Makinga Commitment to Strategic-Reader Training

Skilled readers by definition are strategic;they are able to use a repertoire of reading strategies,flexibly and in meaningful combinations,to achieve their reading comprehension goals.Thus,one of the aims of foreign and second language(L2)reading curricula should be to move students toward becoming more strategic readers.This curricular orientation can be best achieved when a strong commitment is made to strategic-reader training as a regular and consistent component of instruction across the curriculum.To explore this stance,we examine the reading strategies used by skilled readers,contrast teaching strategies with training strategic readers(i.e.,strategic-reader training),and examine five strategic-reader training approaches from first language contexts that can be adapted by L2professionals to enhance the reading instruction offered in their L2classes.The five approaches targeted for exploration include Directed Reading-Thinking Activity,Reciprocal Teaching,Transactional Strategies Instruction,Questioning the Author,and Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction.Though distinct from one another,they all acknowledge the importance of explicit explanations about strategies(or reminders about the use of select strategies),teacher modeling,scaffolded tasks,active student engagement,student practice,classroom discussions of strategy use,and the gradual release of responsibility to students who eventually decide for themselves(and/or with peers)when,where,and why to use which strategies to achieve their comprehension goals.We conclude with a discussion of the challenges,and suggestions for overcoming them,that L2teachers and students often face in making a commitment to strategic-reader training.