Notemaking
One of the main features of the UK education system is the amount of reading that students are expected to do at university. This can be extremely challenging to some students, especially if all that reading is in a language different to their own. This can be overwhelming for some as they may not only have problems withe linguistic complexity of what they have to read, but some may also struggle with the ideas expressed.
One method I find helpful with students is to present them with a framework for notemaking where they read a complex text, then review and rewrite their notes in order to fill in any gaps in understanding.
I ask students to divide a page in their notebooks into two columns (one column being bigger than the other). At the top of the page they write the referencing details - this will become helpful when they start writing their essays. In the narrow column, the student writes the structure of the essay. For example, if they have identified the text they are reading as a problem-solution structure, they write problem and solution. In the main column, they write details, information and data from the text.
At the bottom of the page, I encourage students to write a rhetorical precis. This helps students evaluate the text they have read, getting them to think about the tone, the purpose and the intended audience.
I find this works becuase it makes students think about what they are reading, while also giving them a record of what they have read which they can use later. I encourage students to file these in a binder and we work with these texts and I can set them as homework; if I want my students to read an article at home I get them to provide me with their notes. It also provides me with a "zone of intervention" whereby I can read their notes and intervene if I feel they have misunderstood something, or have not got a complete idea. Students seem to like it because it is something they have produced and it gives them a more complete understanding of their reading.