| Why Reading Strategies? What are they all about? | | | | recommended to teach the strategies (without naming |
| When reading comprehension breaks down, ESL/EFL | | | | them) only after the students accomplish some task |
| students need to find ways to repair their | | | | based on the reading strategy. Students of Junior High |
| understanding. This is where the importance of | | | | school age are still too young to understand and |
| knowing how to teach reading strategies come in, so | | | | remember the names of the strategies and it is |
| as to facilitate the reading process and give students a | | | | pointless in lecturing and naming reading strategies. |
| clear sense of what they are reading. | | | | Once they have processed information, the teacher |
| Students can become easily frustrated when they do | | | | can mention the reading strategy in a by-the-way |
| not understand what they are reading and as a result, | | | | manner in terms of what they used and how it may |
| they become demotivated. A teacher needs to design | | | | help them in the future. |
| and teach different strategies in order to help students | | | | If a teacher gets a positive reaction from the students, |
| close the gaps in their understanding. The ultimate | | | | s/he can use this opportunity and expand on it. Even if |
| challenge for the teacher is knowing exactly which | | | | the teaching and/or learning experience was not |
| strategy is useful and most beneficial to teach, since | | | | positive, it is a good idea to learn from it and |
| each student needs different strategies. This article in | | | | understand what went wrong and what could have |
| this respect, will give many strategies and a few | | | | motivated them more. The next time, the teacher can |
| general pointers for how to teach them. | | | | remind the students of having used the strategies |
| General Reading Strategies | | | | when they worked on a particular text and how using |
| - zooming in on the text. Students go back and reread | | | | those strategies helped them understand the text |
| a sentence or part of a sentence that was confusing. | | | | better. |
| What it a word, a phrase or an entire sentence that | | | | Using the Visual Aid Method to Teach Reading |
| casued a breakdown in understanding? Once they | | | | Strategies |
| have identified the part or parts, they can refer to | | | | A helpful way to teach and reinforce reading |
| other sources such as guessing from context or using | | | | strategies is through the use of graphic organizers. |
| a dictionary. | | | | Graphic organizers appeal to a variety of multiple |
| - Jump back and reread. Encourage the students not | | | | intelligences and it is important for students see the |
| to get stuck too long on a confusing part of the text. | | | | connection between the visual element and the |
| They can always go back, reread and guess. | | | | reading task. |
| - Try and try again. If a student cannot understand, s | | | | Final Words |
| he should be encouraged to try and try again using all | | | | By finding indirect methods of teaching strategies, a |
| available sources such as guessing using contextual | | | | teacher will have "taught" them something and give |
| clues such as using the knowledge of parts of speech, | | | | them the impression of learning. Homework on reading |
| What's the secret to teaching reading strategies? | | | | strategies should serve as a further reinforcement and |
| The key to teaching reading strategies is to teach it | | | | should be logically connected and come out naturally |
| without bringing it to the forefront of the lesson. It is | | | | from the lesson. |