AIOU Course Code 6508-1 Solved Assignment Autumn 2021

ASSIGNMENT No. 1\

1. 1 Discuss in details the objectives of teaching of English in Pakistan.

Every language is different. In English, an adjective comes before a noun, whereas in Spanish, the adjective comes after In German, you can put noun after noun together to form giant compound words; in Chinese, the pitch of your voice determines the meaning of your words; in American Sign Language, you can convey full, grammatical sentences with tense and aspect by moving your hands and face. But all languages have structural underpinnings that make them logical for the people who speak and understand them.

This diagram outlines the relationship between types of linguistic units. Speech sounds make up phonemes, which make up words. Words make up sentences, which have literal meanings and contextual meanings. Objectives:

1. A phoneme is the basic unit of phonology. It is the smallest unit of sound that may cause a change of meaning within a language, but that doesn’t have meaning by itself. For example, in the words “bake” and “brake,” only one phoneme has been altered, but a change in meaning has been triggered. The phoneme /r/ has no meaning on its own, but by appearing in the word it has completely changed the word’s meaning! Phonemes correspond to the sounds of the alphabet, although there is not always a one-to-one relationship between a letter and a phoneme (the sound made when you say the word). For example, the word “dog” has three phonemes: /d/, /o/, and /g/. However, the word “shape,” despite having five letters, has only three phonemes: /sh/, /long-a/, and /p/. The English language has approximately 45 different phonemes, which correspond to letters or combinations of letters. Through the process of segmentation, a phoneme can have a particular pronunciation in one word and a slightly different pronunciation in another.
2. Morphemes, the basic unit of morphology, are the smallest meaningful unit of language. Thus, a morpheme is a series of phonemes that has a special meaning. If a morpheme is altered in any way, the entire meaning of the word can be changed. Some morphemes are individual words (such as “eat” or “water”). These are known as free morphemes because they can exist on their own. Other morphemes are prefixes, suffixes, or other linguistic pieces that aren’t full words on their own but do affect meaning (such as  the “-s” at the end of “cats” or the “re-” at the beginning of “redo.”) Because these morphemes must be attached to another word to have meaning, they are called bound morphemes. Within the category of bound morphemes, there are two additional subtypes: derivational and inflectional. Derivational morphemes change the meaning or part of speech of a word when they are used together. For example, the word “sad” changes from an adjective to a noun when “-ness” (sadness) is added to it. “Action” changes in meaning when the morpheme “re-” is added to it, creating the word “reaction.” Inflectional morphemes modify either the tense of a verb or the number value of a noun; for example, when you add an “-s” to “cat,” the number of cats changes from one to morethan one.
3. Lexemes are the set of inflected forms taken by a single word. For example, members of the lexeme RUN include “run” (the uninflected form), “running” (inflected form), and “ran.” This lexeme excludes “runner” (a derived term—it has a derivational morpheme attached). Another way to thinkabout lexemes is that they are the set of words that would be included under one entry in the dictionary—”running” and “ran” would be found under “run,” but “runner” would not.
4. Syntax is a set of rules for constructing full sentences out of words and phrases. Every language has a different set of syntactic rules, but all languages have some form of syntax. In English, the smallest form of a sentence is a noun phrase (which might just be a noun or a pronoun) and a verb phrase (which may be a single verb). Adjectives and adverbs can be added to the sentence to provide further meaning. Word order matters in English, although in some languages, order is of less importance. For example, the English sentences “The baby ate the carrot” and “The carrot ate the baby” do not mean the same thing, even though they contain the exact same words. In languages like Finnish, word order doesn’t matter for general meaning—different word orders are used to emphasize different parts of the sentence.
5. Context is how everything within language works together to convey a particular meaning. Context includes tone of voice, body language, and the words being used. Depending on how a person says something, holds his or her body, or emphasizes certain points of a sentence, a variety of different messages can be conveyed. For example, the word “awesome,” when said with a big smile, means the person is excited about a situation. “Awesome,” said with crossed arms, rolled eyes, and a sarcastic tone, means the person is not thrilled with the situation.
6. 2 discuss the focus of curriculum to train English teachers.

1. A brief answer is hard to give as curriculum can be both written and unwritten. Essentially, curriculum is what the school is attempting to teach, which might include social behaviors as well as content and thinking skills.
2. A course of study that will enable the learner to acquire specific knowledge and skills.
3. A curriculum consists of the “roadmap” or “guideline” of any given discipline. Both the philosophy of teaching of the instructors as well as of the educational institution serve as two of the principles upon which a curriculum is based.
4. A curriculum is the combination of instructional practices, learning experiences, and students’ performance assessment that are designed to bring out and evaluate the target learning outcomes of a particular course.
5. A detailed plan for instruction set by policy-makers.
6. A selection of information, segregated into disciplines and courses, typically designed to achieve a specific educational objective.
7. As applied to education, curriculum is the series of things that students must do and experience by way of developing abilities to do the things well that adults do in life; and to be in all ways the people that they should be as adults.
8. Curriculum encompasses a variety of technical and non technical courses that are required to complete a specific degree.
9. Curriculum includes everything that takes place, and everything that does not take place, within the purview of the school.
10. Curriculum is a framework that sets expectations for student learning. It serves as a guide for teachers, a roadmap if you will, that establishes standards for student performance and teacher accountability.
11. Curriculum is a group of courses offered in a particular field of study.
12. Curriculum is a set of courses (offered by an educational institution) that are required to complete an area of specialization.
13. Curriculum is a set of courses that comprise a given area or specialty of study. I see curriculum as the framework of content or ingredients that relate to that given area of study. Curriculum often conjures up words such as format, guidelines, content of “what to teach,” and “what the student needs to learn.” I see curriculum in both formal and informal ways, i.e., as a body of related information that an educator needs to convey, but with latitude in the strategies that an educator may use to convey the information.
14. Curriculum is all of the courses of study offered ( science, math, reading, etc.) and those guidelines for teaching and learning set forth for a particular educational institution.
15. Curriculum is any criteria, element, aspect, that aids in children’s learning.
16. Curriculum is specifically what you teach within each discipline and at each level.
17. Curriculum is the “floor plan” or blueprint for what is going to be taught/learned/experienced … in the academic classroom over a period of time.
18. Curriculum is the delivery component of an institutions’ educational mission, values, and theory of learning. It should follow in-depth discussions regarding “what a student should learn” and “how a student can best learn.”
19. Curriculum is the expectations for what will be taught and what students will do in a program of study. It includes teacher-made materials, textbooks, and national and state standards.
20. Curriculum is the gathered information that has been considered relevant to a specific topic. It can always be changed or added to in order to become relevant to the times.
21. Curriculum is the goals, assessments, methods, and materials used to teach a particular skill or subject. I include thinking under “skill.”
22. Curriculum is the guidelines by which different content matters are taught and assessed.
23. Curriculum is the outline of concepts to be taught to students to help them meet the content standards.
24. Curriculum is what is taught in a given course or subject.
25. Curriculum refers to an interactive system of instruction and learning with specific goals, contents, strategies, measurement, and resources. The desired outcome of curriculum is successful transfer and/or development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
26. Everything that is written, taught and tested in an educational program of study.
27. General course design or syllabus, including goals and standards for proficiency.
28. Guidelines for course instruction with attention to content, teaching style and academic standards.
29. I feel that curriculum is anything which is planned and designed to sequentially improve students’ knowledge and skills.
30. I guess curriculum represents the courses offered for any educational program. The curriculum’s design is based on what past/current educators believe is important for students to know. Importance may be based on content that is covered in the course which is (1) competitive with other institutions (2)usable in the future career, or (3) what the school/faculty feel is an interesting topic to cover. I’m sure there are other reasons for importance but none come to mind at this time.
31. I suppose that my definition would speak not only to the objectives of the school program and the means by which those goals are to be reached, it would also include the philosophical construct underlying the goals and methods. For example, late in my career as a math teacher I became very interested in having the students “feel” mathematics. I wanted the students to experience the “why’s” and “how’s” that would build a higher level of understanding. In my view, curriculum is more than just what is done, it’s WHY it’s done ? on a deeper level than just to cover the text or get the kids to pass the DSTP.
32. I think of curriculum in two ways. One: the organized method of placing nursing and related courses to meet the goal of successful completion of the nursing program competencies. The other view I have about curriculum is organizing courses around a faculty adopted conceptual framework. The faculty develop concepts and subconcepts. From this framework the course objectives/ competencies and learning activities are developed. There is a logical progression of learning.
33. In a spectrum from abstract to concrete, curriculum lies in the fuzzy middle. The curriculum is sandwiched between abstract standards (usually content-based) and super-practical lesson plans and activites. Curriculum embodies the “what” and, explicity or implicitly, the “how” of teaching. Although usually containing “what” is to be taught, curriculum directly suggests or indirectly implies how it should be taught. For example, a curriculum with an inordinate amount of targets and content to be taught is more likely to be taught in a traditional (discussion or lecture-centered) approach than in a constructivist (pedagogy) approach.
34. Officially, curriculum is the formal delineation of what is to be taught and how it is to be taught. Beyond that, however, there lots of questions and caveats regarding the formal, written curriculum as compared to the curriculum as actually delivered in the classroom. Is there, for example, a difference between what a school’s official curriculum and another “hidden curriculum” representing what the system or the teacher “really” wants students to learn? If there is no formal curriculum document but students are still learning good things from teachers, is it meaningful to say that there is a de facto curriculum that has somehow come about to fill the void? To what extent is methodology a matter of formal curriculum and to what extent is it a matter of individual teacher academic freedom?
35. On a concrete level, curriculum is that list of “stuff” we ask students to do to demonstrate learning and outcomes. It’s also the list of “stuff” that we want to tell them.
    On a less concrete–but even more important–level, curriculum is the philosophy that drives us to create the “stuff” above. That is, I think that curriculum is, at its best, a collection of “stuff” that is derived from carefully thinking about the big picture. What do we want students to know and how will it be relevant to them once they’re gone? If it’s not relevant to them, then the question is whether they became better thinkers. And if they are better thinkers, then I’d wager that the “stuff” was driven by the principles behind it (and not the other way around)
36. Personally I think curriculum is a kind of design, setup, offering, or arrangement of subjects and courses.
37. Scope and sequence or essential concepts and content that required in educational programs. Curriculum includes methods and materials used in delivery of essential content.
38. Technically “curriculum” may be considered the “what” of an education-however it is I think intertwined with the “how” or the pedagogy/theory (of method) as well.
39. The course an academic program follows.
40. The curriculum is the program of instruction. It should be based on both standards and best practice research. It should be the framework that teachers use to plan instruction for their students.
41. The dictionary definition of “curriculum” is the following: all the courses of study offered at a university or school. I totally don’t agree with that. This would be a good definition for someone who is not in education to understand. I believe that it is more specific In my line of work objectives, performance indicators, philosophies and ways to approach these objectives are all aspects under the scope and sequence of a curriculum.
42. the structure and/or materials used to convey information to students.
43. The written curriculum is a plan of what is to be taught. It is a focus for what teachers do. Dr. Fenwick English, Purdue University, believes there are three types of curriculum: written, taught, and tested. They must be the same.
44. What we teach, both written and unwritten

1. 3 Explain Dr. West’s new methods of teaching in English.
2. Reading:

According to Dr. West, Indian children should first be taught how to read English. The teacher should engage them in purposeful silent reading. This would increase the students power of comprehension. In order to develop the habit of purposeful silent reading in the children he provides us with a new type of reading book containing interesting reading matter and a specially selected vocabulary. Read More Teaching English The minimum number as selected. By Dr. West for his readers is 2,280 which has been classified under the following four heads:

• Essential words – This, it, is, a, shall etc.
• Common environmental words – chair, table, glass, bus etc.
• General Words – good, bad, nice etc.
• Specific environmental words – tree, garden, river, mountain etc.

The new words have been evenly distributed in the lesson and they are frequently repeated to make students familiar with them. a good number of pictures have also been provided. Dr. West has permitted the use of the mother tongue in his method according to necessity. Read More Teaching English Moreover, there are companion Books with vernacular meaning of the new words. Pupil’s comprehension in reading is measured with the help of comprehension tests. But in preparing his readers Dr. West has not followed any well-defined grammatical plan.

Dr. West holds that Supplementary Readers should be used along with the New method readers in order to arose interest in other reading and to give more practice in silent extensive reading but new words should not be occurred in the Supplementary Readers. Read More Teaching English In this method the teacher has to give necessary help when called for.

2. Oral Work:

Dr. West, while stressing silent reading, has made provision for some oral work mainly in the form of reading aloud before silent reading begins. An alternative short primer has been provided for ‘speech training on a sentence method’. He admits that, speaking gives reality to the subsequent reading of the language. The primer is meant for only those teachers who intend to start with a small amount of speech training. Dr. West has taken oral work as a preliminary subsidiary to the art of reading.

3. Training in Speech:

Dr. West has given some scope for training in speech to make his method complete. In order to give a scheme of speech training he has made a distinction between speech and vocabulary. According to him “The ideal speaking vocabulary is the most easily learnt and most easily used set of word which is capable of expressing correctly the largest number of ideas”. The size of the speaking vocabulary is much smaller than that of the reading vocabulary. Dr. West has selected a minimum speaking vocabulary of 1,158 words capable of expressing all our ordinary ideas. Read More Teaching English He has classified these words under two main heads, viz, ‘form’ words and ‘content’ words. Dr. West holds that specific practice in speaking and drill in vocabulary should be given in order to develop the speaking ability in children. In his new method composition books he has provided question, orders and other forms of exercises for this purpose. According to him, no attempt should be made to teach any two-language skills at the same time. He also holds that written work should be correlated with oral work. In the New Method, theoretical grammar is not taught separately, but is used for curative purposes when necessary. Dr. West holds that grammar should be regarded ‘not as a diet, but as a drug’. Dr. West considered English as a skill subject and emphasized the principle of specific practice. For this purpose, he wanted teachers to work out different types of exercises and to conduct drills. His Teachers’ Hand Books serve as guidebooks for teachers.

MERITS:

• West was one of those who first paid attention to the selection and grading of vocabulary and took the first step in its reform. Read More Teaching English
• West’s New Method is very effective in the teaching of reading through it has some important pedagogical drawback.
• In view of the limited time now available for teaching English and considering the fact that most of the Indian children will need only a passive knowledge of it in their future occupations, this method can profitably be employed in teaching the language in India. Read More Teaching English
• The graded Readers, companions, composition books, supplementary Readers and Teachers’ Handbooks were all interesting and appeared to be helpful. The practice exercises are quite interesting.

DEMERITS:

• West has over-estimated the value of reading by saying that it by far the shortest road to learning to speak and write it. Reading can assist speaking and writing to some extent by supplying some linguistic materials, but it can not be ‘the shortest road’ to learning then.
• If the pupils have to start with reading in the initial stage, the language learning is sure to be dull and lifeless to him. Read More Teaching EnglishSo it is un-psychological.
• West’s view that ‘a reading knowledge of a language is easier to acquire than a speaking’ is not supported by the modern educationists. They hold that a speaking knowledge is easier to acquire than a reading or writing. Moreover, ‘children should not begin reading till they have acquired facility in speech and a fairly large vocabulary.
• West has over emphasized the importance of acquiring a vocabulary and has selected the commonest words. But he has neglected the graduated introduction of sentence patterns and also of the phrases and idioms that are essential elements in developing language sense. The frequent use of the same word may develop an artificial style.
• This method attaches too much of importance to silent reading. No doubt, in learning of a language, silent reading has an important role. Also this method does not give due importance to the oral work. To neglect oral work in the lower classes is unscientific and un-psychological. Read More Teaching EnglishMoreover, the distintion of speaking and reading can not be maintained in practice.
• West’s new method of teaching English does not help Indian students to achieve the four-fold objectives of language learning as already specified. Among other limitations of the New method the want of the graduated introduction of sentence patterns, the total language, the isolated study of words, the total neglect of grammar and composition, can be mentioned.

1. 4 Explain Choic method of teaching English. How would you suggest the best method for the teaching of English school level?

Throughout the history of teaching languages a number of different teaching approaches and methodologies have been tried and tested with some being more popular and effective than others. If you’re just beginning your TEFL career, it would be beneficial to be familiar with a few of these.

The Direct Method

If you’ve ever heard the Direct Method being taught, you may have rightly mistaken it for some sort of military drill, which is not far off as it was first established in France and Germany in the early 1900’s to assist soldiers to communicate in a second language quickly.

The direct method of teaching English is also known as the Natural Method. It’s used to teach a number of different languages not just English, and the main idea of the Direct Method is that it only uses the target language that the students are trying to learn.

Its main focus is oral skill and it is taught via repetitive drilling. Grammar is taught using an inductive way and students need to try and guess the rules through the teacher’s oral presentation.
Today popular forms of the Direct Method are Callan and Berlitz.

The Grammar Translation Method

Just like its name suggests, this method of teaching English is grammar heavy and relies a lot on translation. This is the traditional or ‘classical’ way of learning a language and it’s still commonly used when learning some languages. Some countries prefer this style of teaching and the main idea behind this method is that the students learn all grammar rules, so they’re able to translate a number of sentences. This is particularly common for those students who wish to study literature at a deeper level.

The Audio Lingual Method

The Audio Lingual Method otherwise known as the New Key Method or Army Method is based on a behavirourist theory that things are able to be learned by constant reinforcement. However, just like in the army when someone behaves badly (or in this case bad use of English), the learner receives negative feedback and the contrary happens when a student demonstrates good use of English.

This is related to the Direct Method and just like its predecessor it only uses the target language. The biggest difference between the Audio Lingual Method and the Direct Method is its focus of teaching. The Direct Methods focuses on the teaching of vocabulary whereas the Audio Lingual Method focuses on specific grammar teachings.

The Structural Approach

As the name suggests, the method is all about structure. The idea is that any language is made up of complex grammar rules. These rules, according to this approach need to be learnt in a specific order, for example the logical thing would be to teach the verb “to be” prior to teaching the present continuous which requires using the auxiliary form of the verb “to be.”

Suggestopedia

This is a behaviourist theory and related to pseudoscience. This method relies heavily on students’ belief about the method’s effectiveness. This theory is intended to offer learners various choices, which in turn helps them become more responsible for their learning.

It relies a lot on the atmosphere and the physical surroundings of the class. It’s essential that all learners feel equally comfortable and confident. When teachers are training to use the Suggestopedia method, there’s a lot of art and music involved. Each Suggestopedia lesson is divided into three different phases – 1. Deciphering 2. Concert Session 3. Elaboration.

Total Physical Response

Total Physical Response, otherwise known as TPR is an approach that follows the idea of ‘learning by doing’. Beginners will learn English through a series of repetitive actions such as “Stand up”, “Open your book”, “Close the door”, and “Walk to the window and open it.” With TPR, the most important skill is aural comprehension and everything else will follow naturally later.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

The idea behind this approach is to help learners communicate more effectively and correctly in realistic situations that they may find themselves in. This type of teaching involves focusing on important functions like suggesting, thanking, inviting, complaining, and asking for directions to name but a few.

The Silent Way

The Silent Way emphasises learner autonomy. The teacher acts merely as a facilitator trying to encourage students to be more active in their learning. The main of this way of teaching is for the teacher to say very little, so students can take control of their learning. There’s a big emphasis on pronunciation and a large chunk of the lesson focuses on it. This method of learning English follows a structural syllabus and grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation are constantly drilled and recycled for reinforcement. The teacher evaluates their students through careful observation, and it’s even possible that they may never set a formal test as learners are encouraged to correct their own language errors.

Community Language Learning

This is probably one of the English teaching methods where the student feels the safest as there’s a great emphasis on the relationship and bond between the student and teacher. Unlike a lot of the other methods and approaches of teaching English as a Second Language, a lot of the L1 (mother tongue) is used for translation purposes.

Task Based Language Learning

The main aim of this approach to learning is task completion. Usually, relevant and interesting tasks are set by the teacher and students are expected to draw on their pre-existing knowledge of English to complete the task with as few errors as possible.

The Lexical Approach

The Lexical syllabus or approach is based on computer studies that have previously identified the most commonly used words. This approach in teaching focuses on vocabulary acquisition and teaching lexical chunks in order of their frequency and use. Teachers of the Lexical Approach place a great emphasis on authentic materials and realistic scenarios for more valuable learning. 

1. 5 what is the purpose and types of reading?

Reading skills encompass a variety of skills that can permeate all aspects of life. Having strong reading abilities can enable you to interpret and find meaning in everything you read, and when you continuously improve these skills, you can develop your ability to communicate effectively through writing. Literacy encompasses so much of what we do that it can be a critical skill to possess, both in your personal life as well as within your career.

Reading skills are abilities that pertain to a person’s capacity to read, comprehend, interpret and decode written language and texts. Exceptional reading skills can be highly beneficial to assimilating and responding to written communications like emails, messages, letters and other written messages. Using reading skills in the workplace can also be important for ensuring effective written communication, which can result in less miscommunication or misunderstanding of expectations.

Reading skills can also encompass several key aspects that work together to develop overall literacy skills, including comprehension, fluency, vocabulary and strategies that help readers interpret and find meaning in texts.

Reading comprehension is simply the ability to understand what you read. Strong reading comprehension typically encompasses a variety of literacy skills needed to interpret and identify meanings within a text. Several elements like fluency, the ability to decode unfamiliar vocabulary and using context clues from the reading to identify key features of a text can all be components of effective reading comprehension.

Essential skills needed for reading comprehension include:

• Decoding
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Inference

• Retention

Decoding

Decoding is a skill that relies on your ability to sound out words you’ve heard but never seen written out. It relies on phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear individual sounds in words and connect those sounds to letters. Making the connection between a letter or group of letters the sounds they make and is a crucial step to “sounding out” or decoding words.

Fluency

Fluency refers to a mix of different factors. First, it focuses on your ability to read clearly with flow. Fluency also focuses on your ability to decode new vocabulary quickly while reading. Fluency is what it sounds like to read, which can directly impact your ability to comprehend what you read. For example, as a child becomes more fluent in their reading, they will be able to quickly find meaning and an understanding of what they read, which contributes to understanding the text.

Vocabulary

The ability to decode or determine the meaning of new words can also influence your reading comprehension. When you can quickly interpret new meanings and identify relationships between new vocabulary and familiar terms, you can increase your ability to make assumptions, form ideas and generally better understand the texts you read.

Inference

Inference is also a key element of reading comprehension. When we make inferences, we are connecting information from texts to our own ideas and opinions that help us identify the meaning of what we read. For instance, when reading an article about plastics in the oceans, you might make an inference that to reduce the amount of plastic waste you should recycle. Inferring happens when we read a text where the purpose and meaning of the text is not implicitly stated. Additionally, the ability to connect ideas and make inferences can help increase retention.

Retention

Reading comprehension is typically all about retaining what we read. Comprehension is based on the retention of information. By practicing your summarizing skills and remembering what you have read, you can further strengthen your reading comprehension.

There are a variety of ways you might improve your reading skills. You might practice speed reading to improve your fluency or make notes each time you encounter unfamiliar vocabulary. The following steps also help outline what you might do to improve and further develop your reading skills.

1. Set aside time to read each day.
2. Set reading goals.
3. Preview the texts you read.
4. Determine the purpose.
5. Apply key reading strategies.
6. Take notes while you read.
7. Apply what you read by summarizing.

1. Set aside time to read each day.

One of the most effective ways to build your skills is to practice. Developing your reading skills will ultimately take practice, and you can set aside 10 to 15 minutes each day to read. You can read news articles, fiction, magazine issues or any kind of text, as long as you are taking the time to practice your reading skills.

2. Set reading goals.

You can set reading goals for yourself to help you develop a wider vocabulary, gain a deeper understanding of different texts and improve your ability to make connections between things you read and your own perspectives and ideas.

For example, you might set a goal to learn different vocabulary related to a central topic like business management, technology or another subject that interests you. Then, you can find meanings to unfamiliar words that help build your vocabulary as you read. As you build your vocabulary to higher-level words and phrases, you can increase the difficulty level of the texts you read.

3. Preview the texts you read.

Previewing and scanning over texts can be another step toward improving your reading skills. You can apply this strategy by previewing titles, captions, headlines and other text features to get an idea of what you are reading about. This can help you form central ideas about the text before you begin reading it.

4. Determine the purpose.

As you read through different texts, practice determining the purpose. Think about why various texts were written and what meanings or themes can be understood from a text. Additionally, you might identify the purpose that you are reading for, such as to find information, follow instructions in a manual or to enjoy a story. Knowing your purpose for reading a text can help you look for key ideas and details that support your purpose.

5. Apply key reading strategies.

As you read different texts, you can apply several key strategies to help you increase your comprehension. For instance, when previewing a text, you might identify the text structure as informational, persuasive or instructional. You might also determine key elements of different texts like the central themes, problems and solutions or comparative ideas presented in what you read. Using strategies like identifying text features, determining the purpose and taking notes can all work to help you improve your reading skills.

6. Take notes while you read.

Another highly effective method for improving your reading skills is to take notes while you read. For instance, you might take notes while reading a fiction novel to gain a deeper understanding of the author’s choice of language, or you might write down new vocabulary while reading a science journal. Effective note-taking can prompt you to ask questions about and make connections to what you read.

Similarly, creating visual representations like charts, tables or diagrams can clarify themes and ideas and can help you form inferences from your reading. Note-taking can be highly beneficial for comprehension exercises like summarizing, too.

7. Apply what you read by summarizing.

Summarizing what you read can also improve your reading skills. Summarizing forces you to remember specific details and central topics about what you read in your own words and through your own unique perspective. You might try verbally summarizing what you read by sharing information with a friend or write a short summary to help you retain and comprehend what you read.