Blogpost#10 Linear school language and linear fashion in reading

My current part-time ESP job provokes me to examine that whether vocational school students as well as trade-people wouldn’t read texts in a “linear, sequential fashion”. The answer might probably yes. Texts in different genres and form are utilized as the source of specific information needed to accomplish particular goals, but not the source of general knowledge. This reminds me of the mostly mentioned and emphasized skills during my instructions of IELTS test-taking. The majority of my students here Ottawa as well as in China (I’m currently teaching TOEFL test-taking skills through video-chat to one of my friends living in Guangzhou,China) and they usually feel not that comfortable and confident when dealing with task types that requires global reading, scanning and skimming skills. As reading practice is still the main theme in teacher-centered classroom in most public schools in China, with teaching and explanation of essential reading skills and strategies being barely underlined. And I came to understand better that why some of my current students didn’t know how to skim read a text as they has been taught and encouraged to read carefully lines by lines. Fortunately, some of them get to understand the great necessity of skimming as not every text should be regarded as the source for general information as different purposes were set before the writer/author began to draft them; some texts are better to be comprehended for the purpose of gather information.