Engaging LESLLA Learners During Covid-19: The Nexus of Reading Strategies and Digital Tools

For LESLLA instruction to be successful, it should include creating an engaging learning environment that relates instruction to learners’ lives, designing separate learning stations for individualized projects and more independent learning, and choosing adult-appropriate materials. Pivoting on a dime to cope with Covid-19 has illustrated the need for incorporating training in language skills alongside digital tools not only for second language (L2) learners but most importantly for LESLLA learners. This paper describes the professional experiences of a LESLLA teacher attempting to identify the relationship between reading strategies and new technology-rich instructional practices to support LESLLA learners during the pandemic.  It highlights a promising technology integration framework known as the Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition (SAMR) model (Puentedura, 2006, 2013) in an attempt to find the nexus of reading strategies and digital technology tools in an online LESLLA class in Western Canada.