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https://writingcenter.unc.edu/esl/resources/academic-reading-strategies/

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Completing reading assignments is one of the biggest challenges in academia. However, are you managing your reading efficiently? Consider this cooking analogy, noting the differences in process:

Shannon has to make dinner. He goes to the store and walks through every aisle. He decides to make spaghetti, so he revisits aisles and reads many packages thoroughly before deciding which groceries to buy. Once he arrives home, he finds a recipe for spaghetti, but needs to go back to the store for ingredients he forgot.

Taylor also has to make dinner. He wants lots of carbohydrates because he's running a marathon soon so he decides to make spaghetti. After checking some recipes, he makes a list of ingredients. At the grocery store, he skims aisles to find his ingredients and chooses products that meet his diet.

Taylor's process was more efficient because his purpose was clear. Establishing why you are reading something will help you decide how to read it, which saves time and improves comprehension. This guide lists some purposes for reading as well as different strategies to try at different stages of the reading process.

Purposes for reading

People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly articles, textbooks, reviews) for different reasons. Some purposes for reading might be

to scan for specific information

to skim to get an overview of the text

to relate new content to existing knowledge

to write something (often depends on a prompt)

to critique an argument

to learn something

for general comprehension

Strategies

Strategies differ from reader to reader. The same reader may use different strategies for different contexts because their purpose for reading changes. Ask yourself "why am I reading?" and "what am I reading?" when deciding which strategies to try.

Before reading

Establish your purpose for reading

Speculate about the author's purpose for writing

Review what you already know and want to learn about the topic (see the guides below)

Preview the text to get an overview of its structure, looking at headings, figures, tables, glossary, etc.

Predict the contents of the text and pose questions about it. If the authors have provided discussion questions, read them and write them on a note-taking sheet.

Note any discussion questions that have been provided (sometimes at the end of the text)

Sample pre-reading guides - K-W-L guide

Critical reading questionnaire

During reading

Annotate and mark (sparingly) sections of the text to easily recall important or interesting ideas

Check your predictions and find answers to posed questions

Use headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text

Create a vocabulary list of other unfamiliar words to define later

Try to infer unfamiliar words' meanings by identifying their relationship to the main idea

Connect the text to what you already know about the topic

Take breaks (split the text into segments if necessary)

Sample annotated texts - Journal article · Book chapter excerpt

After reading

Summarize the text in your own words (note what you learned, impressions, and reactions) in an outline, concept map, or matrix (for several texts)

Talk to someone about the author's ideas to check your comprehension

Identify and reread difficult parts of the text

Define words on your vocabulary list (try a learner's dictionary) and practice using them

Sample graphic organizers - Concept map · Literature review matrix

Works consulted

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2002). Teaching and researching reading. Harlow: Longman.

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Academic Reading Strategies - The Writing Center

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Completing reading assignments is one of the biggest challenges in academia. However, are you managing your reading efficiently? Consider this cooking analogy, noting the differences in process: Shannon has to make dinner. He goes to the store and walks through ... Continued

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How to Improve Reading Comprehension with Mind Maps

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How to Improve Reading Comprehension with Mind Maps

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http://blog.whooosreading.org/how-to-improve-reading-comprehension-with-mind-maps/

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1- Maintain good communication skills

A successful  teacher is one that is able to build a rapport with his /her students, one that can easily connect with his learners and feel their needs as individuals. Open and clear communication is the key to develop a healthy friendly learning atmosphere inside your class.

2- Getting students engagement
There is nothing as challenging as getting students engaged. Today's students are multitasked and can hardly maintain a long concentration. They can easily get bored and therefore disconnected. There are many ways you can fight off this problem : Use interesting educational games and activities, use technology and multimedia resources and finally make your teaching student-centred and try your maximum to relate what you teach to students immediate environment.

3- Use Humour
Relevant doses of humour to spice up your teaching are highly recommended. Forget about the authoritative and coercive style of teaching , for experience proved that it only disheartens learners and kills their motivation.  Use humour at appropriate times; this can lead to students engagement and build up their confidence.

4- Act don't react
Students are very smart and it is part of their  juvenile nature to try to get you.  Sometimes ignoring a disruptive  behaviour is way better than reacting to it and in case it becomes repetitive or serious then make sure to talk it out with the student involved alone and not in front of the whole class.

5- Be clear and precise in your instructions
Remember you are teaching digitally focused students with short attention span. Several of the problems some teachers face are due to ambiguous and unclear instructions. Cut off on the clutter and be to the point. Show them the red lines and explain to them classroom ethics and what you can tolerate.

6- Give room to individualized learning
Not all students are equal in their comprehensive power. Students learn in different ways, some students  are slow learners and others are quick, some kinaesthetic ( learn by experience or doing ) others are auditory or visual. Keep these considerations in your mind and do your best to tend to every kind of learner you might have in your class.

7- Positive feedback
" good job, excellent,..ect" are simple words that might not mean anything to you but they mean the whole world to students. Think back to the days when you were a student and how a positive feedback from your teacher would make both your and your parents whole day. Publicly praise positive behaviour and show your students that you are celebrating their achievements as well.

8- Involve students in decision making
Students tend to do great when they feel they are trusted and  that they are real parts in the learning / teaching operation. Use voting and polling to investigate about a certain topic or classroom assignment. Try from time to time to give them the wheel and let them lead.

9- Use peer  learning
Peer learning is a form of 'cooperative learning that enhances the value of student-student interaction and results in various advantageous learning outcomes'.  Here are some of the strategies  to help you facilitate successful peer learning as stated in this article :

"Buzz groups : This is a large group of students subdivided into smaller groups of 4-5 students to consider issues surrounding a problem.

Affinity groups : Groups of 4-5 students are each assigned particular tasks to work on outside of formal contact time

Solution and critic groups ; One sub-group is assigned a discussion topic for a tutorial and the other groups constitute critics who observe, offer comments and evaluate the sub-group presentation

Teach-Write-Discuss : At the end of a unit of instruction, students have to answer short question and justify their answers. After working on them individually they can then compare their answers with each others."

10- Love your subject/ job
The best way to get students interested in your subject is to love it so much that your passion for the field shows in your attitude. Students positively respond to authenticity. And as Abraham Lincoln once said " Love the job you do and you will never have to work a day ".

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https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-mind-maps-develop-writing