JOURNAL #2

Discuss readings skills that you have learned in this class, but have rarely used in your reading. Do you think they are really necessary ones for better reading? Why or why not?

 

There is a vast range of skills that one can apply to the reading process. These skills can be categorized in so many different ways. For this entry I would like to refer to the general categories of reading skills: 1) word attack skills; 2) comprehension skills; 3) fluency skills; and 4) critical reading skills. Word attack skills include recognizing syllable patterns, converting strings to sound on occasions, recognizing upper- and lower-case letters and recognizing word boundaries. Comprehension skills include grammatical competence and knowledge of morphology, syntax, mechanics, using context to gain meaning, using schemata as aids, using metacognitive knowledge, recognizing text structure and predicting what will come next. Fluency skills involve sight word recognition and recognizing high-frequency letter clusters, rapid reading, and possessing an extensive vocabulary. Critical reading skills involves seeing the cause-and-effect or comparison relationships in the text, or adopting a critical stance toward the text.

Among these skills I have rarely used word attack skills and fluency skills. Furthermore, regarding comprehension skills and critical reading skills I have used some skills such as using context to gain meaning, using schemata as aids, and seeing the cause-and-effect of text. However, I have not used many metacognitive knowledge and grammatical knowledge when reading a text. On the one hand, it might just be that I do not realize that I am using certain skills.

During the reading process, all of these skills are important. Some may be more necessary in one context and less necessary in another. To be specific, word attack skills may be necessary for a beginner. Recognizing that the script represents units of language and decoding the text is the basis for further understanding of the text. Likewise, word attack skills will be helpful for beginners. However, in some cases word attack skills may interfere with fluent reading. Fluency skills may be necessary for readers with a specific purpose such as solving problems or reading for a test item. Fluency skills help readers to read more quickly. Comprehension skills and critical reading skills are the most important skills during the reading process. Comprehension skills assist readers to derive meaning from a text. Comprehension skills can compensate for incomplete understanding. They can help readers to infer meaning and constantly construct and re-construct the knowledge they have gained from texts. Critical reading skills also assist understanding of text and make the reader and active reader.

Overall, all reading skills are necessary and help the reader read efficiently and more meaningfully.  The use of certain reading skills may differ based on the type of reading and the context but it is certain that they assist our reading.