How to teach the Reading secton, English

Exam (EGE)

Professor Christopher Korten

INSTAGRAM: CHRIS.KORTEN
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CKORTEN
EMAIL: [email protected]
How to teach the reading exam
vs. How to take it?
What’s the diference?
TEACHING THE EXAM TEACHING HOW TO TEACH THE EXAM

You, the • Approach • Methodology /

to the exam Me Philosophy
Teacher

Student(s • Exam • Principles for

) You the Exam

Student • Actual
s Exam
An Example
Instead of showing directly why #7 and A match, I’m
going to show you steps that you take to arrive at this
answer.

Step 1, fnd synonyms for each numbered heading

Step 2, identfy the meaning of the passage, by 1st
sentence when possible
Step 3, contnue reading the passage untl you fnd a
matching synonym or phrase as that in Step 1.
Tendency when teaching exams: focusing on
a ‘system’ more than the actual exam
Teacher • Approach
s

• Tricks and
students strategies
Principle: Teach the exam, not lists of
rules or strategies or confusing acronyms
Methodology : a holistc and
comprehensive approach
- focuses most of the learning process on the actual exam (not theories,
acronyms, tricks)
- develops skills that are transferable or applicable to other linguistc areas
- asks as many questons as gives answers (students – actvely engaged)

For example, in part 1 of Reading there are Headings, which I suggest you
need to teach students to put into their own words
Always in a hurry (fast-paced)
Other applicatons of Paraphrasing:

1. Writng

2.
3. Reading
Speaking
Why is having a methodology important?
Increases teaching efciency (distnctons between teaching
the exam and teaching about the exam)

Produces beter results and raises your reputaton

Can lead to more money through private tuiton (lessons): the

beter you are, the more success you have, the more you can
charge
Approaches to the exam

Cramming/
Long-term
last-minute
Reading part: Two diferent skill areas

Psychological (tme
limits and
Language
knowledge
defcits)
For Teachers:
Understand the
Determining ability diference between
results
Some react positvely Derived from
to pressure Language ability
Others, most,
Derived from duress
negatvely to
of tme
pressure
In the holistc approach: practce
regularly under tme constraints

Sometmes Other
1 part of tmes, all 3
the exam parts
together
Make the tme aspect relevant to Sts
Stress the
importance
of
deadlines

Successful
careers
And
working
under
Pressure
Reading Exam Components
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Reading passage /
Fill in the blank
Matching (7) 6 multple choice
(6)
Q’s

10 min 10 min 10 min

Principle: repetton to become as familiar
as possible with the reading

RULE: The more repetton or encountering the informaton, the

more comfortable the student will become in understanding it

How do we do that?
This does not mean rereading the texts - there are only 10 minutes.
Overview of principle
1st view: read the heading

2nd: fnd close synonym

3rd: read each paragraph, line by line untl a match

is found
Reading, Part 1:
Step 1: Read the headings frst
Step 2: Summarize in the Sts’ own words (the 2nd encounter with the informaton)
◦ Ask don’t tell: In 2-3 words what does this phrase mean? [Sts can’t use words from the heading]
◦ Warning: this is not easy in the beginning.

◦ Benefts:
◦ - Sts are actvely engaged in the exam and training a crucial skill
◦ - Finding synonyms help the student focus on the heading and understand it
◦ - This also helps Sts diferentate between the other headings
◦ - Writng a synonym makes Sts more aware of how to fnd the equivalent phrase in the passages below
◦ - This exercise expands student vocabulary
◦ - And it is a transferable skill, as mentoned above
◦ - Mastering this skill will ensure a top score in the Reading secton
Diagram
1. Getng around the City (movement/transportaton)
2. Always in a hurry (fast-paced)
3. Unknown side of the city (mystery part)
4. Winning and losing (competton)
5. The city of skyscrapers (tall buildings/height)
6. For the holiday and more (reasons to visit)
7. Saving the variety (saving for variety?) = protectng diferences?
8. Nickname for a building (short or other names)
What if Sts don’t know some words?
Look them up! – as HW – and revisit them in the next class.
Here’s how:
◦ For phrases:
◦ htps://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/
Reading, Part 1
Step 3: Read each of the passages and look for synonyms of your paraphrase and
/or the heading (3rd encounter with the informaton)

Key ideas:
◦ Read as much of the passage as is necessary: that is, untl you fnd
the answer (and only once)
◦ Stress the importance of the 1st sentence
◦ Generally narrows down the answer to 2.
Part II: reading the passages
Teaching task: explain to the St the importance of the 1st sentence
1st sentence is ofen the topic sentence (TS) of the paragraph – it will
tell you what the paragraph will be about

◦ What is a topic sentence?

◦ makes the most general point (or summary) of the paragraph. The rest of the
paragraph provide details related to the topic sentence.
Paragraph diferences
MAKES AN ARGUMENT (WHY DUMPLINGS
ARE THE BEST) GIVES INFORMATION (HOW TO MAKE
DUMPLINGS- STEP BY STEP)
Part 3: reading the
paragraphs to fnd a
matching heading
Paragraph A
Diagram
1. Getng around the City (movement/transportaton)
2. Always in a hurry (fast-paced)
3. Unknown side of the city (mystery part)
4. Winning and losing (competton)
5. The city of skyscrapers (tall buildings/height)
6. For the holiday and more (reasons to visit)
7. Saving the variety (saving the variety?) = protectng diferences?
8. Nickname for a building (short or other names)
Questons to ask Sts
1. What is the point of the frst sentence? (to suggest many diferent types of people live in NY)
[skill: paraphrasing]
2. Which headings are relevant? (ask why? Their ratonale or reasoning is important)
3. If you don’t know ‘meltng pot’, how can we fnd out what it means?
answer: ofen the next sentence defnes such specifc terms
Passages: paragraph A
1st sentence (= Topic Sentence): NY is the meltng pot (= variety) of the world.
2nd sentence: data / statstcs to support TS
3rd sentence: more support – greatest linguistc diversity (= variety)
4th /5th sentences: about a project: preserve (= save) rare languages

Lesson or principle: Have the St identty the purpose of each sentence untl the answer is found.
This develops a logical and structural approach to language – so valuable in Univ and career
There is another importance for going step
by step: you avoid teleological explanatons
illogical gaps logical steps

Intmat
More Intmate
cramped
More
e which R.Season quarters,
physical contact
, which where
Physical
contact
Expressing language logically
(Sts develop confdence as a result)

Close Intmate
proximity contact

Cramped Rainy
Quarters Season
Paragraph B
Passages: paragraph B
QUESTION FOR Sts:
◦ Is the 1st sentence a T.S.? Does it tell us the main idea of the paragraph?
◦ What is the purpose of the informaton afer the colon.
◦ How do we know sentence #2 is the main idea and not #1?

DISCUSSION OF PARAGRAPH
1st sentence. Counter point: NYers think they know their city: a supportng list
2nd sentence. ‘BUT’ – they don’t = mysterious parts. ‘reveal’ = something that’s unknown (Author’s
view)
3rd sentence. Beyond… lies a hidden (= mysterious) New York: then a list of synonyms for ‘hidden’:
mysterious, forgoten, abandoned, overlooked.
4th sentence: defnes ‘unknown’ or ‘hidden’
Diagram
1. Getng around the City (movement/transportaton)
2. Always in a hurry (fast-paced)
3. Unknown side of the city (mystery part)
4. Winning and losing (competton)
5. The city of skyscrapers (tall buildings/height)
6. For the holiday and more (reasons to visit)
7. Saving the variety (saving for variety?) = protectng diferences?
8. Nickname for a building (short or other names)
Paragraph C
Passages: Paragraph C
Q: What is the main point of the 1st sentence?
1st sentence. Skyscrapers = tall or ‘tallest’ building
Key queston: but what if I don’t know what ‘Skyscraper’ means? How can I fnd out the
meaning?
Key principle for Teachers: lead the students by asking questons, not simply supplying answers.
(Actve learning vs passive)
Grammatcal approach: nouns and pronouns provide clues
Paragraph D
Passages: Paragraph D
What is sentence 1 about? – a history or biography of the Flatron building
2nd sentence : more biographical informaton about the building (its designer)

Rule: avoid getng lost with obscure words – which are NOT IMPORTANT for the exercise (Terra
Cota)
Rule: ‘skyscrapers’ mentoned, but ask – is this paragraph primarily about skyscrapers? Maybe –
untl we read the last 2 sentences
◦ Is this a city about skyscrapers?! No, just one is mentoned
◦ 3rd sentence – named the Fuller building’
◦ 4th sentence. Locals called it ‘fatron’ (= nickname)
◦ 5th sentence. About naming

HW for Sts. Summary. This paragraph is about the Fuller building: its beginnings, its designer and its name.
Diagram
1. Getng around the City (movement/transportaton)
2. Always in a hurry (fast-paced)
3. Unknown side of the city (mystery part)
4. Winning and losing (competton)
5. The city of skyscrapers (tall buildings/height)
6. For the holiday and more (reasons to visit)
7. Saving the variety (saving for variety?) = protectng diferences?
8. Nickname for a building (short or other names)
Paragraph E
Passage. Paragraph E
Q: Does the frst sentence tell us what the paragraph is about?
Must read the whole passage to get the sense – no clear point of paragraph, from the frst
sentence – which is a queston!
1st sentence. ‘Christmas season’ (= holiday)
3rd sentence. ‘Afer the tree is taken down…, it contnues to be useful.’ (= more)

LESSON: If the paragraph lacks a clear point (that is, it has no TS), then you must read the whole
paragraph to catch the main point.
Paragraph F
Paragraph F
Q: Put into your own words the point of the 1st sentence.
1st sentence: is this informaton or is it trying to make a point (=convince you of something)?
If it tries to make a point, which point ? And it is close to any of the above list? (it must be close!)

1st sentence. ‘life never stands stll’ = movement

Paragraph G
Paragraph G
1st sentence: is this sentence trying to make a point or is it informatve?
Argument: ‘easy to navigate’ – It will try to prove that it is.
‘easy to navigate’ = get around the city (transportaton/moving)
Our memory is a botle neck (Psychology)

Big picture
in mind Details at the
end
Summary of the holistc and comprehensive
approach
I. Teach the exam directly and primarily, not a separate approach on top of the
exam for students to memorize
II. Ask Sts questons which force them to remain actvely engaged throughout
III. Understand that there are 2 skills at play : language and psychology
IV. Skills learned in the Reading can be applied to other parts of the exam
V. A step by step approach to the Reading reveals the logical nature of the
language and instls confdence in Sts
 THANK YOU!
Instagram: chris.korten
www.facebook.com/ckorten
Email: [email protected]
SEE YOU ON SATURDAY, THE 9TH
HW: DO THIS WITH 2 EXAMS, 1st part
I. Paraphrase topics
EXERCISES: Go through each heading and paraphrase it
II. Topic Sentences
EXERCISES: Distnguish between Argumentatve/TS-statement paragraphs and informatve ones.