TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN THE SECONDARY ESL CLASS: THE CHALLENGE OF NEW MATERIALS AND METHODS William Cheng

Reading in ESL Reading has been the subject of research study for over a century. An article by Harry Singer (1983) entitled 'A centruy of landmarks in reading and learning from text at the high school level: Research, themes and instructional strategies' contains over a hundred references. Mark A. Clarke (1980) calls reading 'the most thoroughly studied and least understood process in education today'. Unfortunately, it is only within the last 10 to 15 years that attention has been focused on teaching reading skills in ESL (See C. J. Brumfit (1978) 'The teaching of advanced reading skills in foreign languages, with particular reference to English as a foreign lagnuage'. Note especially the last paragraph). The last 3 to 5 years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of articles on teaching ESL reading in language teaching journals such as Modem English Teacher, Practical English Teaching, English Language Teaching Journal, English Teaching Forum, TESOL Quarterly, World Language English and Modern Language Journal. This paper attempts to give a brief survey of recent trends in the teaching of reading comprehension in the secondary ESL class and their applicability to the Hong Kong situation. Reference will be made to the more important books and articles on teaching reading in English as a second or foreign language, especially those published within the last five or six years. I should also like to express my debt to the speakers in the World Congress on Reading who gave me valuable insights into the teaching of reading. This article reflects some of their views. need for developing the reading skill is all the more urgent because of the ever-increasing amount of reading our students are called upon to do. The problem is more acute as one goes higher up the education ladder; most reference books in tertiary institutions are in English. Reading Texts in ESL Textbooks There is a Chinese saying: "The artisan msut first sharpen his tools before he can do a good job'. It is appropriate to examine the type of reading texts one finds in ESL textbooks currently used. The two most popular secondary ESL coursebooks are New Access and Integrated English. Both of them were originally written to fit the requirements of the old secondary syllabus which reflected the principles of the oral-structural approach. The new syllabus which reflects the principles of the communicative approach will be implemented in 1986. New textbooks will not therefore be available until next year at the earliest. This must be borne in mind when we criticize existing books for being uninspiring as far as reading comprehension lessons are concerned. Teachers are probably aware that ESL textbooks currently used are not particularly helpful in respect of comprehension teaching. A detailed listing of some of the characteristics (or weaknesses) of conventional ESL textbooks cannot be given here but the reader is referred to Christine Nuttall (1983), Mike Beaumont (1983) and Norman Whitney (1983). Some of the more obvious limitations are: insufficient variety of text types, rather uninspiring exercises; insufficient reference to reading skills, low value of comprehension questions. The limitations mentioned above and some of the other characteristics mentioned by the three writers are found in the coursebooks currently used. However, I must also point out that public examination papers are keeping abreast with developments overseas, and together with the new syllabus, will have a healthy

Importance of the Reading Skill

Reading is important at all levels. Its instrumental use is particularly important at the secondary shcool stage and in tertiary educationEven in this technological age, books are an essential tool of learning. 'Learning to read and reading to learn' is not an outworn slogan. The

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influence on the writing of new textbooks. Traditional Approach to the Teaching of Reading In the course of my teaching practice supervision visits, I have seen a number of very inspiring and imaginative reading comprehension lessons. At the same time I have to add that many teachers still use an approach which is rather traditional and unimpressive. The teacher asks the class to turn to a certain page or announces that he is going to teach a certain unit. He than explains some of the more difficult vocabulary items. This is followed by silent reading on the part of the class. The teacher then reads part of the text and comments on what he feels is difficult for the students. He may ssometimes ask a few questions, which are usually answered by a few bright students, or if he fails to get the necessary response, he answers them himself and proceeds to the next sentence or paragraph. A question and answer session follows in which the teacher does the questioning and a selected number of students supply the answers, often by lifting a few sentences straight from the text. If there is sufficient time left, the teacher asks different students to read aloud. Finally the class is asked to do the written exercises, which are often on vocabulary and structure. Some of the weaknesses of the approach mentioned above or variations of it are: 1. The teacher concentrates on teaching content rather than reading skills. If the text is on Maro Polo, for example, an independent observer may feel that it is in essence a history lesson rather than a lesson on reading comprehension. 2. There is no attempt to establish a purpose in reading. In real life one reads for a variety of reasons. In the classroom, students apparently read in order to answer comprehension questions, which is not what one usually does in real life. There is a place for the use of comprehension questions as I shall explain later, but there are other tasks or exercises which the teacher can ask the class to do which are perhaps closer to what one does in real life and which are related to specific purposes in reading. 3. While there is obviously a place for reading aloud in the language lesson, not every kind of text lends itself to this kind of practice. Drama and short stories containing a lot of dialogue naturally require reading aloud. Expository, argumentative and descriptive passages do not readily lend themselves to such Vocal practice'. In any case the reading aloud attempted by students is all too often stultifying and undirected and of little profit to the students who read and to those who listen. For reading aloud to be truly purposeful and effective, the teacher should select a small section of the text, demonstrate how it should be read, and direct the students' attention to pronunciation difficulties, problems of stress and intonation before he asks them to read. If a tape is available, this should be played to the students as a model. In this way students will really profit from reading aloud. 4. The approach does not challenge students to really come to grips with the text. There is rarely any group discussion of the text. After the silent reading by the class the teacher asks individual students to answer the questions in the book. If a student gives a correct answer, the teacher passes on to another question without bothering to find out if other students have worked out the correct answer on their own. The situation is more serious if the questions are in the multiplechoice format. If option C is the right answer and a student selects it, the teacher may just respond by saying *yes' or 'correct'. Usually there is no attempt to see if other students have chosen the wrong option. If MC question are well set, reasons for rejecting the distractors are just as important as reasons for choosing the right option. 5. The reading text is often used as a vehicle for the teaching of vocabulary and structures. The textbook writer is partly responsible for this as the exercises following the text and comprehension questions are normally those dealing with lexis and grammar. There is a place for language exercises but these should not be looked upon as the main components of a reading lesson. The traditional approach which focuses on the language part of the text exemplifies what T. Johns and F. Davies (1982) describe as TALO (Text as Linguistic Object).

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6. There is a common fallacy that silent reading followed by comprehension questions is comprehension teaching. This will be discussed in the next section. Dealing with Text - Use of Comprehension Question Earlier ESL methodology books concentrated on the design of comprehension questions and questioning techniques. An example is D. C. Miller's (1966) Teaching the Reading Passage. The view that silent reading followed by comprehension questions is comprehension teaching is an indequate one. In real life one rarely reads a text, a story or a novel in order to answer comprehension questions. One reads for various purposes and responds to what one reads in different ways. It is significant that the HKCEE question papers have already set a new trend in the format of the reading comprehension question. Candidates are often asked to do tasks closer to true-life situations, such as completing a table, composing a letter in response to information in the text, etc. An article language teachers should 'chew and digest' is I. S. F. Nation's (1979) The Curse of the Comprehension Question: Some Alternatives'. Nation points out the weakness of the traditional approach which places such a heavy emphasis on comprehension questions and puts forward practical alternatives. Judiciously used, comprehension questions have a definite place on the teaching of reading. There are quite a member of books giving very useful suggestions on questioning techniques in teaching comprehension. Two examples will suffice: Teaching Reading Comprehension by P. D. Pearson and D. D. Johnson (1977) and Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language by Christine Nuttall (1983). This is not the place to go into details about question types or questioning techniques. However, teachers should remember the following points concerning the use of comprehension questions. Firstly, question can be asked before, during and after the reading of a text. All too often in textbooks the questions come at the end. Pre-reading questions can help students to focus on the crucial points of a text. They may also help to develop prediction strategies. The students are required to search for information relevant to the pre-question and exclude information not relevant. They are trained to perform a nonlinguistic act: that of reading purposefully in order to select the required information. On the other hand if we ask the questions after the students have read the text, their work is one of matching the question with the answer. Questions asked during the reading can also help to enhance comprehension. Secondly, there is a need to distinguish between questions that teach comprehension and those that test comprehension. Questions in a reading comprehension text should be used to teach comprehension and not merely to test it. However, some questions that test comprehension may be useful if they are used diagnostically, e.g. to see whether the class have really understood a point. Such questions should be followed by other questions which help students to make the right interpretation. Thirdly, the teacher should know how to deal with wrong answers. There is a very strong temptation for the teacher to give the right answer and pass on. However, it is much more profitable for the teacher to use further questions to deal with the mistake. He can use: (a) support questions- 'Why do you say they?' 'What does line - say?' (b) back-tracking question 'If the answer is -, does this agree with the answer to a previous question?' (c) projection questions 'Look at line further on. Does this match your answer?' Finally, the teacher should encourage students to ask questions. This, unfortunately, occurs all too rarely. Yet purposeful reading requires a student to read critically, with a searching attitude. The teacher should therefore provide opportunities for students to take the initiative hi asking questions. RECENT TRENDS Recently, a new appraoch to teaching ready has been developed based on several principles: analysis of the reading process analysis of relevant text types

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analysis of reading purposes, tasks and enabling skills grading of tasks rather than skills For a more detailed listing of the effects of recent trends on language teaching and learning on the design of reading comprehension materials teachers are advised to read Norman Whitney's (1983) 'Reading Comprehension: The challenge of new materials and methods'.
The Reading Process

and variety is important. One can also notice from examining the text types that attempts are made to ensure that authentic texts are reproduced in a form as close as possible to the orignal. Many of the texts are illustrated and the illustrations are often an integral part of the text. Students of science and technical subjects will realise the importance of recognizing this. The language teacher should also bear this in mind. Reading Purposes, Tasks, Enabling Skills The traditional approach to comprehension teaching ignores the importance of establishing purpose in respect of reading. It is necessary to alert the students to different purposes in reading different texts. The new syllabus points out quite appropriately: The traditional practice of having the students read a text and then answer questions does little to help them develop the reading skills necessary to cope with different reading materials for different reading needs. When the practice is followed, the students read: (i) with no specific purpose and therefore with no knowledge of what skills they should be using:' From the definition of reading given earlier, it can been seen that the main aim of the reading lesson is to teach appropriate reading strategies (or enabling skills) that will help the reader to comprehend texts and not just the text being studied. The difference between the old approach TALO and TAVI (Text as a vehicle for Information) is described in T. John and F. Davies (1983) Text as a Vehicles for Information: the Classroom Use of Written Text in Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language'. Since the prime purpose of the reading lesson is to develop reading strategies, teachers should be aware of such strategies (or enabling skills) and how to teach them. Munby (1978) has a very comprehensive list in his book Communicative Syllabus Design. Two books on teaching reading strategies are Strategies for Reading (15 Strategies) by Evelyn Davies and Norman Whitney (1981) and 25 Strategies: Reading Skills for Intermediate Advanced Students of English as a Second Language by Jacqueline Neufeld 'and Marion Webb (1984). Christine Nuttall (1982)categoris-

The new syllabus gives this definition of reading: 'It is fundamentally an active creative process in which the reader interprets a message in the light of his previous knowledge, predicts and anticipates subsequent rhetorical strategy and information (making use of the linguistic cues that the writer provides), selects information relevant to his reading purpose, matches information with his previous knowledge and experience, evaluates it in the light of that knoweldge and then applies this information to new experiences'. This is substantially the view of K. Goodman and F. Smith. Goodman's seminal article: 'Reading: a Psycholinguistic Guessing Game' has exerted considerable influence on reading instruction and the design of reading courses in LI but attempts are now being made to apply the theory to the teaching of reading in ESL. Text Types If one examines the text types in existing textbooks and compares them with some of the new books on reading published overseas, one is immediately struck by the fact that texts in books currently used are much too restricted in scope. Books like Skills for Learning (1980); Reading and Thinking in English by J. Moore, et al (1980); the Heinemann Reading Comprehension Course by Evelyn Davies and Norman Whitney Reasons for Reading (1974), Strategies for Reading (1981) and Study Skills for Reading (1984); Authentic Reading by Catherine Walter (1982), Making Sense of Reading by Susan Maingay (1983) and Intermediate Language Skills: Reading by Frank Hey worth (1982) contain examples of a rich variety of text types that can and should be used to teach reading comprehension. It can be seen that text variation

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es the skills into two major types (a) word attack skills and (b) text-attack skills: (i) understanding sentence syntax, (ii) recognizing and interpreting cohesive devices, (iii) interpreting discourse markers, (iv) recognizing functional value, (v) tracing and interpreting rhetorical organization, (vi) recognizing the presuppositions underlying the text, (vii) recognizing implications and making inferences, (viii) prediction, (ix) integration and application. Familiar techniques like shimming and scanning are dealt with separately in her book. Tasks and Exercises for Developing Comprehension Skills Teachers who have had a chance to look at some of the books mentioned previously will have realised that there are many types of tasks and exercises for promoting reading comprehension. A book I thoroughly recommend is Francoise Grellet's (1981) Developing Reading Skills, which probably contains the most comprehensive taxonomy of reading comprehension exercises ever listed. It contains a goldmine of ideas on the design of reading exercises which the teacher can readily adapt and use. Schema Theory and Reading Comprehension The study of the role of background knowledge in reading comprehension has resulted in the formulation of the schema theory. Several useful articles on the subject are 'Scheme Theory and ESL Reading Pedagogy' by P. L. Carrell and J. C. Eisterhold (1983), 'Schema Theory and Reading Comprehension' by Pedro Obando (1983) and more recently 'Schema Theory and ESL Reading: Classroom Implications and Applications' by Patricia L. Carrell. The last article gives a most comprehensive survey of the subject and is highly recommended. Certainly teachers should be aware of the implications of such a theory. Researches into Students' Reading Strategies Before discussing different techniques of teaching reading comprehension, it may be worthwhile to point out that researchers have tried to find out the reading strategies of good foreign language readers. By using student introspection as a source of information, Hosenfeld (1981) and her co-workers identified 20 such strategies including such obvious skills as skipping unknown words, identifying grammatical categories of words, using context clues, making inferences and using knowledge of the world, etc. Van Parreren and Schouten-Van Perreren (1981) find that subskills are vital to intensive as well as cursory reading. They include 1) recognizing text type; 2) recognizing text structure; 3) predicting or summarizing the context of the text; 4) making inferences 5) using the context to determine the meaning of unknown words and 6) analyzing the word form of unknown words. They also point out that reading strategies operate on hierarchical levels and skilled readers do not go through the different levels in a set order. Two other research articles are worth mentioning. They are 'Investigating the reading problems of ESL students: an alternative' by Yeghia Aslanian (1985) and Taking the Easy Way Out: Non-Use and Misuse of Clues in EFL Reading' by Batia Laufer and Donald D. Sam (1985). In the first research students (only 3, admittedly a small sample) were asked to read a passage and then fill in several blanks from a choice of options. They were then asked individually to give reasons for their choices. Finally they were asked to tell what they had understood from the text. This student-oriented way of examining the readers' comprehension level enabled the investigator to find out the specific strategies used by the reader and whether they helped or hindered comprehension. In the second research the investigators set out to study whether students used textual clues or their extra textual knowledge to get meaning from the text. The aim was to see whether students really read in the way their teachers hoped they did. As in the first experiment, students were given a detailed interview so that it was possible to discover the reasoning by which they arrived at their answers. At the same time the factors that hampered comprehension were also identified. Admittedly the samples used were very small, 3 and 15 respectively. But the researches shed valuable light on how students try to tackle

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text and arrive at their answers to comprehension questions. The researches are obviously worth replicating. Dealing with Texts New Approaches The Intensive Reading Lesson One of the most useful articles on teaching intensive reading skills in John Munby's (1968) 'Teaching Intensive Reading Skills' in Read and Think. Chapter 11 of Christine Nuttall's (1982) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language entitled 'An intensive reading lesson' is also well worth reading as she incorporates Munby's approach and explains it with useful illustrations. A study of the chapter together with the texts in the Appendix will be most rewarding for the ESL teacher. Munby's approach is useful in that it makes good use of group discussion. The teacher asks a few signpost questions which help the students to focus on the essential points. Silent reading is followed by group discussions of the answers to questions, the group leader checking that there is general agreement on the answer before proceeding to another question. The teacher circulates among the groups and helps students to come to grips with the text. He/She does not tell them the right answer if they have selected the wrong option (if the questions are in M. C. format) but challenges them to check against the text. When all the groups have decided on the answers, the teacher puts their choices on a grid on the blackboard. If all groups agree on the particular answer to a question, there is no problem and the teacher passes on to the next question. If there is some disagreement, the teacher puts the different answers e.g. 5Cs and 2Es on the grid without comment. He/She then invites the class to disucss which choice is correct. This will allow these who have made the wrong choice to see precisely where their comprehension has failed. In this way the students are given an opportunity to grapple with a text. After all, reading is not a passive skill; rather a good reader interacts with a text. As Mike Beanmont points out: 'Readers are simultaneously engaged in processing, selecting, storing, retrieving, reviewing, predicting and evaluating both the factual and attitudinal context of a text'. Munby's article has been much anthologised. His approach has also been made popular by the film 'Reading Comprehension' in the Teaching observed series, available from the British Council. One of My Dip. Ed. students found it effective and wrote a detailed critique of the method and contrasted it with the rather sterile traditional approach. Teachers who intend to use the approach should not only see the British Council film but should also endeavour to read the actual article as Munby analyses in considerable detail some of the most common errors in reading comprehension. I will now suggest six or seven ways of dealing with text. Fuller details can be found in the articles and books mentioned in this paper. But whatever techniques one uses, it must be bone in mind that reading is a private activity, it is something the student must do for himself. As S. Gika (1985) points out the learner should be motivated so that he (a) wants to read the text he is given, (b) wants to work through the text both extensively and intensively and (c) wants to go beyond the text and infer things from it. It is hoped that the techniques which are described will provide the motivation mentioned above. (a) Non-fiction Text In the case of non-fiction text that deals with topics which are not exactly unfamiliar to the students, the teacher can announce the topic or title and ask the class to write down what they already know as well as what they would like to know about the subject. The points could be built up on the board and the students read the text to see if the passage contains the information mentioned or required. This approach establishes a purpose for reading before the students tackle the text. Slight variations of this approach are not difficult to devise. For example if the subject is on Cantonese Opera, the teacher can list a number of statements and show them on OHP and ask students to indicate whether they agree with the statements or not. They indicate agreement by a + and disagreement by a . Then they are asked to read to find out if the writer of the text shares the same views. The students are thus motivated to complete the reading task.

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Notice that in this approach, we make use of the reader's background knowledge. Reading specialists have pointed that the reader's prior knowledge is a crucial factor in text comprehension. Langer (1981) suggests using a three-phase "pre-reading Plan" (PReP) which makes use of the reader's prior knowledge and activates his memory and expectation. Swaffer (1981) also suggests using previewing activities that enable the reader to formulate hypotheses about a text. (b) Narrative Text I once asked a prospective AEO candidate who was an English major how he would teach a comprehension passage. His answer was very interesting, 'If the passage is a story,! will use the 2 Ps I T 2 Fs and 1 A formula. You see there are people in a story and the story has a setting, a place or a location where the action takes place. A, of course stands for action or actions. A story takes place in time, hence the T. The two Fs stand for facts and feelings, also necessary ingredients in a story. The above is not a magic formula, of course, but it is good to help students keep those points in mind when reading and 'enjoying' a story. A most interesting approach can be found on pp 62-63 of' Reasons for Reading'. It is also included in the Appendix of Christine Nuttall's book mentioned earlier. The students are directed to look on the title of the book and the illustration on the cover and on the theme of the story. They are then asked to read the first chapter where the two protagonists are introduced The task they have to do consists of completing a table on the salient points presented so far information about the people, the time, the place and the feeling of the 2 main characters. Only one word answers are required. They are then directed to read a pivotal chapter, but before this they are given a few additional facts about the characters. Then after reading the chapter they are asked to speculate on the ending. They are give five choices and asked to speculate whether they are possible, impossible, probable or certain. There can be no doubt that students will be motivated not only to read the sections given and complete the tasks; they will want to read the book and find out the ending. (c) Information Transfer and Problem Solving For texts which describe the organization of actions and arrangement of things, information transfer activities such as labelling a picture or completing a diagrammatic summary could be used. An article entitled 'Information Transfer for Listening and Reading' by David Palmer (1982) contains a number of examples of information transfer activities. Mike Beaumont (1984) describes in detail how such activities can be used in a reading lesson. More examples of such exercises can be found in Grellet's book. A recent article which appears in 'World Language English' 4:1, 'Re-establishing Reading Needs, Priorities, Techniques' by Sissy Gika (1984) is worth recommending as it contains many examples of imaginative techniques to motivate students to respond effectively to reading tasks. These include use of (a) problem-solving activity, (b) false summary (c) personal questions (d) list of relevant and irelevant words (e) building up a story through pictures (f) multiple-choice questionnaire, (g) completing forms, flowcharts, tables (h) drawings (i) role-play (j) interview (k) notetaking. (d) Predictive Reading Goodman's seminal article (1967) 'Reading a Psycholinguistic Guessing Game' puts forward the view that reading constantly involves guessing, predicting and checking one's anticipations concerning the form and content of a text. This has given rise to the use of prediction as a technique in teaching reading. For advanced readers, a list of key words taken from a passage can be put on the board and students are asked to arrange the words into categories and predict the content of the text. The students them read to see if the text confirms or disconfirms their anticipations. Richard Young's (1980) article 'Predictive Reading' describes a technique that can be used in intermediate forms. In the sample lesson be describes, he exploits a sequence of pictures in a newspaper for sequencing and discussion. This is followed by the reading of a 'gapped' text containing the details of the story. With the aid of an OHP the teacher exposes the text line by line stopping at places with gaps and asking the students to guess what folows. The different versions offered by the students are

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written on the board and then discussed. After this the actual portion of the text is shown. (e) Reading of Split Texts This is ideal for pair work. A text and the comprehension questions are cut into two. Student A gets the first part of the text and the questions on the second half of it. Student B gets the questions on A's text and the second half of the text. They then question each other and find out the main details of the text. See 'Reading it together' by Johanne McComish and Maria Stabbs (1983) and, making the reading comprehension communicative' by J. Miller (1984). (f) Jigsaw Reading The principles in jigsaw listening can be applied to reading. The class is divided into three groups and each group is given one of the three jigsaw texts. The students take notes and answer questions. The teacher then regroups the students so that they can exchange information with member of the other groups and build up a complete picture of the information in the separate texts. A book containing jigsaw texts in Reading Links by Marion Geddes and Gill Sturtridge (1982). (g) Ooze Procedure The cloze procedure was first used to establish readability. Later it became a popular testing device. Interest in the procedure as a teaching device is gaining ground. Two useful articles on the use of the procedure is 'the Cloze Procedure as a Teaching Technique: The State of the Art' by Jesus Alirio Bastidas A. Universedd de Narino, Pasto (1983) and 'The Cloze Procedure as a Techning Technique to Improve Reading Comprehension' by Jesus A. Bastidas A. (1984). In this paper, I have attempted to highlight some of the recent developments in teaching reading to ESL students. I have pointed out the importance of motivating the student and establishing specific purposes in reading different texts. The emphasis on developing reading strategies and creating reading tasks or exercises instead of relying solely on comprehension questions makes the teacher's work more onerous at first. But the ultimate results will more than justify the time and effort spent on it. References
Aslanian, Y. 1985. 'Investigating the reading problems of ESL students: an alternative' in English Language Teaching Journal 39: 1. pp. 20-27. Bastidas, A., Jesus, A. 1984. The Cloze Procedure as a Teaching Technique to Improve Reading Comprehension' in English Teaching Forum 22: 2. pp. 20-24. Bastidas, A., Jesus, A., & Universided de Narino Posto. 1984. The Cloze Procedure as a Teaching Technique: The State of the Art' in HOW 47. pp. 22-28. ASCOPI. Beaumont, M. 1983. Take it from the text: an approach to the teaching of Reading' in Case Studies in ELT edited by R. R. Jordan, pp. 26-34. Collins ELT, Brumfit, C. J. 1978. The Teaching of Advanced Reading Skills in Foreign Languages, with special reference to English as a foreign language' in Language Teaching and Linguistics Surveys pp. 173-184. Carrell, P. L. 1984 "Schema Theory and ESL Reading: Classroom Implications and Applications in Modern Language Journal 68:4. pp. 331-343. Carrell, P. L. and Eisterhold, J. C. 1983. 'Schema Theory and ESL Teaching Pedagogy' in TESOL Quarterly Carrell, P. L. and Eisterhold, J. C. 1983. "Schema Theory and ESL Teaching Pedagogy' in TESOL Quarterly 17:4. pp. 553-573. Clarke, M. 1980. The Short Circuit Hypothesis of ESL Reading or When Language Competence . Interferes with Reading Performance' in Modern Language Journal 64. p. 203. Davies, E. & Whitney, N. 1979. Reasons for Reading Heinemann. Davies, E. & Whitney, N. 1981. Strategies for Reading Heinemann.

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Davies, E. & Whitney, N. 1984. Study Skills for Reading Heinemann. Gika, S. 1984. 'Re-establisling Reading Needs, Techniques' in World Language English 4: 1. pp. 163179. Goodman, K. 1967, 'Reading a Psycholinguistic Guessing Game' in Journal of the Reading Specialist pp. 259-264, 266-271. Grellet, F. 1981. Developing Reading Skills - a practical guide to reading comprehension exercises Cambridge. Heyworth, F. 1982. Intermediate Language Skills: Reading Hodder and Stoughton. Hosenfeld, C. et al 1981. 'Second Language Reading: A Curricula! Sequence for Teaching Reading Strategies' in Foreign Language Annals 8. pp.227 232. JohnsT. & Davies, F. 1983. Text as a Vehicle for Information: the Classroom Use of Written Texts in Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language* in Reading in a Foreign Language 1: 1. pp. 1-19. Lanfer, B. and Sam, D. 1985. Taking the Easy Way Out: Non-Use and Misuse of Clues in EFL Reading' in English Teaching Forum 23:2. pp. 7-10. Langer, J. 1981. 'From Theory to Practice: A Prereading Plan* in Journal of Reading 25. p. 452. Maingay, S. 1983. Making Sense of Reading. Harrap. Walter, C. 1982. Authentic Reading Cambridge. Millar, D. C. 1966. Oxford. Teaching the Reading Passage Whitney, N. 1983. 'Reading Comprehension: the challenge of new materials and methods' in New Ideas pp. 40-42. Modern English Publications. Young, R. 1980. 'Predictive Reading' in Modern English Teacher 7: 3. pp. 4-7. Modern English Publications. Mr. William Cheng is Senior Lecturer in Education and Supervisor of the English Language Unit at School of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Munby, J. 1968. Read and Think Longman. Nation, I. S. P. 1979. The Curse of the Comprehension Question: Some Alternatives' in Guidelines No. 2 Teaching Reading Skills pp. 86-103. Neufeld, J. & Webb, M. 1984. 25 Stategies: Reading Skills for Intermediate-Advanced Students of English as a Second Language. Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nuttall, C. 1982. Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language pp. 19-20, 146-166. Obando, P. V. 1983. 'Schema Theory and Reading Comprehension Teaching' in HOW 47. pp 18-21 Palmer, D. M. 'Information Transfer for Listening and Reading* in English Teaching Forum 20:1. pp. 29-33. Pearson, P. P. and Johnson, D. D. 1977. Teaching Reading Comprehension Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Singer, H. 1983. 'A century of landmarks in reading and learning from texts at the high school level: Research, themes and instructional strategies' in The Journal of Reading 26:4. pp. 332-342. Swaffer, J. K. 1981. 'Reading in the Foreign Language Classroom: Focus on Process' in Unterrichtsspraxis 14. pp. 176-194. Van Perreren & Van-Perreren, S. 1981. 'Contextual Guessing: A Trainable Reader Strategy' in System 9: 3. pp. 235-241.

Miller, J. 1984. 'Making the Reading Comprehension Communicative' in Modern English Teacher 11: 3. pp. 23-24. Moore, J. 1980. Reading and Thinking in English Oxford. Munby, J. 1982. Communicative Syllabus Design Cambridge.

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