Reading is one of some important English skills. Reading is such important in our life, in previous post I’ve said about teaching reading, improving reading skill through context and cognitive factor in reading. Now, I’ll talk about the positive impact or the advantages of making inference. To go through the reading text automatically we have to know one by one the words and we have to catch what the writer want to say in his writing. Inference is one of reading strategy. Why is it important to make inference in reading activity? The reason is because inferring is such an important part of skilled reading, explicitly teaching and reinforcing the skill can reap several benefits. Often, successful inferring supports and extends other reading goals. The teachers in the literacy study group identified four primary positive outcomes they have seen when students learn to make inferences effectively:
When students can make inferences accurately, they are able to grasp the author’s meaning and understand “the whole picture” of a text. Rather than simply decoding words, they can recognize an implication and draw it to its logical conclusion, resulting in fewer gaps in comprehension.
Students who infer habitually and accurately are more engaged in the text. Not only do they understand better, they enjoy reading more because they are able to easily draw on information from their own lives and prior knowledge. This helps them better identify with characters and relate to literature. Furthermore, when students make inferences such as predictions or theories, they are eager to read more, to see if their intuition will be confirmed.
Making inferences focuses students on looking beyond the events of a story and the text on the page. This “global view” can help can help students understand literary concepts such as character, theme, and figurative language.
In teaching students to infer, teachers can help students think about their own thinking—how to apply their background knowledge and experience to draw reasonable conclusions in specific situations. As students learn to consciously apply this process, it becomes a tool they can use deliberately and methodically whenever they feel as if they are “missing something” in their independent reading.
Despite all these benefits, however, teaching students to infer is an elusive art which presents unique dilemmas. As the study group progressed, teachers identified common challenges they face in working with inferences. These challenges, and the teachers’ creative solutions to them, appear as a common thread throughout both the case studies and the study guide.
- Successful inferring leads to better overall comprehension.
When students can make inferences accurately, they are able to grasp the author’s meaning and understand “the whole picture” of a text. Rather than simply decoding words, they can recognize an implication and draw it to its logical conclusion, resulting in fewer gaps in comprehension.
- Successful inferring leads to more engagement with text.
Students who infer habitually and accurately are more engaged in the text. Not only do they understand better, they enjoy reading more because they are able to easily draw on information from their own lives and prior knowledge. This helps them better identify with characters and relate to literature. Furthermore, when students make inferences such as predictions or theories, they are eager to read more, to see if their intuition will be confirmed.
- Successful inferring makes sophisticated readers.
Making inferences focuses students on looking beyond the events of a story and the text on the page. This “global view” can help can help students understand literary concepts such as character, theme, and figurative language.
- Successful inferring helps students be metacognitive.
In teaching students to infer, teachers can help students think about their own thinking—how to apply their background knowledge and experience to draw reasonable conclusions in specific situations. As students learn to consciously apply this process, it becomes a tool they can use deliberately and methodically whenever they feel as if they are “missing something” in their independent reading.
- Challenges in Teaching Inferring
Despite all these benefits, however, teaching students to infer is an elusive art which presents unique dilemmas. As the study group progressed, teachers identified common challenges they face in working with inferences. These challenges, and the teachers’ creative solutions to them, appear as a common thread throughout both the case studies and the study guide.