To have a well-planned class is a must and necessary. Yet, it should not be the whole answer to the question of how well we teach, what makes us teach well, or what makes our students learn well. There always can be something unexpected. To have a well-controlled and well-organized class, the teacher has a strong sense of obligation to do more both in and after class. Good preparation before class can always precede good engagement of in-class teaching or learning activities. Here is one question the teacher encounters in teaching.

Some classes may be demanding for student, consuming them too much both time and energy. And the result may be less satisfactory or even fail. A good case in point is the reading class. Reading tasks in class indeed are less or even hardly likely to help them think unless they can be fully stirred by those emotions needed in reading. One way to make it possible is to give them a well-designed plan to help them prepare before class. It can happen one or two days before their taking class. The teacher’s own personal experience and observation count as evidence that those who have well prepared by deeply thinking or even doing relevant survey or research can have better performance than those who have not. It can better provide guidance, informing them of what to do in class. Even when giving proposal or raising questions, those with careful preparation can clearly distinguish questions from problems or troubles, which in return can better lead them to develop their potential in seeking solutions in academic study. Also they can cooperate in class as expected so that an expected academic result can be achieved.

As a guider and instructor in English learning and teaching, the teacher herself has tried for many times different ways to help the students prepare for their reading classes.

One way is to give them questions for reading comprehension beforehand, whether they be context-based ones or questions testing their thinking and predicting ability. This is done to well guide or force them to read the academic reading sources on the textbook. Practice shows that it works, since some may worry about or even feel guilty of being criticized over and over for not doing what they’re supposed to do or missing information mentioned by the teacher when engaging in in-class reading activities. Once they have some familiarity with the reading material, whether it be less or more, they can have better class performance.

Another way is to give them an assignment to write a summary. Still this is designed with the teacher’s desire to push them to do some academic reading with what they have at hand. Each unit consisting of three relevant reading selections provides learners some information in academic field. By summarizing and even synthesizing information, students can not only become familiar with the passages, but also be encouraged to think further. This helps form better in-class cooperation and overall class environment. 

Reviewing what’s been done, the teacher realizes the following work especially requires further improvement.

To better help develop their potential in reading and thinking in an English way, doing with what they have (the textbooks) is far from enough. Language is nothing but a tool for communication, so relevance of acquiring information should never be underestimated. Thus, effective extensive reading is required.

The teacher’s own teaching practice can also count as evidence that in-class teaching activities can hardly be successfully carried out unless both sides are equipped with some information relating to what’s presented. Since each student differs as a unique individual, what one knows may be new to another. This can sometimes create barriers in successful communication unless preparation work is done with somewhat high efficiency. As a matter of fact, on one can ever expect to be 100% free of barrier in communication. Reasons can be found to interpret failure in communication or to be more exact, lack of motivation in class, or even inactivity. One possible reason can be shortage of information. And reading for information is a good solution.

As far as information acquiring is concerned, certainly there is more than one way, especially in today’s world with science and technology marching on. But reading as kind of ability tends to be a skill needing constant practice and even updates. A daily basis of reading is a good habit, which helps provide not only updated information, but also an opportunity to practice reading and motivate further thinking constantly. Therefore, extensive reading should be highlighted, though it cannot absolutely ensure success in communication. Accumulated information can somewhat make participants involved feel more secure in communication, since information can play its role supposedly whenever needed.

To better help students acquire and accumulate information, one suggestion given by the teacher is to encourage news reading before writing. Newspapers recommended differ, depending on individual students of different language ability and levels. When completing a whole day’s work, they’re expected to paste one piece of reading sources onto the left page of their notebooks by selecting what interests them most among what’s been read that day. On the right page, summaries or comments should be presented. Currently priority should be given to efficiency of language use and logic of thinking and writing in English, regardless of the length. Being already aware that only a few of them will start this sort of training out of interest and even partly motivation, the teacher has officially announced in recent days that it counts as a factor in grading their daily learning performance.

Though there’s no denial that reading newspaper is not new to the majority, few can really make full use by integrating reading, writing and sometimes speaking as well. It is less satisfactory that reading is mostly separated from writing, which reduces the expected efficiency. Once what’s been informed is not applied in practice, whether it be a word or a piece of information, its power will gradually diminish, thus leading to a bias that it’s no use reading. In this sense, they can easily be caused to be biased. But the fact is reading does have an effect and failure in writing can partly become a result of less satisfactory reading. Therefore, it challenges the teacher in motivating them to integrate reading and writing. By assigning them to smaller reading sections picked by themselves, hopefully they can have better performance.  

Sharon