at reading is not a passive skill, make students engaged with what they are reading, encouraged them to respond to the content of a reading text not just to the language, to make sure that tasks correspond to the topic and level of the students etc.
v All in all, there are six important methods of teaching reading and they are as follows:
v 1. the alphabetic method/ABC method/spelling method,
v 2. the phonic method,
v 3. the word method,
v 4. the phrase method,
v 5. the sentence method, 6 the story method.
o The pros of alphabetic method are that it gives the students sufficient opportunity to see words and helps them to build up the essential visual image. However, as it is a dull and monotonous process it appears to be a difficult and lengthy method that does not expand the eye-span.
o The phonic method is based on teaching the sounds that match letters and groups of letters of the English alphabet. It is linked with speech training and helps to avoid spelling defects. Nevertheless, the drawback of the method lies in the facts that meaning is not given priority in this method, additionally, it may delay the development of reading words as a whole.
o The word method, otherwise known as Look and say "method, teaches to read words as whole units, rather than breaking the word down into individual letters or groups of letters. It is an easy and natural direct method that facilitates oral work but at the same time it encourages the learner the habit of reading one word at a time.
o The phrase method lies midway between the word method and the sentence method. It helps in extending the eye span. This method has the same limitations as the word method has. It places emphasis on meaning rather than reading.
o The sentence method or look and say method in other words is often used in situational teaching. It perceives the whole sentence as the minimum meaningful unit. The procedure goes as follows: sentence -> phrase-> words-> letters. Readers find it difficult to read a sentence without the knowledge of words and letters. Thus, it is rather a time consuming method.
o The story method is the most advanced one. The teacher tells the story in four or five sentences illustrated through ...
