The use of reading as one of the types of speech activity in the process of learning English

Most professionals give reading a secondary role, giving more importance to speaking and listening. In order to identify such problems, a research experiment was carried out, in the framework of which the participating teachers recorded the difficulties faced by the students in the implementation of this type of speech activity. The difficulties observed during the experiment are analyzed and classified. Based on the problems identified in the course of the above experiment, it was possible to draw conclusions regarding the principles that the teacher should rely on when using this type of speech activity in work. Fundamentally new approaches to the use of texts in the course of the lesson (the absence of the traditional scheme of working on the text "reading -subsequent retelling", the inclusion of the content of the text in the general topic of the lesson, a high degree of student involvement in this process, the development of the ability of contextual forecasting, etc.) allow the latter to further improve the knowledge of the English language. The results of this study can find practical application among teachers of universities and professional educational institutions, who challenge their students to master the English language as a means of real communication, and not just a set of grammatical rules and the sum of lexical units.

Today, researchers are unanimous in their opinion that in order to successfully master a foreign language, the learning process must combine the development of all types of speech activity: reading, writing, listening, speaking. Reading as a type of speech activity is often underestimated from a methodological point of view. Being “one of the receptive types of speech activity aimed at the perception and understanding of the written text”, reading unreasonably receives less attention compared to productive types of speech activity (speaking and writing). However, researchers emphasize the importance of reading, considering it as “a means of forming and controlling related speech skills and language skills”. In their opinion, “a sufficient amount of voluntary reading has a significant impact on the vocabulary, grammatical and writing skills of trainees”. It is also important that “outside the conditions of direct contact with native speakers, the optimal possibilities of interaction between the recipient and the information” are precisely reading.

A number of teachers prefer not to use reading during the lesson, explaining that this type of speech activity takes too long periods of time, and, as a result, speaking becomes a priority type of speech activity during the lesson. Some people assign reading the role of exclusively homework, following the traditional scheme: reading a given text at home and then discussing it in the classroom. However, reading can be a very effective tool for deepening and improving your knowledge of the English language.

Within the framework of this study, we will not consider the types of reading, the differences between them and the possible combinations of their use. Our task is to demonstrate the importance of this type of speech activity, to show its potential in the process of mastering English, as well as to provide practical recommendations for the optimal use of reading.

As shown by our interviews with teachers, the use of reading as a tool for the development of language skills in the course of a lesson generates a number of difficulties in this regard on the part of the trainees.

Based on the information received regarding the above problems encountered when using reading as one of the speech skills, we have formulated ways to improve the methodological application of reading.

Taking into account the above problems that arise when practicing this type of speech activity, we can rely in the process of this work on the following principles.

• 1.    Reading should not be regarded as a passive skill (which is often the case due to its receptive nature). The reader carries out active processes of understanding what words mean, understanding the arguments given, and develops his own point of view on what he read.

• 2.    The trainees must be fully involved in the reading process, which depends directly on the material provided. Otherwise, reading is unlikely to bring them tangible benefits.

• 3.    It is necessary to encourage learners to express their attitude to the content of the text, and not just to the linguistic component of the text.

• 4.    The teacher's choice of the correct tasks for the text read - the right questions, useful exercises. Even the most interesting text can be spoiled by boring and inappropriate questions that follow.

• 5.    Integration of the reading of the text into the sequence of the lesson, the use of the subject matter of the text for subsequent discussions and assignments.

Based on these principles in his work, the teacher can use a variety of tasks and reading materials, avoiding the traditional reading aloud with subsequent answers to questions on the subject of the text.

Today, the teacher has a huge amount of reading materials at his disposal, and it does not have to be texts of an artistic or journalistic orientation. Letters, menus, reports, recipes, travel brochures, press and Internet announcements can all be used in class to improve reading skills while simultaneously providing practical orientation to such assignments. Within the framework of the texts themselves, a variety of principles of use are also possible:

• 1)    the absence of the ending of the text and guessing it;

• 2)    correlation of thematic sentences with individual paragraphs of the text,

• 3)    predicting the content of the text based on the lexical units of the text given by the teacher;

• 4)    parts of the text are provided to the learners out of a logical sequence, and they must be arranged in order, etc.

As you can see, there are a sufficient number of reasons for enhancing the role of reading in an English lesson. Increasing the volume of reading can greatly improve the knowledge of this foreign language.

The problem of the relevance of texts is always extremely acute, since when choosing the necessary text one has to take into account too many factors: this is the age of the students and their interests, gender factor, level of knowledge of the English language, etc. (non) authenticity of texts: traditionally beginner-level learners are not offered original texts as they are considered difficult to understand. However, today there is access to a significant amount of authentic materials, understanding of which is accessible even for beginners. According to the researchers, "the authenticity of the assignments stimulates interaction with the text, attracts the attention of students, and facilitates the understanding of the communicative task of the text, assumes the naturalness of the situation."

At the initial stages of learning English is the increase in the volume of what has been read, whether it be educational texts, journalism or fiction, that helps to eliminate such "gaps" that make it difficult to understand.