ACADEMIC ENGLISH FOR NURSING

ANGGOTA KEL ;

15 ways to simplify reading texts

• 1. ShortenIt is difficult for a native speaker to appreciate just how much the length of a text can make it difficult to understand due to factors like not being able to find the right information to answer a question and the brain getting tired halfway through.

2. Pre-teachInteresting ways of pre-teaching vocabulary they might need to understand in order to cope with the text include guessing the story from the pre-teach vocab and reading to check, or brainstorming a category of vocab that includes the pre-teach words and expressions. As well as vocabulary, you might need to pre-teach grammar, cultural information, or information about the kind of genre the piece of writing is.

3. IntroductionAn introduction could include a summary of the whole story with the most interesting bits left out, the background to a news story, explanation of why the text is important and/ or interesting, or instructions on how they should read the following text and what they should look for.

4. Questions that give cluesA way of achieving the same thing as an introduction without adding an extra paragraph of text is to write the questions they read before the text so that they give clues to what they will be reading. This can be combined with the pre-teach stage by including the difficult vocabulary etc in the questions and answering queries about vocab before students start reading.

5. GlossaryWhilst having a glossary slows down reading speed and is not popular in present EFL textbooks, some language exams and self-study materials still include texts with a glossary at the bottom of the page. It is also fairly common in graded readers. An advantage of a glossary is that it is much quicker and easier for the teacher to write than actually changing the text.

6. HeadingsAnother thing you can easily add to a text which aids comprehension is paragraph headings, for example to make a newspaper article look more like a magazine article. This gives students clues as to what information is coming next and makes it easier to find information when answering detailed comprehension questions.

7. ConversationTalking about the topic that they will read about can help prime students to guess which of several meanings a word they get stuck on in the text has. Being able to predict what they are going to be reading next and just read to check also increases reading speed. Easy ways of starting a discussion that will help their comprehension include predicting the story from the headline or key words, or predicting the answers of true/ false questions before reading to check.

8. PicturesAdding pictures to a text that doesn’t have them helps lighten the load of looking at a page of text and so make it less daunting, and can be used for vocabulary pre-teach and conversation before reading to set the scene. Students can also put the pictures into order or match them to words, sentences or paragraphs in the text much more easily than similar tasks written down.

9. VocabularyIf a word in the text is not in the Elementary/ Intermediate/ Advanced Learners’ dictionary and is important for overall understanding and/ or to answer the comprehension questions you should replace it with an easier word. Words that are not so vital for understanding can stay to give students practice in ignoring them.

10. GrammarAlthough the grammar in the text can be set at the level of structures students can understand rather than the easier ones they can produce, and can also include more difficult structures if they aren’t important for the tasks, most authentic texts will include some grammatical forms that are worth simplifying so students can concentrate on something else.

11. FormatOne of the easiest ways of rewriting a text and making a major change to its ease of understanding is to write it as a completely different genre of text. Easy forms for students to understand include notes, postcards and emails. For example, a magazine article about a holiday could be rewritten as a letter from someone taking that holiday.

12. FamiliarityWe can often be put off by unfamiliar place names, people’s names, names of foods etc. that are not important for the comprehension of the text. Although these things can provide useful practice is spotting words that can be ignored or in widening their international outlook, in texts that are challenging in other ways and in which you want them to concentrate on one thing you could try changing these things to something more familiar such as the name of a local city.13. ReferenceAnother major difficulty that native speakers rarely spot is the problem of keeping track of what “it”, “that man”, “one of those” etc refer to. This is often a skill we have in their own language that they lose when overloaded by other things when reading English, but this can particularly be a problem with reference words that do not easily translate such as “one” in “give me one” or when the students speak a language that uses these kinds of expression less often. You can replace all these kinds of words with simple pronouns like “he” or the names, but be careful not to go too far and make it an unrealistic text in English.

14. MarkersAnother thing that real English texts do not have a lot of is expressions such as “on the other hand”, as a skilled writer will write the text so the organisation of ideas will make the logical connections between sentences obvious. Adding these to the text can not only help the students understand how the text is organised and so predict what information is coming next, but can also teach them the kinds of expressions they will need to include in their IELTS Writing etc until they reach the same level of writing skill. 15. Ideas

Another difficulty that can throw students who can cope with it in L1 is dealing with mentally challenging concepts in

texts at the same time as mentally challenging English language. Although you don’t want to explain what they will read so much that they learn nothing when they read it, you

can give some help with a kind of “ideas preteach” or true/ false questions based on the ideas before they read.

How to summarise and

note take reading material

Taking notes

•Taking notes is an important part of the life of every student.

There are two main reasons why note-taking is important:

• When you are reading or listening, taking notes helps you concentrate. In order to take notes - to write something sensible - you must understand the text. As listening and reading are interactive tasks, taking notes help you make sense of the text. Taking notes does not mean writing down every word you hear; you need to actively decide what is important and how is related to what you have already written.

• Notes help you to maintain a permanent record of what you have read or listened to. This is useful when revising in the future for examinations or other reasons.

How to take notes.

• When you're reading, first survey the text to find the main points and how they are related. Then read for the subsidiary points; see how they are related to the main points and to each other. Then, reduce the points to notes. Make sure links and relationships between the ideas are shown.

Good notes need to be organised appropriately. There are two main methods

for this:

1. List2. Diagram

List • The topic is summarised one point

after another, using numbers and letters and indentation to organise information in order of importance. The numbers and letters can be used by themselves or in combination.

• I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X,• A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8,9,10,• (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii),

(ix), (x), • a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, • Or using decimals:• 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2,

2.3

DIAGRAM

• A diagram of the information shows how the main ideas are related and reflects the organisation of the information. You can use flow charts, tree diagrams, diagrams, mind maps (Buzan, 1974) etc. You can also include circles, arrows, lines, boxes, etc.

Identifying the main idea

What is the main idea ?

It is also important to note that the main idea is not simply what the text is about. To paraphrase Gerald Duffy (2003), "Charlotte's Web" is a story about a spider called Charlotte and a pig called Wilbur, but the main idea is more to do with the things that give life meaning: friendship, love, birth and death. The main idea then, is what the author wants readers to understand is important and valued in the text, i.e., across the whole text, not just within sections of it.

It may be helpful to first explain what the main idea is not. It is not the information obtained during the introduction to the text when the title, headings, illustrations etc. are briefly considered, and linked to background knowledge, prior to reading. Although these text features are often useful in scaffolding readers towards finding the main idea, on their own, they are not enough. Readers need to explore the text at a deeper level in order to confirm or put aside any tentative thoughts about the main idea that the text introduction may prompt.

How do you find the main idea ?

Identifying Topics

The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of a paragraph is to identify the topic - the subject of

the paragraph. Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub - the central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins. Your strategy for

topic identification is simply to ask yourself the question, "What is this about?" Keep asking yourself that question

as you read a paragraph, until the answer to your question becomes clear. Sometimes you can spot the

topic by looking for a word or two that repeat. Usually you can state the topic in a few words.

The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major and minor details), which help to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences present facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other pertinent details. They are most important because they sell the main idea.

Besides expository paragraphs, in which new information is presented and discussed, these longer writings contain three types of paragraphs: introductory, transitional, and summarizing. Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such things as (1) the main ideas of the chapter or section; (2) the extent or limits of the coverage; (3) how the topic is developed; and (4) the writer's attitude toward the topic. Transitional paragraphs are usually short; their sole function is to tie together what you have read so far and what is to come - to set the stage for succeeding ideas of the chapter or section. Summarizing paragraphs are used to restate briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section. The writer may also draw some conclusion from these ideas, or speculate on some conclusion based on the evidence he/she has presented.

Strategies For Scanning And Skimming Reading Material Related To Nursing

•ScanningScanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the

telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it. When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin. Reading off a computer screen has become a growing concern. Research shows that people have more difficulty reading off a computer screen than off paper. Although they can read and comprehend at the same rate as paper, skimming on the computer is much slower than on paper.

•Skiming

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you're seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

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