Some suggestions to improve esp reading cpmprehension skill for students of automotive technology at the central region transport college (CRTC)

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

THÂN THỊ BÍCH HƯỜNG
SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
ESP READING COMPREHENSION SKILL FOR
STUDENTS OF AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY AT
THE CENTRAL REGION TRANSPORT COLLEGE (CRTC)
MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION
NGHE AN - 2014
2
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY
THÂN THỊ BÍCH HƯỜNG
SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
ESP READING COMPREHENSION SKILL FOR
STUDENTS OF AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY AT
THE CENTRAL REGION TRANSPORT COLLEGE (CRTC)
Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Code: 60.14.01.11
MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trần Văn Phước
Nghe An, 2014
4
DECLARATION
I certify my authority of the paper submitted entitled
SOME SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE ESP READING COMPREHENSION
SKILL FOR STUDENTS OF AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY AT THE CENTRAL
REGION TRANSPORT COLLEGE (CRTC)
In total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.
Vinh, August 2014

Student’s signature
Thân Thị Bích Hường
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my deepest gratitude
to my supervisor, Dr. Tran Van Phuoc, who gave me precious guidance,
comments, suggestions and encouragement throughout my research.
My special thanks go to all my teachers of my M.A. course (TESOL) at the
Post-graduate Department at Vinh University, Nghe An province, for their
interesting and useful lectures.
I also wish to convey my sincere thanks to all my colleagues and the second-
year students at the Mechanical Faculty, Central Region Transport College, for
their contribution to the data collection and their constructive suggestions for this
research.
Finally, I am grateful to my friends and my family who gave me support
and encouragement during the time of fulfilling this work.
ii
ABSTRACT
This case study was carried out with an attempt to give “Some suggestions to
improve ESP reading comprehension skill for students of Automotive Technology
at the Central Region Transport College (CRTC)”. The study aims to investigate the
attidude and expectation of learning ESP reading skill; to find out the difficulties
that teachers and students of Automotive Technology have in current teaching and
learning ESP reading and to offer some suggestions and recommendations for the
improvements of ESP reading comprehension skill for students of Automotive
Technology. Two sets of survey questionnaires for 4 teachers of English in the
Basic Subject Department and 68 students of Automotive Technology were
employed to find answers to these three questions. The researcher used both
qualitative and quantitative methods in collecting data and making analysis on
details related to students’ ESP reading skill. The findings of the research revealed

that although the students were aware the importance of learing ESP reading, there
were still problems making them unmotivated. Besides, the students were not
equipped with necessary reading skills to become successful readers. One of the
causes for difficulties was the reading materials, which are claimed to contain too
many difficult terminologies. Finally, inefficient teaching methods, classroom
techniques and teachers’ poor specialized knowledge of Automotive Technology
are other problems. Based on the results of the study, the researcher has presented
some suggestions for both teaching and learning English for Automotive
Technology. These include the ways to make English reading more interesting and
useful, to train the students to become efficient readers, to increase students’
reading interest and motivation, to encourage students to develop extensive reading
habit and to improve teachers’ professional knowledge about Automotive
Technology and teaching methodology.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENT
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CRTC: Central Region Transport Collge
EAP: English for Academic Purposes
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
ELT: English Language Teaching
EOP: English for Occupational Purposes
ER: Extensive Reading
ESP: English for Specific Purpose
GE: General English
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1. Teachers and students’ view of sources of difficulties Error: Reference source
not found
Table 4.2. The learners’ expectation in term of methodology Error: Reference source

not found
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 4.1. Attitudes towards the role of ESP to students’ future job 34
Figure 4.2.The role of reading skill on teaching and learning ESP 35
Figure 4.3. Purpose of teaching and learning reading ESP 35
Figure 4.4. Students’ motivation in ESP reading classes 36
Figure 4.5. Opinions about reasons for being interested in reading lessons 37
Figure 4.6. Opinions about reasons for not being interested in reading lessons 37
Figure 4.7. The teachers’ attitudes toward the ESP materials 38
Figure 4.8. The students’ attitudes toward the ESP materials 38
Figure 4.9. Teachers and students’ using of supplementary materials 39
Figure 4.10. Teachers’ and students perceptions of working interaction 41
Figure 4.11. Techniques used at pre-reading stage 42
Figure 4.12. Techniques used at while-reading stage 43
Figure 4.13. Techniques used at post-reading stage 43
Figure 4.14. Students’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of vocabulary 44
Figure 4.15. Teachers’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of vocabulary 45
Figure 4.16. Students’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of grammar 46
Figure 4.17. Teachers’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of grammar 47
Figure 4.18. Students’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of discourse 47
Figure 4.19. Teachers’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of discourse 48
Figure 4.20. Students’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of reading skills 49
Figure 4.21. Teachers’ perceptions on the difficulties in the areas of reading skills 49
Table 4.1. Teachers and students’ view of sources of difficulties 50
Figure 4.22. Suggestions made by the teachers and the students 53
Table 4.2. The learners’ expectation in term of methodology 54
Picture 1. Welding safety clothing 56
vii
Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1. Rationale
As an international language, English nowadays plays an important role in
academic studies, professional success and personal development in the world of
economic integration and globalization. The number of learners of English
increases quickly day by day. In fact, all courses of English usually start with the
question “Why do these learners need to learn English?” These courses are based on
a perceived need of some sort. Most learners have realized their core need to learn
English for their current or future job. Thus, in teaching and learning English as a
foreign language in Vietnam, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has recently
received a great deal of attention.
Moreover, many researchers believe that reading is by far the most important
of all four skills in a second language, particularly in English as a second or foreign
language (e.g. Carrell, Devine, & Eskey, 1998). Certainly, if we consider the study
of English as a foreign language around the world, the situation in which most
English learners find themselves, reading is the main reason why students learn the
language. Quite simply, without solid reading proficiency, second language readers
cannot complete with their English-speaking counterparts. Aebersold and Field
(1997) also emphasize that the acquisition of reading skills in a second or foreign
language is a priority for millions of learners around the world, and there is a
growing demand for both effective reading courses as well as high-quality second
lannguage reading materials.
In Vietnam, English seems to be learnt and taught in non-English environment,
so reading is an important means to get knowledge in ESP, and also a means for
further study. In other words, learners “read to learn” (Burn, 1988). This is true for
the students of Automotive Technology at The Central Region Transport College
(CRTC), where learners are future technical engineers and technicians who learn
1
English in order to be able to handle subject-related written materials in English and
to work with modern technological equipment. So ESP materials used at CRTC
now are often reading materials with the topics in the specific area. Reading

comprehension skill is therefore the key for students not only to study English but
also to further study.
At CRTC, after finishing 120 periods of GE, students of Automotive
Technology begin to take 60 periods of ESP. Being an ESP teacher of Automotive
Technology, the researcher has always been aware of the importance of developing
reading skills for students. If students read well, they are able to handle subjects
related written materials in English and to work with modern technological
equipment. Since reading skill is of utmost importance, however , its teaching is not
a simple task. According to Celce-Murcia (2001), teaching reading skill to non-
native speakers of English involves unique problems and challenges of all
conceivable levels of instruction. In fact, there are many factors that affect the
teaching and learning ESP reading comprehension process such as: inappropriate
teaching methods and classroom techniques, inappropriate attitude of the teachers
and learners about the subjects, unsuitable teaching materials… So that, despite the
effort of the teachers and students, the students’ reading comprehension skill has
not met the requirements of the collge.
For the above-mentioned reasons, the researcher would like to study about the
perceptions and attitude towards ESP reading, the current situations, the difficulties
and the causes of difficulties for teaching and learning English on Automotive
Technology at CRTC, then make some suggestions to improve students’ ESP
reading comprehension skill.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study aims to provide some suggestions to improve the skill of ESP
reading comprehension for students of Automotive Technology at CRTC.
2
To be more specific, the objectives of the study are:
- To invesigate the present situation of teaching and learning English for
Automotive Technology in order to find out the teachers and learners’
difficulties for reading comprehension skill.
- To suggest the ways to overcome the difficulties and help improve students’

ESP reading comprehension skill.
It is hoped that the findings from this study will be of some benefits to the students
at CRTC.
1.3. Scope of the study
This study is to find out the perception and problem in ESP reading experience
by the second year students of Automotive Technology at CRTC. The information
is intended to be used as the base for giving some suggestions for improving
students’ reading comprehension skill.
Also, the findings from this study will help ESP teachers at the college meet
the learners’ expectation by narrowing the gap between teaching and learning. Any
other purposes would be beyond the scope of the study.
1.4. Research questions
1. What are teachers and students’ attitude and expectation of learning ESP
reading skill?
2. What problems did the teachers and students of Automotive Technology get
when teaching and learning ESP reading?
3. What helps students overcome the difficulties and improve ESP reading skill?
1.5. Methods of the study
This is a case study on teaching and learning reading English for Automotive
Technology at CRTC. To achieve the aim of the study, both qualitative and
quantitative methods are used in the study. Quantitative method is used to
investigate students’ attidude and expectation in ESP reading as well as teachers’
3
techniques of teaching ESP reading by mainly using questionnaires. Qualitative
method is used to find the causes and make suggestions to overcome those
difficulties in ESP reading skill by using the instrument of survey and discussions to
collect and analyse the data.
1.6. Organization of the study
The study is comprised of five chapters:
Chapter I (Introduction) introduces the rational for choosing the topic, the aims and

objectives of the study, the scope of the study, research questions and method of the
study.
Chapter II (Literature Review and Theoretical Background) includes two parts. Part
one is on literature review commenting on some previous studies on the field of
topic. Part two is on the background of the study including theoretical background
to the nature of reading, reading comprehension and reading in ESP; the current
situaton of English teaching and learning at the CRTC
Chapter III (Methodology) presents the data collection instruments, procedure and
data analysis.
Chapter IV (Findings and discussions) provides the findings and some comments
basing on data analysed as well as some suggestions to improve students’ ESP
reading comprehension skill.
Chapter V (Conclusion) summarizes the main issues and points outs the limitations
of the study.
4
Chapter 2. Literature Review and Theoretical Background
2.1. Literature Review
The teaching of ESP has actually been seen as a separate activity within
English language teaching (ELT), and the process of teaching ESP is naturally
similar to that of EFL. So that, ESP research is as an identifiable component of
applied linguistic research, as EFL. A key distinguishing feature of ESP is its
openness to insights of other disciplines.
Recently, there have been several studies done with the consideration on the
relationship between reading strategies and successful foreign language readers. In
an empirical study, Song (2001) studied 68 first-year students majoring in
Archeology, Esthetics, and religion at a university in Korea to investigate the
impact of strategy training on the reading ability of EFL university students. He also
aimed to get answers for the different effect of the strategy training on students'
reading proficiency level and types of reading comprehension questions. The
findings of the study showed that the reading strategy training does improve EFL

college students reading proficiency. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that
less able readers might benefit from the training more than more able
readers. Finally the study revealed that the students' ability of grasping main ideas
and of making inferences from the given passages was significantly enhanced.
The effect of training reading strategies to make better training has also been
confirmed by many other study results of many researchers as Salataci and Akeyl's
(2002) who investigated the reading strategies of Turkish EFL students in Turkish
and English possible effects of reading instruction on reading in Turkish and
English; Sedighi (1998) who studied the effects of training in the use of reading
strategies on the improvement of reading comprehension of 110 students at
Allameh Tabatabaei University and Islamic Azad University, Iran.
5
While lots of studies on reading strategy instruction have been done in EFL
and ESL context, few studies have been conducted on the impact of strategy
training on ESP readers. However, an article on the Journal of Language Teaching
and Research (Vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 569-577, September 2010) about the study on the
effects of pre-reading activities on ESP reading comprehension by Minoo Alemi
and Saman Ebadi (Tehran, Iran) shows that better comprehension can be gained
through restoring to pre-reading activities. In the study, writers giving prior
information through restoring to pre-reading activities might become a useful
tool for teachers of ESP to facilitate the learner's reading comprehension ability.
In another article in Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 270-273, January 2011 about the study of
“Deepening ESP Reading Comprehension through Visualization”, Seyyed Mahdi
Erfani, Abutaleb Iranmehr and Hossein Davari suggested that visualization can be a
key effective reading comprehension strategy can be a useful alternative for
university ESP classrooms. The procedures used in the experimental group
triggered off the students to participate more actively in discussions and devoted
more attention and interest to the topic. Moreover, strategies like visualization
might remove the strictness and formality of language learning classrooms and
allow students, as one important side of ESP instructional transition, to engage more

actively. Finally, the instructors' creativity to use efficient strategies like
visualization might cover some obvious shortcomings of textbooks.
In Vietnam, there have been also studies focusing on improving students’ ESP
reading skill in recent years. In the study on “Students’ difficulties in learning ESP
at Faculty of Broadcasting Technology of College of Broadcasting I” by Ms. Hoang
Thi Hai Hanh (2009), the researcher showed that the students have difficulties in
many areas of the language such as grammar, vocabulary, discourse and reading
skill when dealing with ESP texts and their problems result from limited
6
background, unsuitable reading materials inadequate linguistic knowledge and the
teaching methods of some teachers.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga (2011) with the study of “An investigation into the
difficulties of learning reading English for ESP of students of Finance and Banking
on HUI Nghe An Campus” showed that students’ ineffective ways of learning ESP
prevented better reading comprehension. So that, in order to improve reading skill,
it is necessary to raise awareness of the students of self-study.
In another study, Ms. Ta Thi Minh Nguyet (2007) stated that the teaching and
learning of ESP in general and reading skills in particular are still far from being
satisfactory because the Communicative Approach is not properly applied and
reading classes are often used to teach language rather than reading comprehension.
Hence, she suggested improving students’ ESP reading skill by “Teaching reading
ESP in integration with the other language skills to students of Linguistics”.
Up to the present, there have been several books written for Automotive
Technology and realated branches, such as: English for Mechanics (Thorold May,
Lulu.com), English for the Automobile Industry (Marie Kavanagh, Oxford),
Technical English (David Bonamy, Longman), Cambridge English for Engineering
(Mark Ibbotson, Cambridge), etc. In addition, teachers of ESP in universitíes and
colleges in Vietnam and over the world have been editing the materials of ESP in
order to make it more suiable to their students. The most effective exploitation of
these kinds of ESP materials means improving competence in the English language

and reinforcing specification knowledge of automotive technology. Most of
knowledge related to students’ major is compiled in automotive technology texts in
the materials. As a sequence, mastering the reading comprehension skill plays the
priority importance in teaching and learning ESP. However, there have been not
many studies related to developing ESP reading skill for students of Automotive
Technology.
7
In this study, the researcher would like to apply theories and her own
understanding as well as experience in teaching English for Automotive
Engineering in order to give some suggestions of improving reading comprehension
skill for students as presented in the following parts.
2.2. Theoretical background.
2.2.1. The nature of reading
2.2.1.1. Definition of reading
In the reading class, what the teacher understands about reading will have a
great influence on what he or she teaches in the classroom. Therefore, for the
teacher of reading, a careful look at definitions of reading is very important.
Actually, most people usually read naturally so that they can not give exact
definition of reading. Each definition only can reflect some aspect of reading. Some
people think that reading consists of two elements: the reader and the text. Nor they
are all. In any mature act of reading there is also an interaction between the reader
and the writer. True reading, thus, involves a triangular interaction between the
reader, the writer and the text.
According to Goodman (1971:135), reading is “a psycholinguistic process
by which the reader, a language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message
which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display”. Similarly, Carell Devine
and Eskey (1988:13) give the point that considers reading as a process in which the
writer encodes thought by language and reader decodes language to thought called
constructed meaning. This can be understood that there is an essential interaction
between language and thought in reading.

Sharing the similar point of view, Petty and Salzer (1989:323) suppose that
“reading involves the identification and recognition of printed or written symbols
which serve as stimulus for the recall of meanings built up through past experience
and further the construction of new meanings through the reader's manipulation of
8
relevant concepts already in his or her possession. The resulting meanings are
organized into thought processes according to the purposes that are operating in
the reader.” Through these views, we can see clearly the interrelationship between
the writer, the reader and the text.
On the other hand, some other reseachers consider reading as a creative act,
interaction, interpretation, a social act and responding. Ur (1996:138) gives the
definition that “Reading means "reading and understanding". A foreign language
learner who says, "I can read the words but don't know what they mean" is not,
therefore, reading, in this sense. He or she is merely decoding - translating written
symbols into corresponding sounds.” This does not mean that the reader needs to
understand every word in a text but actively work on the text and extract the
required information efficiently.
From all the opinions above it is clear that no researcher could give an
absolutely exact definition that can capture all the ideas and features of reading.
However, they all try to find out the nature of reading, that is “understanding”, in
which they emphasize on reading process, reading message and readers. We can not
tell whose point of view is better because each of them focuses on one important
matter of reading. However, we find that there is a close relationship between
reading and understanding. Therefore, being a language teacher, we must
understand the nature of reading thoroughly to help our students read effectively.
2.2.1.2. Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension plays an important role in teaching and learning
reading a foreign language. It can be understood as the ability to obtain the
information as required in the reading text as efficiently as possible. If reading is
simple mechanical movements of the eyes, reading comprehension includes

mechanical and mental activities. So far, many people have done some research to
define reading comprehension.
9
According to Swam (1975: 1), “a student is good at comprehension” if “he
can read accurately and efficiently, so as to get the maximum information of a text”.
Whereas, Grellet (1981:3) stated that “reading comprehension or understanding a
written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively as
possible”.
Though these opinions are different, they all have a common point, that is,
reading is much more than just pronouncing words correctly or simply knowing
what the author intends. It is the process in which the readers, as they read, can
recognize the graphic forms of the reading text and understand what is implied
behind these forms. For the teachers who teach reading, a profound understanding
about the nature of reading comprehension may help them find out the students’
difficulties of learning reading.
2.2.1.3. Classification of reading according to the purpose of reading
As mentioned above, people read because of various reasons or, in other words,
different purposes. According to the purpose of reading Wood (1985), Williams
(1984) and Grellet (1990) categorize reading into intensive, extensive, skimming
and scanning.
a. Skimming
Skimming differs from general rapid reading in that the readers go through
the text extremely quickly, merely dipping into it or sampling it at various points.
Skimming is the technique that is used widely in reading comprehension. Skimming
may sometimes be the prerequisite of reading for full understanding. There are
many definitions of skimming. Grellet (1981:19) states that “when skimming, we go
through the reading material quickly in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is
organized, or to get an idea of the tone or intention of the writer”. It means that the
purpose of skimming is simply to see what a text is about. The reader skims in order
to satisfy a very general curiosity about the text. The key that actually encourages

10
learners to skim is to give them a series of texts and ask them to select appropriate
titles from groups of ones. Moreover, in order to teach skimming effectively, the
teacher should have the students read the beginning or end of a text or a paragraph
because it may provide students with a statement relating to the topic. Skimming
gives students the advantage of being able to predict the purpose of the passage, the
main topic or message, or possibly some of the developing or supporting ideas. This
gives them a “head start” as they embark on more focused reading. Skimming also
helps student organize their thoughts and specify what information they can get
from a book so that the subsequent reading will become more efficient.
In conclusion, skimming is understood as a necessary technique for reading
comprehension which enables readers to get the main points of the text without
being concerned with the details. Therefore, skimming should be applied at the first
stage of teaching reading to help student have an overview of what they are going to
read. And it is sure that they will understand the whole text later. However,
skimming sometimes proves too difficult for younger learners, or beginners because
they generally lack confidence and the knowledge of the language they are learning.
b. Scanning
Like skimming, scanning is also one of two most valuable reading strategies.
However, scanning is far more limited than skimming since it only means retrieving
what information is relevant to our purpose. Scanning occurs when a reader goes
through a text very quickly in order to find a particular point of information. It is a
useful skill worth cultivating for its own sake, if it has been cultivated
systematically from the earliest point in the course at which it can be attempted, co-
operative work on the study of texts can be greatly expected and made easy.
Scanning requires two skills of the reader. One of them is that they recognize
the specific type of word that identifies the item. The other is the use of a different
eye movement pattern, vertical vision. Nearly all the background reading required
11
for the presenting of a topic to the class by a group calls for proficiency in this type

of reading. There is a great range of text suitable for scanning – indexes,
dictionaries, maps, advertisements, labels, reference material, etc.
In short, the key to scanning is to decide exactly what kind of information we
can look for and where to find it. The purpose of scanning is to extract certain
specific information without reading through the whole text.
c. Extensive reading
Extensive reading is a fluency activity, mainly involving general
understanding. It provides valuable reinforcement of the language already presented
and practiced in the class as well as giving students useful practice in inferring
meaning from the context of the text.
Lewis and Hill (1985:109) state that “extensive reading means students have
a general understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word”.
It is obvious that when reading extensively, readers do not need to have intense
concentration on the content of a long text and total comprehension because the
objective of extensive reading is to cover the greatest possible amount of text in the
shortest possible time. In other words, extensive reading can be compared to the
activity of ploughing through the text in a uniform fashion. Extensive reading is
therefore regarded as means of entertainment and pleasure. And the reason why this
kind of reading is essentially needed is that it can promote reading out of class.
Students can read directly and fluently in the foreign language for their own
enjoyment without the aid of teacher. Furthermore, it is by pursuing the activity of
extensive reading that the volume of practice necessary to achieve rapid and
efficient reading can be achieved. It is also one of the means by which a foreigner
may be exposed to a substantial sample of the language he may wish to learn
without actually going to live in the country to which that language is native.
12
Basing on the importance of extensive reading, Nuttal (1982:168) shows that
“the best way to improve one’s knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live
among its speakers: The next best way is to read extensively in it.”
The practice of extensive reading needs little justification. It is clearly the

earliest way of bringing the foreign learner into sustained contact with a substantial
body of English.
Broughton (1980:111) suggests that “there appears to be basically three
ways the extensive reading may be encouraged, first by having class sets of title,
second by operating a class library system, and the third by using the school
library”.
In short, this kind of reading is necessary for students at University because
it actively promotes reading out the class and gives them opportunity to use their
own knowledge of the language for their own purposes. Moreover, this kind of
reading is regarded as pleasure and interest. That is why intensive reading is highly
motivated.
d. Intensive reading
Intensive Reading, sometimes called "Narrow Reading", may involve
students reading selections by the same author or several texts about the same topic.
When this occurs, content and grammatical structures repeat themselves and
students get many opportunities to understand the meanings of the text. The
success of "Narrow Reading" on improving reading comprehension is based on the
premise that the more familiar the reader is with the text, either due to the subject
matter or having read other works by the same author, the more comprehension is
promoted.
Different from extensive reading – reading for fluency, readers can read
without the aid of the teachers and without understanding the text in detail –
intensive reading is regarded as reading for accuracy. It “involves approaching the
13
text under the close guidance of the teacher or under the guidance of a task which
forces the students to pay great attention to the text in order to arrive at a profound
to detailed understanding of the text not only of what it means, but also of how the
meaning is produced. The “how” is as important as the “what”, for the intensive
reading lesson is intended primarily to train students in reading strategies”. (Nutall,
1982:23)

Sharing this opinion, Lewis (1985:109) states that “intensive reading means
students understand everything they read and be able to answer detailed
vocabulary and comprehension questions”. The concern of such reading is for
detailed comprehension of very short texts. “ The objective of intensive reading is
to achieve full understanding of the logical argument, the rhetorical arrangement
or pattern of the text, of its symbolic, emotional and social overtones, of the
attitudes and purposes of the author, and of linguistic means that he employs to
achieve his ends” (Broughton, 1980:93). In other words, the aim of intensive
reading is to obtain the fullest possible response in the student’s head to the black
mark in his book. Response can not be achieved by instruction about what he ought
to see and feel, or by repetition of what others see and feel, although knowledge of
what can be seen by others sometimes helps us to see for ourselves.
Generally, in real life, our reading purpose constantly varies therefore we can
use different ways of reading to obtain information. Teachers should be active and
flexible in each situation to choose the type of reading to help students become
independent and efficient readers.
2.2.1.4. Reading skills
The reader employs a number of specialist skills when reading and his
success in understanding the content of what he reads depends to a large extent on
his expertise in these specialist skills. The following are some of the main reading
14