Reading in English as a Foreign Language - Essay Example

Introduction

Reading well in English as a foreign language is a challenging task for many students. Reading skill helps students excel in their reading activity at learning centers and in their daily lives. Students face problems when reading books in a foreign language because they lack the language instrumentalities required to read in an efficient way (Hu and Jiang 2011, p.207). Also, students fail to comprehend the scripts without seeking dictionary assistance for translation. For a long time, scholars have explored the techniques in which reading could be taught efficiently. Initially, the concept of reading was only constituted of the decryption process. However, modern scholars affirm that reading entails meaning and comprehension. Dechat says that " comprehension is the goal and purpose of reading. Without it, there is no reading"(Gamboa-González 2017, P.180). Thus, the reading process pertains to identifying scripted symbols and creating meaning to the words the writer aims to convey. The essence of reading is to comprehend a text.

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Deriving Meaning

Many scholars say that reading in a foreign language shares some elements with first language reading. Goodman elucidates that the process of reading is common in all languages (Gamboa-González 2017, P.184). The process of deriving meaning from scripted texts occurs in all languages. Reading in first and foreign language have various common aspects. Both involve the process of making meaning from scripted texts. Also, both are transitions between the writer, text, and reader. Moreover, both depend on prior knowledge of practical and cognitive strategies. Both are means of acquiring or improving experience.

Despite reading in a foreign language shares significant aspect with reading in the first language, the two processes have notable differences. Reading in a foreign language expresses particular lingual elements such as variations sounds, scripting systems, competency, and knowledge deficiency in a foreign language (AlKilabi 2015, p.14). Learning a foreign language can be impaired by handling vocabulary and grammar (Stuvland 2019 ,p.207). This can lead to impediments in the comprehension process. Also, the meaning development is impended due to cultural context absence from which the student can construct the message.

Complex Process

Reading is a complex process. Thus, implementing effective reading comprehension strategies in a classroom setup is difficult for students to learn English as a foreign language. Two models can be used to allow learners to construct meanings from their texts: top-down and bottom-down models. The study of psycho-linguistic models can help a learner understand how texts are processed and which strategies can be transitioned to an education field in an English as a foreign language environment (Yamashita and Shiotsu 2017, p.53). The interactive reading model asserts that the reader decides to give meaning to the sentences and words using various strategies. The interactive reading model can enable readers to have the prospect of interacting with the texts using the elements and tools available to make the process less complicated. Thus, the reader can attain the main goals when reading, comprehending, and creating meaning.

The reading of English as a foreign language has been perceived as a passive process for a long time. It was viewed as a decoding process of interpreting the writer’s desired message by acknowledging the written letters and constructing meaning for a writer from smaller units of scripts such as letters and words to bigger units such as phrases, sentences, and clauses (AlKilabi 2015, p.17). Challenges of foreign language reading and understanding were perceived as being concerned with interpretation. Before 1970, the reading process in a foreign language was perceived as an affection to oral language skills (Acosta 2019, p.65). The audio-lingual techniques applied in the 1970s played down the significance of reading skills and set the importance of listening over others.

Some authors have a contradicting view of the reading process of a foreign language. Some scholars argue that the reading process is not an act of getting information from written sources (Koda and Yamashita 2018 p.34). Instead, they say that reading actuates vast knowledge in the reader's mind that may be expounded or refined by the new information conveyed in the text (Mansfield and Poppi 2012, p.163). Reading enables students to be independent and prepare for responsibilities and life after school. However, some scholars argue that useful reading is is the most significant way of effective learning. Goodman says that reading is a language cognition process that begins with a lingual overhead representation encrypted by a writer and ends with the meaning created by the reader (Yang and Wu 2016, p.4). As such, there is an interaction between thought process and language learning. The writer encrypts thoughts as a language, and the reader decodes language to thought. During the reading process, one must attach meaning to words and sentences to construct knowledge (Sabirova and Khanipova 2019, p.47). Meaning construction entails the reader's ability to connect from scripted text and prior knowledge.

Knowledge Activation

Many scholars agree that reading is an interactive rather than a passive process. The reading process involves knowledge activation in the reader's mind. The knowledge can be used by the reader and expanded or refined based on the newly acquired information. As such, meaning is viewed as something created due to interaction between the reader and the reading. However, while learning English as a foreign language, it is essential to use both models to enhance comprehension. This is because each approach has some critical aspects that the other lacks. The combination of the various factors lead to a proper comprehension of English as a foreign language.

Reading is an important aspect of formal education. Firstly, the word read means understanding the meaning of written texts or printed symbols. Reading enables one to discover new things (Ross 2017, p.40). Reading enables an individual to acquire education in any area of life. Reading is the preliminary stage for many people that have innovated world-changing things. Reading would allow scholars to conduct their research. During research, a scholar interacts with various experimental knowledge before getting to the findings. Also, one can think independently. A scholar can ask personal questions that trigger further research and investigations. Extensive reading helps people have substantial knowledge to contribute to the large pool of available information.

Reading helps individuals to improve their communication skills. Most of the people who dedicate their time to read are also good communicators. Reading enables a scholar to enhance their spelling and vocabulary. A scholar can differentiate between confusing and difficult terms. Also, the reader can express the knowledge gained through writing. This makes it possible for good readers to develop effective writing skills. Moreover, writing enhances one's talking skills. An individual who reads much will have more words to say to others whenever needed to do so. Reading enables a scholar to understand other people's thoughts, ideas, and emotions conveyed using various communication modes (Maguire, Reynolds, and Delahunt 2020, p.4).

Reading is important in formal education because it enhances the creativity of a person. Today, the world requires creative minds to solve the evolving challenges. Reading is the solution to such challenges. As people read and acquire knowledge, they become more innovative to solve problems facing humanity. Moreover, reading assist s to enhance the mind and imagination. People who read can find solutions faster to arising issues. Reading equips the mind with the required knowledge base that can be used during times of need. Reading enables a scholar to come up with new ideas about a problem facing the community. Also, a reader will assist others easily when stack in an area of research.

Reading enables scholars to come up with new ideas, thus opening up new areas of research. Scholars have developed all new ideas because of reading. A scholar can come up with a new idea that requires further reading and research. Thus, other scholars will dedicate their time to explore the idea and develop new knowledge. Reading assists scholars in developing new and unexplored areas of knowledge. The new knowledge acquired through learning can form a foundation for other useful studies in the future.

Conclusion

Thus, reading plays an essential part in building a good self-image. Scholars can develop self-esteem because of reading. This is because reading equips one with knowledge, and whenever one talks or addresses others, he/she is sure of the utterances. Also, a person who reads is well-organized. A reader knows how to prioritize daily activities. A scholar can plan for the future. For example, through reading, a scholar can make better decisions on the research area to specialize. Moreover, readers get various requests from others to explain a concept or make a presentation to an audience. Such requests help one to be viewed well by others, thus contributing to developing a good self-image.