Reading text aloud and think aloud can be even more effective in the English language learning (ELL) classroom than in the general education classroom. This is because ELL students are often struggling to develop their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills in a new language.

Reading text aloud

Reading text aloud has a number of benefits for ELL students, including:

• Improved pronunciation: When ELL students read aloud, they have the opportunity to practice pronouncing English words and phrases. This can help them to develop their overall pronunciation skills.
• Increased vocabulary: As mentioned above, reading aloud exposes students to new words and phrases multiple times. This is especially important for ELL students, who are still building their English vocabulary.
• Improved fluency: Reading aloud also helps ELL students to develop their reading fluency. This includes the ability to read accurately, smoothly, and with expression.
• Increased motivation: Reading aloud can be a fun and engaging activity for ELL students. This can help to increase their motivation to read.

Think aloud

Think aloud also has a number of benefits for ELL students, including:

• Improved comprehension: As mentioned above, think aloud can help students to improve their comprehension of the text by forcing them to slow down and to think about what they are reading. This is especially important for ELL students, who may be struggling to understand the text.
• Increased critical thinking skills: Think aloud can also help ELL students to develop their critical thinking skills by encouraging them to question the text and to make their own inferences. This is an important skill for all students, but it is especially important for ELL students, who need to be able to think critically about the English language in order to master it.
• Increased self-awareness: Think aloud can also help ELL students to become more aware of their own thinking processes. This can help them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and to develop strategies for improving their learning.

Supporting studies

A number of studies have shown that both reading text aloud and think aloud can be effective strategies for improving the learning of ELL students.

For example, a study by He and colleagues (2010) found that ELL students who participated in a think aloud program showed significant improvement in their reading comprehension skills.

Another study, by Chang (2017), found that ELL students who read aloud to their peers performed better on English reading comprehension tests than ELL students who did not read aloud to their peers.

Conclusion

Both reading text aloud and think aloud are valuable strategies that can be used to help ELL students improve their reading comprehension, critical thinking skills, and overall English language skills.

Here are some specific ways that teachers can use reading text aloud and think aloud in the ELL classroom:

• Read aloud to students every day. This is a great way to expose students to new vocabulary and grammar structures, and to model good reading skills.