English for Academic Purpose free essay sample

The pie chart above shows that 45% of the students says that reading is important because in offers us wide range of information. 25% of the students says that reading is important for better understanding, 20% says that it is important for general knowledge and 10% says that reading is important is important because it helps in speaking fluent English. 2. The graph below shows what types of books is often used by tertiary students. The graph above shows that 12 students often use text books and lecture notes together because they could be used simultaneously and that will be 60%. 5 students or 25% of the students use text books alone while reading since it contains all the concepts. 4 students or 20% of the students use lecture notes alone since it is much more simplified compared to text books. 1 student uses the course prescription along with the text book. INTRODUCTION Reading is fundamental to function in today’s society. Reading is a vital skill in finding a job and also it develops the mind. We will write a custom essay sample on English for Academic Purpose or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page At tertiary level it is also important that one reads because in order for one to succeed at any tertiary institution one should at least read a lot. The reason being is that because at tertiary level, lecture notes have to be understood in order to pass. So the notes and the text books can only be understood if one reads it. Students at tertiary level often do not waste their time reading novels and short stories because they have to spend most of their time reading the text books and lecture notes since that will help them during their tutorial class and activities. Many students are interested in reading for pleasure and information access. Every day we will see students at the library reading the newspaper for that day because they want to know what I going on around them and also to take their time out after class. Many students recommend that the number of days spent on ‘Library Day’ should be increased so that other students who do not often read and use the library should get to know what is there in the library and what can really help them a lot. Furthermore, reading at tertiary level is considered boring by some people because textbooks are thick and also when assignments are due, students tend to forget reading their notes. Some students argued that the pictures in the text books sometimes distract them from their reading. â€Å"Pictures functions as distracting stimuli in that they draw attention away from printed words†. (Samuels, 1967, pp. 14,15). Many students spend less time reading because some find it boring to read and are not interested as well. With less time spent reading, students do not attain good marks as well. Moreover, the report will also discuss about what types of reading materials student at tertiary level often use a lot. Also the time students spent reading on one week and whether it has benefited them or not with the time period students spent on reading. The strategies on how reading could be encouraged at tertiary level. According to Rashika Raj a USP student doing accounting and economics, reading is not for literature or for English courses only it is for all the courses. Even she herself is doing accounting and economics and if does not read in a week she will be totally lost during class. To conclude, reading is viewed by different people. Well this report will focus on the tertiary students only but those who have different cultures and traditions and who are not only form Fiji but all other students who are also from other parts of the world especially in the Pacific. METHODS The following method was used during the report write up. A. Participants Twenty students from USP were asked to give in their ideas about reading by answering a set of questionnaires that was being prepared. B. Library Research Research was being done in the USP library on views of great authors on reading. C. Internet Research The internet was also used for views on the topic for more ideas on it. D. Procedure The twenty questionnaires were given out and was collected as soon as it was been answered. Then the answer were analysed for the report. RESULTS Tertiary students often read lot because that is the only reason that will make them pass or drive them towards success. Some face difficulties while reading but everyone reads at tertiary level read. This shows that 100% of the students at least read at tertiary level DISCUSSION Many students prefer to read a lot especially when they have reached tertiary level. Most readers struggle in trying to read the whole chapter and understanding is at the whole chapter at the same time, but the question is, do all readers struggle? At some point? With certain texts? The answer to all these questions is yes. A reason is mentioned below. The Textbook is Thick According to Imery Girwar a USP student doing geography that she finds it hard to read the whole chapter especially when she is ding the course in DFL mode. (pers. com) It would seem that we be gaining insights to these problems, and into difficulties experienced in the more advanced stages of reading. This is necessary if we are to understand how to help the millions of high school and college who are having extremely difficulty keeping up with their assignment, and who are falling short in achieving on a level equal to their intellectual potential. Anne M (1978 pg. 39) At times reading seems hard for DFL students at USP since there could be new vocabs and students have no idea about it. This often results in students failing tests and also failing to do their assignments. Hence on the other hand some students love to read. From textbooks to lecture notes and even novels. Students who read especially the notes daily seems to have attain really good grades during final exams. For students who read has some reasons why they love reading and it is discussed below. i) Good Grades Many students at tertiary level says that reading the textbooks, lecture notes has been the only thing that drives them to good grades which will help them have good jobs as well. ii) Speaks fluent English A USP student Wen, a Chinese teenage girl doing Physics in USP says she has never spoke really fluent English before because in their country it has been Chinese all the time. When coming over to Fiji she realises that she has never felt like loner especially in school since she finds it hard to understand English. So the onlu thing that helps her speaks fluent English is by reading a lot. Now she can speaks fluent and matured English especially when she is in tertiary institution. There has been increasing emphasis in recent years on the idea that reading should not be viewed as an isolated skill, but that is necessarily related to the purposes it fulfils in particular social and cultural contexts. Change is inevitable and this concept will be long gone and it is important for people to read especially at this ever-changing world. It is very important nowadays to read a lot since it helps us in many ways. People who read often and widely get better at it. This is pretty much just common sense. After all, practice makes perfect in almost everything we humans do and reading is no different. Reading exercises our brains. Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain than, say, watching TV is. Reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections. Reading teaches children about the world around them. Through reading, they learn about people, places and events outside their own experience. They are exposed to ways of life, ideas and beliefs about the world which may be different from those which surround them. This learning is important for its own sake however it also builds a store of background knowledge which helps younger children learn to read confidently and well. Reading develops a child’s imagination. This is because when we read our brains translate the descriptions we read of people, places and things into pictures. When we’re engaged in a story, we’re also imagining how the characters are feeling. We use our own experiences to imagine how we would feel in the same situation. (Stephen,D. 2011) Many students spend hours reading on one week. Some read for 5 hours and over whereas some read not even exceeding 2 hours but those who read more gets to know more than those who do not read. Some spend less time reading since they are only taking one or twi courses whereas those who read to for more than 5 hours said that they are taking 4 courses and it is very important to read. Students recommend that it is very important to encourage others to read. Some recommend that there should more support from homes, educational community and also there should be a lot of days for library days in one year or in one semester and it should be set up for the government so that there could many good leaders of tomorrow. CONCLUSION In conclusion reading is very important in every aspect if lives nowadays. It is not for the tertiary students only but it is more important to the high school and even primary school students because when they reach tertiary level they would not face difficulties reading large textbooks and even novels. It is not the students who should be held responsible but should have support from the parents and leaders on when and how to read but should set good examples to these students. RECOMMENDATION Students at tertiary level should read a lot since it is very important for one to know what is going on around us. Also, there should be more support from home on children to spend more time reading rather than watching movies and doing other stuff. Also books should be selling at an affordable price so that people could buy books to read. BIBLIOGRAPHY Anne. M. , Lind. M. R. , Vianne. T. , Judy. L. T. , (eds), 2006, Understanding literacy development, Lawrence Erlibalium Associates Publishers, Mahwah, New Jersey. Samuels,S. 1973, An Effect of pictures and contextual conditions on learning,Louise Richardson Manufacturing, Heinemann. Stephen, D. 2011, 10 reasons why reading is important http://everydayadventure11. blogspot. com/2011/11/10-reasons-why-reading-is-important-for. html APPENDIX UU114: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSE TOPIC: IMPORTANCE OF READING IN TERTIARY LEVEL QUESTIONNAIRE Personal Details. Gender: ______________ Age: ____ 18-23 ____ 24-27 _____ 28-31 ____32+ Tertiary Institution: _____________________________________________ Programme of study: ____________________________________________ Level Of Education: 1. Do you like to read? ____Yes ____No 2. Explain why or why not? 3. What types of reading materials do you often use at your level? ___text books ___lecture notes ___course prescriptions Others please specify___________________________________________ 4. What types of books do you love to read? Explain why you love reading that type of books_____________________ 5. How much time do you spend reading in one week? ____1hour ____3hours ___5hours 1nd above ____2hours ____4hours 6. Why are you interested in reading? 7. How has reading helped you in tertiary level? 8. What are some of the ways in which reading could be encouraged in tertiary level? __________________________________________________________ 9. Any other information relating to reading