Some general principles of teaching reading in the second language classroom are reviewed. To illustrate the connection between theory and practice, examples are provided of teaching practices used with adult learners of English as a Second language (ESL) who have Chinese and Vietnamese-language backgrounds. A discussion follows of how instruction in reading strategies affects reading comprehension, how strategy instruction can be conducted, and which instructional activities appear to increase the effectiveness of strategy instruction. Issues discussed include how to define and explain strategies, classroom procedures for direct strategy instruction, individual practice tasks used, individualizing strategy instruction and practice, and the relationship between strategy use and text selection. Appended materials include the instructions for a reading task and related comprehension questions, and a sample reading checklist used by the teacher for analyzing and recording the student's skills. Contains 29 references. (MSE)