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Язык художественной литературы
ЛИНГВИСТИКА И ПЕРЕВОД
TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT READING AND USE OF READING STRATEGIES
Vasilika Rraku
(Albania)
The aim of this article is to place the focus on teachers’ beliefs about reading and reading strategies to the purpose of emphasizing the importance of reading strategies in the reading process. The method of study is analytic analysis of teachers’ beliefs obtained through questionnaires delivered to 18 English language teachers of elementary, secondary and high level education in the region of Saranda in Albania. The results of the study pointed to a great concordance between teachers’ beliefs with reference to reading and the use of reading strategies by students during the reading process. This shows the great importance reading strategies have for the efficacy of reading and acquisition or improvement of reading skills. As a conclusion the study is important not only for pointing out the great similarity between teachers’ view regarding reading strategies, but also because it draws attention to the importance of using reading strategies while reading, thus emphasizing the necessity of raising teachers’ awareness to the promotion and explanation of reading strategies during the teaching process.
Keywords: beliefs, teachers, reading, application, strategies.
People use the word “belief’ in different ways. Some view beliefs as attitudes because beliefs influence not only the way people think in particular circumstances, but also the way they act. According to Pajares (1992), “The definition of beliefs is frequently revealed under the nickname of attitudes, values, judgments, opinions, ideologies, perceptions, conceptions, preconceptions, explicit and implicit theories, personal theories, inner mental processes, perspectives, social strategies, etc..„ Beliefs change people’s expectations as people perceive what they expect to perceive (Tara, 1996).
Teachers’ beliefs influence their perception and judgment, thus
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understanding teachers’ beliefs is important for the improvement of teaching practices (Johnson, 1994). As teachers are the ones responsible to implement the proper teaching methods, their attitudes, values and beliefs are important. Teachers’ beliefs are directly connected with learning and reading through teachers practice in the classroom. Recent research in reading comprehension is focused on reading strategies, pointing out that teaching reading strategies in the classroom leads to better reading comprehension (Singhal, 2001).
To carry out a research regarding teachers’ beliefs about reading and the importance of teaching reading strategies, I distributed a questionnaire to eighteen elementary and high school English language teachers of the region of Saranda in Albania. Information about them is displayed in table 1 below.
Table 1: Information about the teachers who filled in the questionnaire
Category Structure Number Percentage
Sex Males 5 28%
Females 13 72%
Age 25-35 13 teachers 72%
36-50 5 teachers 28%
Education Bachelor 14 teachers 78%
Master 4 teachers 22%
Subject ESL 18 teachers 100%
In the first questionnaire, teachers were asked to give their opinion about 15 statements, adapted from the Reading Beliefs Inventory (Ilustre, 2011), regarding their beliefs about students’ reading. Teachers had to circle one of the numbers from one to five each number meaning the following:
• 1 means “I never or almost never do this.”
• 2 means “I do this only occasionally.”
• 3 means “I sometimes do this” (about 50% of the time).
• 4 means “I usually do this.”
• 5 means “I always or almost always do this.”
In table 2 below is given the percentage of teachers who have circled each of the alternatives regarding their beliefs about students‘ reading.
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Table 2: Teachers’ beliefs about students’ reading practice.
Teachers (18) Questions: Percentage (%) of teachers for each answer option: 1 2 3 4 5
I believe that it is important for students to predict what will happen while reading a story. 0, 17, 39, 33, 11
When students read, they should simply get the information from the reading passage. 28, 11, 17, 22, 22
For students, the main purpose of reading is to learn new information. 0, 17, 28, 33, 22
When students read, it is important to imagine how they would feel if they were the character. 0, 5, 22, 45, 28
Books can have different meanings for different people. 0, 22, 17, 39, 22
I believe that most books mean exactly what they say. 5.5, 5.5, 39, 39, 11
I believe that it is important for students to think about the author’s reasons for writing the book. 28, 11, 22, 17, 22
When students think about a book, they should try to “stick” to what the author says. 5, 17, 45, 33, 0
When students read, they should focus on how they feel about the information as much as on what they learn. 0, 5, 11, 39, 45
It is important for students to judge whether the behavior of the characters is good or bad. 0, 11, 17, 33, 39
When students read, it is important to think about what the author says they should learn. 5.5, 5.5, 39, 22, 28
Knowing what the characters did in a story is usually enough for students to understand the story. 17, 39, 39, 5, 0
When students read, they should think about why the characters did things. 6, 17, 11, 33, 33
When students read, they should think about what they want from the book. 5.5, 5.5, 22, 28, 39
I believe that it is easier for students to understand a reading passage if they memorize some of the information in it. 17, 17, 39, 17, 10
Adapted f rom Reading Beliefs Inventory by Clarisse Anne P. Ilustre
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As it can be seen from table 2, out of the eighteen teachers that filled in the questionnaire 17% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should predict what will happen while reading the story, 39% believe this sometimes and 44% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the second statement, 39% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that when students read they should simply get the information from the reading passage, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 44% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the third statement, 17% of the teachers believe occasionally that the main purpose of reading is to learn new information, 28% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 55% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the fourth statement, 5% of the teachers believe occasionally that it is important for students to imagine, while reading, how they would feel if they were the character of the story, 22%
of the teachers believe this sometimes and 73% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the fifth statement, 22% of the teachers believe occasionally that books can have different meanings for different people, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 61% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the sixth statement, 11% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that most books mean exactly what they say, 39% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 50% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the seventh statement, 39% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that it is important for students to think about the author’s reasons for writing the book, 22% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 39% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the eighth statement, 22% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that when students think about a book, they should try to “stick” to what the author says, 45% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 33% of the teachers believe this usually.
With reference to the ninth statement, 22% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should focus on how they feel about the information as much as on what they learn, 11% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 84% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
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Regarding the tenth statement, 11% of the teachers believe occasionally that it is important for students to judge whether the behavior of the characters is good or bad, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 72% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the eleventh statement, 11% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should think about what the author says they should learn, 39% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 50% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the twelfth statement, 56% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that knowing what the characters did in a story is usually enough for students to understand the story, 39% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 5% of the teachers believe this usually.
Concerning the thirteenth statement, 23% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that when students read, they should think about why the characters did things, 11% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 66% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the fourteenth statement, 11% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that when students read, they should think about what they want from the book, 22% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 67% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the fifteenth statement, 34% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that it is easier for students to understand a reading passage if they memorize some of the information in it, 39% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 27% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
As a conclusion, as far as students’ reading practice is concerned, 60% of the teachers who completed the questionnaire believe from 50100% that students should:
• Predict what will happen while reading the book,
• Acquire only the information in the text,
• Have as their primary goal the acquisition of new information,
• Imagine what they would do if they were the character of the story,
• Think about the reasons why the writer wrote the book,
• Abide by what the writer says,
• Focus on how they feel about the acquired information as much as on what they learn,
• Judge whether the characters’ behavior is good or bad,
• Think about what the author says they should learn,
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• Not concentrate only on characters’ actions to understand the story,
• Think about the reason why characters acted in a specific way,
• Think about what they expect from the book,
• Rely on memorizing part of the text to understand it better.
In the second questionnaire teachers were asked to express their opinion with reference to 30 statements about the necessity of using reading strategies during the reading process. In table 3 below is given the percentage of teachers who has chosen each of the answer options from 1-5.
Table 3: Teachers’ beliefs about students’ use of reading strategies.
Teachers (18) Questions: Percentage (%) of teachers for each answer option: 1 2 3 4 5
Students should have a purpose in mind when they read. 0, 17, 17, 33, 33
Students should take notes while reading to help them understand what they read. 0, 11, 28, 39, 22
Students should think about what they know to help them understand what they read. 0, 11, 17, 39, 33
Students should take an overall view of the text to see what it is about before reading it. 5.5, 5.5, 17, 33, 39
When text becomes difficult, students should read aloud to help them understand what they read. 33, 28, 17, 22, 0
Students should think about whether the content of the text fits their reading purpose. 6, 28, 33, 22, 11
Students should read slowly but carefully to be sure they understand what they are reading. 0, 0, 10, 45, 45
Students should review the text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization. 22, 28, 17, 22, 11
Students should try to get back on track when they lose concentration. 0, 0, 17, 39, 44
Students should underline or circle information in the text to help them remember it. 0, 5, 17, 17, 61
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Students should adjust their reading speed according to what they are reading. 5.5, 5.5, 33, 28, 28
When reading, students should decide what to read closely and what to ignore. 6, 11, 28, 22, 33
Students should use reference materials such as (e.g. dictionary) to help them understand what they read. 0, 28, 22, 22, 28
When text becomes difficult, students should pay closer attention to what they are reading. 0, 0, 6, 22, 72
Students should use tables, figures, and pictures in text to increase their understanding. 0, 0, 11, 39, 50
Students should stop from time to time and think about what they are reading. 11, 11, 28, 28, 22
Students should use context clues to help them better understand what they are reading. 0, 0, 22, 28, 50
Students should paraphrase (restate ideas in their own words) to better understand what they read. 0, 0, 33, 45, 22
Students should try to picture or visualize information to help remember what they read. 0, 0, 28, 39, 33
Students should use typographical aids like boldface and italics to identify key information. 5, 5, 17, 45, 28
Students should critically analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text. 0, 22, 11, 22, 45
Students should go back and forth in the text to find relationships among ideas in it. 0, 11, 11, 45, 33
Students should check their understanding when they come across new information. 0, 5, 11, 39, 45
Students should try to guess what the material is about when they read. 0, 0, 27.5, 45, 27.5
When text becomes difficult, students should reread to increase their understanding. 0, 0, 10, 45, 45
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Students should ask themselves questions they like to have answered in the text. 6, 17, 33, 33, 11
Students should check to see if their guesses about the text are right or wrong. 6, 6, 33, 33, 22
When students read, they should guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases. 0, 0, 33, 45, 22
When reading, students should translate from English into their native language. 0, 22, 22, 34, 22
When reading, students should think about information in both English and their mother tongue. 5, 17, 39, 28, 11
Adapted rom the Survey of Reading Strategies Inventory by Clarisse
Anne P. Ilustre
As it can be noticed from the above table, regarding the first statement, 17% of the teachers believe occasionally that it is important for students to have a reading purpose while reading, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 66% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the second statement, 11% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should keep notes while reading, 28% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 61% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the third statement, 11% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should think about what they know in order to understand what they read, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 72% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the fourth statement, 11% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should take an overall view of the text, to see what it is about, before reading it, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 72% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the fifth statement, 61% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that when text becomes difficult, students should read aloud to understand what they read, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 22% of the teachers believe this usually.
Concerning the sixth statement, 34% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should think about whether the content of the text fits their reading purpose, 33% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 33% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
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Concerning the seventh statement, 10% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should read slowly but carefully to be sure they understand what they are reading and 90% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the eighth statement, 50% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should review the text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 33% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the ninth statement, 17% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should try to get back on track when they lose concentration and 83% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the tenth statement, 5% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should underline or circle information in the text to help them remember it, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 78% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the eleventh statement, 11% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should adjust their reading speed according to what they are reading, 33% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 56% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the twelfth statement, 17% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should decide what to read closely and what to ignore while reading, 28% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 55% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the thirteenth statement, 28% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should use reference materials such as (e.g. dictionary) to help them understand what they read, 22% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 50% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the fourteenth statement, 6% of the teachers believe sometimes that when text becomes difficult, students should pay closer attention to what they are reading and 94% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the fifteenth statement, 11% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should use tables, figures and pictures in text to increase their understanding, and 89% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the sixteenth statement, 22% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should stop from time to time and
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think about what they are reading, 28% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 50% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the seventeenth statement, 22% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should use context clues to help them understand better what they are reading and 78% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the eighteenth statement, 33% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should paraphrase (restate ideas in their own words) to better understand what they read and 67% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the nineteenth statement, 28% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should try to picture or visualize information to help them remember what they read and 72% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the twentieth statement, 10% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should use typographical aids like boldface and italics to identify key information, 17% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 73% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the twenty-first statement, 22% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should critically analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text, 11% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 67% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the twenty-second statement, 11% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should go back and forth in the text to find relationships among ideas in it, 11% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 78% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the twenty-third statement, 5% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should check their understanding when they come across new information, 11% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 84% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the twenty-fourth statement, 27.5% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should try to guess what the material is about when they read and 72.5% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the twenty-fifth statement, 10% of the teachers believe sometimes that when text becomes difficult, students should reread to increase their understanding and 90% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
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With reference to the twenty-sixth statement, 23% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should ask themselves questions they like to have answered in the text, 33% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 44% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Regarding the twenty-seventh statement, 12% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should check to see if their guesses about the text are right or wrong, 33% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 55% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the twenty-eighth statement, 33% of the teachers believe sometimes that students should guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases and 67% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
With reference to the twenty-ninth statement, 22% of the teachers believe occasionally that students should translate from English into their native language, 22% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 56% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
Concerning the thirtieth statement, 22% of the teachers believe never or occasionally that students should think about information in both English and their mother tongue, 39% of the teachers believe this sometimes and 39% of the teachers believe this usually or always.
To sum up, regarding students’ use of reading strategies, over 65% of the teachers who completed the questionnaire believe from 50-100% that students should:
• Have a purpose in mind when they read,
• Take notes while reading,
• Think about what they know when reading,
• Read aloud when the text is difficult,
• Think about whether the text’s content fits their reading purpose.
• Pay attention to the general characteristics of the text,
• Try to get back on track when they lose concentration,
• Underline or circle information in the text to help them remember it,
• Adapt their reading speed according to what they are reading,
• Decide on what to read carefully and what to ignore,
• Use referential materials like dictionaries while reading,
• Concentrate more on what they read when the text becomes difficult,
• Use the text’s tables, figures and pictures to increase comprehension,
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• Stop reading from time to time to reflect on what they have read,
• Use context to understand better the text,
• Use paraphrase to understand better the text,
• Visualize the text’s information to remember it better,
• Use text’s typographical aids to identify key information,
• Analyse and think critically about the information in the text,
• Reread information to establish connection of ideas in the text,
• Check the comprehension of new information,
• Guess what the material is about,
• Reread parts of the text to icrease comprehension,
• Ask themselves questions they like to have answered in the text,
• Check to see if their guesses about the text are right or wrong,
• Guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases,
• Translate from English into their native language,
• Think about information in both English and their mother tongue.
As a conclusion the majority of the teachers who completed the
questionnaire share their opinions about reading and students’ use of reading strategies while reading. This indicates the great importance reading strategies have not only for the acquisition of reading skills but also for reading efficacy, time management and study skills. For this reason taking into consideration teachers’ beliefs about reading strategies they should be taught in schools in order to improve students’ reading and learning skills.
References
1. Ilustre, Clarisse Anne P. (2011). Beliefs about Reading, Metacognitive Reading Strategies and Text Comprehension among College Students in a Private University. The Philippine ESL Journal, Volume 7, July 2011.
2. Johnson, K. E. (1994). The Emerging Beliefs and Instructional Practices of Pre service English as a Second Language Teachers. Teaching & Teacher Education, 10, 439-452.
3. Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers‘ beliefs and educational research. Review of Educational Research, 62(3), 307 - 332.
4. Singhal, M. (2001). Reading Proficiency, Reading Strategies, Metacognitive Awareness and L2 Readers. The Reading Matrix. 1(1), 1-23.
5. Tara, J (1996). Teaching In Mind. Retrieved March 10th, 2007 from the World Wide Web at http://www.teachersmind.com
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