4 Summary

Many of the passages in textbooks and supplementary readers are written by unfamiliar authors, many years ago. It can be difficult for students to relate to the stories and characters in these texts. You can help students become more interested in reading such passages by making connections between the writers and their concepts and the students’ lives and experiences. You can help them to maintain that interest by dividing the passage into sections and planning different activities for each section. These activities focus on a general understanding of the passage and also give students opportunities to practise various English language skills (such as listening and writing).

You can further encourage an interest in reading by organising activities for the class or school such as competitions, visits and events.

These techniques will help your students to enjoy reading in English more. When students read more, their English improves, they learn more about the world and its people, and they enjoy reading more in any language. You can read more about encouraging reading and using literature in the classroom in this unit’s additional resources section.