This article reports on an action research project that proposes to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary of undergraduate students of English for Specific Purposes--explosives majors, at a police training institute in Colombia. I used the qualitative research method to explore and reflect upon the teaching-learning processes during implementation. Being the teacher of an English for specific purposes course without the appropriate didactic resources, I designed six reading comprehension workshops based on the cognitive language learning approach not only to improve students' reading skills but also their autonomy through the use of learning strategies. The data were collected from field notes, artifacts, progress reviews, surveys, and photographs.