___________________ One of the obstacles facing teachers of remedial EFL students in an EST reading course at the Simon Bolivar University is that of motivating students to read and become involved in the reading process as they often have low self-esteem with regard to their ability to read and understand scientific texts in English. As we believe students play a decisive role in their own learning process, students were allowed to choose the reading activities they considered most beneficial and as fear of traditional type reading tests was high among them, portfolios and contracts were also offered as an alternative form of assessment. At the end of the course a Student Perception Questionnaire was given to obtain students’ opinion with regard to the evaluation system, the use of portfolios and contracts, as well as the effectiveness of their learning. In this study we will discuss the course, the theoretical basis for selecting the type of evaluation used, as well as describe the different types of activities done during the term. The results of the Student Perception Questionnaire given at the end of the term to obtain students’ opinion of the will also be discussed. ______________________ INTRODUCTION As teachers of remedial EFL students in the EST reading course at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela, among the problems we face is that of encouraging our students to read in the target language and practice the reading strategies explicitly taught in the classroom. Most of our students have failed the regular courses and many suffer from low self-esteem with regard to their ability to read in the foreign language. In an attempt to motivate our students and help them find their own inner potential, we turned to the research done in motivation, learner autonomy, learning styles and multiple intelligence.