Extension Project

Reading comprehension in English for UACO students

Module 1

Caleta Olivia
2020
 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

To see a copy of this licenseyes, visit[Link]

Autora: Viviana Carla Román, 2020

Roman, V (2020) Reading comprehension in English. Module 1

Reading comprehension in English - Page No.

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..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Unit 1. .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
Contents
Objectives
Introduction
Let's begin… 5
Non-Creditable Activity
General understanding of a text: Some strategies..............................................................................................................................................6
Personal pronouns
Verb To Be
Non-Credit Activity
The Simple Present ...
Conceptual and Structural Words: ..............................................................................................................................................................10
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................10
The noun ........................................................................................................................................................................................................11
Singular or Plural?
Nouns that do not pluralize (uncountable)
Nominal phrases
Techniques of speed reading: Skimming and Scanning
Skimming: .14
-and phrases with 'of' that indicate possession15
Word formation
Accreditable Activity
Consulted Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................................................17

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UNIT 1.

Contents

In this first thematic unit we will address the following contents:

Reading strategies: reading models, paratext, overall comprehension, search for
specific information, use of the bilingual dictionary.
Grammar structures: the sentence and its parts, to be, simple present, types of words,
pronoun, noun, noun phrases, word formation.

Objectives

The objective of this unit is to begin the practice of reading texts related to disciplinary knowledge.
from English education, to know and apply reading strategies and techniques that promote
comprehension of texts, using tools such as a bilingual dictionary and knowledge of
aspects of the grammatical structure of the foreign language (FL).

Introduction

Welcome to the Reading Comprehension course in English.

The dictates of this course are framed within the SATEP 3 standard level, which stipulates an interaction
permanent in the Unpabimodal virtual teaching-learning environment.
As in any university training process, a space for construction is assumed
knowledge, with a certain degree of self-learning and autonomy, of discussion, deepening and
collective construction of approaches, perspectives, and knowledge; and this is how I envision the journey of this
proposal.
Throughout the course, it will be necessary to work actively in the virtual classroom, develop autonomy
work and organize time. In this way, they will be able to complete the learning activities and
practice, make the necessary inquiries and build work-learning groups. The active
participation in communication spaces in the virtual classroom will foster collaborative construction of
knowledge
Before starting the topics and tasks planned for this unit, it is important to begin to
to get to know each other.

Teacher
My name is Viviana Carla Román, I am a National Public Translator in the language
English and Master's in Education in Virtual Environments, and I am the teacher in charge
from the course. I live in the city of Comodoro Rivadavia and I am dedicated to teaching
from English for communication and for specific purposes with a virtual modality and
blended

I welcome you to our workspace and invite you to enter the virtual classroom where
They will find the program, which is in the block of General Issues and its reading is
It's important. It is also necessary for them to familiarize themselves with the tools they have at this moment.
available for use throughout the course:
Reading comprehension in English - Page No.
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 Dictionaries
These resources are available in the "Resources" section of the classroom.
virtual. To access them, you must click on the available links there.

Initial survey
It aims to understand your expectations regarding the course, your
previous knowledge of the English language and the use of technologies for
to learn.
I hope to see you now in the introduction forum.

We introduce ourselves

I invite you to enter the presentation forum available in Module 1.

This communication space aims to get to know each other better. That's why it is
It is important that you introduce yourselves and briefly talk about your knowledge.
previous knowledge of English and expectations regarding the course.

Let's get started...

The ability to read and understand academic texts in English is essential to complete your
university education. Its development involves a learning process in which several tasks are carried out.
at the same time. For example, compare the grammatical structures of Spanish with those of English, analyze the
organization of texts and the situation in which the texts are produced and published.
In this first module, we take an approach to the working methodology, a presentation of
important concepts as we begin the experience of reading texts.
Now we fully begin to work on the course:

Web Resource: First reading activity

I invite you to complete theInitial activity. You can access it from the link in
this base text or from the link with the same name in the virtual classroom. There
you will find the first texts and work guidelines.

Non-Credit Activity

Unit 1 Inquiry Forum

In this communication space, you will find a line of dialogue to talk.
about the first reading activity. It is extremely important that
participants, given that this is one of the spaces for communication and construction
of the most important knowledge of the course.

Reading is a process through which the reader aims to communicate with the outside world,
It is a process of dialogue with a text to understand what it expresses, discover its purposes, engage with it.
questions and try to find the answers.
Reading comprehension is a process through which the reader decodes words and ideas from the author.
from the text to develop the overall meaning of the writing.

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 Therefore, reading is an act of reflection, in which the information of the text is analyzed and interpreted to
achieve new knowledge.
We are going to start with reading expository texts. Expository texts present a
theme with the aim of explaining it, convey information objectively, explain concepts, can have
examples. E.g. Scientific texts, instructions, encyclopedic texts. Their content usually responds to the
["What is it?","And why is it like this?"]

Mandatory Reading: The Expository Text in English

In this document you will find important information while reading these
texts in English: its structure (parts that compose it), models of
organization.

GENERAL COMPREHENSION OF A TEXT: SOME STRATEGIES

Reading is an activity where we activate our knowledge of the world, our

experiences, ideas, opinions. That is why we carry out some activities before immersing ourselves in the.
reading, others while we read and others when we finish.
Anticipation and prediction: Firstly, when facing the text, we observe the title, images,
tables, graphs, comments in bold or in boxes, extension, parts, subtitles. With the information
what this observation provides us is that we make the first approximation to the subject and purpose of the text.

It is good to take some time to think about the topic that we believe the text will address, to infer
the meaning of unknown words in the observed parts. Talk with our colleagues
About our predictions, it will enrich us and facilitate the subsequent reading.

Comment
It is necessary to suppose what we are going to read.

Understanding the text is simplified if in the first approach to the text we observe carefully:

- Paratext and typographic indications:

1) Título y subtítulos
2) Figures (numbers) in the text
3) Uppercase letters
4) Special use of font type: italic, bold, larger size
5) Division into paragraphs
6) Images, tables, graphs, boxes

- Conceptual words that are repeated

- Words that are similar in English and Spanish (transparencies or cognates)

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 Web Resource: Vocabulary
En Vocabularyyou will find a glossary that will help you understand the
technical vocabulary related to reading comprehension in English that
you will find in this base text and in the reading activities. You can access
from the link in this base text or from the link with the same name in the
virtual classroom.

It is a good time to log back into the virtual classroom to complete the next activity of
reading.

Reading activities
In this folder you will find the reading activities for the unit.

Unit 1 Consultation Forum

In this communication space, you will find specific lines of dialogue for
talk about each reading activity. Your participation is important and
necessary since we will be outlining the learning process there.
comprehension reading strategies.

While working with reading activities, it is necessary that you start to familiarize yourself with the
structure of the English language to enrich the reading process.

Personal pronouns

Pronouns are structural words (they convey little meaning but provide structure to the
sentence). The personal pronouns in English are 8 and have two forms that mean the same but are
use one or the other depending on their place in the sentence, as seen in table 1.

In the subject Meaning In the predicate meaning

I Yo me to me
You You you you
He He him to him
She She her to her
It Hello (animals or things) it to him
We We us to us
You You all you to you
they They them to them

As can be seen from the table, the third person singular has three forms, one for the
masculino (he / him) otra para el femenino (she / her) y otra para el impersonal (it / it) que se utiliza para
talk about animals or objects.

Example
Sara is my friend. She is very intelligent. I study with her.
(they mention) Sara

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 I have a cat. It is black and white. I let it sleep on my bed.
replace a cat
The book is on the table. It is very interesting.
word book

The third person plural (they) has a single form and does not denote gender. It also does not denote whether
we talk about people, animals, or things. Examples:

Example
Foxes are small animals. They live in Patagonia.
Anna and Margaret are my friends. They are from El Calafate.
Tom and George live in New York. They aren't from Argentina.
Susan and Victor are engineers. They work at the university.

Comment
The personal pronoun of the first person singular 'I' is written
always with a capital letter (even if it's in the middle of the sentence)

Verb To Be

This verb means to be or to exist. In the present, it has three forms: am, is, are which are used according to the
subject of the sentence as shown in the chart.

I am a nurse
He’s = He is
She is from San Julián
Affirmative It’s = It is
You’re = You are twenty years old
We’re = We are
They’re = They are happy
I am not from China
Heisn’t = He is not
She is not a biologist
Negative It isn’t = It is not
You aren’t = You are not at work
We aren’t = We are not
They are not in a beauty spa
good?
Am I
tall?
Interrogative Is he / she / it
Japanese?
Are you / we / they
friends?
No, I'm not Yes, I am
Short answer No, he / she / it isn't Yes, he / she / it is
No, you / we / they aren’t Yes, you / we / they are

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 The verb is placed after the subject in the affirmative and negative sentence. In the latter, it is followed by
not, or the corresponding contraction can be used.

Example
I’m not in Río Gallegos
Sandra isn’t from China
The students in this class aren’t German.
German

Example
Are you on holidays?
Is Susan Brown a researcher?

Non-Creditable Activity

Consultation Forum Unit 1

In this communication space, you will find a specific line of dialogue.
to talk about the words and structures presented here. It is important
that you participate by sharing comments and questions, solving exercises of
practice and also answering the questions posed by your classmates.

The Simple Present

The simple present is a verb tense used to talk about habitual activities, routines.
and general facts or truths.
Let's take some verbs in their infinitive form (uncovjugated) to appreciate the examples:

Verbs in their infinitive form:

["live","study","like","eat","like","speak","play","sleep","get","have","work","go"]

{"I":"I","you":"you","we":"we","they":"they"} live in a big city

study English
Affirmative
likes dogs
He / she / it
eats vegetables
do not like coffee
I / you / we / they
don't speak French
Negative
does not (doesn’t) play tennis
He / she / it
does not sleep well
get up at 7 am?
Do I / you / we / they
Have breakfast at home?
Interrogative Working in the morning?
Does he / she / it
go to sleep at midnight?
Yes, I / you / we / they do No, I / you / we / they don't
Short answer
Yes, he / she / it does No, he / she / it doesn't.

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 As seen in the previous table in the affirmative form, when the subject of the sentence (who
make the action) is I, you, we, they, the form of the conjugated verb matches the form of the infinitive,
while if the action is developed or about it, the form of the verb changes by adding
a final salt.
In negative and interrogative sentences, the auxiliary DO/DOES is included. In sentences
In questions, the auxiliary precedes the subject, and in negative sentences, the auxiliary is accompanied by 'not.'
always before the verb.

Comment
It is important to observe that in questions and negations of the third
third person singular (he, she, it) where the auxiliary DOES is present
in the sentence, the verb is in its base form, that is, not
carries

Regarding spelling, the verbs are added to the affirmative sentences of the third person.
of the singular, they follow the same spelling rules as nouns when adding -s to mark the
plural.

Example
I wash my hands every day. He washes his hands every day.
We watch TV in the evening. She watches TV in the evening.
They usually tidy the room. Tom usually tidies the room.
You go to work by car. Susan goes to work by car.

Conceptual and Structural Words:

Words, according to their grammatical function, are classified into eight groups: noun, adjective,
verb, adverb, pronoun, article, conjunction, and preposition. They are also classified into two main categories.
groups: conceptual words and structural words. Read the two texts below and observe which
of them is easier to understand:

Both versions are difficult to understand because they are incomplete.

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 In the first text, the conceptual words were extracted, that is to say the words that express
concepts and convey meaning. Conceptual words are nouns, adjectives, verbs,
adverbs and pronouns.
In text B, on the other hand, structural words were extracted, that is, those words that do not
they convey a lot of meaning, but they give structure to the text because they link the conceptual words and
they express the relationships between them. The structural words are the articles, conjunctions,
interjections and prepositions.

Web Resource
To see examples of the parts of speech in Spanish, visit this link:
[Link]

The noun

A noun is a conceptual word (it conveys meaning) used to name a person,

animal, place, object or abstract idea.

Example
Late last year, the Department of Education bought a new scanner.
Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis edited the book Ubiquitous Learning in 2009.
Sara focused on her career as an influencer full time.
Research is a process to discover new knowledge.
Nurses fill in the patients' charts at the foot of their bed.

Singular or Plural?

In English, the plural is manifested in pronouns and nouns.

We have already seen the pronouns and identified them in their singular and plural forms.
In the case of nouns, the plural is formed, just like in Spanish, by adding -s to the end of the
noun.

Example
teacher teachers student students
pen pens subject subjects

In cases where the noun ends in eno, s, x, chosh, the plural is formed by adding -es at the end.
of the noun.

Example
tomato tomatoes glass glasses
box boxes match matches
brush brushes

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 In cases where the noun ends with -fo, the plural is formed by changing -fo- to -ve-.
Add -es. In cases where the noun ends in -y preceded by a consonant, -y is replaced.
-adding-es.

Example
housewife housewives
neuropathy neuropathies
study studies
Compare with the following examples where the –y is preceded by a vowel:
boy boys
way ways

There are also cases where the formation of the plural does not follow the general rule that has been explained. Thus
irregular plurals arise.

Example
child children medium media
man men fish fish
woman women sheep sheep
foot feet stimulus stimuli
tooth teeth bacterium bacteria

In these cases, it is necessary to carefully examine the context in which the word appears and in case of
For doubts, consult the dictionary to determine if it is singular or plural.

Example
The sheep are in the field. The sheep is in the field.
The children live here. The child lives here.
There are mice in the room. There is a mouse in the room.

Nouns that do not pluralize (uncountable)

Some nouns do not have a plural form and refer to things that are normally not counted.
numerically.

Example
Oxygen is essential to human life.
b- La sarampión es una enfermedad infecciosa.

The public health has improved.

Nominal phrases

A sentence consists of a word or group of words that forms a unit of meaning.

recognize because they can be replaced by a word without changing the meaning. In the case of the

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nominal phrases, the word that functions as the core of the phrase is a noun and the other words
they complete the information.

Example
a school
a technical school
a private technical school
a modern private technical school
an expensive modern private technical school

When translating nominal phrases into Spanish, it is common to make the mistake of translating word for word, which
which results in incoherent and confusing translations. It is important to distinguish the core of the sentence (a
noun), which is the most important word and can be preceded and/or followed by modifiers, such as
it is observed in the examples.

Comment
An important fact when it comes to understanding the meaning of a
noun phrase, it is that in English, adjectives, the words that describe,
adjectives that qualify the noun are placed before the nucleus.

Example

It is important then to look at the whole (the complete sentence in this case) and start from there.
Linear reading and translation (word by word) result in more confusion than understanding.

Practical Work 1
In this activity, you are going to apply the reading strategies practiced so far.
The text and instructions for this activity are in the virtual classroom.

Speed reading techniques: Skimming and Scanning

Two techniques that help to have a general idea of the text we have in front of us.
Quick form: skimming and scanning, two methods of speed reading.

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Skimming:

This reading technique is useful when we want to understand the main idea of the text, that is to say, to know about
What is it about.

In that case, we read the title, the first and last paragraph, or we read the first sentence of each.
paragraph. We identify words that hinder the understanding of that general idea, we look for them in the
dictionary to then return to the text and verify that the translations we chose fit the topic and
then decide what the main idea presented in the text is. In this type of reading, we do not pay attention
to the details, to the secondary ideas.
Steps to follow when using the technique:

1- Look at the text as a whole. Read the title, subtitle, and other general information to
to find out
to recipients
b- place of publication
c- author/s
d- general theme
2- Look at the illustrations for more information on the topic.
3- Read the first and last sentence of each paragraph.
4- Do not read each word or each sentence. Let your eyes glide over the text only.
paying attention to keywords.
5- Keep thinking about the meaning of the text.

The Skimming technique is effective for understanding the main ideas of a text, but not the text itself.
in its entirety. By reading only a part to get a general idea of the text, comprehension is reduced.
global of it. So if the main idea has not been clear in the first sentences, it is
necessary to read the rest of the paragraph; just like the last paragraphs, which generally offer a
conclusion and that is why it is beneficial to read them in their entirety.

Comment
What you read, contrast it with your prior idea resulting from the pre-reading...
You are probably right.

Scanning:

Scanning or scan (exploratory reading) is a speed reading technique used to

to search for specific information in a text. In skimming (scanning or exploratory reading)
we look for the keywords that are related to the information sought.
The technique is often used to find phone numbers in the directory, search for classified ads,
or to look at television programming, schedules, lists, catalogs, or web pages in search of
specific information. For these tasks, it is not necessary to understand the meaning of each word.
The technique is useful when you already know what you are looking for (information to answer a
question, for example) at the time of studying.

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 If we read to learn or study, we will continue the reading process to organize the
new information, identify relevant details, create synoptic charts, semantic maps, etc.

Comment
We learn when we process information.

To locate an answer while scanning a text, you must identify in which paragraphs it may be.
find that answer. For example, if what you are looking for is a date and you quickly see that in a
Paragraph there are no numbers, so it is clear that it will not be there. It is also useful to observe what they say.
headings: the first sentences will give you an idea of what is being discussed, and it is likely that if
if you apply skimming you can determine whether or not the information you are looking for will be there.

Like with all reading and study techniques, skimming and scanning will be more effective for you.
more effective the more you practice them.

Practical Work 2
In this activity, you will apply the reading strategies and techniques presented.
so far. The text and instructions for this activity are in the virtual classroom.

-'s and phrases with 'of' that indicate possession

Nouns in English can indicate relationships of meaning such as possession with

other nouns in the noun phrase or outside of it through the use of 's or structures with of.

Example
Thefamily’s car. The president’s recognition.
Martha’s courage. The death of a patient.

Word formation

Conceptual words can receive particles or groups of letters that modify their meaning.
forming new words. When these particles are placed at the end of the word, they are called suffixes:

Suffixes for nouns Example Base word

-dom freedom free
-er writer write
-ment refreshment refresh
-ness happiness happy
-ion expression express
-tion motion move
-ation formation form
-sion conclusion conclude
ship friendship friend
-ty honesty honest
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 Suffixes for adjectives Example Base word
-able drinkable drink
-al practical practice
-ic dyslexic dyslexia
-ive active action
-ous humorous humor
-y windy wind
full hopeful hope
-less hopeless hope
Suffixes for verbs Example Base word
-ize realize - dramatize reality - drama
-ify identify identity
-ate formulate formula
-en soften soft
Suffixes for adverbs Example Base word
-ly calmly calm
-ward / -wards downwards down

There are also particles or groups of letters that precede conceptual words,
changing their meaning and are called prefixes:

Prefix Example Meaning

a- asymmetry without, what is missing

en- enlarge put in a state of

de- deforestation to reverse an action
dis- disagree denial
inter- international between
mis- misplace wrong, incorrect
mal- malfunction bad, with error
out outrun to do something faster, for longer than
over overweight too much, excessive
re- redial again, repeat
pre prehistoric prior to, previous
trans- transnational on the other side, through
under underpopulated sub, menos, bajo, muy poco
un- uneasy in, anti, little (negation)
im- impatient the opposite of
the illegible denial
in- indirect denial

Accreditable Activity

Practical Work 3
In this accredited activity, you will apply grammatical knowledge of English.
and the reading strategies and techniques presented so far. The text and
The instructions for this activity are in the virtual classroom.

Reading comprehension in English - Page No. 16

 Integrative Credit Work
In this reading activity, you will put into play everything you have learned in this
work unit. The text and instructions for this activity are in the virtual classroom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY CONSULTED

Alonso, J., & del Mar Mateos, M. (1985). Reading comprehension: models, training, and evaluation.
Childhood and learning,
Healey, E. (2005) Llave para el Aprendizaje de Inglés. Estari Libros SRL.
Healey, E. (2005) English Verb Conjugation Handbook. Estari Libros SRL.
Hernández-Zamora, G. (2016). Literacidad académica. Ciudad de México, México: Universidad.
Magno, C & Scagnetti, A (2014). Reading Comprehension in English Module 1. National University of
General Sarmiento
Pasquale, R.; Klett, E & Carbone, G. (2004). Reading in a foreign language: reading strategies and
reading situations
Riestra, D (2006) Usos y formas de la lengua escrita. Ed. Novedades Educativas
Román, V. (2011). Inglés técnico. Texto Base Unidad 1. Inédito
Román, V. (2011) Inglés. Texto Base Unidad 1. Inédito
Roman, V (2018). Foreign Language. Base Text Unit 1. Unpublished
Swan, M. (2017) Practical English Usage 4thedition. Oxford University Press.

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