Foreign Language Reading Strategy

Step 1. Skim the text What stands out to you?

a. Read the title. Define any words you do not know. What does the title suggest about the content?

b. Glance over the pictures and make a prediction on what you think the text could be about.
At first glance, what do the pictures tell you?

c. For the first reading, ignore any words in the text that you do not know.
d. Look for the information that answers the following questions: Who?
What? (events, actions—focus on the verbs)
Where?
When?
How?
Why? (the motives, causes)


f. For each paragraph, in the margins or on another paper, write a few words about the impression that you get about what the content is. Answer this question: What’s happening here?


Step 2: Read everything again
a. Look for and define any words you did not know before that appear at least three times in the text, as these words probably are pertinent to the overall meaning of the text. Be sure to include all forms of the same word, for example morir – muere – muerto (to die, dies, dead). What words do you see over and over again?

b. After defining the new words, adjust and amplify your first impressions that you wrote in the margins. You will have a better idea about what is going on. Do your new vocabulary words change what you thought about the story?

Step 3: The third reading
a. Read everything one more time.
This step is important because after the second step and the resulting understanding, you can pick up more information, double-check your assumptions, and try to make sense of it all. Can you summarize what happened?

Back to the Lesson