ustify"> · Brainstorming: Students pool what they know about the topic of a text and share their knowledge in the native or target language. The goal is to activate the learners 'horizon of expectation, and help learners identify what the text is about. Pre-reading exercises can take different forms, but ideally they are learner-centered rather than teacher-centered. For example, if the text is a film review, and only one student has seen the film, that student can tell the others about the plot or other notable features of the film.
· Skimming: The second pre-reading activity is skimming. In class, allot a short period of time (two minutes or so) for the learners to skim the first paragraph or page of the text, look at illustrations and subtitles, and identify the words in the text that explain the «who,» ; «What,» «Where,» and «when» of the text content-to identify core vocabulary words that will help them work through uncertainties.
· their horizon of expectation (background knowledge, syntactic and semantic resources, cognitive strategies),
· take charge of their own learning, and
· become willing to tolerate ambiguity.Readingpre-reading, learners need to be led through their initial reading of the text. While pre-reading deals with identifying the global issues that are shared among many readers and texts, reading, whether done in class or assigned, requires learners to move to textual specifics. Where the pre-reading activities stressed the «who,» «What,» «When,» and «where» of the text, initial reading adds details. It should also ask learners to apply the text's genre to help structure their reading process.the genre of a text helps a reader engage with the details. The main characters in each text type will have different functions. Knowing that a text is a mystery or detective story will mean that there will be multiple moments of investigation and discovery. That makes it possible for learners to look for various stages in the investigation as their more specific task-to find the episodes that characterize the genre.the discussion that follows the initial reading, teachers should help learners weigh the textual details they have identified. When they compare their work with that of their classmates, for example, teachers can ask students to discuss and justify their choices. At this stage, learners begin to move toward the «how» and «why» of the text-synthesizing concepts or engaging in problem-solving. For example, where is the mystery or reader interest in a detective story is told by the murderer?
.3 Guided Matrix
A guided matrix can be introduced after the in-class brainstorming and skimming activities. It requires readers to select phrases or sentences from the text that help readers reconstruct the logic of the text. In its most rudimentary form, a guided matrix consists of a table with two columns with headings that guide readers in making selections from the text.
The headings used in a guided matrix reflect a pattern of logic. The following table gives some examples of logical relationships and headings.
Logical Relationships (Headings) Type of TextContrasts or ComparisonsA text that contrasts two people or the «before» and «after» of an event or problem (diffe...
