Critical Reading and the Internet

Critical reading, which involves analyzing a text to find hidden meanings and poor argumentation, has become increasingly important with the rise of the Internet. French teachers can choose sites and design activities that will help students find deeper meanings in Web texts. The approach proposed in this article concentrates on an analysis of context through URLs and domain names, a study of vocabulary from a global approach, and an examination of the content of texts looking primarily for manipulation, bias, and logical argumentation.