Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Modern Approach in Humanities.
Year: 2018 | Page No:58-68
DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.33422/6mah.2018.11.28
Multiple Access Points into Reading Comprehension for English as a Foreign Language Students: Teaching Reading Strategies for Empowerment in the Global Context
S. Y. Lee
ABSTRACT:
Reading comprehension is the ultimate purpose for reading. For many students, however, comprehension is challenging and scholars have identified factors that contribute to successful reading comprehension. Research indicates that effective readers are strategic in their approach to reading, using a variety of strategies to construct meaning. Such findings apply to both native speakers and foreign/second language learners. In this paper, I introduce two reading activities from a college English course in a Korean university designed to teach reading strategies. In college reading, texts become increasingly complex in content, genre, and linguistic form and readers need diverse and distinct ways to access meaning. In conclusion, I propose that explicit teaching of reading strategies is an important skill for foreign and second language learners that positions them as effective consumers of texts. Such an orientation empowers students to become active communicators in the global context where English is lingua franca.