Skimming and Scanning

Reading is one of the four necessary language skills needed in learning English as a second language. Skimming and scanning are reading strategies used with different purposes. Reader needs to determine their reading purposes then only they will know which skills to use to make reading meaningful.

Skimming is looking for general or main ideas and reader only concentrates on the purpose of reading. Hence, reader’s understanding is reduced because they do not read everything. This however will not hamper their reading comprehension since they already understood the main ideas of the reading material. Skimming is done while reading and let reader look for details in addition to the main ideas. Skimming works for both fiction and non-fictional materials.

Scanning on the other hand, is used when reader needs to look for specific information without having to read everything. For example, reader scan for movies list, or bus schedule or class timetable. The essential part in scanning is that reader needs to be able to grasp the content and know the structure of the materials they scan. Once they have established that, then it will be easier for the reader to locate the specific information needed. By knowing these strategies, it helps readers to be more effective and flexible.

This application is developed to help educators, parents, and most importantly; the learners to engage in an interactive learning. This application provides different materials to allow users to use it according to their pace and level. The materials are categorized into three levels namely; easy, medium and difficult. With its colourful and stimulating interface, the developers hoped to get users attention to use this application. It is hoped that users can get the most out of this application with its easy to use interface and features in addition to the variety of materials provided.