A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO ACHIEVING

PERFORMANCE AND
EXCELLENCE
IN READING
In order to achieve performance and excellence in
reading, one must take into account that this process
can be difficult and fun altogether.
I cannot but reminisce the times when reading
comprehension meant nothing but reading the text in
turns and answering a few questions, if any, and
focusing on translating it in our native tongue.
Nowadays, things have changed quite a lot, in the sense
that reading comprehension can and should be made
FUN- the lack of the fun factor in class meaning pure
suicide, if you ask me.
Bringing the fun into the equation usually means a
decrease in the anxiety that goes with learning a new
language and more extensively, with achieving new
language skills.
Reading is perhaps the most essential skill for beginning
language learners to develop.
If taught properly, reading comprehension skills will
help students do far more than just read.
Reading enhances other essential ESL skills like
speaking, listening and writing.
Putting reading comprehension to use will also allow
students to build vocabulary, practice pronunciation
and develop grammar knowledge subconsciously.
Yes, subconsciously-the best way for students to
develop those boring grammar skills is when they don’t
even notice.
 STRATEGIES FOR HELPING ESL STUDENTS GET
THE MOST OUT OF CLASSROOM READING
PRACTICE:
 Scanning

The goal behind scanning is to give students the ability

to deconstruct the material and take a closer look,
picking up the specific details and combining them
with the general information they discovered while
skimming.
Basically, it’s just a quick read-through.
 Predicting

This is all about giving students more creative freedom.

An individual paragraph gives them the opportunity
to discuss what will happen in the next one. The
discussion supposes a basic level of comprehension
and also, they’ll practice their speaking skills.
 Summarizing

When a student can summarize a given piece of

material in their own words, they’ve definitely
developed an excellent understanding of the material’s
main concept and message.
 Discussing

Discussion-based activities will allow students time to

develop other skills in ESL development.
Prepare questions to ask them or think up a couple of
controversial questions that will get students fired up.
Multiple choice questions will let them think through
what you have said and choose the best possible
answers.
 Diving in

Using classified ads from newspapers or online

websites is useful and fun.
Students must negotiate what the ad is selling or
offering in a short paragraph containing a few
sentences.
 Extracting

This sounds surgical, but it’s actually the most fun

method here!
Most ESL students share a few things in common- the
desire to explore new things is usually one of them.
Utilizing tourist information or vacation brochures
can allow students to visualize the words in the text as
they try to understand it more clearly. Pictures in this
kind of materials really make for a fun experience, too!
 Whatever the material, it’s important to make sure
it’s relevant to the students’ ages, English levels,
interests and English goals and needs.
 Keep up in mind that reading can be boring for some,
so keep an interactive dialogue going before and after
each reading period.
 Don’t let reading go too long- just enough for students
to grasp the general and specific concepts in the text.
 Make it fun and enjoyable to harbor more enthusiastic
and confident students!
NOTHING BEATS REPEATED AND EXTENDED
PRACTICE!
Students must be able to read texts that are similar to
those that will appear in tests. Students must also be
able to comprehend texts that are similar but are
found in real life sources, like newspapers or magazine
articles.
Finally, they must have plenty of timed practice.
 
Find the Main Idea in the following passage:
Benjamin Franklin loved to write. When he was
twenty-two, he set up his own printing shop and
started a newspaper. He also printed a book called
Poor Richard’s Almanac. It had funny stories,
information about the weather, and wise sayings.
Benjamin Franklin loved to write stories and
books.
 ss
 Once upon a time, there was a little girl named
Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest.
Pretty soon, she came upon a house. Goldilocks
was hungry so she knocked on the door. When no
one answered, she walked right in.
WHO: WHAT:
WHEN: WHY:
WHERE: HOW:
_____Marry went to bed.

_____Marry woke up at seven o’clock.

 _____Marry visited her grandparents. 
______She had a big breakfast. 
_____Marry washed her face with cold water.
Fishes and whales are both vertebrates, and live in
similar aquatic environments. Except for a few
species, whales only live in the ocean water, whereas
fishes inhabit in both fresh and salt water. Whales are
classified in the class ‘mammalia’ and order Cetacea
in the animal kingdom. Whales are said to be the
largest animals on Earth, and there are some fishes
which can be among the smallest of other animals.
Being mammals, whales are warm-blooded, and are
required to maintain a constant warm body
temperature. Fishes, on the other hand, are cold
blooded, which means their body temperature
changes according to their surrounding water.
 

Mr. Craig was at the park with his family. He was the family cook and stood at the grill
cooking the hot dogs while everyone else swam in the pool. The little boy had been
standing by the tree for a few minutes before Mr. Craig really noticed him
"Do you need any help?" the boy asked.
"No, I think I've got it under control!" Mr. Craig chuckled. Then he noticed the
boy's dirty t-shirt and ragged pants.
"I might need some help eating all of these hot dogs though," Mr. Craig said. "I
think I may have cooked too many. Would you like one?"
"Okay," the boy said. "I wouldn't want you to have too many."
 
1. Why had the boy asked to help Mr. Craig?
 
2. Why had Mr. Craig said he cooked too many?
 
3. What kind of person was Mr. Craig?
I took the tome off the shelf and opened it at page
34. Then I began to read. However, I felt I was
getting hungry. I decided to eat an apple. The
apple did not appease my hunger. I longed for a
sandwich. I asked my mother if she could make
one for me, but her answer was inaudible. I asked
again, but I still couldn’t hear her what she said.
 The giant panda is a bearlike animal that has thick
white fur with black markings on its ears, limbs,
shoulders, and around its eyes. The giant panda
feeds on bamboo forests at high altitudes in
western China. It also eats bulbs, roots, eggs, and
some small mammals. The cubs are born in late
winter. The giant panda is an endangered species
and is protected by the Chinese government.
The purpose of this writing is to______________
The brown dog is under the kitchen chair.
The blue and yellow bird sits on the child’s head.
There are two red apples and a purple plum in
front of the table.
I see a long black and brown snake in the grass.
 When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the
open range-herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much
more than open prairie with large herds of cows. There are the
mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east Texas, and the
emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large
coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes,
rivers, swamps of southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic
wildlife.
The Summary of this passage is:
 
 A. There are a lot of cows in Texas.
 
 B. There are many different, varied parts of Texas.
 
 C. Texas is one of the biggest states in the United States.
 
D. There are alligators in the swampland of southeast Texas.
 
 Julie watched the ants as they carried small crumbs
down the trail to the anthill. She thinks ants are
very hard working and industrious little creatures.
They always seemed busy, and you never saw an ant
just laying around doing nothing. They were always
working for their queen and carrying food, building
tunnels, or defending the anthill. One thing you
could say about ants is that they sure aren't lazy.  
The Summary of this passage is:
A. Ants carry many things.
B. Some ants may bite you.
C. Ants are hard workers.
D. Some ants help take care of the queen