What is reading and what does it involve?

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 TESL 0130

That was the big question we had to tackle in the first unit of the Reading and Vocabulary course. I have a lot of educational background and experience in literacy and I am currently working as a Reading Recovery Teacher, however, coming up with a definition of reading was no easy feat! Reading encompasses many sub-skills and is the process of combining them all together. The purpose of reading is to make meaning of text. A reader must integrate several different kinds of information together in order to achieve comprehension. This includes the visual information from the letters (and the sounds associated with them), the grammatical or structural information, and the meaning information, or what the text is actually about. In order to make sure that what they read looks right, sounds right, and makes sense, a reader has the complex task of sorting out all of the information presented.

Reading is a problem-solving activity, which requires the use of strategies and self-monitoring along the way. A reader's background knowledge and experiences also play a huge role in their understanding of text. If a reader is able to make connections to themselves, to other texts they have encountered, and to the outside world while reading, the content of a text will be much more meaningful to them. In addition, they will be able to achieve a deeper understanding of the text and will be able to transfer their learning to other situations. Seeing the relationships and similarities between reading, writing, listening and speaking will also allow a reader to be more effective at comprehending text, which is the ultimate goal of reading.

Marie Clay, the creator of the Reading Recovery Program, succinctly describes reading as "a message-getting, problem-solving activity, which increases in power and flexibility the more it is practiced." (Clay, 2001, p. 1) This definition really resonates with me, and is what I try to teach my students on a daily basis.

Clay, M. M. (2001). Change over time in children's literacy development. Portsmouth, NH:      Heinemann.



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