Unlocking the Mystery of Poor English Reading Skills (Part 2)

Unlocking the Mystery of Poor English Reading Skills (Part 2)

Ms. Rowena

• Possesses 25 years of experience teaching adults, A-Level candidates, and students from diverse backgrounds
• Founder of the Double R Amalgam method (www.doubleramalgam.com)
• Author of the Penguin Buddies and Double R Kids-Professions series
• Provided after-school English support for secondary schools and developed senior primary grammar curricula using Double R Amalgam materials from 2017-2019

Types of Reading Difficulties (1) — English Sentence Patterns

In the previous installment, I mentioned that reading is about understanding the text. Most people believe that understanding a text requires learning difficult vocabulary, a practice I have strong reservations about. First, let everyone carefully compare the following example sentences:

i. John goes to school by bus.

ii. John should hand in his homework by Friday.

iii. John was punished by his class teacher.

You see the preposition 'by' in the sentences above, but its meaning in each sentence is different:

In sentence (i), it means — by (transportation)

In sentence (ii), it means — by (before/no later than)

In sentence (iii), it means — by (passive agent)

Please continue to look at two more examples:

iv. John stands by the window.

v. John stands by me.

The meaning of sentence (iv) is ————— John stands beside the window.

The meaning of sentence (v) is ————— John supports me.

When the phrase combinations differ, the meanings change. In sentence (i), 'by' is followed by a vehicle, indicating transportation; in sentence (ii), it precedes a time or date, meaning 'no later than'; in sentence (iii), it precedes a person or thing, indicating the agent in a passive construction; in sentence (iv), it indicates location, meaning 'beside'. To understand English sentences, one cannot rely solely on individual words.

Additionally, there is an important element that cannot be ignored: knowing how to clearly segment sentences into different phrases. Many readers may have heard of the English sentence pattern Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) but do not fully grasp its importance. In fact, the final sentence (v) clearly demonstrates the importance of SVO—SVO dictates how words in a sentence are segmented. See the attached table:

In sentence (iv), 'by' is attached to the noun phrase 'the window'; whereas in sentence (v), 'by' is attached to the phrasal verb 'stands by', and therefore the meanings created by these different combinations are distinct.

Flexible Use of Phrases Makes Sentences Simple and Varied

So, what do I use to determine the meaning of each 'by'? It is definitely not based on the word 'by' itself, but on the phrase that each 'by' belongs to—a combination of multiple words that form a new meaning.

Rather than spending energy rote-learning vocabulary that looks difficult but is rarely used, students would be better off learning to use simple, commonly used words. This often results in writing that is natural, fluent, and highly effective. Please continue to support the Education Media. In the next issue, I will explain another type of reading difficulty.