Abstract
A social practice approach to the teaching of reading is discussed through the classroom work of adult immigrants to New Zealand. Grounded in four strands of reading instruction, this chapter explains how the ‘human interest’ genre is incorporated into the curriculum. The chapter offers principles to help in the conceptualization of the approach and encourages teachers and learners to ‘talk around text’, which facilitates meaningful and invested dialogue. The approach is exemplified through specific news stories from the local community.
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Questions for Reflection
Questions for Reflection
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1.
Is it possible in your teaching context to use topical newspaper stories for teaching reading? What benefits might there be for your teaching and your students’ learning?
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What are some of the issues related to using authentic texts for reading instruction in your context? How might you address these issues?
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3.
In your classroom, is it useful to integrate other macro-skills into reading instruction? How effective would this be in your context?
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In particular, how might you encourage talk about a text with your students? What kind of questions could you ask your learners? In your context, how much freedom could you give your learners?
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Roach, K. (2018). Reading as a Social Practice for Adult Migrants: Talk Around Text. In: Burns, A., Siegel, J. (eds) International Perspectives on Teaching the Four Skills in ELT. International Perspectives on English Language Teaching. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63444-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63444-9_13
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