What Is Remedial Instruction in English?

By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015

Remedial instruction in English is an academic course designed for students and aspiring teachers aimed at improving reading comprehension. There are four basic parts of this type of program that involve many aspects of reading, speech and listening skills development.

Students listen to short phrases and are asked to repeat them, in order to familiarize themselves with or brush up on the English language. They are then given information and asked to demonstrate their understanding of it, as opposed to being asked questions and providing answers. Eventually dialog lengthens until full sentences form a complete conversation they can understand.

Basic wants and needs can be expressed, and interactions can be fully understood. Real life scenarios are practiced in class that involve actions and reactions. Listening to the radio and television news gives an authentic perspective to communication that is likely to take place for most students and can be topics for discussion in class.

By broadening vocabulary students are able to further develop writing and speaking skills that allow them to fully communicate outside the classroom with people in general who may have slightly different dialects. Over time, this enhances social skills, leads to confidence and is helpful when applying for jobs.