Teaching of reading skills is an important aspect of language learning. The learning of this skill is especially essential for acquiring a second language. This is also so because most of the teaching-learning material is in the written form, either in the form of books or computer based material.

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2. *Teaching of reading skills is an important aspect of language
learning. The learning of this skill is especially essential for
acquiring a second language. This is also so because most of the
teaching-learning material is in the written form, either in the form
of books or computer based material. Reading and literacy are thus
interdependent.
*Reading is beyond the mere recognition of words at a glance or of
decoding the meaning of letters or words strewn together. It is a
conscious and unconscious thinking process whereby the reader
applies various strategies to infer the intended meaning of the
writer. His prior knowledge and information bank on the given topic,
in other words the schemata of the reader is used by him/her to
reconstruct the meaning of the text. The support of an English
language lab can be garnered for teaching this skill. Words Worth
English language lab is one such lab, that have reading exercises for
the learners to enhance this skill.

3. *Researchers in text comprehension state that the textual data
in the form of shapes and sounds of the letters, the meanings
of words or letters and grammatical information is processed
by the reader which is then processed in light of his existing
schemata.
*For the second language reader, the mental schemata are
based upon his first language and cultural background. Thus,
the interpretation of a text by a first language reader is
different than that of the second language. His/her thinking
skills and attitude towards language and culture play an
important role in determining the meaning of a text.

4. *The English teacher, in order to develop reading skills in
second language learners has to ensure that thinking skills
about the text and literate behaviour as practiced by native
speakers are taught to the learners. In fact, once a learner
has acquired effective reading skills in a second language, it
results in a change in the learner’s cognitive perception and
even alters cultural beliefs and value orientations. This can
be easily achieved by practising this skill in the English
language lab.

5. *English as a second-language learners hence, need to learn to
think in English to be able to effectively read this language.
Some reading skills like previewing and predicting the
outcome of a text, questioning the intentions of the author or
identifying relationships between ideas need to be taught to
the learners. While teaching them these reading skills, the
teacher should ideally focus on one skill at a time. The
learners can be asked to work upon one skill with a partner
and discuss their thinking with each other.

6. *The learners should also be made aware of the
comprehension processes and strategies being applied by
them while reading. This will help them learn better. The
teacher may help the learners read better by making them
read extensively. Multiple exposures to a same set of words
will further enhance their learning. Interactive lessons on
specific reading text will provide ample opportunities to the
learners to present their thinking upon the text being
discussed.
*All in all, teaching English reading skills to second-language
learners will have to be a conscious activity both for the
learner and the teacher for it to have the desired result.

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*Words Worth English Language Lab
*204, Silicon Towers,
*Near Law Garden, Navrangpura,
*PO Ellis Bridge,
*Ahmedabad - 380 006.
*Gujarat, India
*Telephone: +91 79 304514 51
*Mobile: +91 9328825363
*Email: info@wordsworthelt.com