READING IN CONTENT AREA
Distinguish between Aesthetic and Efferent Reading, and Apply reading strategies to develop Reading Skills in any grade level.
Lecturer: Dawn Muirhead
Juliet Hanson-Taylor October 14, 2011
Many students often shy away from reading. This could be due to the fact that they might find it to be boring or they do not get any meaning from text that they read. For these reasons they might consider reading a waste of their time. Therefore, the teacher must take advantage of the many different types of reading and strategies involved. This will give life to reading for the student.
Let us look at two different types of reading and distinguish between them. Aesthetic reading: this type of reading is done primarily for entertainment and to gain experience. Examples are; stories, plays and poems. Aesthetic reading allows for personal meaning to be developed from the text. One can always assume what the author is saying based on their own understanding, or even come to their own conclusion of the text. Extreme seriousness is not taken towards what the author has written.
On the other hand, Efferent reading is done primarily for the gathering of information. Examples are; manuals and textbooks. In this type of reading it is all about what one carry away from the text. It gives a learning experience. Efferent reading main focus is on another person’s opinion and meaning of the text.
Teachers must use these types of reading strategies to get their students to...