PIP Reading Workshop Manual

download PIP Reading Workshop Manual

of 21

Transcript of PIP Reading Workshop Manual

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    1/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 1

    PIP Workshop:

    How To Teach Reading; a linguistic,

    academic and practical approach

    .

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    2/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 2

    ContentsPart Topic Page Number

    1 Introduction; The joy of text 32 Motivation & The importance of pre-reading 43 Examples of pre-reading activities 54 Reading and reading skills The importance of task 75 Examples of reading activities 96 Reading skills broken down by level 117 Post-Reading - checking for comprehension 128

    Example of post-reading activities & follow up14

    9 Reading Assignment 1610 Sample Text 1 1711 Sample Text 2 1812 Sample Text 3 1913 Sample Text 4 2014 Answer Key 21

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    3/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 3

    The Joy of Text

    The importance of reading cannot be underestimated in a person's progress in alanguage, especially those who wish to improve their fluency and knowledge of thatlanguage. A text in any form gives the reader the opportunity to see vocabulary incontext (instead of in a dictionary), see grammatical structures being used in a correctway, see standard language as opposed to spoken (which can contain slang and otherdifficult language) and promotes critical thinking.

    A text also gives the student the opportunity to read the material at his/her own paceunlike spoken material which requires the student to listen at the speed of the speakerallowing for extra study and chance to understand. However, we must neverunderestimate the difficulty of using text in the classroom, as teachers we have to

    consider the following points:

    Motivation - Is this something the students would want to read?

    Organization What exactly do we want the students to learn?

    Comprehension How can we ensure that the students understand the text?

    It is not enough that students are simply able to read. Many people in this room canprobably read a passage in Korean but would struggle to accurately describe what itactually means, plus how many of you would look at the page of hangul and think

    yippee!Also, if I told you to simply read it would it help you in any way to improve your

    knowledge of Korean?

    Reading is an integral part of the PIP program and as a skill essential for those who areplanning to study abroad. Without exception the students at an English speakinguniversity would have to read mounds of text all in English and be able to apply thatknowledge directly to their studies. They will not have time to sit and study every singleword with their i-phone dictionary by their sides and in most cases they wouldn't beexpected to. It is important that the skill is learned and how to apply it without giving

    them a major headache.

    In this workshop then we will be looking at how to first motivate your students towardsthe reading passages, the organization that you as a teacher must do to ensure asuccessful reading activity and how to ensure the students demonstrate understanding ofthe text.

    We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading B.F.Skinner

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    4/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 4

    MOTIVATION

    How many of us would go into a book store, pick up the first book we saw, buy it,and go home and read it?

    Like all human behaviors we have our favorite genres, authors and likewise we knowwhat we don't like and would normally avoid it.

    This is true in the PIP books, some topics will create interest automatically; Thechanging face of Korea, The Flesh Trade, whereas others will not; The history ofSoap, Geology for example. So if we cannot expect the students to find every topicautomatically interesting we also cannot simply allow them to be completely bored by thereading as this simply results in boredom, confusion and ultimately demotivation.

    While as teachers we may not always like the topic we have to decide how useful it willbe in furthering the student's reading skills. It is always possible that we can supplement

    the text with another that we feel may be more apt for the class or level and mostimportantly find a way to ENAGE them in the reading.

    Read the following Text

    Presence of sulfur can lead to formation of e.g. hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl

    sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon disulfide, andthiols; especially thiols tend to

    get adsorbed on surfaces and produce a lingering odor even long after the

    fire. Partial oxidation of the released hydrocarbons yields in a wide palette

    of other compounds: aldehydes (e.g.formaldehyde, acrolein, andfurfural),

    ketones, alcohols (often aromatic, e.g. phenol, guaiacol, syringol, catechol,

    and cresols), carboxylic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, etc.).

    The visible particulate matterin such smokes is most commonly

    composed ofcarbon (soot). Other particulates may be composed of drops

    of condensedtar, or solid particles of ash. The presence of metals in the

    fuel yields particles of metal oxides. Particles of inorganic salts may also be

    formed, e.g. ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, orsodium chloride.

    Inorganic salts present on the surface of the soot particles may make

    them hydrophilic. Many organic compounds, typically the aromatic

    hydrocarbons, may be also adsorbed on the surface of the solid particles.

    Metal oxides can be present when metal-containing fuels are burned, e.g.solid rocket fuels containing aluminium

    PIP Reading

    http://wiki/Hydrogen_sulfidehttp://wiki/Carbonyl_sulfidehttp://wiki/Carbonyl_sulfidehttp://wiki/Sulfur_dioxidehttp://wiki/Carbon_disulfidehttp://wiki/Thiolhttp://wiki/Aldehydehttp://wiki/Formaldehydehttp://wiki/Acroleinhttp://wiki/Furfuralhttp://wiki/Phenolhttp://wiki/Guaiacolhttp://wiki/Syringolhttp://wiki/Catecholhttp://wiki/Cresolhttp://wiki/Carboxylic_acidhttp://wiki/Formic_acidhttp://wiki/Acetic_acidhttp://wiki/Particulate_matterhttp://wiki/Carbonhttp://wiki/Soothttp://wiki/Tarhttp://wiki/Oxidehttp://wiki/Salt_(chemistry)http://wiki/Ammonium_sulfatehttp://wiki/Ammonium_nitratehttp://wiki/Sodium_chloridehttp://wiki/Hydrophilichttp://wiki/Aromatic_hydrocarbonhttp://wiki/Aromatic_hydrocarbonhttp://wiki/Adsorbhttp://wiki/Solid_rockethttp://wiki/Aluminiumhttp://wiki/Carbonyl_sulfidehttp://wiki/Carbonyl_sulfidehttp://wiki/Sulfur_dioxidehttp://wiki/Carbon_disulfidehttp://wiki/Thiolhttp://wiki/Aldehydehttp://wiki/Formaldehydehttp://wiki/Acroleinhttp://wiki/Furfuralhttp://wiki/Phenolhttp://wiki/Guaiacolhttp://wiki/Syringolhttp://wiki/Catecholhttp://wiki/Cresolhttp://wiki/Carboxylic_acidhttp://wiki/Formic_acidhttp://wiki/Acetic_acidhttp://wiki/Particulate_matterhttp://wiki/Carbonhttp://wiki/Soothttp://wiki/Tarhttp://wiki/Oxidehttp://wiki/Salt_(chemistry)http://wiki/Ammonium_sulfatehttp://wiki/Ammonium_nitratehttp://wiki/Sodium_chloridehttp://wiki/Hydrophilichttp://wiki/Aromatic_hydrocarbonhttp://wiki/Aromatic_hydrocarbonhttp://wiki/Adsorbhttp://wiki/Solid_rockethttp://wiki/Aluminiumhttp://wiki/Hydrogen_sulfide
  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    5/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 5

    Be honest, how many of you got through the first sentence and wanted

    to stop, were you tripping over the unfamiliar words? Did you even care what you were reading about? Would you be able to

    explain it to the class afterward? ( find out on page 21) If this were in another language, how would you feel?

    PRE READINGSo, before we even approach the text itself we have to get the students ready for

    it, this is true at all levels BT Advanced. We need to MOTIVATE them, get theminterested to read it and also to plan what they need to know BEFORE they read it.

    Engaging the Students in a text:

    It is always difficult to understand or enjoy something if you have no ideawhat it is about, it makes the reading too much of a challenge and so it'simportant to prepare the students, remove the difficulty.

    Vocabulary while we can use reading to introduce vocabulary in context,sometimes we need to teach essential vocabulary otherwise the students willunderstand nothing and it may interrupt the purpose of the exercise.

    Topic - What is the text about? Without this crucial piece of information areading can again be obscure, confusing and difficult, go back to the text on

    page 4, can you tell me what it is about? ( answer on last page) Type of Text As we expect students to eventually be able to comfortably

    process different types of text in English we need to teach them howlanguage is used differently and how to approach these texts. Reading ascientific journal for example is quite different to reading a narrative story.Prepare them.

    Predictive Questions - Can be used very effectively to more or less give thestructure of the text to the students, answer the following questions with apartner.

    Questions1. Where was Gemma walking to in such a hurry?2. Why did she keep looking behind her?3. Why did she turn into the little street instead of staying on the main road?4. What did she hear behind her?5. Why did she scream?6. What did the thief steal?7. What did he do next? By answering these questions the students are already aware of the characters,

    guessed the setting, pretty much what happens minus a few details and established

    that it is a story.

    Find out what happened to Gemma later.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    6/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 6

    Examples of Pre -Reading Activities:

    Opinion & Interest Introduce a topic and have the students exchange anopinion on it . This could easily include the main idea of the text or

    they could discuss the title itself.e.gA text that talks about cosmetic surgery with the title:

    Is beauty in the eye of the beholder anymore?Students could then discuss or list what they find most attractive in people, dothey agree with the question or what is their definition of modern ideas of beauty?Now they will read the author's opinion.

    Personalization Introduce a concept from the text and have studentsdiscuss

    their own experience with this.

    e.g A text that deals with a supposed haunted house in Edinburgh: Great scot! Bumps in the night! Ask the students to tell a ghost story, a personal experience or how they

    would feel staying somewhere believed to be haunted, which could matchthe experience described in the text. Was their experience similar to the text?

    Illustration - Students examine a picture / media clip / object mentionedor

    central to the text itself.e.g. An article from a science journal that details river pollution in China.

    Poisoning the Mekong Students look at two pictures one of a healthy river scene from 100 years

    ago and one of the Mekong today full of garbage and pollution and theydiscuss what has happened and the causes for it. Were they correct about thecauses and consequences?

    List making / Ordering Information Students work together to put ideas,facts, dates, events in order of importance or occurrence, these should come

    from the text itself.e.g. A text about body language / gesture and international communication. Non-verbal faux pas costing businesses millions Students discuss whether certain gestures are considered rude in their culture orwhether they have encountered them in other countries and put them in order ofhow rude they think they are. Or the students guess in which country eachparticular gesture is considered a faux pas. During the reading they check if theywere correct.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    7/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 7

    READING

    Once students have engaged in the topic behind a text and are now motivated toread, we have to consider what are they reading for? Without this the readingcan easily slip into a long, silent activity without much focus. Like all languagepractices we have to organize the activity to ensure students have a specific taskto accomplish rather than being confronted with a difficult text that they havebeen told to just read.

    Read the following text.

    A Complex Mess

    The History of the troubles in Northern Ireland is bugakaku, some people tried tofind a single cause but this is impossible as there are many root causes. Somehistorians jagagaji that the original occupation by English forces in the 12 th centurywas the beginning but that does not take into account the complicity and rutagurgiof the Western Irish Princes who aided the English forces for money. Moreover thefallitawalli for independence has been an ongoing feature of the history betweenthe two nations and cannot be centred solely on the troubles in the north. It is clearto most that this is a didgerideridgi issue.

    You can understand the main idea behind the text quite easily and thetitle of the piece suggests the overall opinion of the author.

    There were words you came across that you didn't understand, but thisshould not have stopped you from generally understanding theirmeaning from the context.

    If you stopped at each of those words and spent some minutes trying todiscover their meaning from the dictionary it would extend the readingand would not particularly help your overall understanding which mayhave been the point of the reading activity.

    Go back and decide what each of the strange words means from the

    context and check your answers on page 21.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    8/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 8

    Reading skills

    Skimming An essential skill to learn when dealing with new ideas andvolume of reading. Students need to be taught to summarize a text, decidethe gist or the main topic , this is a timed activity and requires the students

    to read TOP to BOTTOM. Scanning- Another essential skill, there the main idea is already known

    but now the students must find specific or supporting details quickly, againusually timed but now requires students to read BOTTOM to TOP.

    Context Clues / Vocabulary in Context - Using the text to illustratelanguage or specific vocabulary leads to a better understanding forstudents, they need to be taught how to find meaning from the structureand not the individual word.

    Making Inferences / Point of View To help develop critical thinkingstudents must learn to look for, recognise and summarise what the writer is

    trying to say, especially when dealing with different types of text. This oftenopens debate on a text which is a common academic skill.

    Recognizing Organizational Patterns - As in the PIP program we expectthe students to produce written work of varying types, we have thestudents also read examples of this. Whether it is cause and effect,comparison and contrast, narrative etc, students must be taught and practiceto recognise the differing styles and apply it to their own work.

    Grammatical Structures - As part of their ongoing practice / progress withgrammar and language, it is useful to have students recognise and decipherwhy certain structures are used and not others. This requires that the

    teacher knows the text thoroughly before asking students to look for specificparts of language.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    9/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 9

    Examples of Reading Activities

    The Narrative text (predictive questions from Pre-reading)

    The Hand in the Dark (from Page 5)Read the text and see if your answers were correct.

    Gemma was on her way home from Seoul Fashion Week's last night party at Dolce& Gabbana, Apgujong. Normally she would have taken a deluxe taxi home but shehad eaten 17 French Fancies, a sugary cream filled cake and was buzzing away likea hummingbird so had decided to walk. She was feeling quite ill and kept looking

    behind her to see if any of her friends had come looking for. It was a dark nightand quite cold so Gemma wanted to take a short cut and turned into a long alleyway that ran between two buildings. It was very quiet in the alley and Gemmasuddenly felt quite nervous as the end seemed very far away and there were nopeople about. She gasped when she realised she could hear footsteps behind her,they were getting faster and closer and she started to run, she felt a hand aroundher neck, she screamed as loud as she possibly could but a hand closed over hermouth and forced her to the ground. In two swift movements he ripped off herpearl necklace, snatched her gold Lam crocodile effect clutch bag and ran off into thenight leaving Gemma sitting shocked on the ground.

    The Main Idea / Authors Point of View

    Reality Bites.Two minutes to read the text and summarize the authors opinion on Reality TV inone sentence.Once upon a time TV was used as tool to educate, inform and entertain. TV

    companies employed writers, actors, wardrobe, camera crew; experts,people who

    really knew how to produce something worthwhile and well-crafted. For the mostpart nowadays that's gone, replaced instead by an endless stream of cheap,sensationalist reality shows that reflect the dumbing down of Television and therise of the 3 minute star. TV Networks have seized upon the concept realizing thathigh ratings can often be guaranteed with minimal costs as long as they keep thescandal factor high by offering ever more degrading behaviour on our nightlyscreens. As a child I remember sitting down to watch the most popular programs ofthe day with my parents after dinner, now I won't even have the TV on when mymother comes to visit to spare her and me the embarrassment of trying to explainthe rediculous premise. Reality TV seems to have replaced the net curtain, where

    housewives used to spy on the goings on of their neighbours and gossip, now theywatch a bunch of idiots sit around naked in a glorified prison and talk abouteverything and nothing. Thank god for DVD's.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    10/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 10

    Cause and Eff ect

    The Long and Inevitable RoadRead the text about the economic protests in Madrid and underline all the causes ofthe protests that the author mentions. 3 minutes.

    The placard waving masses who met in front of the Palacio de Moncloa, the seatof Spain's government, were not simply a student protest as has been common inSpain, here were teachers, housewives, shopkeepers, professors, celebrities andgrandmothers all united in their condemnation of the government's proposed planof austerity.

    Since 2006 the PSOE ( Socialist party) has been pushing a series of economicreforms on every sector of Spanish life. It began with a cut in the public assistanceand welfare benefit system for both students and retirees which caused animmediate outcry. However as much as this affected the students, their ownprofessors have now come out in force as the amount of money invested in collegesand universities has fallen thanks to the system introduced by PSOE where higherinstitutes receive only a percentage of the tuition paid by students. The last twoyears have also seen a rise in consumer tax, shop rent fee and top bracket salaryearners which has led us to the baying crowd in the main plaza demanding thePSOE's resignation.

    Context Clues

    A Terrifying TripRead through the text and try to understand the meaning of the words in boldfrom the context. Discuss with a partner when you have finished reading. 5minutes.

    I was chilled at the sight of Bradshaw Manor, its dark towers and gloomywindows were quite frightening. As I walked through the front door the desolatereception shocked me, there was no furniture just a chair with a strange man sittingthere. I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of foreboding, I felt scared of theman even though he was just sitting there but something was wrong. I turned atthe noise of a clock striking8pm and when I looked back the chair was empty.Suddenly a woman came bustlingthrough a door to the left, walking so quicklyshe nearly bumped into me. Oh I'm sorry dear, I didn't hear you come in shesaid Who is the other guest I asked tentatively not wanting to hear the answer.

    Oh! she said with a surprised look I'm afraid there is no other guest, only theghost!

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    11/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 11

    PIP Reading Skills by level

    PIP Reading Skills100F

    100S

    200F

    200S

    300F

    300S

    Determining Meaning

    Determining Purpose

    Distinguishing between Facts and Opinions

    Dividing Long Sentences

    Identifying Main Ideas

    Identifying Supporting Details

    Identifying Topics

    Making Inferences

    Paraphrasing and Summarizing

    Recognizing Organizational Patterns

    Scanning

    Skimming

    Understanding Cause and Effect

    Understanding Comparison and Contrast

    Understanding Details

    Understanding Examples

    Understanding Job Advertisements

    Understanding Prefixes and Suffixes

    Understanding Reference Words

    Understanding the Writers Point of View

    Understanding Tone

    Understanding Transitions

    Using Context Clues/Vocabulary in Context

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    12/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 12Post-Reading

    After each reading it is essential that students can demonstrate anunderstanding of the text, in this way we move the focus away fromunderstanding each and every word (which is unlikely at all levels) but a generalcomprehension of the main themes and purpose of the text. If the pre-readingand reading activities have been successful then the post reading shouldsimply allow the students to show how much they have gleamed from the textand have furthered their understanding of the topic while improving theirreading skills. If not, it can end with a general feeling of frustration at thedifficulty of reading an academic text in English.

    Most of the PIP books approach post reading in one particular way and that is

    with comprehension questions which is a routine way to test student'sunderstanding.

    An Unexpected Turn of EventsRead the following text and answer the questions with your partner.

    I was awoogering along the river bank quietly flestering myself when I saw amost dalglish pesterban. The Pesterban was quistly dommoning upon the swagoonand I was quite shocked to see him do this in the open. I spadooned whether or not

    I should kajagoogoo to him but I was not sure he would understand my language,therefore I decided not to jorter him as he would be canderbill. I sat a while on afloooomidwen and laughed to myself as he hydily gutsamonded.

    1. What was the writer doing when she saw the Pesterban?2. What kind of Pesterban was he?3. What was he doing and where?4. What did the writer want to do to the Pesterban?5. What did she decide not to do?6. How did the Pesterban make the writer laugh?

    These questions were easy to answer, they were worded in such a way that allyou had to do was find the words in the text and copy them down, They certainlydo not test comprehension of the story or even the vocabulary, could you even tellme now what a dalgish Pesterban is? So although questions can be a useful way totest understanding, be careful about the type of questions used, if you worry thatthe book might not have the best questions for your class, write your own.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    13/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 13A Lost IdentityRead the text and answer the comprehension questions with your partner

    Fatewana delivers her bundle of straw to the bamboo door of her son's hut, shedoes not shout for him to come and help her, she knows that would only causeproblems. Instead she returns to the village centre and there nestled among thebeads and canes she builds the simple baskets they sell in the big town and gossiptogether. This is life in the remote Cameroonian village of Hafia Watta, they havebeen here for generations but a sense of melancholy hangs over this smallsettlement. Parked at the side of the river a 4x4 sits waiting for its' owner to drive itto the city and the temptations of the modern world. It was Fatewana's birthdayyesterday, the first time she has seen her son and his wife in 8 months. As she gazesou across the river the scaffolding of development rising above the treetops she

    sighs and chuckles for she knows it will happen with or without her approval.

    1. What kind of place does Fatewana live in?2. Why doesn't she wake up her son? Why is he visiting?3. Why is there a ' feeling of melancholy' do you think?4. Does Fatewana have a lot of money? What is her job?5. What will happen without her approval?6. How does Fatewana feel about her life do you think?

    These questions require the students to not only show understanding of the textbut also to infer ideas from the article, asking questions that require the students toconsider information that is 'between the lines' helps to develop critical thinkingand reason.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    14/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 14

    Example Post-Reading Activities

    Summarizing - The students create a short summary of the main ideas orthe writers point of view and present to the class, they are not allowed toquote the text directly.

    Suggest a Title - A piece such as an article or narrative has no title andstudents must create what they think is the most appropriate.

    Make a Brochure - Students read small ads for holidays, partners, things forsale etc. They amplify the ads into descriptions. (intermediate/advanced)

    Follow Instructions Students read jumbled instructions for a simpleoperation (e.g. using a public phone) and have to put the instructions inthe correct order. (elementary/ intermediate)

    Follow a recipe - Students read a recipe and after matching instructionswith pictures, they have to cook the food. (elementary/intermediate)

    Dramatization - Students read an extract from a play or film and, afterensuring that they understand it, they have to work on acting it out. (anylevel)

    Topic Sentences - Students have to match topic sentences with theparagraphs they come from. (intermediate/upper intermediate)

    Type of Writer - Students read a text and have to guess which of a group ofpeople they think wrote the text (using the pictures provided). (lowerintermediate/advanced)

    Ordering Information - Students read a fact file about a country, machineor process etc. They have to convert the information into bar graphs or piecharts. (intermediate/advanced)

    Grammar Study Structures used during the text, why are they used here?

    Finish the Story - Students read a narrative with the end missing. Ingroups, they have to supply their own ending. (intermediate/advanced)

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    15/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 15

    So let's try the last one, the last time we saw Gemma she was sitting shockedupon the cold, wet alley floor as the thief was running away with her purse andpearl necklace. With your partner you are going to complete the story in 3sentences, be creative it's up to you whether or not Gemma remains a victim,finds justice or gets her revenge.

    Now give the story your own title to reflect the ending you gave it.

    ____________________________________________________________________

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    16/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 16

    Reading Task Assignment

    Now it is your turn. In groups of two or three you are going to read the given text and create

    a complete reading activity for the rest of the class to do. You must think about the

    following parts:

    What the TOPICof the class would be that this text would be a part of.

    A short Warm up to the topic.

    A PRE-READING activity to prepare us for the reading.

    A READING TASK what is the focus of the reading, what skill(s) are we

    practicing? A POST-READING TASK How will you test our comprehension of the text. And

    an optional follow up activity, how would you continue the themes of the text.

    You may use the examples from the training or any others that you know.

    The level you are aiming for is intermediate (200F - 300S)

    The whole presentation should last about 15 minutes.

    You have 35 minutes to prepare.

    You will be assigned one of the four following texts.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    17/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 17

    1. Obese Child Stroke Victim aged just six

    Dramatic evidence showing how young children and even babies are falling victim

    to the obesity epidemic is disclosed today.Babies are being treated in hospital because of their weight - some after being

    weaned on pureed junk food and children as young as six are suffering strokes.Doctors even say rising numbers of babies and toddlers are being diagnosed as

    clinically obese and even suffering weight-linked diseases that normally appear inlater life.Figures show that hundreds of children under three are being treated for obesity

    at hospitals around the country. At least 40 babies aged under one have beenadmitted in the past five years.Public health experts have warned that because hospitals only see the most

    extreme cases, the true levels of obesity among babies and young children will befar higher.Specialists working in hospital obesity clinics report that they are seeing one-yearolds who weigh as much as three stone nearly twice as much as healthyyoungsters of the same age.In two extreme examples. A six -year old and an eight-year old suffered strokesthat were thought to have resulted from their weight and many parents are nowresorting to drastic tactics to combat the problem.In one case, in figures released by the NHS in the UK, a 15 year old who weighed

    more than 25 stone (350 pounds) was treated at a hospital in Staffordshire before

    her family took her to Mexico to have a gastric band fitted.By the time they leave primary school, one in three children is classified as obeseand their unhealthy attitude towards food is programmed for life, that the oldadage of baby fat they will grow out of is no longer valid. In other words, we areheading for a fat future and a serious health time for society. So, who is to blame?

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    18/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 18

    2. The Cult of Celebrity; Why are we so obsessed with the rich and

    famous?

    Some are born famous (like royalty), some achieve fame (like film stars) and samehave fame thrust upon them (like crime victims). Sometimes their celebrity is shortlived. In some rare cases, for example Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe, it can betransformed by death into a sort of iconic status. But whatever the causes orcircumstances, being a celebrity changes your relationship with the world. Frombeing a private person, you become public property, you are the object of envy aswell as criticism, interrogation, ridicule and spite.We treat the famous with a mixture of reverence and brutality. We adore them,

    praise them, scrutinize them and then destroy them. It is easy to assume that allaspects of a celebrity life are free to be examined because he or she is on show,which means he or she doesn't have the same reality as everyone else, we feel

    justified in treating them with contempt. We build them up and knock them down.The American writer Norman Mailor said that in an age without religion,

    celebrities are the new gods, if we have no faith or belief in an afterlife, thencelebrity is the nearest any of us will get to immortality and all its supposed glories.With the omnipotence of the mass media there is no need to visit a special place tosee or hear about our heroes, our church is on TV, in the newspapers or on theinternet. And due to this ever-present need to fill the vacuum of celebrity almost

    anyone can become a celebrity, talent or no talent.So how do you feel when you read a gossip magazine, or tune into confessionalTV? Do you love it or loathe it? Perhaps we should be more aware of theviciousness of voyeurism and the myths we too readily absorb.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    19/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 19

    3. As Clear as Mud: The art of communication

    We often hear that languages are difficult to learn, we hear even more often howunfair it is that in order to succeed in business and commerce nowadays, we mustall speak a high level of English. This is certainly true as of 2011.The purpose of a lingua franca is clear; communication, to ensure that we canexpress ourselves without misunderstanding or confusion. If we are lucky, Englishin this case is our mother tongue, if not at least a well-spoken second language thatcan be applied to our careers and needs. Sometimes though, as should be expectedof a global language, loan words are taken from English into other languages and

    keep more or less their same meaning; television, internet, computer and so on.English has also historically absorbed foreign words into itself including soda,patio, curry and faux pas to name but a few. Unfortunately or interestingly(depending on your perspective) sometimes loan words becomemisappropriations, they take on a new meaning or become false friends, and can nolonger be understood by a native speaker of that language.

    Some examples, an English speaker who met a Spanish colleague for a businesslunch in Madrid was asked his opinion on British food, he was full of invective loodio! Demasiado preservativos! ( I hate it, it's full of contraceptives!). Likewise aSpanish client who arrived late to an important meeting in London shouted to the

    whole room I'm so sorry to molest you like this ( in Spanish molestar means 'totrouble') to a shocked board of members.These kinds of mistakes in communication can be seen frequently and are at best

    funny, at worst confusing or embarrassing. A Korean exporter stood before thebuyers of a large North American supermarket who were interested in marketinghis brand of ceremonial costumes proudly announced that each of his productswas a hand job. We must always be careful what we say and say what we mean.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    20/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 20

    4. An Enlightening Train Journey

    I was traveling in Sudan in 1985 by train. The journey I was making this day wasgoing to last about 48 long, hot and uncomfortable hours. I was sharing thecompartment with a mixed assortment , an old couple hidden in folds of black, ayoung mother and her two impish children and two middle-aged men who staredat me with a slightly odd look on their face, almost amusement at my presence.After a number of sticky hours, the mother spread a large cloth upon the dusty

    floor and everybody crowded onto it, food began to appear from everywhereclearly for everyone to share. No one had a knife, so they were breaking up the

    food and placing it on the cloth.People were now smiling up at me and I realised I should join in, all I had was

    three or four tomatoes from the station so I broke them up and put them on thecloth for everyone to eat. We all started eating, there was bread and beans, lamb,couscous, many types of food but I noticed no one was eating the tomatoes. Iencouraged them to eat them and everybody smiled very politely but wouldn'tactually take any. Slowly all the food disappeared and only my tomatoes were left,I felt slightly uneasy about this, I didn't know why.

    I began to think that perhaps nobody would take my food because I was aforeigner and perhaps the Sudanese people didn't trust foreigners. I made myself

    quite uncomfortable and sulking, took up the tomatoes and wolfed them downrefusing to catch anybody's eye for the rest of the journey despite their cleargenerosity by allowing me to eat their food.After I arrived in Khatoum, I questioned a Sudanese friend about what had

    happened, he had just one question When you broke up the food, which hand didyou use? The sudden realization of my stupidity overwhelmed me and still causesmy face to burn as I recall it today.

    PIP Reading

  • 8/2/2019 PIP Reading Workshop Manual

    21/21

    Training: PIP Teaching Skills 21

    ANSWER KEY:

    Page 4.

    The Article is about the properties ofsmoke.

    Page 7.

    1. Complicated

    2. Argue

    3. Collaboration

    4. Struggle

    5. Complex

    Page 12.A dalgish Pesterban is a badly dressed ESL teacher. (are there any in the room?)

    Thank you for coming.