Teaching of Pros
Prose is
a form of language which applies ordinary grammatical
structure and natural
flow of speech rather than rhythmic
structure (as in traditional poetry).
While there are critical
debates on the construction of prose, its simplicity and loosely
defined structure has led to its adoption for the majority of spoken dialogue,
factual discourse as well as topical and fictional writing. It is commonly
used, for example, in literature, newspapers, magazines,encyclopedias, broadcasting, film, history, philosophy, law and
many other forms of communication.
The
textbooks are written according to the structural approach, graded with each
lesson illustrating on or two teaching items- vocabulary and structure. Reading
skills are of two kinds. They are,
1.
The Intensive Reading skill
2.
The Extensive Reading skill.
Though
only one or two textbooks are used to teach all language skills, generally the
Intensive Reading skill is cultivated through the detailed textbook while the
Extensive Reading skill is practiced through the Supplementary readers. As we
are already aware of the fact that reading comprehension involves understanding
the subject matter of the lesson including the important ideas in it,and the
sequencing and relationship of these ideas to one another. It also involves
understanding the meaning of new words and grammatical structures.
TEACHING
OF PROSE
Prose
is meant for learning a language. Teaching prose means teaching reading with
comprehension. The learners are taught the skill of reading. The next step is
to teach them reading with comprehension. Reading with comprehension helps the
learners to acquire new vocabulary and content words. The power of
comprehension can be promoted through reading and listening.
Teaching
prose enables the students to understand the passage, to read fluently, to
enrich their vocabulary and to enjoy reading and writing. It enables the
learners to extend their knowledge of vocabulary and structures and to become
more proficient in the four language skills. It develops the ability of
speaking English correctly and fluently.
The
main aim of teaching prose is to develop the language ability of the students.
It is the intensive study of a language. The language ability helps the
learners to use English language without any problem.
1. The
main aims of teaching prose are
a) literary
and
b) content
To
achieve the literary and content, the aims of teaching of prose should be
intensive and extensive.
2. General
aims of teaching prose:
To
enable the students
a) To
understand the passage and grasp its meaning.
b) To
read with correct pronunciation, stress, intonation, pause and articulation of
voice.
c) To
enable students to understand the passage by silent reading.
d) To
enrich their active and passive vocabulary.
e) To
express the ideas of the passage orally and in writing.
f) To
enjoy reading and writing.
g) To
develop their imagination.
B. INTENSIVE
READING:
Reading
a text for accuracy is called intensive reading. It is done with the close
guidance of the teacher. It forces the learners to pay more attention to the
text. It involves the profound and detailed understanding of the text. It is
primarily concerned with the developing of reading strategies.
The
reading strategies are
1. Judgement
2. Reasoning
3. Interpretation
and
4. Appreciation
Intensive
reading is more an exercise in accuracy. Students do not read a text only for a
specific purpose of information. A text is considered suitable for scanning of
information, paying attention to the writer’s intensions, arguments, ideas,
style, etc., The students are expected to answer all questions which involve
their understanding of the text, grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc.,
C. EXTENSIVE
READING
Extensive
reading or reading for fluency involves reading of longer texts for pleasure.
It is not meant for minute details. It is a fluency activity. The students can
read on their own. This is called Rapid
reading or Independent silent reading. The specific objectives of extensive
reading are:
1. To
understand the meaning as quickly as possible.
2. To
increase passive vocabulary.
3. To
develop taste for reading.
4. To
develop the habit of reading for pleasure.
5. To
concentrate upon subject matter.
The
term extensive reading means to read silently and quickly. It helps to read
without the help of the teacher. It trains the reader to understand the subject
matter as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It
plays a vital role in the learning of second/foreign language. The students are
made to read as much as possible. They are given choice and freedom to select
the books of their choice. Reading has its own reward. There are no follow up
activities. The reading texts are within the linguistic competence of the
reader. Students are permitted to read at their own pace. They choose when to
read or where to read. This creates interest among the learners. So they learn
to read faster without any disturbance.
Steps
involved in Extensive reading
I)
Introduction:
1. The
teacher gives main hints of the passage,
2. He
explains the difficult portions,
3. He
deals with difficult areas of a language,
II.)
Silent Reading:
1. The
students should read silently and quickly.
III.)
Question:
1. The
teacher asks questions to test the students understanding.
In
extensive reading, the readers must read silently and understand the matter.
This would create interest among the readers. The students may not be
interested in reading text books. Interesting magazines, newspaper, etc., may
be recommended.
D. EFFECTIVE
TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR PROSE
Teaching
prose focuses on increasing student's comprehension of the material and
establishing a personal connection to it. The key is to use a variety of
strategies to keep students interested and involved. "Teaching
Strategies" author Leif Danielson states, "As an overall teaching
strategy: Teacher should create the conditions that will elicit the behavior
that he/she wants from your class or an individual student."
1. Read
Encourage
students to read the material several times if needed. Repeated observation
reveals what they may have missed the first time. Introduce active reading
strategies at the beginning of the course. First, teach them to observe what is
on the page -- the facts and answers to "who, what, when, where, and
how." Then encourage them to notice patterns, connections,
repetition or contradictions. Tell them to question everything and explain
that a situation or item wouldn't be in the text if there wasn't a reason for
it. Lastly, teach students to discover the theme of the text -- what the
author intended for the reader to understand. At the beginning of the course,
make sure students understand literature terminology. They will need to know
what the fiction elements are (point of view, character, setting, plot,
structure and theme) and why writers use them. Most textbooks explain these
terms, so have students read about the concepts and then discuss them during
class by using examples from the assigned readings.
2. Write
One
of the best ways for students to increase comprehension is to write about the
story they've read. Require students to keep a journal during the course and
have them brainstorm, list or free-write a paragraph immediately after
completing the reading. Depending on the level of the class, create a form with
questions to answer as homework.
Other
writing assignments also enhance creative and critical thinking. Ask students
to write a continuation of a short story and imagine what would happen next.
Alternately, have them rewrite the ending of a short story, choosing a point in
the action and changing the direction of the plot. You can also require that
they change the gender, age, race or social orientation of a character from a
story and rewrite the story or a selected scene. Assign the students a
character and have them write a letter to him or her--or have the students
write a letter to the author and tell him or her, what they think of the story.
3. Discuss
Lecturing
helps students understand the material, but creating a discussion involves
students more effectively. Hearing another point of view challenges them to
comprehend the material deeper. During class, ask questions. According to
Saskatchewan Education, "Effective teaching involves asking appropriate
questions at appropriate times and helping students ask their own
questions." Small group discussion gives shy students an opportunity to
relate one-on-one. Group four or five students together and give them a
question to discuss. Let someone draw it randomly or use a question-and-answer
form. Bring the smaller discussions back to the class by having one student
report what was discussed.
4. Integrate
Technology
Integrate
technology into teaching strategies. After reading and discussing a work, show
the movie version in class. If a movie hasn't been made of that book, watch a
similar one to compare or contrast. View author broadcasts reading their own
work or commenting on it. Assign students to make a movie about the story or
novel. Patty Blome at Scholastic notes that "students develop
comprehension and increase learning while researching characters, storyboarding
plots and learning the art of film-making by translating a novel into a
Hollywood-style digital movie."
CONCLUSION
Teaching
prose means teaching reading with comprehension. The learners are taught the
skill of reading. The next step is to teach them reading with comprehension.
Reading with comprehension helps the learners to acquire new vocabulary and
content words.
The main
aim of teaching prose is to develop the language ability of the students. It is
the intensive study of a language. The language ability helps the learners to
use English language without any problem.
To
achieve the literary and content, the aims of teaching of prose should be
intensive and extensive. Reading a text for accuracy is called intensive
reading and Extensive reading or reading for fluency involves reading of longer
texts for pleasure.
Teaching
prose focuses on increasing student's comprehension of the material and
establishing a personal connection to it.
Effective Teaching Strategies for Prose
In prose --
language written with the grammatical structure of natural speech -- often the
author aims to evoke emotions or ideas that require input from readers’ own
experiences for comprehension to take place. Because in prose writers may not
explicitly state a purpose, understanding prose compels readers to think
imaginatively, working to establish a personal connection with what they read.
Teachers of prose work to develop the reader as a whole -- helping to shape not
only better readers, but better thinkers.
Break
It Up
Breaking a
longer piece of prose up into smaller sections for multiple close readings
allows teachers to ensure that students have the opportunity to involve their
own thinking with the text. Repeated reading helps students build comprehension
and become more comfortable with an author’s writing style. To help students
focus their thinking as they read, provide a list of questions for students to
answer about the excerpt. Ask some surface-level questions that explicitly tie
back to the reading, but also ask higher-level questions that may be more
open-ended. Asking questions that don’t have a single correct answer sparks
meaningful discussions, integrating students’ perspectives about their reading.
Class
Discussion
Facilitating
class discussions about prose allows students to share their unique thoughts
about the reading. It is easy for students to tune out as the teacher lectures
about prose, but a class discussion puts the responsibility for learning back
in students’ hands. To ensure all students participate, break the class into
small groups to discuss slightly challenging questions. Reconvene as a whole
class after several minutes, and have a member from each group report that
group’s conclusions, inviting feedback from other groups. The entire class
benefits from hearing the multiple perspectives unearthed by a class
discussion.
Create
Found Poems
Encourage
creative thinking while also targeting comprehension skills by having students
create "found poems" based on prose they have read. Provide students
with a passage of prose, and have them highlight between 50 and 100 words or
phrases that are the most interesting or meaningful. Have students list the
highlighted words in order on a separate piece of paper, skipping lines between
each word. Walk students through the process of rereading their lists several
times, eliminating words that do not fit with the poem until there are between
25 and 50 of the most important words remaining. Have students title their
poems, and present them to their peers.
The
Five-S Strategy
Teach students
to analyze prose passages by introducing the Five-S strategy. After giving
students a prose passage, offer them a graphic organizer with the headings
“speaker,” “situation,” “sentences,” “shifts” and “syntax.” Walk students
through the process of recording their observations and interpretations for
each heading of the graphic organizer, using evidence from the prose for
support. For example, in the “syntax” section, students would record examples
from the reading in which the word order seemed interesting or significant.
After the example, urge students to comment on how the syntax affected the
overall meaning of the passage.
CONCLUSION
Teaching
prose means teaching reading with comprehension. The learners are taught the
skill of reading. The next step is to teach them reading with comprehension.
Reading with comprehension helps the learners to acquire new vocabulary and
content words.
The
main aim of teaching prose is to develop the language ability of the students.
It is the intensive study of a language. The language ability helps the
learners to use English language without any problem.
To
achieve the literary and content, the aims of teaching of prose should be
intensive and extensive. Reading a text for accuracy is called intensive
reading and Extensive reading or reading for fluency involves reading of longer
texts for pleasure.
Teaching prose focuses on increasing student's comprehension of the
material and establishing a personal connection to it.
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