Abstract:

When reading material for the EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom is selected appropriately, it provides learners with more exposure to language per unit of time than an average lesson or another type of activity, and in a way that is authentic, rich and stimulating (Moeller & Meyer, 1995). While analysing text difficulty, we come across both top-down and bottom-up factors that affect reading processing. The former include topic and context familiarity, cognitive complexity, visual prompts, length, organization of the text, layout, signposting, internal cohesion. The latter are concerned with language issues: complexity of grammar and lexis, idiomaticity, lexical density (Thornbury, 2005). However, in real life, top-down and bottom-up processes are like pieces of the same puzzle, they interact to compensate for knowledge deficits, and their combination enhances comprehension. That is why reading lessons should reflect this “interactive compensatory model” (Alderson, 2000) by consistently including pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading activities that raise awareness of the need to use different reading strategies, thus developing reading skills, not only testing them. The paper explores the nature of reading, top-down and bottom-up approaches to developing reading comprehension and the interaction between the two, identifies common learner issues, and offers suggestions for the meaningful combination of teaching strategies to help intermediate and above learners to improve their reading skills.

Keywords:

Reading Comprehension, Teaching Reading, Receptive Skills, Top-Down Strategies, Bottom-Up Strategies, ELT, EFL, ESL.