Many ESL students enjoy conversation but dread reading activities in class. However, reading is an essential part of language mastery. These strategies are designed to help the ESL teacher approach reading activities from a different angle to help students succeed.
Use Several Different Types of Reading Material
The type of language found in a newspaper article is quite different from a short story. The more styles of writing students are exposed to, the more fluent readers they will become.
Include the widest variety possible in classroom reading materials. Every student will learn and respond differently, and a change in pace can really benefit those who are struggling.
Have an Open Discussion Before Reading
Teachers refer to this as "activating prior knowledge". Before starting a story or article, the students should look over the material for pictures, captions, titles, and subtitles, and make a guess at what the article is about. The teacher should lead the class in a discussion over the topic.
For example, if the article is about summer vacation, students can share what they've done for vacation in the past, and what common things are for people to do during this time.
The teacher can write predictions on the board based off of what students guess the article will be about. What did the writer do on vacation? Did he or she enjoy it? After reading, students compare facts with their predictions and discuss.
By activating prior knowledge before starting, students feel much more prepared and comfortable with reading.
Different Reading Methods
To reach different learners, different methods should be used in the classroom. Individual reading time is great, but partner and group reading is also beneficial, particularly for struggling students. For paired reading, teachers should match a strong reader with a weaker one. Students usually learn well by observation and modeling.
Also, both students and the teacher should read aloud frequently. This is not only good for pronunciation, but helps increase concentration.
Scan, Skim, and Analyze
There are many different ways to achieve understanding of a reading selection. Again, because all students have individual learning styles, the ESL teacher should employ as many methods as possible in order to give every student a chance at success.
To scan a story, the teacher should give the students specific items and questions to answer. Students read the selection searching for a particular piece of information.
When skimming a story, the teacher should ask the students to sum up the main idea. Here, the details are not as important as the overall gist of the story.
Students can analyze new words in the selection in order to discern their meaning and learn new vocabulary. However, context is always the most important thing to focus on when reading.
Experiment and Implement
Teaching ESL requires creativity and quick-thinking. By frequently changing routine and using a variety of strategies, an ESL teacher can help any student become a better reader.
For more ideas on improving reading, conversation, and writing skills, try these free activities for ESL teachers. To get students talking, here are a few ESL Conversation Activities.
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