3634. Learning a Language through Reading and Becoming an Autonomous Learner

 I wrote a few days ago the following. 

One more year has begun. And today I’m going to let you know about something I lately do when lesson planning, in case it may help you out. 

I teach English to adults. And when I start to plan a new lesson, I wonder, Okay, what should I do to really help my students learn that language? Because each and every class should be one step forward in their learning and acquiring English. 

Secondly I also could wonder, Okay, what can I do next class to make my students become autonomous learners? For those autonomous learners are the ones that actually accomplish to learn English. 

Thus we have two points for when we have to plan a lesson. 

Now I’m trying to give you some examples of those two points, which we can bear in mind to improve our lesson planning. Well, they have to be brief, each one could take few minutes to think about. 

Some examples, I was saying. Let me think. Even I’m trying to give an example that covers both points. This is it. Lately also I say to my students to choose a book to read in English. Either fiction or non-fiction. 

My learners have different levels so I admit to choose a graded reader as well. 

You may prefer to set a read, or set some norms as to choose the book. 

And they have to read on their own, at home, with perseverance, dedicating at least some daily minutes to that task. 

This school year some of them may have already read one book. 

So they are quite free to read and work on their own, at their own pace. 

And then from time to time I tell them I’m going to pick up some essays about for example the characters of the story, or a chapter summary of a non-fiction book, or perhaps I’ll have some of them read out their essays in class, and then afterward, after someone has read his or hers, we may have some discussion about for example those book characters. 

Thus we may be fulfilling that twofold goal: they more and more become autonomous learners and secondly I try to implement some tasks in class which may really help them learn the language. Have a nice day. - Oh, something else I do is to encourage them to read, to read and enjoy what they read!