D EVELOPING  THE  READING  SKILL

It is necessary to look at what the concept reading entails. Defining reading is an intricate matter. Reading can be seen as a way of becoming part of a culture (Lancy, 1994; Teal, 1986). Others argue that reading should be seen as a basic human skill in modern society.¹⁴ Reading in an educational context is perhaps the most commonly studied phenomenon in the area of educational research (Grabe and Kaplan, 1996; Hall, 1994). The Norwegian

Directorate for Education and Training in “Framework for basic skills” describes reading as the:

Means to create meaning to a text in the widest sense. Reading gives insight into people’s experience, opinion and knowledge, independent of time and place. The reading of text on screen and paper is a prerequisite for lifelong learning and for active participation in life. ¹⁵

This is perhaps more a description of a purpose of reading than a definition per se. Each of these perspectives on what reading is contributes to the complexity in defining what reading is. Consequently, providing a universal definition for reading runs the risk of becoming too generalized in the sense that it may become inadequate or uninteresting for those who try to understand reading in all its facets.

14 www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/

15 www.udir.no/PageFiles/66463/FRAMEWORK_FOR_BASIC_SKILLS.pdf?epslanguage=no

Day and Bamford (1998:12) define reading as a cognitive process where “(...) reading is the construction of meaning from a printed or written message”. Lesaux et al. (2008:28) state that reading is a process by means of decoding and encoding which start long before children enter school. Decoding involves translating words to sounds (reading) and encoding is using individual sounds to build and write words. In other words, word recognition, decoding, encoding and increasing vocabulary are important in the process of becoming a proficient reader. Bedtime stories, nursery rhymes and prayers contribute to reading development.

However, what is being read aloud is often not exactly the same as the texts in a bedtime storybook, as parents/caregivers may use simplified reading or vocabulary accustomed to a child’s age. In addition, features such as hesitations, pauses, pitch and tone and face and body language are not in the written text.

In order for the reader to understand the meaning of the text they need to connect previous knowledge to the text and then construct the meaning (Harmer, 1991; Hedge, 2000;

Krashen, 1985;Lundberg and Linnakyla, 1993; Vygotsky, 1978). Hedge (2000:10) states that the more a child is exposed to language “a little above their existing understanding” the child will develop and gain an understanding of the language and its rules.

Harmer (1991:33) explains that: “(…) the input should be at a slightly higher level than the students are capable of using, but at a level that they are capable of understanding”.

This seems to be a similar notion to both Krashen’s (1985) input theory and Vygotsky’s (1978) ZPD theory, involving taking the learners from what they already know to what they have to learn. Similarly, Lundberg and Linnakyla (1993:3) state that the reader is regarded as an active individual who constructs meaning by taking existing knowledge and adding new knowledge. This perspective is also in compliance with the LK06 – Framework for basic skills

Understand means processing and comprehending texts based on prior knowledge and expectations. This implies using different meaning-making strategies in order to understand increasingly more complex texts. This presupposes decoding strategies in which letters are contracted to words, words to sentences and sentences to texts.¹⁶

16 www.udir.no/PageFiles/66463/FRAMEWORK_FOR_BASIC_SKILLS.pdf?epslanguage=no

The Framework for basic skills expresses the process of decoding and comprehending a text.

Advancing from simple to more complex texts seems to be a principle in most curricula, the LK06 being no exception. This can be linked to changing views on reading competence and its development. It suggests that scholars have become increasingly aware of the importance of advanced reading skills.

Various educational approaches can be used toward reading instruction in school (Day and Bamford, 2012; Grabe, 2009; Lundberg and Linnakyla, 1993; Pellegrini and Galda, 1994). As reading is a complex activity there are various ways in teaching how to read and there are a number of different reading strategies that readers can use in order to become more proficient readers.

There are four main reading strategies: skimming, scanning, intensive and extensive reading. Skimming and scanning are both speed-reading techniques, yet very different techniques. Scanning is used to locate certain details or main ideas whereas skimming is a more superficial way of reading as it involves glancing at the text to acquire the main essence of the text (Harmer, 1991:183). Intensive reading and extensive reading are two other

strategies that constitute two important reading practices. (see section 4.5.)

Traditionally, L1 reading approaches have focused on top-down or bottom-up approaches. The top-down approach to reading is when the learner is to understand the meaning of the text. In other words, the learner reads and looks at the content of the text and do not focus on unfamiliar words. The main idea of the top-down approach is for the learners to rely on their previous knowledge, or schema, and use context to decipher and understand new concepts or words (Simensen, 1998:86-87). To build on previous knowledge is in accordance with Krashen’s (1985) Input hypotheses, which is the basic way of reading when using the extensive reading (ER) approach. In contrast, the bottom-up approach to reading is when the learner focuses on specific basic units of the language, such as words, before proceeding to comprehend more complex structures of the text, and finally to grasp the meaning. By the use of this approach, the learners gain a greater understanding of the rules of sound and symbol relationships. They move up to a word, then the phrase, and lastly the sentence. This relates to the intensive reading (IR) approach.