension plays an important role in English learning for all English learners. As a result， reading strategies are also very important in English learning.

References：

[1]Li Teifeng.Suggestions for Conducting a Reading Comprehension Lesson[J].Foreign Language Teaching and Research in Ba-sic Education，2006（5）.

[2]易蓉.試论提高中学生的英语阅读能力[J].西华大学学报：哲学社会科学版，2005（12）.endprint