Second language acquisition research encourages us to conceive of foreign language learning as a process of 'observation, hypothesis and experiment' (see, for example, Lewis, 1996) and reading in a foreign language (L2) has a crucial role to play in this. Work on L2 texts is a major source of exposure to the target language, allowing learners to engage in a critical examination of exemplars of the language; this process is central to the formation of (tentative) hypotheses about how the foreign language is structured and to subsequent experimentation with it.

In view of this, it should be considered one of the foreign language teacher's most important tasks to help learners to become more efficient and more effective readers. This involves developing learners' awareness of and ability to employ certain strategies and skills, and encouraging them to engage in independent extensive reading. These topics are largely the subject of Module 7.

Here we are concerned with the use of L2 texts in the classroom. A traditional view of text-based language classes was that unless students had first worked through the language of a text intensively, they could not do anything with its content. Even today, in higher education, especially at lower and intermediate levels, many text-based lessons focus almost exclusively on exemplars of language, with texts being employed first and foremost as a vehicle for teaching form. When a text is viewed in this way as a linguistic object, as opposed to a vehicle of communication, attention is almost always focused on words and structures, and text work becomes effectively little more than an extension of the grammar class. Although this use of texts can be appropriate in certain circumstances, there are many other approaches that focus on the meaning of the text and, crucially, on what knowledge students themselves bring to the text. If we really believe that a key element in second language acquisition is exposure to the richest possible target language input, we should be doing all we can to enable our classroom learners to access greater amounts of L2 through written text. It is therefore assumed in this module that L2 texts should be used in class primarily to develop students' ability to access and process written text effectively and thus to enhance their reading ability in L2.

Readers will find several cross-references here to Module 7. Ideally the two modules should be worked through consecutively but in any case, before working through the current module, you will probably find it helpful to read at least section 1 of Module 7.