Of the two suggested texts for use in a reading lesson with Entry 2 ESOL students, the text entitled ‘Education in the UK’ was selected on the basis of its content/relevance and on the grading of the language used.
Upon arrival in the UK, many ESOL students have little to no experience of a system of education and as a result, are often unfamiliar with many of the concepts present in the British education system, i.e. the fact that attending school is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16.The text ‘Education in the UK’ not only provides students with an opportunity to practice reading as a receptive skill but it also acts as an informative piece of reading material offering learners an insight into the system of education in the UK; information which is often very useful to ESOL students.
In reading this text, students will be able to strengthen their reading skills and practice and their receptive sub-skills including scanning, skimming and reading for detail.
The level of vocabulary used in the text is of a standard that would not pose too great a challenge to the learners and may even be slightly easy. Education-specific language such as nursery, primary school and secondary school, which upon first glance may seem to be problematic for the learners, is used in a context that encourages the learners to understand meaning through inference, another important sub-skill of reading.
Using the stages of a reading lesson, as outlined in Learning to Teach English by Peter Watkins, the following is a plan for an Entry 2 reading lesson using the text ‘Education in the UK’. A brief rationale explaining the relevance of each stage has been given, along with possible activities that could be completed in relation to the chosen text.
1) Build interest – It is often suggested that students should find a certain pleasure in what they read or that they be engaged with the topic that they are about to be read. Being interested in the subject of a...