IELTS: Reading without Speaking?

　　Numerous IELTS programs that are offered through out Asia and most often in China are divided into four major areas which mirror the actual IELTS examination: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. In most cases these classes use different teachers and certainly different text books for each module. The majority of programs use brute memorization to prepare for the exam. The classes are structured to utilize the students past educational processes i.e. memorize or fail, to teach the students. The words are more important than the method. As in the traditional Chinese educational system the students capacity for memorization is challenged. The result rather than the method are stressed. The exam becomes the reward, not the knowledge that should be gained from the class.

　　So here rises the problem. Can the reading module portion of the IELTS exam be taught independently from the speaking part? There are pros and cons to this question. Do we as westerners teach reading to our children with speaking to them? The answer is obvious NO!! So why should we as educators teach the youth of China or for that matter the world, how to pass a reading exam without saying a single spoken word. Sounds rather stupid doesnt it. But in fact many western educators are expected to teach their class to pass a test in reading sans oral interaction. The spoken word is over looked in favor of the written word. Read and recite. Read and repeat. Read and regurgitate.But NEVER read and tell me what you think about what you read. Never read and lets discuss. Never read and give me your opinion. WHY? Is the examination overshadowing the learning process? Simply YES.

　　From day one of a prototypical IELTS reading class, the students are given outdated textbooks that are aimed at educating a non-native speaker how to read, and understand a text that has little or no relevance to real life or real life experiences. Again the student is taught to read and understand some texts that a native speaker may have difficulty in understand, not because of the complexity, but because, lets face it, its boring and does not relate to anything we can talk about. I am a great sports fan. I enjoy reading about all sports International football, F1 racing or track and field. That inrestes me. So why dont we find things for the students that interests them and then TALK about them before trying to answer the questions about the article. Stress the understanding of what the article is saying and talk about it. NOT read and answer. TALK about it. Maybe the students grammar is poor, maybe their pronunciation is poor, but still lets talk about what we just read. Certainly we can not please every student, but articles from the local English language newspaper will initially suffice, if there is no newspaper, then the WWW. Any news site will give the student more reading material than they will ever need to know. Day to day news will not only teach a student how to read, it will educate them in relevant topics they can discuss. It may be the weather, a major news story, or some very simple 2 paragraph item about a talking dog. It may sound stupid, but current events will further discussions. AND discussions will improve both understanding and communication skills.

　　IELTS: Reading without Speaking?

　　Numerous IELTS programs that are offered through out Asia and most often in China are divided into four major areas which mirror the actual IELTS examination: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. In most cases these classes use different teachers and certainly different text books for each module. The majority of programs use brute memorization to prepare for the exam. The classes are structured to utilize the students past educational processes i.e. memorize or fail, to teach the students. The words are more important than the method. As in the traditional Chinese educational system the students capacity for memorization is challenged. The result rather than the method are stressed. The exam becomes the reward, not the knowledge that should be gained from the class.

　　So here rises the problem. Can the reading module portion of the IELTS exam be taught independently from the speaking part? There are pros and cons to this question. Do we as westerners teach reading to our children with speaking to them? The answer is obvious NO!! So why should we as educators teach the youth of China or for that matter the world, how to pass a reading exam without saying a single spoken word. Sounds rather stupid doesnt it. But in fact many western educators are expected to teach their class to pass a test in reading sans oral interaction. The spoken word is over looked in favor of the written word. Read and recite. Read and repeat. Read and regurgitate.But NEVER read and tell me what you think about what you read. Never read and lets discuss. Never read and give me your opinion. WHY? Is the examination overshadowing the learning process? Simply YES.

　　From day one of a prototypical IELTS reading class, the students are given outdated textbooks that are aimed at educating a non-native speaker how to read, and understand a text that has little or no relevance to real life or real life experiences. Again the student is taught to read and understand some texts that a native speaker may have difficulty in understand, not because of the complexity, but because, lets face it, its boring and does not relate to anything we can talk about. I am a great sports fan. I enjoy reading about all sports International football, F1 racing or track and field. That inrestes me. So why dont we find things for the students that interests them and then TALK about them before trying to answer the questions about the article. Stress the understanding of what the article is saying and talk about it. NOT read and answer. TALK about it. Maybe the students grammar is poor, maybe their pronunciation is poor, but still lets talk about what we just read. Certainly we can not please every student, but articles from the local English language newspaper will initially suffice, if there is no newspaper, then the WWW. Any news site will give the student more reading material than they will ever need to know. Day to day news will not only teach a student how to read, it will educate them in relevant topics they can discuss. It may be the weather, a major news story, or some very simple 2 paragraph item about a talking dog. It may sound stupid, but current events will further discussions. AND discussions will improve both understanding and communication skills.