Teaching Reading

Abstract

Look through the window of any second or foreign language (L2) reading classroom and, invariably, you will see the teacher and students seated with books open in front of them. This superficial similarity masks vast differences in teaching methodology, however. As the 20th century draws to a close, there are, around the world, at least four distinctive approaches to the teaching of L2 reading: grammar-translation, comprehension questions, skills and strategies, and extensive reading. After brief descriptions of these four approaches to teaching reading and their status in the reading classroom, important issues in L2 reading instruction are addressed, leading to more general concerns involving the relationship among theory, research, and teaching practice.