Teaching ESL Students How to Paraphrase

🎯 Introduction

Paraphrasing—expressing the same idea in different words—is a critical skill for ESL students. It strengthens writing, prevents plagiarism, and improves comprehension. Yet many learners struggle to restate ideas without copying. Here’s how to guide them step by step.

📚 Why Paraphrasing Matters

Paraphrasing helps students:

• Develop flexible language use

• Understand sentence structure and vocabulary choices

• Avoid plagiarism in academic writing

• Speak more naturally in discussions and presentations

It’s not just a writing skill—it’s a thinking skill.

✍️ Step-by-Step Paraphrasing Practice

1. Identify Key Ideas:Students first underline the main message or keywords in a sentence.

2. Replace Words with Synonyms:Teach learners to substitute words with simple synonyms while keeping meaning intact.

3. Change Sentence Structure:Encourage them to switch from active to passive voice or reorder clauses for variety.

4. Combine and Simplify:Model how to combine short sentences or simplify complex ones while retaining meaning.

5. Compare with the Original:Have students check whether their paraphrase keeps the same idea without repeating phrasing.

🎲 Classroom Activity Ideas

• Paraphrase Relay: Write sentences on the board. Teams take turns rewriting them in new ways.

• Listen & Rewrite: Play a short audio clip, then have students restate what they heard in their own words.

• Summarize Paragraphs: Students paraphrase short texts to capture the essence without copying.

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💡 Pro Tip

Remind students: Paraphrasing isn’t about using big words—it’s about expressing ideas clearly and originally. Keep examples short and varied to build confidence gradually.

📌 Final Thought

Paraphrasing boosts comprehension, expression, and academic integrity. It’s a must-have skill for fluent, flexible English use. GoTEFL equips teachers with practical writing frameworks, and TEIK helps you bring these methods to real classrooms across the world.