Various Models of Reading Processes

MODELS MODELS OF READING OF READING: : BOTTOM BOTTOM- -UP TOP TOP- -DOWN DOWN INTERACTIVE INTERACTIVE UP by AMIRA KHELKHAL by AMIRA KHELKHAL

READING PROCESS: Psycholinguistic view • Smith (1971) described reading as “ the reduction of uncertainty”. That is, as we progress through a text, our choices of what to select are constrained, often heavily both by features within the text itself and those external to it.

• Smith (1971) has categorized this act of ‘reduction of uncertainty’ under 4headings: 1.graphic information (e.g spelling) 2.phonetic information (e.g. sounds) 3.syntactic information (e.g. grammar) 4.semantic information (meaning in communication) • For example: The captain ordered the mate to dropan

• Goodman (1967) – looked at reading as “a psycholinguistic guessing game” Readers make use of 3 cue system represented by 3 levels of language within the text: 1. graphophonic (visual & phonetic features) 2. syntactic (possible kind of word order) 3. semantic (meaning of words)

 Graphophonic cues –hints based on sound- symbol correspondences that help readers decode and comprehend a text.  E.g. scheme vs. school. The blend sch at the beginning of each word is graphically the same, but the rest of the word is different. Perhaps the easiest mnemonic (memory device) for this type of information is that all the information is in the form of graphics or visual representations to which sounds are associated.

 Syntactic cues - hints based on syntax that help a reader decode and comprehend a text. (meaning of words) - perceive the relationships among words and phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. They use their knowledge of these relationships and of the language structure (syntax) to help them understand the meaning of a text.  E.g. "Once upon a. . ." knowledge of the structure of English helps us predict that the next word will be "time." That prediction is confirmed when they see the letter "t" at the beginning of the next word.

 Semantic cues - hints based on meaning that help readers decode and comprehend a text.  Readers associate meaning with a sequence of symbols (such as a word).  Here are some examples of semantic cues, where the meanings of certain words depend on the other words that surround them: Can you run the store? Can you run in the election? Can you run in the race?

READINGPROCES S : PSYCHOLINGUISTIC’ S POINT OFVIEW •First, readers make use of their knowledge of the visual & phonetic features of English. •Then they draw on constraints, e.g. possible word order in English. •Finally, readers are aware of semantic constraints related to knowledge of the meanings of words and what kind of words collocate with others knowledge of syntactic Proficient readers use all three information systems in a balanced way to construct meaning.

So psycholinguistics believe that: • First, readers make use of their knowledge of the visual & phonetic features of English. •Then they draw on constraints, • e.g. possible word order in English. • Finally, readers are aware of semantic constraints related to knowledge of the meanings of words and what kind of words collocate with others knowledge of syntactic • Proficient readers use all three information systems in a balanced way to construct meaning.

READING PROCESS: SOCIOLINGUISTIC’S POINT OFVIEW • Psycholinguistic view neglected the social nature of the reading process. • ‘Sociolinguistic factors’ – the way written language use is affected by factors both in the immediate communicative situation between reader and writer and in the wider institutional and sociocultural context.

READING PROCESS SOCIOLINGUISTIC’S POINT OFVIEW • Kress (1985:44) - “ Although from the individual’s point of view, his or her reading is ‘just a personal opinion’, that personal opinion is socially constructed” • We share ways of interpreting texts with those of a similar social class or ethnic group, or of similar religious and political background. Thus, in taking a process view of reading, it is important to see it as involving not just psychological processes, but also social factor related to our membership of interpretative communities.

READING PROCESS: INTERTEXTUALITY • Textual cross-reference; texts themselves interact on the principle of intertextuality. • The production and reception of a given text depends on the writer’s and reader’s knowledge of other texts. • It may also be helpful to know how a particular text relates to other texts by the same author and other contemporary genres.

INTERTEXTUALITY • All texts contain traces of other texts frequently cannot be readily interpreted – or at least fully appreciated – without reference to other texts. • e.g. Academic readingmaterials

IN SHORT, READING PROCESS IS Interactive in several ways: 1. Interaction between the levels of language within the text 2. Interaction between reader and writer 3. Intertextuality

READING MODELS: • A reading model is a graphic attempt “to depict how an individual perceives a word, processes a clause, and comprehends a text.” (Singer and Ruddell 1985) • 3 types of models: 1. Bottom-up 2. Top-down 3. Interactive

BOTTOM-UP MODEL OF READING • Gough (1972): • Reading as a process that starts with the printed material itself. • Reading is seen as a linear process. • Print: Every letter is discriminated Phonemes and Graphemes are matched • Blending,Pronunciation and Meaning

BOTTOM-UP MODEL OF READING • Starts with basic skills such as decoding the letters and the combination of the letters to form words. • It then proceeds with a more complex processing which runs through a series of clauses to phrases to sentences to paragraphs and finally, to the text as a whole

BOTTOM-UP MODEL OF READING • It starts with the letters being recognized first feature-by-feature by a visual system, and then transferred to a sound (phonemic) system for recognition and held until the next letter is processed in the same way. • Consequently, when words are recognised, they are held in working memory until they are processed for underlying meaning and finally understood as sentences and text as a whole (Purcell-Gates, 1997: 2).

BOTTOM-UP MODEL OF READING Meaning Text Paragraphs Sentences Words Letters

TOP-DOWN MODEL OF READING • The text is the main aspect of the reading process. • Top-down models see the involvement of the reader’s prior knowledge in the reading process. • In other words, the reader is less text- bound.

TOP-DOWN MODEL OF READING • Starts with the reader making predictions about the text. • His or her predictions are guided by his or her prior knowledge. • Rather than decoding each symbol, or even every word, the reader forms hypotheses about the text and then ‘samples’ them to determine whether or not the hypotheses they made are correct. • If the hypotheses are incorrect, the reader re- hypothesize and so the same process continues.

TOP-DOWN MODEL OF READING • Knowledge of the linguistic form and knowledge of the world is close and that it has direct implications on the reading process.

Knowledge Experiences Emotions Reader’s Intentions Meaning

TOP-DOWNMODELOFREADING  The words themselves do not have meaning  The reader brings personal meaning to the text from background experiences Reading begins with the reader’sknowledge, notprint.

INTERACTIVE MODEL OF READING • It recognizes the interaction of bottom up • and top-down processes simultaneously throughout the reading process. • Reading as an active process that depends on reader characteristics, the text, and the reading situation (Rumelhart, 1985) • Attempts to combine the valid insights of bottom-up and top-down models.

ANY QUESTIONS ? ANY QUESTIONS ?

GROUP TASK(15 minutes) In a pair, discuss and write in not more than one page: Strengths and weaknesses of each reading model (bottom-up and top- down models) THANK YOU THANK YOU

Various Models of Reading Processes