Theme: Working with texts

Strategy 3: Relating Text to the World

This strategy is a natural for ESOL students from various countries. They already are aware of the world as a concept, and their world knowledge may be the source of some of their strengths.
Task: Creating and sharing stories about world cultures. Students write poems about their native culture and read those written by their peers from other coun- tries. Then they write their own stories titled “Where I Come From.” Beginning- level learners may draw pictures instead of writing poems. This activity fosters
a learning community in which students deepen their understanding of their cultures as they compare them to their peers’ cultures, thus learning about each other’s sociocultural and historical backgrounds (Christensen, 2000).
Sharing cultural knowledge allows students to investigate basic social concepts, such as the importance of family, the use of time, attitudes to skin color and food, and beliefs. They can interview family members, bring photos and other artifacts to class, and share their reports in class. When reading such stories, they are encouraged to respond to questions such as “Does this story remind you of other events or experiences?”

Strategy 4: Making Inferences From the Text

Making inferences indicates that readers are actively participating in meaning making. They formulate inferences to understand the text using prior knowledge and experience and to make predictions about what might follow. Inferences result in the creation of personal meaning. Making inferences is a learned skill, so an absolute beginner may be unable to use this strategy. Intermediate- and
advanced-level learners interpret texts by drawing conclusions and making reason- able predictions that may lead to forming analytical judgments.
Task: Using inferences to make predictions. Students participate in guided read- ing, shared reading, or reading aloud of texts, trying to predict what comes next. They may look at a book’s cover, its pictures, and its text to guess what the story might be about. As they read, they test and revise their initial predictions. Before,

while, and after reading the story, they might stop at appropriate times to discuss what is happening or to predict what will happen next.

This strategy might be appropriate for all students, but is best used with learn- ers at intermediate or advanced levels who might answer questions such as “What do you predict will happen in this story?”, “How will the story end?”, and “What do you expect to happen in this story?” using prompts such as “I think that . . . ,” “I predict . . . ,” and “That happened because ” Making inferences may
develop into a critical analysis of a text that engages readers’ background knowl- edge in a dialogue with the author for the negotiation of discourse.