* Reading is one of the four language skills.
* It's a receptive skill.
To do this we need to understand the language of the text at word level, sentence level and whole text level. We also need to connect the message of the text to our knowledge of the word.
We need to use our knowledge of the world to see the connection between two sentences (coherence). The grammatical links between the sentneces (cohesion) also help us to see the connection between them.
Reading subskills.
We usually use a subskill called reading for specific information or scanning when we scan, we don't read the whole text, e.g. when we look for a number in a telephone directory.
Another subskill is reading for gist or skimming, i.e. reading quickly through a text to get a general idea of what it is about.
A third reading subskill is reading for detail. If you read a letter from someone you haven't heard from a long time, you probably read like this.
Another way of reading is extensive reading. It involves reading long pieces of text.
Reading is a complicated process. It involves understanding letters, words and sentences, understanding the connections between sentences (coherence and cohesion), understanding different text types, making sence of the text through our knowledge of the world and using the appropiate reading subskill.
Functions TKT
I found this definition at
http://www2.education.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.Bilash/best%20of%20bilash/functionsof%20lang.html
What are language functions?
A lot of what we say is for a specific purpose. Whether we are apologizing, expressing a wish or asking permission, we use language in order to fulfill that purpose. Each purpose can be known as a language function. Savignon describes a language function as “the use to which language is put, the purpose of an utterance rather than the particular grammatical form an utterance takes” (Savignon, 1983). By using this idea to structure teaching, the instructional focus becomes less about form and more about the meaning of an utterance. In this way, students use the language in order to fulfill a specific purpose, therefore making their speech more meaningful.
The TKT course book by Cambridge says:
A function is a reason why we comunicate.
Some examples:
Apologising
Advising
Thanking
Greeting
Agreeing
Interrupting
Clarifying
Disagreeing
Inviting
Refusing
Expressing preferences
Expressing obligation
Suggesting
Enquiring
Negotiating
Predicting
Speculating
We use ING forms of verbs to name functions (asking, suggesting...)
The language we use to express a function is called an exponent.
An exponent can express several different functions. It all depends on the context it is used in.
The exponents express different levels os formality (formal, informal, neutral)
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