Lesestrategien
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https://www.lsa.umich.edu/german/hmr/lesen/reading_strategies.html
Deutsch 101-326 an der Universität Michigan
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Lesestrategien
ESSENTIALS
1. You need not understand every word. Use the dictionary sparingly. T hink o f
co nve rsa tio ns yo u ha ve in ba rs, o r a t co nstructio n site s, in no isy city stre e ts, a t
sto ck m a rk e ts...: it is im po ssible to unde rsta nd e ve ry wo rd in the se situa tio ns,
ye t yo u still unde rsta nd e no ugh so tha t yo u ca n fill in ce rta in ga ps fro m the
co nte x t, a nd co m m unica te succe ssfully. O nce in a while yo u m iss so m e thing
e sse ntia l a nd ge t co nfuse d, a nd the n yo u a sk the pe rso n with who m yo u a re
spe a k ing to re pe a t wha t the y sa id. R e a ding Ge rm a n is lik e ta lk ing in a no isy
ro o m : yo u ca n fill in a lo t o f the ga ps ca use d by unfa m ilia r wo rds a nd
co nstructio ns; o nly whe n this fa ils sho uld yo u turn to yo ur dictio na ry! T he
re m a inde r o f this pa ge pro vide s a dvice o f va rio us k inds to he lp yo u "fill in the
ga ps" a s e fficie ntly a s po ssible . But first, he re 's a gre a t e x a m ple o f ho w he lpful
re a ding stra te gie s ca n be , fro m a stude nt de scribing he r first da y in Ge rm a ny.
She 's just a rrive d fo r a study a bro a d pro gra m , a nd is trying to find he r ro o m in
the Stude nte nwo hnhe im (click he re to se e the blo g , which is full o f gre a t insights
a nd a ne cdo te s, a nd m ight inspire yo u to study a bro a d. I re co m m e nd re a ding it
chro no lo gica lly, i.e . re a d the o lde st e ntrie s first!):
I'm in building 14, and I had to wander for a few minutes to find it. I'm on the
6th floor, which really means 7th floor. When I walked in, there was a skinny little
staircase that winds all the way to the top floor, and an elevator with the words
"Im Brandfall Aufzug nicht benutzen". The only words I immediately recognized
were "nicht benutzen", which means "don't use". For fear of breaking rules even
before I move in, I start climbing the stairs with all 80 lbs of my luggage. By the
time I got to the 1st floor, I was tired enough to break some rules. But as I reach
the landing, it finally dawns on me. Brand is a form of brennen, or burn. Fire. Fall
means event. Zug is train, and auf can mean up. In burn event up train don't use.
Don't use elevator in case of fire. What a relief! So I happily jump on the elevator
and cruise up the next 6 floors without trouble.
2. Preread! P e o ple a lwa ys wa nt to sk ip this: it se e m s unpro ductive a nd is
frustra ting, be ca use yo u wa nt to ge t sta rte d right a wa y, but pre re a ding m a k e s
yo u a m uch m o re e fficie nt re a de r. In the se wa ys it is lik e stre tching be fo re
e x e rcise , o r pre tre a ting la undry, o r m a rina ting m e a t, o r wa rm ing up yo ur ca r: a
sm a ll e ffo rt tha t la zy a nd fo o lish pe o ple a vo id, a nd tha t give s sm a rt a nd dilige nt
pe o ple the e dge in this do g-e a t-do g wo rld. T he first thing yo u will le a rn in a ny
spe e dre a ding cla ss is tha t yo u ca n insta ntly incre a se yo ur re a ding spe e d by
pre re a ding: a fte r inve sting a co uple o f m inute s in finding o ut wha t yo u ca n
e x pe ct fro m the te x t, yo u a re m uch le ss lik e ly to ge t stuck a nd yo u will be a ble
to re a d thro ugh the te x t m uch m o re quick ly, since the m a te ria l will a lre a dy be
slightly fa m ilia r, a nd yo ur bra in will ha ve fo rm e d so m e ca te go rie s by which to
o rga nize a nd inte rpre t wha t yo u re a d.
PREREADING
Note: W e will o rdina rily do so m e pre re a ding a ctivitie s in cla ss be fo re the te x ts a re
a ssigne d. Ne ve rthe le ss, yo u sho uld spe nd a fe w m inute s pre re a ding the te x t
whe n yo u first sit do wn to do the a ssignm e nt.
1. T ry to de te rm ine ...
a . the type of text a nd intended audience. If it is a ne wspa pe r a rticle ,
fo r e x a m ple , yo u ca n e x pe ct lo ts o f quo ta tio ns (a nd Subjunctive I!); if
it is a n a rticle e x pla ining a scie ntific co nce pt fo r la ype o ple , yo u ca n
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e x pe ct cre a tive a na lo gie s, e x a m ple s, a nd a discussio n o f the
co nce pt's pra ctica l a pplica tio ns; if it is a se ctio n o f a te x tbo o k , yo u ca n
e x pe ct a m o re co ncise sum m a ry, e tc.
b. a ny info rm a tio n a bo ut the author. Y o u m a y re co gnize o ne o r two o f
the a utho rs who se te x ts we a re re a ding, a nd this m a y le a d yo u to
e x pe ct ce rta in things o r a t le a st build yo ur curio sity (a lso a n im po rta nt
pa rt o f re a ding!). O cca sio na lly the re will be a blurb te lling yo u wha t
k inds o f te x t to e x pe ct fro m the a utho r o f the te x t yo u a re re a ding.
c. when the article was written.
2. Ma k e sure yo u unde rsta nd the title.
3. Lo o k a t tables a nd illustrations.
4. O n the ba sis o f the a bo ve info rm a tio n, try to guess/predictwha t the a rticle
m ight sa y. Ask yo urse lf wha t yo u ho pe it will ta lk a bo ut!
5. No w skim the who le te x t quick ly, without stopping, fo r 2 - 5 minutes, in o rde r
to do the fo llo wing:
a . recall what you already know a bo ut this to pic.
b. re pe a t ste p 4, a nd re fine yo ur e x pe cta tio ns a nd ho pe s.
c. no te the text's organisation/structure.
6. Read assigned questions/exercises. T he se o bvio usly te ll yo u wha t to lo o k fo r,
but a lso give yo u m o re info rm a tio n a bo ut wha t to e x pe ct.
READING
0. Y o u sho uld spend at least one hour, but no more than two hours on each
reading assignment in 101-231. Use the sugge stio ns be lo w to unde rsta nd the
te x t a s we ll a s yo u ca n within tha t tim e .
1. Concentrate on the important parts! Y o ur pre re a ding will ha ve give n yo u
so m e ide a o f whe re the se a re . Im po rta nt pa rts a re ge ne ra lly:
a . the first and last paragraph of the text, a nd the first a nd la st
se nte nce o f e a ch pa ra gra ph.
b. definitions
c. dates, times, measurements a nd sim ila r spe cific info rm a tio n
d. lists
e . analogies e x pla in the ce ntra l co nce pts o f the te x t.
2. Concentrate on the important words! In ge ne ra l, the sho rte r the wo rd, the
m o re im po rta nt it is tha t yo u k no w o r be a ble to gue ss its m e a ning/functio n. A
list o f e x a m ple s fo llo ws; if a ny o f the m a re unfa m ilia r to yo u, lo o k the m up
NO W !!!! a nd no te tha t m a ny o f the m ha ve m o re tha n o ne po ssible m e a ning:
a . negations (nicht, k e in, nie m a ls, nirge ndwo , nie m a nd, nie ,
nichts,...)
b. conjunctions (und, de nn, so nde rn, a be r, o de r, we il, da ß, o bwo hl,
fa lls, we nn,...) which indica te the re la tio n be twe e n cla use s.
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c. que stio n wo rds (wie , wo , wa nn, wa rum , wa s, wo hin a nd o the r
wo -co m po unds [no te so m e o f the se ca n a lso functio n a s re la tive
pro no uns]
d. pre po sitio ns (a us, a uße r, be i, m it, na ch, se it, vo n, zu, o hne , für,
ge ge n, sta tt, tro tz, o hne , um ...zu, in, a uf, a n, übe r,...)
d. o the r "po we r wo rds": (usua lly) little pre po sitio ns a nd a dve rbs tha t
ca n indica te the fo cus o f the se nte nce : e .g. tim e e x pre ssio ns (im m e r,
nie , se lte n, o ft, a ls, ge wö hnlich, no rm a le rwe ise , plö tzlich, m a nchm a l,
m e iste ns, wä hre nd, na chde m , na ch, vo r, da nn, scho n, no ch,...--no te
tha t so m e o f the se ca n ha ve o the r im po rta nt m e a nings), a nd va rio us
o the rs (nur, a uch, da rum , de sha lb, de nno ch, de swe ge n, a uße rde m ,
na türlich, übe ra ll, je ,...)
e . fre que ntly re pe a te d wo rds
It will he lp yo u with a ll a spe cts o f yo ur Ge rm a n to print o ut a nd le a rn the list o f
200 o r so m o st fre que ntly use d Ge rm a n wo rds!
3. Guess meanings/functions of unknown words. T he le ss yo u ha ve to inte rrupt
yo ur re a ding by flipping thro ugh a dictio na ry, the be tte r. T he re a re a ll k inds o f
clue s yo u ca n use :
a . context: never lo o k up a n unfa m ilia r wo rd a s so o n a s yo u co m e
a cro ss it: first lo o k ba ck wa rds and forwards fo r clue s a s to wha t
m e a nings a re po ssible .
b. the wo rd's grammatical function: is it a ve rb, no un, a dje ctive ,
a dve rb,...? W o rd o rde r, ca pita lisa tio n, a nd e ndings will he lp yo u
de te rm ine this.
c. paraphrases: so m e tim e s yo u'll find the a utho r pa ra phra se s the
wo rd e lse whe re , in o rde r to e x pla in it o r in o rde r to va ry he r
e x pre ssio n.
d. clues within the word itse lf--but k e e p in m ind the co nte x t, since
the se clue s a re so m e tim e s m isle a ding:
pa rts o f compound words which yo u m a y re co gnize
prefixes (a b-, un-, m it-, e in-,...) o r suffixes (-ba r, -lo s,
-vo ll, -he it,...) tha t he lp de te rm ine m e a ning
cognate words in English o r o the r la ngua ge s.
4. Use the dictionary whe n a ll e lse fa ils, if yo u think tha t the wo rd m a y be
e sse ntia l to yo ur co m pre he nsio n o f the te x t. Mo st e sse ntia l, be side s the "po we r
wo rds" de scribe d unde r (2), a re the subject, verb, a nd object(s). C lick he re fo r
so m e de ta ile d a dvice o n using a dictio na ry, including so m e pra ctice e x e rcise s.
5. Read actively. Fo r e x a m ple :
a . T ry to predict wha t will co m e ne x t.
b. Decide what is important and underline it.
c. Mark confusing passages yo u wa nt to a sk a bo ut in cla ss.
d. Mark interesting facts yo u le a rn a s yo u re a d. Bo nus: te ll yo ur
frie nds so m e thing co o l yo u le a rne d fro m this te x t. Ex tra bo nus: Ha nd
o ut flie rs o n the dia g.
e . A sk yourself questions a s yo u re a d.
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f. Think about whether or not you like what you are reading. Is it
cle a r? funny? inte re sting? bo ring? e x citing? unne ce ssa rily co m plica te d?
e nlighte ning? wro ng?
6. Still stuck?? W ha t if yo u ide ntify a n e sse ntia l se nte nce o r phra se a nd sim ply
ca n't figure o ut wha t it m e a ns? T ha t is the tim e to a pply the gra m m a r yo u ha ve
le a rne d in cla ss in o rde r to a na lyze the se nte nce a nd ge t to the bo tto m o f it. Fo r
so m e ide a s o n ho w to ta ck le e spe cia lly lo ng se nte nce s, click he re !
Answering Questions/Finding Information: Scanning the Text
T his sho uld be e a sy fo r yo u a fte r pre re a ding a nd re a ding the te x t a s discusse d
a bo ve . If yo u ne e d to lo ca te a pa rticula r pie ce o f info rm a tio n, yo u sho uld o nce
a ga in no t plo d thro ugh the te x t wo rd fo r wo rd, but ra the r sca n fo r it: try to find
whe re distinctive wo rds fro m the que stio n o ccur in the te x t; if this do e s no t wo rk ,
think wha t o the r distinctive wo rds m ight be a sso cia te d with this que stio n a nd/o r
its a nswe r, a nd sca n the te x t fo r tho se . R e m e m be r tha t sca nning fo r info rm a tio n
in this wa y is no t a n a rbitra ry cla ssro o m trick , but ra the r a n e sse ntia l sk ill in
m a ny situa tio ns: think o f la wye rs trying to find pre ce de nts fo r ca se s the y a re
wo rk ing o n, o r the wa y pe o ple re a d ro m a nce a ds o r o bitua rie s....
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