Reading in Context helps students acquire the vocabulary and reading skills they need to achieve academic success by teaching and reinforcing key concepts with engaging, contextualized readings.

Each unit focuses on an academic reading skill, an academic discipline, and three readings that provide Canadian, academic, and professional context for the discipline in focus. Fifteen new words from the Academic Word List (AWL) are introduced in each unit and then recur throughout the text to help students retain new vocabulary. The Critical Thinking and Synthesis section at the end of each unit allows students to evaluate how ideas are presented in the three readings, compare or apply ideas, and synthesize the information.

A practical, student-friendly approach develops and supports specific reading skills * identifying main ideas and supporting details * recognizing comparisons and contrasts * summarizing and paraphrasing * interpreting graphs, tables, and maps * identifying cause-and-effect relationships * differentiating between facts and opinions * understanding details, time relationships * recognizing perspective and tone

Features * Authentic, multi-disciplinary readings engage students with post-secondary subject matter from a wide-variety of authentic sources. * Canadian content develops students' knowledge of Canadian culture and perspectives on national and global issues. * Vocabulary from the Academic Word List is taught and reused throughout the text to help students learn, understand, and retain key academic vocabulary. * Critical thinking and synthesis activities reinforce essential academic skills.

Beverley Payne's profile page

Terry Webb's profile page

Beverley Payne was the lead instructor for Workplace English as a Second Language at the Thames Valley District School Board in London, ON. Her teaching and administrative portfolio focused on the research and curriculum development of the Language in the Workplace program. Beverley has been an adult ESL instructor for more than 20 years and a human relations consultant and social worker for more than 35 years. She has a BA in applied social science from the University of Waterloo, an MSW in social work from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a BEd from Western University.

Terry Webb has been an instructor and administrator for more than 27 years, principally in the development and implementation of workplace programs. For a period of time, she wrote IELTS tests for the North American team and worked as an IELTS tester. Terry was co-developer of a TESL Certification Training course that ran for more than 10 years at the G.A. Wheable Centre. Terry is also a consultant for the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. She has a BA, an MA in anthropology, and a BEd from Western University.