Introduction
Reading is the most essential skill a student should acquire. Strong literacy skills are vital to a student’s educational success and their overall success in life. Regarding the importance of English, Arabic students must learn to read and comprehend more quickly, read critically analyze any written information. Despite living in a digital era, the Arabic students still need literacy skills to succeed in the field of education (Mutawa & Kailani, 2009). Instructors must learn to share enthusiastically a variety of genres, topics, and styles with the students to improve their understanding and make them enjoy life (Zemelman, 1998). There are certain skills and understandings that scholars require to be equipped with so that they can become competent readers. Though the word literacy can be considered from a wider perspective, I will use it to refer to reading texts. In this outstanding paper, I will examine the related literature to identify the understanding and knowledge that instructors must have and the techniques that they can employ to ensure that Arabic students become perfect readers and develop a culture of reading.
How to make Arabic students love reading
According to Mutawa & Kailani (2009), teacher-librarians were traditionally considered the expert in school for reading needs. They provided care for school reading programs, stimulated the love of reading, cultivated permanent reading behaviors by providing accessibility to written books, and allow students to read independently and without prescriptions. Currently, the culture is different due to the introduction of computers and the use of the internet, which is becoming important as far as learning is concerned. For the current student to love reading, instructors must provide all the necessary materials and moral support. For instance, Mutawa & Kailani, 2009 states that internet connected computers should be availed to the places where students want to read from. Additionally, the place that the students are reading from should be made as comfortable as possible and instructors avail themselves so that they can help any student that will experience problems in the course of reading.
Mutawa & Kailani, 2009 also indicates that students should be allowed to take time, discuss a book after reading it so that they can express their understanding, and overall view of the book. This helps the instructor to better understand the books or materials that are loved by the students and avail them next time. Interestingly, Mutawa & Kailani, 2009 states that if students have a preferred author or book, they should be allowed to read it repeatedly, and be encouraged to explore other authors and genres.
Jeff Wilhelm (2001) also shares the same views. According to him, for students to love reading, instructors must recognize and implement action approaches for reading comprehension. After working with Arabic middle class students, Wilhelm realized the value of think about strategies. Such strategies can be very effective in making the students retain knowledge, and be self-directed selective learners. He states that, “To be effective citizens in a society rich in information, students need to learn skills which will allow them to locate and select appropriate information, to analyze that information critically, and to use it wisely." Students should not be made to associate reading with work but should rather be made to see reading comprehensions as pleasure. To avoid Arabic students from losing the desire to read, curiosity and interest that are the basis of reading and understanding comprehensions must be enforced. Because many Arabic students have a poor foundation in English, reading ought to be introduced to them when they are still young so that it develops within them as they grow.
According to Mutawa & Kailani 2009, choice is an essential part of literary performance. Keen & Zimmermann and Zemelman seem to foster the same notion. Students enjoy reading what they understand. Normally, students perceive texts with familiar themes and vocabularies as most interesting and delightful. To make them love reading, books written in interesting, but familiar vocabularies ought to be availed to them. With time, such students will be in a position to read and comprehend complex texts. Instructors should not ignore comparatively weak students in reading but should accommodate them by offering the extra encouragement needed, monitor their progress and material support that might be of utter importance to the average students. Additionally, Zemelman believes that instructors should reread challenging parts of the text for a better understanding and reteach any reading strategies that might be required from time to time. Interestingly, Mutawa & Kailani (2009), considers reading to be a social activity and students should be given time to interact with the teachers as well as what they read. Corrective strategies are effective when things get extreme.
Reading comprehension
Keene also states that for students to love comprehensions and retain most of the knowledge gained from reading, they should be challenged to visualize, synthesize, and retell what they read. However, unlike Mutawa & Kailani, who perceive the text structure as unimportant in reading, Keene holds that the structure of the text is significant in determining the overall students’ understanding of the text. He notifies instructors to assist students understand the elements of text are put together and how they interrelate, as this will enable them to efficiently and critically analyze the text. Consequently, their understanding and love of reading comprehensions improves. He terms the described methods of reading comprehensions as metacognitive strategies whose contribution in the field of education cannot be disregarded.
Reading is the key method of gaining information that can help one live an entertaining life (Zemelman, 1998). Students who do not attach importance to English will not learn the language. Particularly, Arabic students might have a negative perception about English vocabularies a factor that might impede their academic success. Zemelman 1998 declares that, “early academic experiences that consistently end in failure can easily decrease students’ motivation to engage in the hard work reading require." He proposes the use of gifts to stimulate reading and students research into the world of English vocabularies.
According to him, students who can read proficiently have a good knowledge of vocabularies and their pronunciation and should be awarded and consequently, lure other students into the task. He supposes that literature circles should be introduced in schools to allow students exchange books, discuss passages, new terminologies, controversial or challenging phrases, and any other idea that can help them gain a deeper understanding of English hence appreciating its importance in the Arabic society. Zemelman makes a further step and clearly explains that if it is a story, students need to watch the movie of the story to enhance their understanding of the story and learn how words are pronounced. Approximately 76% of students are likely to reread the story after watching the movie. This will create a reading culture among Arab students and will eventually consider English as an easy, important, and interesting language.
Reading vocabulary
The mastery of vocabulary words plays a very vital role in the development of thinking ability to the students. The love for vocabulary must be put in light due to the capacity to better their thought processes (McGuiness, 2004). It is imperative to ensure that students love the vocabularies because they lead a boost in language and literacy and this places them in a position to eliminate particular challenges in life.
How to teach reading
There are several methods and steps used when teaching reading. Early reading entails basic procedures and instructions to identify written words and letters. Early learners must be taught in a way that they will clearly capture the entire reading process. When teaching students on how to read, it is important to ensure incorporation of invented spelling, phonemic awareness, and orthographic knowledge in the whole process. When the instructor is teaching phonograms, he must use the phonics approach which enables learners to master the art of rhymes and pronunciation (McGuiness, 2004).
The study goes further to explain the importance of learners to recognize letters that help them to identify the requisite codes that make reading achievable. Ideally, the instructors’ uses a variety of techniques to enable their students read properly and integrate a perfect pronunciation. At the onset of developing an understanding of literacy skills, the learners should always read aloud regularly. If the alphabets are taught correctly the students will match words in a systematic manner and deliver a complete rhyming.
During the process of reading, the instructor must ask frequent questions to the students. The questions help the learners to comprehend what they are reading and decode the letters. The interactive questions develop the critical thinking skills of the students (Zemelman, 1998). Therefore, effective reading process should always involve asking frequent and interactive questions.The reading process is determined by the ability of students to automatically recognize single words. The phonological knowledge will help the learners to master unfamiliar words that emerge on situations. Additionally, the students blend the elements of phonology to identify the unfamiliar words. They go further to making comparisons between the pattern of sound and the available sound patterns in their vocabulary. The instructor must teach the students to decode as many words as possible so that they can familiarize their mind with numerous sound patterns.
In a nutshell, there is a need to develop a culture of reading to students. The learning institutions must encourage the instructors to implement recreation activities that will help students develop a reading habit. Students will develop comprehensive reading skills that serve a great role in future success, in academics. When learners find reading not interestingly, their reading practice fails to grow in a way that will be helpful to them all.
References
Keene, E. O. & Zimmermann, S. (2007). Mosaic of thought: Teaching comprehension in a reader's workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
McGuinness, D. (2004). Early reading instruction: What science really tells us about how to teach reading? Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Mutawa, N., & Kailani, T. (2009). Methods of teaching English to Arab students. Harlow: Longman.
Ruddell, R. B. (2009). How to teach reading to elementary and middle school students: Practical ideas from highly effective teachers. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Wilhelm, J. D. (2001). Improving comprehension with think-aloud strategies. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.
Zemelman, S, Daniels, H, & Hyde, A (1998). Best Practice: New Standards for Teaching and Learning in America's Schools. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
