MOTIVATING STUDENTS TO READ
A simple series of questions to discuss with your colleagues. Put your answers into practice.

Please think about your students and agree on three ideas concerning each topic. Look at the student quotes at the bottom of the page while you are addressing each question.

Why motivate?

Whose job is it to motivate?

What are the obstacles to students reading and writing?
Think about cultural, family and language factors.

What can we do to motivate students to read for any other reason than because they have to since it's a part of the curriculum or for an exam they have to pass?

Ideas to get students to read more.
Can reading in a foreign language be as interesting as it is for us when we read in English?
Think of your own reading in a second language experiences.

Ideas to get students to write more and which lead them to read more.
Journals.
e-mail their teachers.
Letter writing activity in class which leads to students writing to their teacher.
Yours?

Some students comments about this subject.
1. We don't have to write in our life outside college, so why are we doing writing here.
2. We want more interesting topics
3. The articles (in the coursebook) are not interesting at all.
4. I think you have to give us more writing and reading to give us more chance before the test.
5. We only write and read because it is in the test.
6. All we do is read and write in class.