DILEMMAS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE READING INSTRUCTION DILEMMA 4 conclusion This dilemma explains and recognizes the difference between the students of L1 and L2 in academic contexts and resolves that Reading fluency requires that a reader know 95% or more of the words encountered in a text for minimal comprehension; and these words need to be recognized with minimal conscious effort. Students will only develop such a large automatically recognized vocabulary from consistent, extended reading. Fluency, then, is closely tied to a large reading vocabulary and extensive reading. DILEMMA 5 A further complication for students, in both L1 and L2 reading instruction situations, is that the social context of the student’s home environment strongly influences reading development; in particular, social class differences do appear to have an indirect effect on reading development. Typical middle-class families provide children with an estimated 1,000 hours of ‘tutoring’ before the children arrive at school. For the ‘untutored’ learners, how can schools be expected to make up this amount of literacy exposure at the same time that the better prepared students are moving ahead from the moment they arrive in school? This is especially problematic when literacy studies today typically promote natural discovery learning, multiple literacies, and the rights of students to their own literacy practices; yet students will still be evaluated, promoted, and encouraged based on their performances with the genres most associated with middle-class home support. The most basic response to this dilemma is to encourage students to read extensively, but this advice itself poses another dilemma Conclusion DILEMMA 5 This dilemma explains the social context of the student's family environment, the way in which it strongly influences the development of reading. It focuses mainly on the differences between social classes, which although not taken into account, are very important because private schools have much better education, social classes and implementation of study-teaching for students. The most basic response to this dilemma is to encourage students to read extensively, but this advice itself poses another dilemma DILEMMA 6 We learn to read by reading a lot, yet reading a lot is not the emphasis of most reading curricula. There is now considerable evidence that the best way to learn to read is by extensive reading. Many additional language learning benefits are created by reading extensively as well Yet extensive reading is not the central component of reading instruction in most L2 contexts. The dilemma is not a simple one to respond to. School administrators do not typically support daily silent reading in class; teachers do not feel that they are ‘teaching’ when students are reading something enjoyable The more immediate solution to this dilemma rests partly with educating administrators and teachers about the importance of extensive pleasure reading. Classrooms and libraries must be supplied with reading resources that can excite students to read. Specific time in the school curriculum should be devoted to pleasure reading, during which teachers read to, and with, students on a regular basis. Additionally, time must be devoted to developing students’ motivation and to turning them into independent readers. Conclusion DILEMMA 6 Dilemma 6 focuses on explaining why the best way to learn is through extensive reading; taking into account that it is not the central component of reading instruction in most of the contexts that are presented. And it also shows that silent reading is part of the training for a student to read as a hobby and not as an obligation, that is, it is necessary for educators to encourage reading for pleasure. DILEMMA 7 A critical component for comprehension is the ability to use appropriate reading strategies and to know when to use them and in what combinations, depending on different reading purposes and tasks. Teaching students to use reading strategies is now recognized as important, but helping students to develop a large set of independently operating, efficient reading strategies that are relevant to varying needs and contexts has proven to be extremely difficult. The dilemma is that we have to make students into strategic readers rather than teach them reading strategies. How to do this is a major educational dilemma for L2 contexts, and how to do the relevant research also poses an interesting set of dilemmas. Conclusion: DILEMMA 7 I consider that this dilemma is important because in addition to reading extensively and choosing a reading that we like, it must be understood that we have to use adequate reading strategies and know when to use them depending on the purpose of the readings. The interesting thing about this dilemma is the challenge that proposes that the student should not be taught to be a mechanical robot but that they use reason, that is, convert students into strategic readers.