What are some ways to help English language learners understand and practice how to paraphrase information from readings?

Answer 1

Sorry this in long, but my advice starts with how you read for comprehension. The goal is to learn to read the material not word by word, but in chunks of words that give you a general understanding, maybe without focusing on every specific fact. That will make it easier to later paraphrase.

Start by looking at the headers of the text, and skim the first sentence of each paragraph to get a feel of what the text is discussing.

Then go back and read each paragraph. If you are able to highlight, use your highlighting ONLY to highlight important words (especially words that get defined within the text) and phrases that express conclusions or important points. Most people highlight way too much. The highlighted material is the material you will later want to quote or paraphrase. The rest is "filler."

When you paraphrase, think not so much about paraphrasing a sentence, but rather, an idea. Try using different words (synonyms) or changing the order of words (but in a way that still makes sense) or combining into one sentence two ideas that lead to one conclusion (but were discussed separately).

Answer 2

Students can apply a simple method using post its. They will write down the word or phrase they do not understand and place the posit or sticker note on that page. The student may then ask the teacher or use a student dictionary to find the meaning. Once they understand, they can write it in their language journal for future use.