Why Reading Matters More Now Than Ever

Why Reading Matters More Now Than Ever

Willy A Renandya, 6 August 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we use language. Today, AI tools can write essays, emails, and even stories in a second language (L2) with surprising fluency. For students learning a new language, this means they no longer need to struggle to write everything from scratch. With a simple prompt, AI can generate clear and correct text in their target language.

This shift raises an important question: if AI can write for students, what should language teachers focus on now?

I believe that teaching L2 writing is becoming less central, while teaching L2 reading is becoming more important. In fact, reading—especially critical reading—is now the most vital skill for language learners in an age of AI-generated content.

Writing Is Less of a Challenge

For many years, writing has been a key part of learning a second language. Teachers have used writing tasks to check grammar, vocabulary, and how well students organize their ideas. But now, AI can do these tasks quickly and often better than students at intermediate or even advanced levels.

This doesn’t mean writing has no value. Students still learn from putting their thoughts into words. But the pressure to produce perfect, original writing on their own is no longer as strong. When AI can create a draft in seconds, the real challenge isn’t writing—it’s deciding what is good, true, and useful.

Reading Is the Key Skill Now

If AI writes, then people must read—and read carefully. The main job for students is no longer “Can I write this?” but “Can I understand and judge this?”

Imagine a student uses AI to write a report in English as a second language. The text may look correct, but is the information true? Is the tone right for the situation? Does it have hidden bias or errors? Answering these questions requires strong reading skills—skills that go beyond basic understanding.

Students now need to:

• Check if information is trustworthy: Are sources real? Are facts accurate?
• Judge the style and tone: Is the writing clear and appropriate? Does it sound formal or informal when it should?
• Notice cultural mistakes or bias: Does the text show cultural ideas that don’t fit the English language context?
• Spot language errors: Even good AI can make small mistakes in word choice or grammar.

These skills are not about just reading words on a page. They require thinking deeply, asking questions, and understanding how language works—exactly what we want students to learn.

How Teaching Should Change

To help students succeed, L2 teaching must adapt. Here’s how:

1. Focus more on reading than writing: Assignments should ask students to analyze and improve AI-written texts instead of always creating their own. For example, students could compare two AI summaries and decide which is better.
2. Teach how to check sources: Help students learn what makes a source reliable and how to spot false or misleading information.
3. Use AI in class: Instead of avoiding AI, use it as a learning tool. Have students find errors in AI text or rewrite it for a different audience.
4. Build language awareness: Help students notice how word choice, sentence structure, and tone affect meaning. This helps them read and write more thoughtfully.
5. Encourage group work on reading: Let students discuss and review texts together. This builds stronger understanding through teamwork.

Reading Gives Students Power

AI doesn’t make language learning less important. In fact, it makes skilled reading more important than ever. When anyone can generate text with a click, the real skill is knowing how to read it critically.

For L2 learners, mastering a language is no longer just about writing well. It’s about being able to read carefully, think critically, and make smart choices about the information they see.

So, the future of language teaching is not about helping students write like native speakers. It’s about helping them read like informed, thoughtful users of language. In the age of AI, strong reading skills are not just useful; they are essential.

Further reading: Reading Before Writing