Journal 2

Journal 2 Discuss reading skills that you have learned in this class, but have rarely used in your reading. Do you think they are really necessary ones for better reading? Why or why not?:::::

According to the book, skill is goal-directed, well organized behavior; it is an acquired ability though practice or training. Through effort, skill is performed unconsciously. There are various kinds of skills in reading. Reading skills in general can be categorized into four separable skills; word attack skills, comprehension skills, fluency skills, and critical reading skills. These four skills need to be harmoniously balanced.

I went to an American International school when I lived in China. Everything was taught in English only, and my high school English subject teacher had his own principle to teach us in his own specific way. For most of the class hour, we spent time in silent reading, individual writing, and discussing our reading and writing as a whole class discussion. Therefore, when I was taking that teacher's class, I did not have much chance to learn bottom-up skills, especially word attack skills. I was shocked because it was a very different teaching method from all the other English teachers, but as time went by, I realized that through silent reading and writing, I could improve word attack skills somewhat unconsciously. I already had the basic knowledge in bottom-up skills. Still, my skill in decoding the units of language is somewhat poor compared to other students who learned in the conventional method in Korea. Word attack skills are necessary for better reading, because without basic language skills, reading can be difficult and boring. Teachers teach such skills because without having bottom-up skills, when students encounter more difficult texts, they would have a hard time decoding, and also studying such texts.

Skills can also be categorized in hierarchical order, from lower-level skills to higher-level skills. Lower-level skills include bottom-up skills such as recognizing the details and main ideas, and recalling of comparison and character traits. As the skills move toward higher-level skills, they involve more thinking of the whole chunk of text, such as judging of appropriateness, giving an emotional response to the content, and reacting to the author's use of language.

When I was studying in International school, especially in high school, I spent much time in higher-level skills due to my English teacher's unique method of teaching. However, we did not had much time interpreting figurative language. Actually, I did not read many poems or literature because they were more difficult to read and understand. I regret not reading many literature such as Shakespeare's sonnets or Jane Austen's books. I highly recommend teenagers to read literature and discuss the figurative language and the implications because literature would help them learn to appreciate others' minds and to have 'empathy'. Many teenagers go through a difficult time of emotional crisis, thinking about their identity, which is one of the reasons for school violence or even suicide. I think teaching them literature is one way to help solve such problems. If students learn to have 'empathy', they would think twice before bullying another human being. Therefore, interpreting figurative language and giving emotional response to the content, thinking about literature or any text, and giving reactions to the author's language are all necessary ones for better reading.