Reading for gist
BritishCouncil.org
Marco
24 March 2015
Why is the ability to read for gist important for many learners of
English and how can they develop this skill? What is reading for gist?
Reading
Gist is the overall meaning, the core idea,
of a spoken or written discourse. When
taking a quick look at a written text to
establish its genre and the main message
its writer means to get across, we're
reading for gist. This is also known as
skimming.
A text can provide readers with lots of
clues that help readers quickly establish
what it's about. These needn't be just the
words. A quick glance at the
arrangement – densely written columns,
for example – can tell us we're looking at
a newspaper article, even when it's been
reproduced in an exam paper. We also
look for visuals or any other
discrete discourse features to help us
make informed predictions.
Rather
En vez de
Overall
Total; General
Core
Central; Nucleo
Genre
Género
Get across
Comunicar
Clues
Pistas
Glance
Mirada
Arrangement
Disposición
Discrete
Diferentes
As we begin skimming a text, we focus
on the content words – the nouns,
verbs and adjectives – rather the
grammatical words (it, the, on, etc.,) that
provide structure rather than meaning.
For example:
The cafe is open until late on Fridays.
Reading for gist is all about getting the ideas of the text by skimming
it rapidly and ignoring the grammatical words.
Another reading skill often mentioned
a l o n g s i d e s k i m m i n g i s s c a n n i n g .
Scanning is our quest for more specific
information, such as numbers, names or
other easily identifiable data within a text.
We do this when, for example, we
consult a bus timetable for a specific time
or destination.
Alongside
Junto a
Quest
Busqueda
Within
Dentro de
Timetable
Horario
Why is reading for gist important?
Therefore
Por lo tanto
Indeed
En verdad
Nevertheless
Sin embargo
End
Fin; Resultado
Insightful
Perspicaz;
Revelador
Matter
Asunto
Threshold
Umbral
Undermine
Minar; hacer
menos
Wheter
Si (Si si o no)
Deserves
Merece
Deprive
Privar de
Render
Volver;
Convertir
Unmanageable
Inmanejable
Ultimately
Finalmente; En
última instancia
Lead
Llevar; Guiar
Skimming and scanning are reading
skills most learners use extensively
i n t h e i r m o t h e r t o n g u e . We
might therefore expect the skills to
be transferable ones – and indeed
they are. Nevertheless, learners can
improve their abilities in these areas.
Reading for gist is not an end in
itself, as Scott Thornbury argues in
his insightful discussion on this
matter. Rather, it’s a preparatory
stage, a threshold. This is not to
undermine its importance. In fact,
this initial step is particularly useful
and defines whether this or that part
of a text deserves our attention.
Those taking an International English
Language Testing System (IELTS)
test will know that to complete the
'heading-paragraph matching' task,
they needn't read the whole text
carefully. Indeed, if they did so,
it would deprive them of valuable
time and render the whole reading
paper unmanageable.
Another example is the 'missing paragraphs' task, familiar to those
preparing for Cambridge English exams (CPE, FCE, PTE). Apart from
other techniques and strategies, establishing the gist of each
paragraph can save time and ultimately lead to a better result.
Why is reading for gist challenging for learners?
As mentioned earlier, skimming should be nothing new to foreign
language learners. Ideally, they would simply treat English texts in
the same way they treat those in their native language. But this is a
very optimistic scenario and in reality, many learners come to class
with a certain degree of prejudice. Presented with an English text,
they believe they need to read and pay attention to each and every
detail to understand it.
Degree
Grado
Prejudice
Prejuicio
Say
Por ejemplo
Deal
Lidiar
In the real world – at university, say
– teachers aren't there to prepare
learners each time they have to read
a text in English.
That is why English tests such as
IELTS have a reading component:
it's essentially there to measure someone's ability to deal with realworld English-reading tasks such as they would find in a UK
education setting.
What can learners do to improve their reading skills?
1. Often the best learners of English (and
Obligado;
other languages) read often and Bound
Dirigido
extensively. We should encourage
learners to read for pleasure, read what Overwhelming Abrumador
is genuinely interesting to them and
Ni…ni
Neither…nor
read as often as possible. It's important
to keep in mind that reading needn't be Looking up
Buscar
task-bound; it needn't come with a set of
Adecuado
comprehension questions. Reading a Suitable
novel, a newspaper article or a blog
post – and doing so frequently – can develop overall linguistic
competence by creating lots of opportunities to notice vocabulary
and grammar structures in authentic texts.
2. Remember not to let reading become overwhelming! Putting
down a book or not finishing an article is a very common occurrence.
So, remember to keep reading enjoyable. Learners should choose
texts that are neither too difficult nor too easy in terms of language
or subject matter. If understanding a text means looking up every
third word in the dictionary, then it's not suitable.
Summing up
Summing up
En resumen
Approach
Acercamiento;
Enfoque
Sake
Beneficio; Bien
In turn
A su vez
Gist reading plays a crucial role in
giving learners an opportunity to
prepare themselves for deeper
understanding when they’ll be away
from a safe classroom environment.
It’s the very first step in a strategic
approach to reading.
Ultimately, an ability to read quickly
helps learners focus on what's most
useful, relevant and important in a text. With regular practice,
learners can improve their skills and start to enjoy reading for its own
sake rather than to meet a specific end, such as taking a reading
test. This in turn will have a positive impact on their linguistic
competence.