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 READING
Reading is the process of looking at a series of
written symbols and getting meaning from them.
When we read, we use our eyes to receive written
symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and
we use our brain to convert them into words,
sentences and paragraphs that communicate
something to us.
Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that
other people can hear).
 WHAT WE READ
TWO THINGS:

TEXT: Letters, alphabet, words, sentences, paragraphs,

passages

ILLUSTRATIONS: Graphics, pictures, drawings etc. They

reinforce and clarify the meaning of the text.
 COMPONENTS OF READING
There are three components of reading. These are:

i. Decoding

ii.Speed or rate of reading

iii.Comprehension.
 DECODING
Decoding simply means identifying the code to which a given text
belongs. To successfully decode, some skills are needed here.

First, the reader must identify which language is used in the text.

Second, the reader should be able to identify the basic information units
in the text. For instance, the skilled and advanced reader will be able to
identify the words, the group (phrase), the clause and the sentence as
units of information in the text.
 SPEED OF READING
There are four speeds of reading. These are:
Scanning
Skimming
Normal speed of reading
Study reading speed.
 SCANNING
Scanning is the fastest speed of reading. It is used
primarily to locate words in a text. Once the word
that is being sought is located, the student can stop
and read around it to obtain the information he/she
wants.

When a student looks up a word in a dictionary, the

skill that the student uses is scanning.
SCANNING
 SKIMMING
Skimming is another fast reading skill. However, it is
not as fast as scanning. In skimming, the reader
wants to quickly collect some information in order to
take a decision on what to do or to seek clarification
over a given issue.
The process of seeking information must be snappy.
SKIMMING
NORMAL SPEED OF READING
The average person reads 250 words per
minute.

This is the speed the individual that is not

under any pressure uses when reading a
text.
NORMAL SPEED OF READING
 STUDY READING
This rate of reading is the one used by the student when
studying a given topic or concept. Study reading may
also demand a use of the aforementioned three skills.

The study reading should not be stopped until the

student has connected the reading with writing. After the
student is convinced that s/he has fully mastered the
text, s/he should write an outline or a summary of the
text. The outline and/or summary should then be stored
for revision purposes in the future.
STUDY READING
 READING COMPREHENSION
There are four levels of reading comprehension. These are:

i. Literal

ii. Interpretive

iii. Critical

iv. Creative comprehension.

 LITERAL COMPREHENSION
This is the most basic or elementary level of
comprehension. It is getting the primary or direct literal
meaning of a word or an idea or a sentence in context.

In literal comprehension, the reader does not need to go

outside the text for its given or required information.
The message or meaning is transmitted from the text to
the brain of the reader who accepts it hook, line and
sinker.
 INTERPRETIVE COMPREHENSION
This is a much higher level of comprehension than
literal comprehension. At this level, the reader makes
use of the information in the text as well as his/her
background experience to impose meaning on that of
the text. In literal comprehension, the reader does
not need to go outside the text for its given or
required information.
Here, the reader uses his/her background or previous
experiences to interpret the meaning in the text.
 CRITICAL COMPREHENSION
At this level, the reader, based on his/her universe of
experience passes value judgement on the text s/he
is reading.
The reader can say whether a statement is factual or
non-factual.
At the critical level, the reader can make value
statements on an entire work. For instance, the
reader can say if a text is effective, ineffective, an
adaptation, etc.
 CREATIVE COMPREHENSION
Creative comprehension is cognitive.
Creative comprehension connects reading with
writing. The reader goes on to collect additional
information, plans and develops a new text, which is
in response to some aspects of the text they have
read.
THE DICTIONARY
What is a dictionary?
A dictionary is a book in which the words and phrases of
a language are listed alphabetically, together with their
meanings or their translations in another language.

Dictionaries are used at home and at school. They are

cited in law courts, sermons and parliament, and referred
to by crossword addicts and scrabble players alike. In
addition, they are ideal textbooks for anyone with an
interest in the development of their vocabulary level and
language competence generally.
The Dictionary and Information

A modern dictionary is likely to provide several types of information including the

following:
• Entry
• Phonology
• Orthography
• Etymology
• Grammar
• Collocation
• Examples and illustrations
• Regional/Register Labels
AN ENTRY
This may be a word, a phrase or an abbreviation. This
entry is usually bold printed and provides a key for the
use. All the information given on an entry is called lexical
entry of that word.
Our ability to make use of the guide words helps the user
a lot to find the entry very quickly. Guide words are
usually found at the top of the page. The word to the left
gives you the first word on that page and the one to the
right gives you the last word on the page.
 PHONOLOGY
After the entry word, the first information
that the dictionary gives you is
pronunciation information which in many
dictionaries appear in slant lines.

This tells you about how a word is supposed

to be pronounced.
 ORTHOGRAPHY
Lexicographers are experts who are concerned with the proper spelling of words.
Generally, two versions of orthography are common – the British and the
American.

British American
traveller traveler
programme program
colour color
catalogue catalog
tyre tire
defence defense
centre center
 ETYMOLOGY
This is the study of the origins of words or parts of words and how they have arrived at their current form and
meaning.
There are experts (etymologists) that trace the historical changes that a word has undergone during usage.
All languages change over time in order to meet the challenging contexts and needs of their speech
communities. Language change is brought about by contact with other languages and cultures and by internal
forces at times.
Good dictionaries give information on English words that at one time had meanings that are quite different from
their current ones.
For example, undertaker, astonish, shrewd and suffer once had one who undertakes a task, strike by thunder,
deprived or wicked and allow as their earlier meanings respectively.
 GRAMMAR
In a dictionary, the grammar part tells
us the rules of a language, the dos and
don’ts, including the parts of speech,
gender, number, plurality, sense
relations and degree of comparison.
 COLLOCATION

Collocation is the way words combine in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing.
Collocation is an essential feature of the language and good learners’ dictionaries give as much help as they can
with usage. Modern dictionaries are increasingly giving much attention to collocation. A good way to improve
your collocation competence is to learn vocabulary items not in isolation or individually but along with words
that they can go along with, that is, their collocates. For example, the noun blood, can combine with lose, draw,
donate, clot, dried, pool of, drop of, trickle of, test, cell and sample. Though the full range of the words may not
be given, such an example provides a basis for learners to try and build up their own examples starting from
words they already know. Well-established idiomatic expressions are often included in the dictionary under this
section.
EXAMPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
The dictionary definition, where necessary, is followed by a typical example, usually in italics print. Examples
in dictionaries are very necessary because it is easier both to remember and understand the word within the
context of use. In addition, they provide models for students and learners to remember and produce. Consider
the entry compliment in The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (p. 314). The word compliment has
nine examples. Some of these examples are: fish for compliment, take something as a compliment, return the
compliment, the compliments of the season.
 REGIONAL/REGISTER LABELS
Variations in usage do occur to suit different purposes and different
kinds of situations. This means varieties can be identified within
Standard English. This means that their usage is determined by
contexts.
Standard dictionaries, therefore, provide labels indicating the
context in which such words are being used.
Regional labels are preceded by such terms as British (BrE)
American (AmE) Australian (AusE), Canadian (Cand) Greek (Gk)
and such labels as informal (inf), slang (slg) and literary (lit).
Formal English is used in writing books, quality magazines and
official statements.
Informal English is more popular, is more familiar and generally
associated with speech.