Using Learner-Produced Texts in the Classroom

Adult students bring a remarkable wealth of experience and knowledge into our classrooms. When we invite them to share their stories, we build their confidence and sense of self-worth, while also providing meaningful opportunities to practice essential literacy skills.

Many ESL experts advocate for using student‑produced texts as reading material in the classroom. These texts offer several advantages: their Lexile levels naturally align with the language abilities of the class, and students are often able to relate more directly to content written by their peers than to passages found in most textbooks. This matters because, as linguistic expert Marilyn Jager Adams of Brown University says, prior knowledge functions as “mental Velcro,” meaning that new ideas and concepts take hold more effectively when they connect to something familiar. Lessons based on students' own experiences tend to be far more impactful than those that feel abstract, or disconnected to their lives.

When selecting materials for reading and grammar instruction in your classroom, consider incorporating project‑based writing activities such as cookbooks, short stories, or personal testimonies. Some students may understandably feel nervous about sharing their work with peers, so it can be helpful to develop these projects over multiple drafts, giving learners time to refine and clarify their ideas. Teachers can also choose to hide personal or sensitive information, such as names or other identifying details, before sharing student work with the class.