Abstract

This article describes the application of constructivist teaching in an Academic Reading course for English language majors at Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, illustrated through Unit 4: Education. The instructional process involved pre-class preparation, lesson review, rotating pair work for new tasks, student presentations, integrated language practice, and evidence-based answer checking. Classroom observations indicated improvements in students’ performance, while student feedback suggested that the activities supported reading comprehension and the application of reading strategies. As the evidence was qualitative, the findings should be interpreted as instructional reflections rather than measures of learning effectiveness. The article recommends adapting learning materials, task difficulty, classroom organization, and assessment practices to different learner groups.

Keywords: Academic reading, constructivist teaching, reading strategies, reflection, university students.