My first pre-reading strategy aims simply to choose something to read. Like many of us in this course, I would guess, I do not currently work in a German-speaking environment. I read German to maintain what remains of my reading comprehension and to gain a German perspective on a topic, usually current events. I encounter German texts only after a deliberate decision to read something in German and only after a conscious selection of a text. Whether an article or a novel, I first assess whether I intend to commit the time to read the text before me. Latest Gunther Grass tome? Vielleicht nicht. Best-selling, light-hearted historical fiction paperback under 200 pages? Passt doch besser.
As I read in part to maintain and improve my German, I try to learn new words as I read. While I appreciate the benefit of skipping difficult or unknown words, I would prefer to learn the precise meaning of at least one unfamiliar word in a challenging text. To that end I use a technique that could be called “anchored scanning.” When I meet an unknown or long forgotten word, I read the next and previous few lines carefully for additional context clues. If these lead me to the word’s meaning, I continue reading the article or chapter as normal. If I cannot decipher the new vocabulary, I reach for a German-to-German dictionary.
As for the two vertical processing styles, the clearest advantages and disadvantages pertain to overall reading comprehension. “Top-down” reading should produce a better understanding of a text than “bottom-up” reading. That said, some situations require bottom-up attention to detail. Technical articles, for instance, may demand such focus, especially for a lay-reader. When a reader needs specific figures or precise wording from an article, for instance to understand the exact language of a joint resolution or press release, he should read in a “bottom-up” style.
In the context of this course, readers might want to read a foreign-language article for granular details of wording and syntax in order to learn more about these items than the overall meaning of the article. “Bottom-up” processing would be called for.
An Interesting and elaborate comment; I guess it depends on what you read for what purpose. Naturally vocabulary is a key issue an also idiomatic expressions but you don't want to look up words constantly. So, using context or/ grammar is a useful step. What do you do with those words / expressions you look up? Do you make a conscience decision about what strategy to apply?
ReplyDeleteThe whole notion of learning new vocabulary is an interesting one - I always wind up with lists and lists and none of it is organized. When I organize it, I feel like I've wasted time with no new words committed to memory. What's the best way to get a new word to stick in your head? Any suggestions are welcome. I find it strange how some things stick and others don't and haven't yet found a patter to explain that.
ReplyDeleteI've had good experiences using a German-to-German dictionary as well. I find that it helps a lot to try to understand a new word completely in a German context, rather than just translating it to English.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I've had good luck using hand-made vocabulary word cards. It's essentially route memorization and requires a bit of time, but it helps. Sometimes I wind up learning the same word multiple times before it sticks. Usually, seeing the same word in different contexts, and then feeling embarrassed after going to the dictionary yet again only to find that the result has not changed, helps make it stick.