Insisting that learners read aloud to the class when they do not want to, or can’t, feels humiliating to those who have difficulties with reading – it will not help them improve and can often serve to alienate them further from the subject, from you as a teacher, and from the experience of school in general. The best approach is to encourage every student to take their turn in reading, but give everyone the right to ‘pass’ – those who are confident to read aloud will do so, those who are on the cusp will feel supported in time to have a go and those who have literacy difficulties will pass and listen to their peers read instead. This situation is likely to be far more conducive to engagement and learning than one where learners feel ‘put on the spot’ and exposed in front of their peers.