Reading involves translating symbols and letters into words or sentences. Anderson defines reading as a process of constructing meaning from a written text. We indulge in reading for many different purposes, be it survival, leisure or occupational. In a way, reading serves as a kind communication between the writer and the reader. The writer encodes what he or she wishes to convey while the reader decodes according to his or her own perception. Johnson quotes “A young man should read five hours in a day, and so may acquire a great deal of knowledge.”
However, there as several problems which hinders the reading process, one of them being ‘tunnel vision’. This is a condition experienced by most readers especially beginners. This is because they lack ‘non visual information’ when trying to digest certain texts. Non visual information is what is stored in the brain, prior knowledge or specific information which will enable the brain to associate with whatever is received through the eyes thus bringing comprehension to the reader’s mind when reading a text. The inability of the brain to use this information due the over-load of visual information, will cause it to take more time to make decisions on what are seen. For example, a student unfamiliar with certain words in a purposely distorted text may have to take a few seconds longer to recognize them rather than familiar words which only require a single glance.
Tunnel vision also occurs when readers are asked to read texts that are written in a language they do not know or a writing system they can’t discern. As there is no non-visual information what so ever in that particular language and writing system, they will not be able to read the text, let alone understand it. For example, a Malay student will have a serious problem if requested to read a passage in Russian!
There are also cases when texts written in readers’ first language fails to enlightened them. This is because they have no prior knowledge on the ideas or facts written. A student majoring in Arts will have problem comprehending a text written on Chemical Engineering and vice versa. This inevitably causes ‘tunnel vision’ to resurface. They could go on reading till the last page of the text without understanding the content.
Tunnel vision slows down the reading process, as readers are unable to identify or interpret any part of the text.
Torgesen (1998) claims that the top reasons students have difficulties with reading is because they have issues correlating letters and sounds in words, or phonological awareness. Many students also have trouble memorizing sight words and many also have an
To understand the reading one, have to understand and be able to identify the themes emphasized in the book. One of the main
In the essay, “On the Presumption of Knowing How to Read”, by John Guilliory, He emphasizes the lack of articulation on reading in college. Guillory states “Upward of forty percent of college freshmen are directed to remedial classes of some kind in their first year” (qtd by Guillory 8). He claims that freshmen in college are put in remedial class for writing because the lack of understanding of what they are reading. He also states that many students that are not in remedial classes may also lack the interpretive skill. He has seen many students just be able to paraphrase and give an unobjectionable comprehension of the reading. Guillory states that not being able to move beyond simple understanding seems as if there is a resistance to reading. Guillory suggests that we need to learn the conceptual break in reading.
Reading is on the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing, we must act to correct these issues that we are faced with. These things are discussed in the essay “Staying Awake’’ by Ursula K. Le Guin who uses the NEA essays “To Read or Not to Read’’ and “Reading at Risk’’ to support her argument that there is a decline in the amount of time that we are spending on reading and our ability to understand what it is that we are reading.
Speaking from the mind to the page is more difficult when you are introduced to new technologies. In the past it was a typewriter, today it is the internet and computers. Internet information contains advertising pop-ups that distract people from reading. It is thought to be better than our own brain in its ability to artificially track information that we simply ask it to answer. The human brain is outdated and needs a faster processor and bigger hard drive.
Ard, K. L. & Makadon, H. J. (2012). Improving the health care of lesbian, gay, bisexual and
Imagine being in the shoes of someone who like guys and girls. Even imagine your world crashing down when you eventually come to a realization of being a girl in a boy’s body. These can be put into a community called lgbtq. Lgbtq is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning. About 57% get threats, 51% get harassed, 51%have violence, and 34% say they’ve had verbal harassment in a bathroom or being questioned in the bathroom. In this community there can be a lot of ruckus, and when it comes to that there are activists, shootings, and a person being disrupted throughout the day.
... student from comprehending a text. How can a student understand a given text if the student does not understand a big portion of words in the text? Students enter school with vocabularies whether big or small and teachers need to nourish and build them up and comprehend harder and more complex texts.
Reading to understand means that I use my common knowledge and experiences to help me understand the text. Although I am not the smartest person in the world, I know at least a little something that can be applied to my reading pattern. For about every paragraph I read in a book, I have some random quote, or quite often a hilarious memory in the back of my mind. For instance, everytime the topic of slavery is mentioned in the book Beloved by Toni Morrison, I always think of history classes and what I have learned that relates to the text.
Donald M. Murray, in this article entitled “Reading as a Reader” is talking about how reading is an unique, an essential, and a necessary aptitude for human beings in their society. While illustrating his point of view, the author stresses on the idea that our attitudes towards reading is directly linked to the systematic approaches we have while facing a article or a book. In this article, he said that: “If we approach a text believing that we are not readers, or that we can’t read, that attitude may make it more difficult for us to understand the challenging text.”(Murray, 2). Throughout those words, Murray emphasizes that we should consider the process of reading as a learning process, and as a way of deepening the capacity we have as readers. We should have an open-mind while engaging with a reading, and understand that it may always not be our fault if it comes that the text we are reading is difficult. In clear, it is all part of the process of improving ourselves. Then, Murray, in his well structured writing, portrays differents types of reading and also gives us some tips on how to approach them.
“When readers take apart a text they have read, examine it from their own viewpoint, and put it back together again, they make it their own.” (Ministry of Education, 2014 – tki) Thus, learning intentions for Lesson Two were selected in an attempt to help Kowhai readers synthesise information from the text to gain meaning and enjoyment during the session. This choice proved to be valid early on, as Kowhai readers had previous read the chosen journal, however, none of them could recall any information from the article implying again they read without much comprehension present.
When looking at the definition, there are two schools of thought. The first is that reading must include “using one’s eyes to decode ...
These classes gave me the theoretical understanding I needed to start drawing my own research interests and beliefs. I have been always wondering about how humans are able to understand the printed representations of sounds and thoughts and puzzle them to extract their meaning. Thus, I have three research questions that shape my identity as a researcher: 1) What do college students with learning difficulties do when they read? 2) What are college students with learning difficulties’ beliefs about reading as a tool for academic success? 3) What are college students with learning difficulties’ beliefs about themselves as readers? These questions are founded on the concept of reading described by Kenneth Goodman, Peter Fries, and Steven Strauss (2016) as a grand illusion, in which the reader’s linguistic brain transacts (Rosenblatt, 1978) with the text using her sociocultural background to make predictions and respond to those predictions, using as a mediator the context where the act of reading occurs. Reading is also one of the most powerful political acts by which the reader does not only read the word, but also the world (Freire, & Macedo,
The mental health of individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) community is something that is a serious problem. For most of the history of the United States and many different parts of the world LGBT people faced much persecution and in some cases even death. This constant fear of discovery and the pressure that one feels on oneself when “in the closet” can lead to major mental distress. Research has shown that people who identify as LGBT are twice as likely to develop lifetime mood and anxiety disorders (Bostwick 468). This is extremely noticeable the past couple years in the suicides of bullied teens on the basis of sexual identity and expression. The stigma on simply being perceived as LGBT is strong enough to cause a person enough mental stress that they would take their own life. This is always unfortunate, but in the case of young individuals it borders on unthinkable. Older LGBT individuals do not tend to fair much better either seeing as they were raised in generations who were stricter on what was considered proper and morally right. All this being said, even as the culture of the world shifts to more accepting LGBT individuals their mental health is something that is only now being looked at thoroughly.
There are two theories that that I want to discuss, they are Schema Theory and Transactional Theory of Reading. Schema is the information that a student walks into the classroom with. This is the background knowledge the student has on the subject that is being taught in the classroom before they even walk in. All students have schema and it is useful to the students’ learning. According to An (2013) “The