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Learn
To Speak English
With Synchronized Reading
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How To Teach English (with DVD) Paperback |
The brain has an amazing tendency to create and consolidate patterns. Stare at a cloud in the sky, and soon you may start to see the shape of something familiar. The mind is trying to make sense out of something formless.
As noted by Jack Black, a leading personal development coach in the United
Kingdom, "Once a pattern is set up, then should our world not match
this subconscious view it will get to work and do all in its power to
restore everything back to order, back
to the pattern
expected." (Mindstore,
1994, p. 123)
To illustrate the effect of this natural phenomenon in the brain, Mr. Black sometimes sticks a torn piece of paper on the wall behind where he is speaking at a seminar. Within a short time, someone will have removed it.
Why? Because it shouldn’t be there! It breaks the pattern. The audience finds it distracting. Mr. Black notices their eyes frequently switching from him to the piece of paper on the wall behind him. Once the paper is removed, order is restored, and the audience can concentrate again.
The Meaning Of Gestalt
This process he calls Gestalt, a German word meaning shape, pattern or structure.
This inbuilt mechanism in the brain can be utilized when learning a new language. By reading a selected passage of text with the students, a teacher can work in harmony with the natural synchronizing tendencies of the human brain.
One method used in many English classrooms is echo reading. A teacher will read a phrase or a sentence, and then the student(s) will repeat, following along the text with their finger.
This certainly helps the student gain familiarity with vocabulary, correct pronunciation, voice inflection, and of course, assists greatly with developing fluency in reading.
However, there is a further
step
which may be even more beneficial than echo reading.
We can call it 'synchronized
reading.'
What is that? The student reads the passage at the same time as the teacher. At first the teacher will need to read slowly and deliberately.
The student should follow along with a finger in their own copy of the text and say the words at the same time.
The teacher of course will need to have sufficient volume so the students can hear the teacher’s voice comfortably above their own.
What happens through this synchronized reading? The natural pattern seeking mechanism of the brain now tries to match the student’s voice and pronunciation with the teacher’s reading. After a few of these exercises, the students actually self-adjust their pronunciation so gestalt is achieved.
For synchronized reading to have the maximum effect, it needs to be done frequently in short spells. A 5-10 minute synchronized reading session done regularly will yield dramatic results.
Persistence
and perseverance are keys to success. It may seem a little awkward
at first, but soon students get used to the method and enjoy reading in
tune with the teacher. 
Students who are nervous or shy find this exercise very helpful as they work under the shadow of the teacher’s voice. Soon their self-confidence builds and they are able to read with much more certainty.
So rather than reading practice being a laborious, monotonous exercise, synchronized reading can transform a learning session as students become aware of their own dramatic progress in reading and pronunciation.
Learn To Speak English Through Gestalt
The
teacher simply has to work in harmony with the natural tendency
of the human brain to achieve gestalt!