Reading vertical and horizontal text sets.
Introduction
Schoenbach et al. (2012), in their research section “Reading for understanding - How reading apprenticeship improves disciplinary learning in secondary and college classrooms “, discusses the impact of text orientation on reading comprehension. According to their study, text orientation affects information processing and can impact reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension. The elucidation of vertical and horizontal text sets presents a coherent framework for improving reading with subjects like English, Science, Maths, and Literature in technical and community colleges. Some key points amplified the differences between vertical and horizontal text orientation with authentic “classroom close-ups” of students’ and teachers’ interactions. Particular topics were taught based on different experiences and proficiencies as readers for vertical text orientation. Teachers build a schema that makes the horizontal text orientation more accessible and meaningful for students exploring a deeper meaning in the core text. I will also postulate and expound on a situation where one type of text set may be more beneficial (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, & Murphy, 2012)
Differences between vertical and horizontal text sets.
As my students progress through school, they face having to read challenging texts that need them to read for information instead of just reading for the text. I sometimes asked them to recognize the rhetorical fun. As students learn to read, they should realize different text structures to predict what type of information is included. Therefore, teachers must teach and instruct students to identify text structures and decide on the most critical information in their readings (Wiley, 2013).
Vertical text sets address a range of reading abilities in a class—vertical text orientation presents text about a singular topic at a range of difficulty levels. Teachers can provide pleasant starting places in the curriculum to students with different experiences and proficiencies as readers with vertical text orientations. For example, teaching English for Academic Purposes to foundation diploma students from diverse backgrounds using a schema on a topic like “My reason for being or IKIGAI” helps make the text accessible for students to understand and make connections of their reason for being. Students can list “words” vertically, like what they like, what they are good at, what they want to be paid for, and what their community needs (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, & Murphy, 2012, p. 142).
Horizontal text sets validate the different perspectives, additional content, and contrasting genres for a more accessible schema and meaningful interpretation than a core text. Teachers used horizontal text orientation to build interest, vocabulary, and exposition or background information. For example, I gave students articles from various news sources in teaching English for Academic Purposes on critical debates for the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine. Then, I got them to read broadly and understand the exposition or non-fiction texts that give facts and information about the topic. Expository texts provide deeper meaning with a format such as compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem and solution, description, and sequence (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, & Murphy, 2012, pp. 144-145).
One type of text set is more beneficial.
In my milieu, where I teach students from India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Thailand, and Uzbekistan in business studies providing them with differentiated instructions is beneficial. My instructional design considers students’ needs, their domain of reading, and inquiries that draws upon prior students’ experiences and understanding my practices is imperative. Building students’ engagement in reading and writing literacy focuses my attention on students’ ways of thinking, reading, and interpreting how responsive they are to the text formats given. For example, while teaching a topic on “Dark Tourism” to my Hospitality students, one hypothesis was to identify the core text of what constitutes “Dark Tourism”. Instructing students to look up articles on the “Chernobyl disaster”, “Holocaust at Auschwitz”, and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster” provides the orientation of a vertical text for them to search into what “Dark Tourism” is all about. The next instruction was to get students to look into the word “Thanatology” which is a scientific discipline that investigates death from many perspectives. This term includes physical, ethical, spiritual, medical, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Students realized that the “death awareness movement” started in the nineteen fifties in the United States and the United Kingdom. In this hypothesis, the vertical text orientation is beneficial. However, as a student becomes more interested in the field, they can further explore horizontal text sets, which explains why tourists are interested in visiting the sites where there are many tragic accounts and artefacts to examine (Greenleaf & Schoenbach, 2002, pp. 97-127).
Conclusion
In this forum, I have elucidated one type of text that are beneficial in my milieu in getting my students to prioritize how vertical text orientation can lead to a more profound reading interest in horizontal text sets. The topic of “Dark Tourism” has raised text structure awareness on the core text meaning and is assumed to lead to a permanent improvement in the reading skill of my students as they progress into horizontal text orientation (Wiley, 2013).
References
Greenleaf, C. L., & Schoenbach, R. (2002). Building Capacity for the Responsive Teaching of Reading in the Academic Disciplines: Strategic Inquiry Designs for Middle and High School Teachers’ Professional Development. Building Capacity for Responsive Teaching, 97 – 127. Retrieved from https://sg1.documents.adobe.com/public/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhBrFosRnIa7-iWM8tdZIoglupb0gT41y1tebz3KAW2_GLszvQMoKUjE5Q2KR2le8Pc*
Schoenbach, R., Greenleaf, C., & Murphy, L. (2012). Reading for understanding: How reading apprenticeship improves disciplinary learning in secondary and college classrooms. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley. Retrieved from https://sg1.documents.adobe.com/public/esignWidget?wid=CBFCIBAA3AAABLblqZhDDmVNbRyq8mB6sTAbU4_35S59hv1baYGf1pAUOiZ019k-nSicVrvSFbt21b0HFsrM*
Wiley. (6 February, 2013). Reading for Understanding Schoenbach 0470608315. Retrieved from YouTube: https://youtu.be/qokubkibySE