TESL 130 - Unit 2 reflection


This week, we looked at how to choose an appropriate text as well as how to adapt a text to the class level. While reading the pages from Brown & Lee’s book, Teaching by Principles, they included many different ways to approach teaching reading while also stressing the importance of using a text that is right for the learners. The book also stresses the different types of items that can be used to assess reading (Brown & Lee, 2015, p.422). The different subcategories they bring to light are: perceptive reading, selective reading, interactive reading, and extensive reading (Brown & Lee, 2015, p.422). All of these categories include different types of activities for assessing a learners reading skills. The following table lists some of the possible activities for assessing reading.
Item types
Possible activities
Perceptive reading
Reading aloud
Reproducing writing
Multiple choice questions
Selective reading
Grammar/Vocabulary tasks
Matching activities
Sentence completion activities
Interactive reading
Comprehension questions
Reordering sequences
Short answer questions
Extensive reading
Summarizing
Outlining
Taking notes
(Brown & Lee, 2015, p.422-423)

While I have used many of these types of activities before, it is the first time that I see them put in these specific categories. Many times before, when I learned about these, they were generally categorized as activities that can evaluate reading. By adding this specificity, Brown and Lee have helped me more closely understand what these tasks truly evaluate and not just the general term of reading.

I found this youtube video that discusses how to properly create a reading assessment. I find it interesting that at first they discuss the fact that people are reading less paper books, but that more people are reading on tablets and computers. This made me think about the usefulness of doing screencast activities where the learners can show and talk about their thinking process through the computer and therefore making sure that even those readers who are using a tablet or computer can still evaluate their own thought process.






References:

 Brown, D. & Lee H. (2015). Teaching by Principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy.
White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

 English Test - Aptis. (2016, June 17). Assessing Reading [Video file]. Retrieved

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