Interactive Reading Activities

Abstract

Instructors of English courses and students alike tend to view reading as a mostly solitary activity with interaction limited to reader and text. Classroom interaction with reading texts is often limited to the teacher eliciting answers to comprehension and vocabulary questions, and students calling out responses. Teachers sometimes fail to see how reading texts can be used in interactive activities that require spoken communication beyond questions and responses and incorporate a variety of skills. This article explores how reading and interaction influence language development and introduces a number of interactive reading activities teachers can take into their classrooms.