Part 7 - Academic reading (исполнитель: Academic Listening)
This is not an accurate word-for-word transcript of the programme. Группа Learning English: [bad word] [bad word] club17650165 Продолжение транскрипта: [bad word] /downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/al_07.pdf ANNOUNCER: It’s time for Academic Listening - a series for students at English-speaking universities. This time Susan Fearn is focusing on academic reading, but to begin with, let's hear from two people, a student and a teacher, as they tell us how they understand the problems of reading for academic purposes. CLIP: Student The problem of reading is to get used to [it]. It takes time. CLIP: Christine Reeves The main problem with reading is the actual amount of reading that you're likely to have to do at University - you may be given a book list which has fifteen , twenty or even thirty books on it and you've got a very short time in which to read those books and so what you really have to learn to do is read effectively and you also have to learn to be selective in what you read. Susan: The reading you have to do as a student is quite different from any reading you do for pleasure. And there are particular problems associated with it. The first of these relates to the sheer volume of material that confronts you when you walk into the library or when you receive your reading list. There are other more obvious problems such as having to learn a whole new specialist vocabulary. Well, we’ll start with some tips. If [bad word] across unfamiliar words when you’re reading an academic text, try not to reach immediately for your dictionary. Practise trying to guess the meaning of the word from the context or from what you already know about the subject. Another World Service class member has advice for those of you who find you have so much to read that you just don’t know where to start. CLIP: Student [NB: very rough transcript] Select material to read. You can't read everything - it's impossible. You need to be selective and make choices, and then focus on the uncertain aspects within a rational scheme. Make choices on where to focus. Susan: In trying to decide what to read, it’s worth remembering that no one expects you to read everything on your reading list. You need to narrow down the choice. Ask your tutor or lecturer what they consider to be the most important books or articles to read, and whether they can [bad word] particular chapters to look at. Other students on your course may have found certain texts to be particularly useful, so ask them for advice. Once you’ve chosen your reading material, however you make that selection, it’s vital that you should be absolutely clear why you’re reading. CLIP: Simon Williams When you know the purpose of doing the reading, e.g. to prepare for an essay, you might arm yourself with a list of questions. Susan: Simon Williams teaches English in the Language Centre at University College London. CLIP: Simon Williams Having found books, look at the contents in the index – academic books normally have an index – and look for key words. Make a note of those. Read the blurb - the description on the dust cover of the book. If material looks promising, skim through the first chapter and the conclusion. Like lectures, the middle section will amplify, give examples, explain ideas. So the important parts at this stage are the beginning and the end of the book, or the chapter, or the section. Susan: Based on what you know about the subject already and what you need to know for your assignment or project, Simon Williams suggests you prepare a list of questions. This activity will help you focus more effectively on the ideas contained within the text. Then, you can adjust the speed and depth of your reading to suit your purposes, as Christine Reeves explains. She teaches English at Bell Norwich, a language school in the East of England. ...