Assistant Professor Anna Liza M. Barcelona (left) and Ms. Pinky Aguinaldo (right) discussed the benefits of engaging students in read-aloud activities in schools and homes.

🔊 Listen to this The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Ugnayan ng Pahinungod conducted a webinar entitled “Read Aloud for Teachers” on 22 July 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM.

Assistant Professor Anna Liza M. Barcelona, a Senior Lecturer of the Division of Humanities at the College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) and an advocate of read-aloud strategy for more than 10 years, was the resource person.  Ms. Genevieve Aguinaldo, a volunteer of  the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod UPOU, served as the host.

Ms. Aguinaldo highlighted that the goal of the webinar is to bring reading closer to the schools and homes together with the families through discussions and training on the different techniques and strategies of reading.  She also added that the event aims to deepen the understanding of the read-aloud method in order to make it more useful and appropriate in teaching reading to children and students.  She stated that the expected result and outcome of the discussion on read-aloud strategy is to distinguish its differences from other reading strategies, to assess the various reading materials that are suitable and useful in applying the method, to reflect on its different uses, and to assess its impact to the reading abilities of the students.

Asst. Prof. Barcelona started her discussion by defining read aloud as a strategy used by teachers to engage students in the reading process.  She also stressed that this reading method is the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading to children. She added that reading aloud at home is an essential contributor to reading success, and that reading aloud in the classroom should continue throughout different grade levels.

Asst. Prof. Barcelona  emphasized the role of teachers in practicing and promoting the read-aloud strategy.  She stated that the reading method allows the teacher to show students the joys of reading and to train them on how to think and discuss text.  She also reminded teachers to have a set of purpose in every read-aloud activity and that they should read with the proper fluency, rhythm, and intonation.  She tackled the benefits teachers gain from engaging in read-aloud activities. These include giving them a window on what readers do while they read, obtaining insights into the cognitive processes of the students, and addressing the reading mistakes and misunderstanding.  She fittingly ended her talk by reading aloud the famous story entitled “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.

A total of 83 teachers from different regions of the country attended the webinar which was conducted via Zoom.

Written and Screen Capture by Jaime O. Guimbao

Edited by Joane V. Serrano and Anna Cañas-Llamas