Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved October 23rd, 2009, from http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article.pdf
Flanagan (1954) describes the critical incident technique (CIT), a research method developed during World War II. The six subheadings of his article deal with the most important topics: the development, fundamental principles, present status, and uses of the CIT as well as a review of studies employing the technique and suggestions for further applications. The CIT is considered as a flexible method that involves certain procedures for the collection and analysis of specific behaviours “in such a way as to facilitate their potential usefulness in solving practical problems and developing broad psychological principles” (Flanagan, 1954, para.2). Though written fifty-five years ago, this in-depth article describes an effective technique which can collect factual incidents that can help teachers and other professionals apply their professional judgment to reflect on their practices.
Personal Information
25/02/2010
The skills of quoting and paraphrasing
Citing other writers’ work is a complex task which demands the appropriate use of a set of rules. Therefore, we, post-graduate learners of English, need to be acquainted with the uses of in-text citations in order to integrate short or long quotations and paraphrases into our papers. In one of her articles, Myles (2002) blends quotations with introductory phrases and paraphrases trying to enhance the credibility of her writing and support her own claims.
In Myles’s (2002) article, different types of quotations are highly integrated, introduced with effective reporting verbs and also blended with striking paraphrases. For instance, many short quotations are well integrated into complete sentences preceded by prepositions like “by”, “of”, “in” and “as”. On the other hand, reporting verbs such as “observe”, “conclude”, “argue” and “point out” or phrases like “according to” introduce the longer quotations. Some of these quotations are preceded by a colon and a sentence written by Myles (2002) paraphrasing other writers’ words:
He states that we very often use feelings as information: “When faced with a situation about which we have to make a judgement we often ask ourselves how we feel about it…we may also employ feelings when time constraints and competing tasks limit our cognitive capacities.” (p. 7)
In addition, Myles (2002) links paraphrases and direct quotations when citing authors’ words: “According to Ellis (1985), it is through analyzing learner errors that we elevate ‘the status of errors …learning process’” (p. 9).
When directly quoting, Myles (2002) has made use of insertions and ellipsis in order to change letters and omit some words or whole sentences. For instance, the writer has used square brackets to change lower-case letters to upper-case letters when citing the words “learners” and “although” at the beginning of two long quotations. On the other hand, Myles (2002) has deleted unnecessary words in some of her quotations. For example, “Indeed, writing ‘should not be viewed solely as an individually-oriented, inner-directed cognitive process, but as much as an acquired response to the discourse conventions . . . within particular communities’” (p. 3).
In conclusion, Myles (2002) has extended the depth of her writing by successfully blending elaborate paraphrases with illustrative quotations from a variety of sources. Therefore, this author has succeeded in composing a scholarly journal article since she has fulfilled the academic writing requirements. Indeed, her writing can be regarded as a "vehicle for constructing and negotiating knowledge claims" (Mac Donald, 1994, p. 9).
References
Mac Donald, S. P. (1994). Professional academic writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Carbondale, SI: Southern Illinois University Press.
Myles, J. (2002). Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in Student Texts. TESEL-EJ, 6, 2, 2002. Queen's University. Retrieved September 12th, 2009, from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESl-EJ/ej22/a1.html
In Myles’s (2002) article, different types of quotations are highly integrated, introduced with effective reporting verbs and also blended with striking paraphrases. For instance, many short quotations are well integrated into complete sentences preceded by prepositions like “by”, “of”, “in” and “as”. On the other hand, reporting verbs such as “observe”, “conclude”, “argue” and “point out” or phrases like “according to” introduce the longer quotations. Some of these quotations are preceded by a colon and a sentence written by Myles (2002) paraphrasing other writers’ words:
He states that we very often use feelings as information: “When faced with a situation about which we have to make a judgement we often ask ourselves how we feel about it…we may also employ feelings when time constraints and competing tasks limit our cognitive capacities.” (p. 7)
In addition, Myles (2002) links paraphrases and direct quotations when citing authors’ words: “According to Ellis (1985), it is through analyzing learner errors that we elevate ‘the status of errors …learning process’” (p. 9).
When directly quoting, Myles (2002) has made use of insertions and ellipsis in order to change letters and omit some words or whole sentences. For instance, the writer has used square brackets to change lower-case letters to upper-case letters when citing the words “learners” and “although” at the beginning of two long quotations. On the other hand, Myles (2002) has deleted unnecessary words in some of her quotations. For example, “Indeed, writing ‘should not be viewed solely as an individually-oriented, inner-directed cognitive process, but as much as an acquired response to the discourse conventions . . . within particular communities’” (p. 3).
In conclusion, Myles (2002) has extended the depth of her writing by successfully blending elaborate paraphrases with illustrative quotations from a variety of sources. Therefore, this author has succeeded in composing a scholarly journal article since she has fulfilled the academic writing requirements. Indeed, her writing can be regarded as a "vehicle for constructing and negotiating knowledge claims" (Mac Donald, 1994, p. 9).
References
Mac Donald, S. P. (1994). Professional academic writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Carbondale, SI: Southern Illinois University Press.
Myles, J. (2002). Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in Student Texts. TESEL-EJ, 6, 2, 2002. Queen's University. Retrieved September 12th, 2009, from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/TESl-EJ/ej22/a1.html
The process of summarizing
Summaries are an important part of learning, and as such they are not a simple and mechanical task. Indeed, summaries should contain effective introductions, bodies and conclusions. In order to engage post-graduate students in the writing of accurate academic summaries, Pintos (2008) provided a model summary, which will be analyzed and judged in the present paper, and also some explanations to write academic summaries respecting standards.
The introductions of summaries should have introductory phrases which serve to outline the major ideas and specify the source. For instance, in the summary offered by Pintos (2008), the first sentence is as follows “In her book ‘The Process of Paragraph Writing’, Reid (1994) describes the main characteristics of a summary” (p. 20). On the other hand, the second sentence helps direct the reader since it expresses the most important characteristic of a summary, its purpose.
As regards the body of the summary provided by Pintos (2008), the use of connectors such as “however”, “not only…but also”, “moreover”, “that is to say” help the readers find the connections between the ideas in the text. However, some important points of the introduction such as the specific audience are not explained in the body and the characteristic of “balanced” seems confusing to the reader since it is not briefly explained. Besides, the last sentence does not seem a conclusion since it lacks objectivity and does not convey the main points of the summary.
By offering simple explanations, Pintos (2008) helps post-graduate students identify the academic writing requirements for summaries. Indeed, summaries involve reporting the most important ideas and parts of a text for diverse purposes and audiences (Reid, 1994; cited in Pintos, 2008). Pintos (2008) has noted that academic summaries should deal with topics connected to the academia and have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Besides, in order to write an effective summary, the ideas need to be paraphrased or cited using quotation marks; connectors have to relate the main points in the body and conclusions should be objective (Pintos, 2008).
In brief, writing an academic summary is not an easy task since it requires the analysis and organization of the most important ideas of a text. By analyzing the model summary provided by Pintos (2008) and reading her explanations, I was given the opportunity of being in the readers’ shoes and understanding the importance of using appropriate connectors when writing and respecting the introduction, body and conclusion parts of a text in order to organize the main ideas effectively.
References
Reid, J. (1994). The process of paragraph writing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Pintos, V. (2008). Unit 3: Academic Writing. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved October 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2725
The introductions of summaries should have introductory phrases which serve to outline the major ideas and specify the source. For instance, in the summary offered by Pintos (2008), the first sentence is as follows “In her book ‘The Process of Paragraph Writing’, Reid (1994) describes the main characteristics of a summary” (p. 20). On the other hand, the second sentence helps direct the reader since it expresses the most important characteristic of a summary, its purpose.
As regards the body of the summary provided by Pintos (2008), the use of connectors such as “however”, “not only…but also”, “moreover”, “that is to say” help the readers find the connections between the ideas in the text. However, some important points of the introduction such as the specific audience are not explained in the body and the characteristic of “balanced” seems confusing to the reader since it is not briefly explained. Besides, the last sentence does not seem a conclusion since it lacks objectivity and does not convey the main points of the summary.
By offering simple explanations, Pintos (2008) helps post-graduate students identify the academic writing requirements for summaries. Indeed, summaries involve reporting the most important ideas and parts of a text for diverse purposes and audiences (Reid, 1994; cited in Pintos, 2008). Pintos (2008) has noted that academic summaries should deal with topics connected to the academia and have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Besides, in order to write an effective summary, the ideas need to be paraphrased or cited using quotation marks; connectors have to relate the main points in the body and conclusions should be objective (Pintos, 2008).
In brief, writing an academic summary is not an easy task since it requires the analysis and organization of the most important ideas of a text. By analyzing the model summary provided by Pintos (2008) and reading her explanations, I was given the opportunity of being in the readers’ shoes and understanding the importance of using appropriate connectors when writing and respecting the introduction, body and conclusion parts of a text in order to organize the main ideas effectively.
References
Reid, J. (1994). The process of paragraph writing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Pintos, V. (2008). Unit 3: Academic Writing. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved October 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2725
The secret of success
In his speech at the 2005 Commencement at Stanford University, Jobs (2005) transmitted his personal philosophy by telling three of his life stories related to college, work, love and illness. This executive advised graduate students to “have the courage to follow your heart and intuition” (Jobs, 2005) after sharing his experience of leaving college and being dismissed from Apple which afterwards, led to his later success in computer technology. To conclude his speech, Jobs (2005) revealed the moment he felt close to death to encourage graduates to follow their feelings and look for what they love enjoying life in their own way.
References
Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement speech. (2005). Retrieved October 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA
References
Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement speech. (2005). Retrieved October 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA
Exploring the critical incident technique
Not only teachers but also other professionals can have the opportunity of reflecting on their practices by applying their professional judgment through the use of many effective techniques. The critical incident (CIT) is one of these techniques since it can be successfully used to gather useful and practical information by analyzing people’s actions and behaviours in specific situations. In order to use the critical incident technique effectively and purposefully, general aims need to be clearly defined and proper procedures for the collection and analysis of objective facts have to be followed (Flanagan, 1954).
The critical incident technique involves the collection and evaluation of specific actions and behaviours which can be actively employed for the solution of problems and the elaboration of psychological principles. An incident can be any functional activity that is inferred and predicted by its doer and it is considered critical when the observer can clearly define the purposes and consequences of that particular action studied (Flanagan, 1954). According to Flanagan (1954), a reported observation can be approved if those actions were collected objectively by making use of few subjective interpretations and inferences. Besides, this psychologist points out that “the critical incident technique does not consist of a single rigid set of rules” (The Procedure in Its Present Form, 1954, para.1) since its principles are adjustable and changeable to satisfy the particular situation observed.
When making use of the critical incident technique, general aims should be formulated for the correct assessment and planning of specific behaviours. Indeed, it would not be possible to judge a person’s particular action if the observer does not know what he/she is expected to achieve. Moreover, the situation to be observed should be specified and examples of behaviours should be provided in order to help the observer make an objective description. On the other hand, the authorities in the field of study such as supervisors and principals should not only propose the possible main purposes of an activity but also agree on them. After defining each general aim clearly and briefly, these authorities should provide observers with detailed instructions regarding the standards that need to be applied when evaluating the behaviours in a specific situation so that those particular actions observed are relevant to the general aims already defined (Flanagan, 1954).
After an activity has been observed, accurate data which meets the general objectives needs to be collected through procedures such as individual and group interviews, questionnaires and written records. Interviews are made by trained staff that collects detailed descriptions from the observers by asking suitable questions related to the general aims of the activity. Then, the group interview procedure can take the form of a questionnaire when the observers abound. Regarding written records, Flanagan (1954) explained that the details of incidents can be recorded in the way they occur or through the use of forms where a check can be assigned to describe and classify observations. Taking into account the diversity and complexity of any teaching situation in a classroom, the most suitable procedure in the educational field is the individual interview since many relevant details would need to be collected from the observers.
Once the data has been collected, it needs to be properly analyzed so that it can be usefully employed for solutions to practical problems in many concrete situations. For example, a typical performance of an officer, a teacher or a principal can be measured by means of a check list which assesses all the important behaviours of a situation. Moreover, proficiency measures have been adopted through the use of standard samples of behaviour in order to assess participants’ performance at the end of training courses such as military personnel. Training problems have also been evaluated for the military in specific situations while factual incidents have been collected for experimental studies in the field of counseling and psychotherapy. On the other hand, the study of operating principles has provided a detailed description of relevant facts for the improvement of emergency services and aircrew operations (Flanagan, 1954).
As a conclusion, the critical incident technique is a flexible method that involves certain procedures for the collection and analysis of specific behaviours which need to be relevant to the general aims defined by the leading authorities in the field of study. Indeed, Flanagan (1954) points out that this effective technique can collect factual incidents which can be analyzed and applied to different areas such as education, psychology and military training programmes. In the educational field, teachers’ use of equipment such as boards, projectors, DVD or CD players and computers can be studied and adapted to enhance language learning in the classroom. Besides, teachers’ attitudes in the classroom could be observed and analyzed to check, for instance, if they encourage students to use the foreign language or if, on the contrary, they threaten learners by insisting on their mistakes.
References
Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved January 2008, from http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article.pdf
The critical incident technique involves the collection and evaluation of specific actions and behaviours which can be actively employed for the solution of problems and the elaboration of psychological principles. An incident can be any functional activity that is inferred and predicted by its doer and it is considered critical when the observer can clearly define the purposes and consequences of that particular action studied (Flanagan, 1954). According to Flanagan (1954), a reported observation can be approved if those actions were collected objectively by making use of few subjective interpretations and inferences. Besides, this psychologist points out that “the critical incident technique does not consist of a single rigid set of rules” (The Procedure in Its Present Form, 1954, para.1) since its principles are adjustable and changeable to satisfy the particular situation observed.
When making use of the critical incident technique, general aims should be formulated for the correct assessment and planning of specific behaviours. Indeed, it would not be possible to judge a person’s particular action if the observer does not know what he/she is expected to achieve. Moreover, the situation to be observed should be specified and examples of behaviours should be provided in order to help the observer make an objective description. On the other hand, the authorities in the field of study such as supervisors and principals should not only propose the possible main purposes of an activity but also agree on them. After defining each general aim clearly and briefly, these authorities should provide observers with detailed instructions regarding the standards that need to be applied when evaluating the behaviours in a specific situation so that those particular actions observed are relevant to the general aims already defined (Flanagan, 1954).
After an activity has been observed, accurate data which meets the general objectives needs to be collected through procedures such as individual and group interviews, questionnaires and written records. Interviews are made by trained staff that collects detailed descriptions from the observers by asking suitable questions related to the general aims of the activity. Then, the group interview procedure can take the form of a questionnaire when the observers abound. Regarding written records, Flanagan (1954) explained that the details of incidents can be recorded in the way they occur or through the use of forms where a check can be assigned to describe and classify observations. Taking into account the diversity and complexity of any teaching situation in a classroom, the most suitable procedure in the educational field is the individual interview since many relevant details would need to be collected from the observers.
Once the data has been collected, it needs to be properly analyzed so that it can be usefully employed for solutions to practical problems in many concrete situations. For example, a typical performance of an officer, a teacher or a principal can be measured by means of a check list which assesses all the important behaviours of a situation. Moreover, proficiency measures have been adopted through the use of standard samples of behaviour in order to assess participants’ performance at the end of training courses such as military personnel. Training problems have also been evaluated for the military in specific situations while factual incidents have been collected for experimental studies in the field of counseling and psychotherapy. On the other hand, the study of operating principles has provided a detailed description of relevant facts for the improvement of emergency services and aircrew operations (Flanagan, 1954).
As a conclusion, the critical incident technique is a flexible method that involves certain procedures for the collection and analysis of specific behaviours which need to be relevant to the general aims defined by the leading authorities in the field of study. Indeed, Flanagan (1954) points out that this effective technique can collect factual incidents which can be analyzed and applied to different areas such as education, psychology and military training programmes. In the educational field, teachers’ use of equipment such as boards, projectors, DVD or CD players and computers can be studied and adapted to enhance language learning in the classroom. Besides, teachers’ attitudes in the classroom could be observed and analyzed to check, for instance, if they encourage students to use the foreign language or if, on the contrary, they threaten learners by insisting on their mistakes.
References
Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved January 2008, from http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article.pdf
Reading for reflection
The article “Los Incidentes Críticos en la Formación y Perfeccionamiento del Profesorado de Secundaria de Ciencias de la Naturaleza” evoked lots of memories from past teaching experiences I had. Fernandez González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003) acknowledge the importance of analyzing the classroom events to develop effective teaching strategies which can help future teachers in their training. They particularly studied the possible causes of students’ misunderstanding about a microscopic examination they were asked to do in a science class in a Teacher Training College. In that class, students did not succeed in interpreting the microscopic images since they were not provided with an introduction to the topic and enough explanations. The description and analysis of that critical incident not only reminded me of a similar unsettling experience I had with a 6th year group, but also helped me find the possible causes of my students’ misbehaviour and low motivation.
I remember a particular lesson I had with a 6th year group which was chaotic because of disorganization and discipline problems. For that class, I gave a task to the group to work privately with the students who had low marks and had to take some oral exams. The task consisted in planning an ideal holiday in pairs by writing a timetable with the activities organized for each day of a whole week. I explained the task and provided the class with magazines so that students could cut and add pictures to their timetables. As I was in a hurry, thinking about all the learners who needed to make up, I did not give any kind of instruction about the layout of the timetable the class had to outline and I did not even provide them with a model on the blackboard. I assumed students knew what they had to do and considered the assignment easy since it was based on the vocabulary of a reading about adventure holidays they had done the previous lesson.
Obviously, when I sat down at my desk and started to get ready to test weak students orally, the rest of the class was already a mess. Instead of asking myself for its reason, I begged students for silence and asked them to work on the task. I was so busy calling individual learners for the oral tests and shouting at the rest for silence that I did not realize students did not know how to do the task, and that was the main reason for their misbehaviour and low motivation. Undoubtedly, as I had not given enough instructions, nobody could succeed in performing the task. As a result, I left the class with a terrible headache complaining about my students’ laziness and thinking about the way to motivate them to work in class, without realizing that the main cause of their misbehaviour had been my lack of explanations.
In conclusion, I was encouraged to reflect on my own practice after reading the analysis of a critical incident made by Fernandez González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez, (2003). I have realized that students’ low motivation can be caused by my own attitudes and ways of managing the class. Therefore, placing all the blame on the students and not reflecting on my own practice is not a positive sign of professionalism. Besides, it was interesting to know that we, teachers, not matter the subject being taught, are faced with similar situations which if shared and analyzed can help us to improve our instruction.
References
Fernandez González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N. & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista interuniversitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17- 001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza.
I remember a particular lesson I had with a 6th year group which was chaotic because of disorganization and discipline problems. For that class, I gave a task to the group to work privately with the students who had low marks and had to take some oral exams. The task consisted in planning an ideal holiday in pairs by writing a timetable with the activities organized for each day of a whole week. I explained the task and provided the class with magazines so that students could cut and add pictures to their timetables. As I was in a hurry, thinking about all the learners who needed to make up, I did not give any kind of instruction about the layout of the timetable the class had to outline and I did not even provide them with a model on the blackboard. I assumed students knew what they had to do and considered the assignment easy since it was based on the vocabulary of a reading about adventure holidays they had done the previous lesson.
Obviously, when I sat down at my desk and started to get ready to test weak students orally, the rest of the class was already a mess. Instead of asking myself for its reason, I begged students for silence and asked them to work on the task. I was so busy calling individual learners for the oral tests and shouting at the rest for silence that I did not realize students did not know how to do the task, and that was the main reason for their misbehaviour and low motivation. Undoubtedly, as I had not given enough instructions, nobody could succeed in performing the task. As a result, I left the class with a terrible headache complaining about my students’ laziness and thinking about the way to motivate them to work in class, without realizing that the main cause of their misbehaviour had been my lack of explanations.
In conclusion, I was encouraged to reflect on my own practice after reading the analysis of a critical incident made by Fernandez González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez, (2003). I have realized that students’ low motivation can be caused by my own attitudes and ways of managing the class. Therefore, placing all the blame on the students and not reflecting on my own practice is not a positive sign of professionalism. Besides, it was interesting to know that we, teachers, not matter the subject being taught, are faced with similar situations which if shared and analyzed can help us to improve our instruction.
References
Fernandez González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N. & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista interuniversitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17- 001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza.
Learning to read and write academically
Purpose: To show the essential features and connections between reading, writing and vocabulary development in academia.
Thesis: Learning to read and write professionally are two complex processes which can be closely connected through the development of academic vocabulary.
Audience: English teachers, post-graduate students, researchers.
I. Academic vocabulary for EAP (English for Academic Purposes) courses
A. Sinclair and Renouf’s (1988) criteria for lexical selection (as cited in Pintos, 2008)
1. common word forms
2. patterns of usage
3. possible combinations
A. Martin’s (1976) classification (as cited in Pintos, 2008)
1. The research-process vocabulary
a. verbs and nouns in context
2. The vocabulary of analysis
a. high-frequency verbs to present information
3. The vocabulary of evaluation
a. adjectives and adverbs present at critiques, reviews, and reports
II. Nuttall’s (1996) prerequisite to reading comprehension
1. same code shared by writer and reader
2. activation of L1 schemata
III. Effective use of written language
1. learning to read
2. learning to write
3. writing to learn
4. using written language in social contexts
IV. Language acquisition and language study through reading
1. vocabulary and grammar analysis
2. construction of sentences, paragraphs and texts
V. Purpose of reading
1. introduction of interesting and engaging texts
2. discussion stimulation
3. provocation of imaginative and creative responses
4. challenge of students’ cognitive capacities
5. general knowledge construction
VI. Reading of academic texts
1. acquisition of advanced literacy
2. motivation to write meaningfully
3. development of reading capacities
4. discovering of the target community
VII. Possibility for having a voice to be heard
References
Nuttall, C. (1996). Teaching reading skills in a foreign language. Oxford, UK: Macmillan/Heinemann.
Pintos, V. (2008). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved August 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2730
Thesis: Learning to read and write professionally are two complex processes which can be closely connected through the development of academic vocabulary.
Audience: English teachers, post-graduate students, researchers.
I. Academic vocabulary for EAP (English for Academic Purposes) courses
A. Sinclair and Renouf’s (1988) criteria for lexical selection (as cited in Pintos, 2008)
1. common word forms
2. patterns of usage
3. possible combinations
A. Martin’s (1976) classification (as cited in Pintos, 2008)
1. The research-process vocabulary
a. verbs and nouns in context
2. The vocabulary of analysis
a. high-frequency verbs to present information
3. The vocabulary of evaluation
a. adjectives and adverbs present at critiques, reviews, and reports
II. Nuttall’s (1996) prerequisite to reading comprehension
1. same code shared by writer and reader
2. activation of L1 schemata
III. Effective use of written language
1. learning to read
2. learning to write
3. writing to learn
4. using written language in social contexts
IV. Language acquisition and language study through reading
1. vocabulary and grammar analysis
2. construction of sentences, paragraphs and texts
V. Purpose of reading
1. introduction of interesting and engaging texts
2. discussion stimulation
3. provocation of imaginative and creative responses
4. challenge of students’ cognitive capacities
5. general knowledge construction
VI. Reading of academic texts
1. acquisition of advanced literacy
2. motivation to write meaningfully
3. development of reading capacities
4. discovering of the target community
VII. Possibility for having a voice to be heard
References
Nuttall, C. (1996). Teaching reading skills in a foreign language. Oxford, UK: Macmillan/Heinemann.
Pintos, V. (2008). Unit 1: Building up a community of teachers and prospective researchers. Universidad CAECE: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Retrieved August 2009, from
http://caece.campusuniversidad.com.ar/mod/resource/view.php?id=2730
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