Skimming is reading a text quickly to get a general idea of meaning. It can be contrasted with scanning, which is reading in order to find specific information, e.g. figures or names.
Example
A learner taking a reading exam decides to approach text by looking at the title, introductions, and any diagrams and sub-headings, then skim reading to get a clear general idea of what the text is about.
A learner taking a reading exam decides to approach text by looking at the title, introductions, and any diagrams and sub-headings, then skim reading to get a clear general idea of what the text is about.
In the classroom
Skimming is a specific reading skill which is common in reading newspapers, messages and e-mails. It is important that learners understand that there is no need to read every word when skimming, so often teachers set this as a timed task to encourage speed.
Skimming is a specific reading skill which is common in reading newspapers, messages and e-mails. It is important that learners understand that there is no need to read every word when skimming, so often teachers set this as a timed task to encourage speed.
 |
| Source: https://chocolateva.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/girl_laying_down_reading.jpg |
How to skim.?Many people think that skimming is a haphazard process placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you don’t read everything. What you read is more important than what you leave out. So what material do you read and what material do you leave out?
Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.
 |
| Source: http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/360031/file-2431800788-jpg/body_reading.jpg |
At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or events. Continue to read only topic sentences, dropping down through the rest of the paragraphs, until you are near the end. Since the last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion or summary, you should stop skimming there and read in detail. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read in detail. If while skimming, you feel you are grasping the main ideas, then you are skimming correctly.
0 comments:
Post a Comment