Imagine the scenario: it’s the first day of the new semester and one student, Hiro, is sitting near the back of the classroom.
He is a first-year freshman university student majoring in English and international studies. His spoken English is confident. In pairwork he paraphrases his partner’s ideas clearly, asks good follow-up questions and shows a wide and flexible vocabulary. When discussions move into abstract topics, he often takes the lead. However, something changes when class activities turn to reading.
Hiro’s eyes move slowly across the page. He loses his place, rereads the same line . . .
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