Supplementing EFL textbooks in lower Secondary Education: a focus on reading comprehension

Abstract

Lack of reading comprehension is thought to be at the core of academic failure in lower secondary education and beyond. Adolescents’ difficulties to understand what they are asked to read in instructional settings are even greater when texts are written in a foreign language. Overcoming these reading difficulties is a must in a globalised world where English as a lingua franca has become a requirement not only to find a better job but also to participate in social networking. Yet, English teachers are not trained to consciously and efficiently help ELLs become skilled readers and, unfortunately, most coursebooks include reading texts that are far from students’ academic and personal needs or interests. The present dissertation starts by analysing one of those textbooks, Spectrum 2, with the aim of redesigning a selection of the reading lessons it includes according to the text genres they represent. Our didactic proposal follows Farrell’s (2009) principles in order to teach, but not test reading comprehension. To that end, every reading lesson adopts a strategic approach to intensive reading through meaningful, motivating and interactive activities, which intend to make reading the major goal of the reading lessons instead of using it as an excuse to practise grammar or vocabulary.