阅读策略总结 Reading Strategies Summary

After reading the title (and illustration) and before reading the passage.

• For students：

Thinking about what you already know and what do you want to know about the topic. Brainstorm known and unknown vocabulary about this topic.

• For instructors:

Design a series of questions that are related to the text for students to discuss before reading the text. Guide students to review new vocabulary appeared in the text before reading.

Applying this strategy allows readers to connect new information with what they already know. This process aids in understanding and recalling the new information obtained from the text. Having discussions before reading will also stimulate students’ reading interests and encourage them to become more active and engaged during the reading process.

When you encounter an unknown character or word during reading.

For students：

Use one or more of the following methods to help you guess the meaning of an unknown word.

• Guess the meaning of a character based on its semantic radical. Remember to focus only on the semantic radical and ignore the phonetic radical. For example, for the character 醉, based on the semantic radical 酉, you may guess that the meaning of this character is related to alcohol, while you should ignore the phonetic radical卒, which is not related to the meaning of this character.

• Analyze the sentence structure and think about the function or part of speech of the word. For example, in the sentence “我有的时候也会喝很多酒，喝醉了以后闹了很多笑话。” Based on your grammar knowledge, you may guess that here 醉 functions as a resultative complement for the verb 喝.

• Search in the previous and coming context to see whether there is a synonym or a paraphrase of the unknown word. For example, in the sentence “我有的时候也会喝很多酒，喝醉了以后闹了很多笑话。” “喝很多酒” (which is right before 喝醉了) can be seen as a paraphrase of 喝醉了, based on this context, you may infer that after drinking a lot of alcohol, one will be drunk. So here 醉 may mean drunk.

• Review the meaning of the context, guess what meaning might fit into that context, then check your guess within the context. Of course, you may check the meaning of the word in a dictionary if you prefer to do it. But you are suggested to always guess its meaning first.

For instructors：

To help students reflect on their reading habits, instructors may ask students to answer the following question before introducing this reading strategy.

What do you usually do when you encounter an unknown word during reading？

A. Skip and continue      

B. Look up in a dictionary   

C. Guess the meaning based on the context

D. Analyze the structure of the sentence

E. Guess the meaning based on the radical clue

To demonstrate this reading strategy, instructors may give several examples (like the ones provided above) while asking students questions to guide them to apply this strategy.

Looking up words frequently in a dictionary will disturb your reading process, which may prevent you from developing a coherent understanding of the textual meaning. This may make the reading process frustrating.

While guessing the word meaning based on the context may enhance your understanding of the context. Your reading ability will be improved by practicing this strategy continuously and frequently. In addition, learning a word and inferring its meaning via context is actually a more natural way of learning a language. Imagine how a baby understand what his parents said to him when learning his mother tongue, while he has no other already-known-language to assist him!

However, to effectively apply this reading strategy, the text should not be too difficult for you. This rule applies to all the reading strategies introduced here. You should be able to understand most of the words in a sentence, in this way you can understand the context and guess the unknown word based on the context. For example, if there are 10 words in a sentence, and you only know 2 of them, it is difficult, if not impossible, to make a reasonable guess.

When you cannot understand the meaning of a (long and complicate) sentence.

For the learners:

(1) Mark the Subject, Verb, and Object (S, V, O) of the sentence. SVO are important for understanding the general idea of a sentence.

(2) Bracket the modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, complement, etc.). Modifiers sometimes are marked by 的、地、得, as shown below.

(3) Locate the specific part that you do not understand: Are they SVO or modifiers?

(4) If it is a modifier, then very likely it will not seriously affect your understanding of the general idea of the sentence. You can either skip it or guess its meaning.

(5) If they are part of the SVO, then try to guess the meanings and look them up in a dictionary.

For the instructors:

In classroom teaching, we suggest categorize attribute, adverbial, and complement (定语、状语、补语) all as modifiers, and only ask students to distinguish the main Subject, Verb, and Object from the modifiers in a sentence. Otherwise, students will need to spend a lot of effort to understand what attribute, adverbial, and complement are, which will make this reading strategy difficult for students to learn and apply by themselves. While the teaching objective of learning and practicing this reading strategy is to help students to better understand the meaning of a complicated sentence, recognizing attribute, adverbial, and complement and learning a bunch of linguistic terms are not the purpose.

For example, the sentence below is a long and complicated one. The underlined parts are the main subjects, verbs, and obejects, while the phrases in【 】are different types of modifiers. Through analyzing the structure, this sentence can be divided into 3 simple sub sentences. This process may assist students’ understanding of the sentential meaning. When marking the SVOs, instructors may guide learners to notice (1) the subject ellipsis of sentence 2; (2) 父母 refers to the same group of people in sentences 1 and 2, while it refers to a different group of people in sentence 3; (3) the second 父母 serves both as the object of sentence 2 and the subject of sentence 3.

When practicing the strategy in class, I always ask students to do it first by themselves on their worksheet, while I write the sentence on the board. Sometimes I ask 1-2 students to draw their answers on the board. Then I will guide all students to do it together by asking questions like “主语在哪儿？”, while I mark on the board. At the end, I will leave some time for students to ask questions.

Analyzing the structure of a long sentence will help you to better understand ideas conveyed by the sentence. This strategy can help you to simplify a long sentence through distinguishing the main idea (expressed by SVO) from the details (expressed by modifiers). This process will also help you to locate the exact place(s) where you have problems. Based on the analysis, you can decide to skip, guess, or look up an unknown word. It can also help you decide the part of speech of an unknown word, which will assist you in guessing its meaning.

When you are reading a paragraph or after reading a paragraph. When you would like to better comprehend the author’s intended meaning. When you want to apply a similar logical structure in your writing.

Examples of logical relationships include sequence of events, statement and elaboration (or argument and examples), description and comment, cause and effect, and contrast. Connectives and transitional words are useful signals to indicate the relationship. For example, 例如/比方说 precede an example and follow an argument. 因为 and 由于 introduce a cause; while 所以、于是、结果、因此、从而 introduce an effect or result. 可是、但是、而 usually indicate a contrast. 先、再、然后、最后 indicate sequence of an event. 首先、其次、最后 signal a progression of several arguments. By understanding the functions of these connectives and noticing them while reading, you will be able to predict the following content and identify the logical relationship between sentences.

Sometimes there are no obvious signs like connectives to help you identify the logical relationship, in those cases, based on your understanding of the main idea of a paragraph, consider how each sentence contributes to the development of the main idea.

Analyzing how ideas connect will help you to better understand the text, and in a further step, through applying a similar logical structure in your writing, it helps ensure that your writing is clear and logically organized.

When you finish reading a paragraph and would like to review the main idea of this paragraph.

Based on your understanding of the main idea of a paragraph, look for a keyword or topic sentence that captures the essence of this paragraph. They are often repeated several times throughout the paragraph and found at the beginning or end of the paragraph. In addition, they are often followed by a definition, explanations, or examples.  

This strategy helps you grasp the main ideas and essential concepts presented in the paragraph. Recognizing key phrases aids in understanding the relationships between different sentences within the paragraph and the overall structure of the text. Through practicing this strategy, your memory of the essential concepts of a text can be reinforced, making it easier to recall the information when needed.

When you finish reading a paragraph.

Identify the core message that the paragraph is conveying through finding a keyword or topic sentence (refer to strategy 5). Based on the identified key word or topic sentence, use your own words to rephrase the main idea. A summary usually does not include details, examples, or minor points.

It helps you condense information, making it easier to comprehend, review, and retrieve essential messages of a text. It encourages clarity and brevity. Applying this strategy frequently can help to improve your ability to convey complex ideas in a straightforward manner. The process of summarizing encourages active reading, where individuals engage with the material, make connections, and extract meaning.

After reading the whole passage and understanding the general meaning of the text.

Based on your summary of each paragraph, analyze how ideas of different paragraphs are connected and organized. Create a visual representation of the text's structure, such as mind maps or graphic organizers. This can help you visualize the relationships between different sections.

Understanding the overall structure helps you grasp the main ideas and relationships between different parts of a text. This leads to better comprehension of the content as a whole. Knowing how a text is organized also aids in memory retention. When you can mentally map out the structure, you are more likely to remember and recall key information. In addition, discerning the structure of well-written texts can serve as a model for your own writing. You can learn how to organize ideas logically and use effective transitions.