Encouraging teens to read…

Teaching teenagers is undoubtedly a challenging experience on the best of occasions. Getting them
to read can be a near impossible mission. So, how we can convince our teens to give reading a
chance and to fit a few reading moments into their busy technological and social schedules?
Discover 7 simple ideas- one for every day of the week- that you can take into your classroom
tomorrow.

1. Inspire them

Teens don’t like to be bossed around and told what to do. So, instead of telling them to read, set
aside 5-10 minutes at the beginning of your lesson for them to do just that. This simple strategy will
also help you manage their behaviour as it will allow them to slowly calm down and settle before the
actual lesson begins.

Phase 1 - Start by reading to them. This creates a meaningful relationship between you and your
teens as it shows them that you care enough about them to prepare something special that isn’t
work, just for them. Remember to choose something that you think that they will enjoy. A useful site
to look for interesting books and inspiration is www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-
100-best-ever-teen-novels.

Read a chapter or two of the book so that your students will get hooked into the story. Then,
announce that you are moving on to another exciting new story. Try to give them exposure to an
array of authors and genres whenever possible. Remember to leave the book in class so that they
can continue reading on their own.

Phase 2 - Once students are convinced that reading can be an engaging experience, you can get
everyone to read independently. Remember to get a book and do the same. If you believe reading is
important, you need to demonstrate this to your students rather than just saying so and then doing
something else, however important and urgent that something may be.

2. Give choices

Always remember and respect the power of choice. Choice can be empowering and liberating at
times. When it comes to reading for pleasure, avoid forcing teens to read a book no matter how
amazing you may think it is. Instead, allow them to choose what they want to read. Try to mirror
what happens in the real world. If you start reading a book and find out that you really don’t like it,
do you stubbornly force yourself to read it until the end? Or, do you simply put it down and choose

Vanessa Esteves – March 2019 – Teaching Teenagers Newsletter – Oxford University Press
another book that you think might be more interesting instead? Grace your students with the power
to read what makes them happy even if it takes a few tries for them to strike gold.

3. Read about stories

Not all students like or are ready to read an actual book. Allow your teens to have a variety of
reading options to choose from. A strategy to open students’ reading horizons while creating reading
awareness is to allow them to read reviews of books and series that they can then read/watch
whenever they feel like it or have the time to. A good site that you might want to share with your
teens is: www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews. Who knows? It might actually help them find
a book that they really want to read…

4. Audio books and interactive stories

Have you noticed how teens nowadays always have earphones in their ears and are constantly
listening to something or other on their phones? Why not encourage them to follow their teen
instinct and to listen to an audio story in English? There are over 400 e-books to choose from on the
Oxford Bookshelf, so every student can easily read at their comfort level (For more information see
www.oxfordlearnersbookshelf.com) This platform even allows students to slow down audio for
easier listening and to record their voices to practice pronunciation! Last but not least, you can
register for free samples!

Another exciting techy reading experience that is hot off the press and allows students to experience
reading an English story in a whole different manner is the Alexa skills ‘Oxford Bookworms
Adventures’ series. This exciting series allows students to interact with the story they are reading
and to personalize it by deciding how it progresses as well as how it ends! Students have fun and
develop their language skills by responding to questions, making choices and using navigation
commands at preselected decision points in the story: (For more information search Amazon Alexa
Skills for Oxford Bookworms Adventures). It’s the perfect self-study tool that caters for teens’
interests, preferred learning styles and busy schedules! Looks like “reading” e-books really is a two
for the price of one language deal!

5. Graphic novels

Hollywood has recently been following the trend of making films about the classic comic book
heroes that many children read or watch on TV. Thus, why not introduce our teens to reading
graphic novels about these and many other popular heroes in English? Alternatively, we can
encourage them to read the novels of the films they enjoy watching on the big screen or online like
‘The Fault in Our Stars’, ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ or ‘To all the boys I’ve loved before’.

Vanessa Esteves – March 2019 – Teaching Teenagers Newsletter – Oxford University Press
6. Challenge them

Teens love a challenge, so why not introduce a bit of friendly competition into the teen reading
experience? Create a class barometer with the total target number of words that you want the class
to read. To come up with your target number, check the back of your graded reader to see the
amount of words in the book. (For more information check:
www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/pdf/print_catalogue/2018/2018_readers_catalogue.pdf). For example
B1 graded readers (Primary levels 5 & 6, Secondary level 3 or Adult levels stage 3 & 4) usually have
between 550-780 words. Imagine you have a class of 25 students. Multiply the average number of
words by the number of students you have: 25 students x 600 words = 15000 words. Add another 2-
3 books for fast finishers: 15000 + 1800 = 16800 words. Your class target number of words for the
term is 16800 words. Put up your barometer poster in class. When a student finishes a reader, they
go up to the poster and colour in the line corresponding to the amount of words they have read.
Allow the class to choose a prize if they attain their target at the end of the term/year. This could be
something as simple as a fun lesson, which the students choose themselves or even no homework
for a whole week!

7. Remember, reading is fun!

Reading for pleasure is meant to be an enjoyable and relaxing experience. So, fight the temptation
to destroy the moment and test what your teens have read. Instead, think of alternative ways of
checking their understanding of the book/reader that they read. A teacher and student friendly idea
is to introduce a reading book club in your lessons once a month or term. Students can sit in a circle
and chat about (and possibly even recommend) the books they read to their peers. A popular tweak
is to end the “book club meeting” with a few tasty drinks & snacks that students can prepare for
each other. You may even find this reading experience to become one of the highlights of your time
together!

Anna Quindlen (a renowned American author, journalist and opinion columnist) said, “Books are the
plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” As
teachers, we are fortunate enough to have the power to share with our teens just how magical and
powerful reading is and get them started on their personal reading journey, whatever direction it
may take them in.

“The End”, or should we say the beginning of your next classroom reading adventure?

Vanessa Esteves – March 2019 – Teaching Teenagers Newsletter – Oxford University Press