Creative Approaches to Reading in the EFL Classroom - Jelena Kovačević

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Reading in a foreign language is often treated as a quiet, solitary skill: students read a text, answer comprehension questions, check the answers, and move on. Early in my teaching career, I followed this pattern too. Over time, however, my classroom experience — especially through international projects, Erasmus mobilities, and daily work with secondary school students — showed me that reading can be one of the most creative, engaging, and communicative parts of EFL learning if we allow it to be.

Teaching English as a foreign language for nearly 30 years, particularly to upper-secondary students, has taught me one simple truth: students do not struggle with reading because texts are difficult, but because tasks are uninspiring. When reading is reduced to “find the correct answer,” motivation quickly disappears. Creative reading exercises, on the other hand, invite students to experience a text rather than merely decode it.

In a modern classroom, reading is never the final goal — it is the starting point, and an active process. Students should be encouraged to see texts as spaces for exploration, interpretation, and personal response. This approach became especially meaningful for me during my involvement in international projects, where intercultural communication and critical thinking were central outcomes. Reading tasks that allowed multiple perspectives naturally supported these aims.

One simple yet powerful exercise I often use is reading with gaps of imagination. After reading a short story or article, students are asked to write a missing paragraph, an alternative ending, or a character’s inner monologue. Even weaker students feel empowered because there is no single correct answer — their language level shapes their expression, not their ideas.

Another creative technique that has proven effective in my classroom is role-based reading. Students read the same text but from different perspectives: one as a journalist, another as a critic, another as a character within the story. Later, they discuss the text from their assigned roles. This transforms reading into a communicative activity and encourages deeper comprehension without the pressure of traditional testing.

Working with hotel and tourism students, I often adapt authentic materials such as reviews, brochures, or short articles. After reading, students might redesign the text for a different audience, turn it into a dialogue, or prepare a short role-play based on the information. Reading, speaking, and writing naturally merge, reflecting real-life language use.

Through years of classroom practice, I have learned that emotional engagement is key to comprehension. Creative reading exercises allow students to connect texts with their own experiences, values, and opinions. Activities such as personal response journals, empathy maps, or “agree/disagree corners” after reading help students realize that their voices matter.

This approach aligns strongly with my experience in international projects focused on inclusion, empathy, and intercultural awareness. When students are encouraged to react emotionally and ethically to a text, reading becomes meaningful — and memorable.

Creative reading does not exclude assessment; it redefines it. Instead of focusing solely on right or wrong answers, what is assessed is students' ability to interpret, justify opinions, use vocabulary creatively, and collaborate with peers. Rubrics that value effort, originality, and clarity have transformed how students perceive reading tasks — not as traps, but as opportunities.

Creative reading exercises have reshaped my teaching practice and my students’ attitudes toward reading in English. They foster autonomy, critical thinking, and confidence — skills that extend far beyond the language classroom. Based on my experience, when reading becomes interactive, personal, and creative, students stop asking, “Do we have to read?” and start asking, “What are we doing with the text?”or even „When are we reading again?“

And that, for me, is the true measure of success in EFL teaching.

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-Jelena Kovačević, EFL Teacher

Secondary School of Economics Požega, Croatia