 
Teachers use a variety of approaches to teach reading, depending on the age and level of their students. In student-centered classes, teachers find it useful to adapt approaches to individual students, giving extra support to less-able students and extra challenges to more-able students.
Some teachers teach reading using short stories, novels, and non-fiction sources, such as newspapers and magazines, or authentic reading materials, such as bus schedules. Others use textbooks in which the steps to reading mastery are thoughtfully laid out in a program that considers the grammar, vocabulary and syntax. But regardless of the approach you use, there are seven steps that all teachers can use to enhance interest in reading:
- Find out what students know
- Promote interest in the topic
- Expand vocabulary
- Develop reading strategies
- Explain cultural references
- Evaluate progress
- Develop reading fluency
It’s useful to examine these steps one by one.
1. Find out what students know
Teachers used to believe that students came into the classroom like empty vessels, waiting to be filled with knowledge. Now we know that this is not the case. Students come to school each day with a wide variety of experiences and interests, some of which they are eager to share with others. Teachers can take advantage of this by asking students to share what they know on a topic. Students, when challenged to take an active role in their learning, are more effective learners.
2. Promote interest in the topic
Many teachers find a variety of ways to promote interest in the topic. In one class I visited, the teacher had the walls completely covered with English-language materials gathered and produced by students: maps, posters, book reviews, song lyrics, news articles and pictures from magazines on which key words had been identified. The teacher also had a CD player on which she played English songs between classes. But promoting interest in a topic can be more specific than creating an English environment. Finding a way to interest students can be as simple as identifying how a reading text can be useful in students' current or future lives.
3. Expand vocabulary
Students encounter new vocabulary everyday, but unless something is done to consolidate this newly found knowledge, the new words are quickly forgotten. New vocabulary can be consolidated as simple as asking students to keep and review a list of new words, possibly in a spider graph that connects related words and ideas. It's also important for students to use the words and ideas they read, in class discussions or debates.
4. Develop reading strategies
As competent readers, teachers often forget the many strategies we use to read, such as identifying the main ideas, and ignoring the less-essential points and examples. Students need to be made aware of such strategies and given opportunities to use them.
5. Explain cultural references
Regardless of a student's understanding of the English language, it can still be difficult to determine the meaning behind cultural references. Teachers should help explain these to their students.
6. Evaluate progress
Teachers are quite used to evaluating student progress but students are less accustomed to evaluating themselves. Students should be encouraged to take charge of their own learning and measure their progress in personal terms, not merely ranking themselves against a letter grade or test mark. Students can do this by reflecting on how their reading and comprehension has improved by looking back at what they have read a few months earlier.
7. Develop reading fluency
Reading quickly is almost synonymous with reading well. Students who read too slowly often can't put a variety of ideas together. They simply forget the first idea before having time to process the next one. Reading fluency can be developed by encouraging students to read quickly, not just for tests, but also in games such as treasure hunts.
Each of these seven steps can be used by reading teachers to enhance learning. They can also be used as a guide to evaluate reading textbooks. If your current textbook doesn't help students learn through these seven steps, consider ways you can include these steps or switch to a series such as Read and Think!
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