I feel very privileged to have been able to go to the 48th Annual International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition from 2nd to 5th April in Harrogate, UK. As always, there was a large contingent of teachers from Brazil at this amazing conference. If you were not one of the lucky ones, you can visit Harrogate Online, a British Council / IATEFL partnership which provides free online coverage of the conference: https://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2014.
I am very grateful to Helbling Languages who sponsored me to give a talk at the conference, entitled – Boost your brain with readers! This workshop explores ways to enliven and enrich your classroom with a variety of practical, brain-stimulating activities for readers.
We know that extensive reading improves all language skills and fluency, greatly increases students’ motivation and confidence, and can even change their attitudes to learning another language. However, teachers often complain that students do not like to read. The first thing we need to do is show interest in their lack of interest and challenge them constantly. We need to arouse their curiosity and get them ready and eager to read. We also need to guide students to get the most out of reading, and motivate and encourage them with before-, during-, and after-reading activities.
One way we can do this is to use inquiry-based teaching. This method uses open-ended, inquiry questions to make students think, elicit their ideas, and evoke creative responses. It also encourages them to examine their thinking. There is no one right answer, so this avoids the typical, easy yes / no answers.
Here are just a few examples of open-ended questions you can use with readers to help you develop your own questions. Before reading, show the cover of a book, like the one below and ask:
What do you think the story is about?
What do you notice about the place?
What do you imagine they are saying?
How do you think they are feeling?
– How far do you agree with the following statements?
Here are a couple of examples from The Coconut Seller:
https://blog.helblingreaders.com/
Jack Scholes has a first degree in Modern Languages from Liverpool University, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education and EFL from London University, and he is also a Licensed Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. He has lived in Brazil for more than 30 years, and is now a freelance writer and teacher trainer.
