- ID
- 3324163
- Banca
- FUNDEP (Gestão de Concursos)
- Órgão
- Prefeitura de Uberlândia - MG
- Ano
- 2019
- Provas
- Disciplina
- Inglês
- Assuntos
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the text carefully and then mark
the alternatives that answer the questions or complete
the sentences presented after it.
TEXT I
Using authentic reading materials in FLT
Let us discuss what reading in a foreign language is,
how it differs from reading in one’s mother-tongue.
If the foreign language learners are poor readers in their
mother-tongue, we can’t expect them to read efficiently
in the foreign language. But if they are good readers in
their mother-tongue, we expect them to transfer their
reading strategies to the foreign language automatically.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Automatic
transfer of reading strategies from L1 to L2 is difficult
or never occurs. Good readers use top-down and
bottom-up strategies to make predictions about the
meaning of the text and check them. They vary their
reading speed and strategies according to the purpose
for their reading and the type of the text. When the same
students read a text in the foreign language, they tend to
use bottom-up strategies, i.e. their linguistic knowledge,
but they rarely dare to use top-down strategies, i.e. their
knowledge abouttheworld.Appropriate reading strategies
are rarely used and even some faulty reading habits, e.g.
subvocalizing, regressive eye movements, etc., can be
observed. So, foreign language students usually need
more reading practice in order to become efficient readers
in the foreign language. The use of authentic materials
is an important principle of Communicative Language
Teaching. In real life we read because we are interested
in the communicative purpose of the text, in the ideas
that the writer has expressed or the effect that the text
is supposed to produce on the reader. The language in
an authentic text is varied, whereas in a non-authentic
one there is often one single structure that is repeated.
The use of truly authentic texts is an important means of
teaching students to communicate effectively.
Unfortunately, most textbooks make use of non-authentic
texts. They are supposed to be easier than authentic
ones and to be better suited to the students’ language
proficiency level. However, this is not true because:
• non-authentic texts are usually over-explicit:
they say too much because they lack the natural
redundancy of authentic ones, they abound with
details, so, the students are not given the chance
to make any inferences;
• textbook reading materials usually deal with
over-familiar topics. This can hardly be avoided at
beginner level but at the higher levels the reading
texts can be more informative, enjoyable and
interesting;
• there is often a noticeable emphasis on the
product of the activity, i.e. on the answers to the
comprehension questions, over the process,
i.e. the appropriate use of reading skills and
strategies in order to understand the text.
We can overcome these shortcomings quite successfully
if we provide supplementary authentic texts. Thus the
language learners will become better readers, confident
in their ability to cope with reading in real life situations.
So, why do we read? In our daily lives we read for two
basic reasons: for pleasure and for information (Grellet,
1981:4). We read for information because we want to find
out something, to learn something from the text, or for
instruction, in order to do something with the information
we get, to find out how to act. These reasons for reading
are authentic. […]
Having mentioned the major drawbacks of textbook
reading materials, let’s now consider the guidelines for
selecting a text to supplement them or even replace them.
These are the readability, the suitability of content and
the exploitability of the authentic text (Nuttal, 1982:25).
• Readability means that the text should be at the
right level. When we try to find a readable text,
we have to assess the level of its structural and
lexical difficulty. Still, we should not forget that
the students can deal with more difficult texts,
provided the task is not too difficult.
• Suitability of content means that the text should
be interesting and informative. The students’
preferences should not be neglected and a survey
of their tastes might help the teacher quite a lot.
• Exploitability means that the text should facilitate
the development of reading skills in order to help
the students become competent and independent
readers.
However, we shouldn’t forget the fact that language
classes are not entirely homogeneous: the level of the
students is not the same, their tastes may vary and it is
virtually impossible to create an ideal reader who could
tackle all existing texts successfully. So, our goals and
criteria should be realistic.
[…]
What should be pointed out in conclusion is the vital
importance of using authentic texts as supplements to
textbook reading materials in order to prepare students for
real life reading.Authentic texts foster the development of
their reading skills thus helping them gain confidence in
their reading ability in the foreign language. They become
autonomous readers, who can take responsibility for their
own reading.
Available at: <https://www.beta-iatefl.org/1106/blog-
publications>. Accessed on: July 9th, 2019. (Adapted).
According to the text, the authentic reasons we read can
be summarized as: