The Reading Method, sometimes known as the Reading Approach, is an outdated way of teaching English, mainly as an additional language. The theory behind the method was that students could pick up the basics of English simply by learning to understand words and grammatical patterns from written text.

After it was first devised in the 1920s, the Reading Method was widely used to teach English as an additional language. It was also advocated in the UK for children who were struggling with their language skills. However, due to its many shortcomings, the Reading Method has fallen out of popularity as a way of teaching English.

Here we explore what is the Reading Method of teaching English, how it was devised, and why it ceased to be used, as well as the background of the man who invented it. We’ll also take a look at some of the modern methods which have replaced the Reading Method