Meeting the needs of second language speakers – Reading

What do these tasks tell us about how we read?

Reading - theories 1. Cultural / text knowledge helps learners decode text 2. Readers will focus on words they don’t know 3. Fluent readers make use of a number of cues (semantic, contextual, phonic) 4. For second language readers phonic cues may be less effective

What are the implications for ESOL learners?

Implications 1. Different culture/ different schemata therefore less to draw on 3. Lack confidence 4. Lose interest because they can’t keep up 2. Limited vocabulary and knowledge of grammar - get stuck on new vocabulary read slowly and become dictionary dependent

Reading stages to help ESOL Learners The readers schemata need to be activated through a pre reading task (this could include a focus on lexis) Visuals headlines and headings should be drawn on to encourage the practice of prediction A gist task can help the reader obtain a quick overview and probably confirm their predictions (skimming) A specific reading task allows the reader to obtain more information or check their understanding of new vocabulary (scanning) * Students need to be given a purpose for reading