How to read in English Easily
Find out how to read in English quickly and about benefits of reading in English
Read in English easily
All of us read something every day, whether it’s for work or study, finding information for your everyday life or just reading for pleasure. At our English language school we very often hear from students that they would like to start reading books in English but they find it challenging. Here are some tips on how to get started with reading in English, make it easy and enjoyable. But let’s start from the benefits of reading in English, some of them you may find surprising.
Benefits of reading in English
If you have ever attempted studying English in an organised manner (school, private classes or individual tuition), you must have had at least one teacher recommend reading as a certain way to improve your language skills. While it is indisputable that reading in English can boost your vocabulary tremendously, it is not always an easy thing to do, especially if your English skills are still at a relatively low level.
The problem with reading in a foreign language is the constant need to read and associate the words on paper with their equivalent in your own language along with their particular meaning in the current situation. The ability to do that quickly and fluently is best mastered with a lot of practice and the easiest way to do that is to choose the right texts for the task.
– What type of language learner are you?
One of the benefits of reading in English, which may be surprising, it that reading improves your speaking skills. By reading texts in correct English will improve your confidence in using appropriate grammar structures in speaking and you will keep your English vocabulary fresh. The latter one is especially useful for those who don’t use English every day and want to maintain their English knowledge. You will also find that you learn new words without learning. Even if you don’t check them in a dictionary you will understand their meaning from context and as thy repeat in the text or book you’re reading, you will memorize them. Those are just a few of the benefits of reading in English. Now, let’s see how to read more easily…
5 Tips on Reading in English more effectively
1. Create a habit of reading in English
It is important to create the habit of reading often, even if you don’t read a lot at once. If long books seem daunting, you can always start with newspapers, magazines or brief online articles on topics that are relevant or interest you personally. The easiest way to learn is to do so while having fun – reading shouldn’t be considered a chore, but as something interesting and entertaining, even if it is difficult and slow at first.
2. Read texts which are easy to understand
Once you are ready to switch to heavier reading material, you can start looking for books that could potentially be fun for you. It is of utmost importance to begin by selecting books for your appropriate level. If you are attending English classes, you can always ask your teachers for recommendations. If you are learning on your own, a good approach would be to go to a bookshop and pick a couple of books that seem interesting to you, open at a random page and see how much you understand. If you can make out most of what is written without foreign aid, then the book is at an appropriate level for you. You should be able to understand minimum 95% of words in the text.
3. Read what interests you
If a particular writer interests you, it might be worth looking into more of his works – each writer has their own style of writing and, once you familiarize yourself with it, reading their books might be easier for you. Selecting books that you already know and love in your language and rereading them in English can also be helpful, as you would already be familiar with the core material of the book. That would save you the trouble of looking up many words and drastically cut down your writing time.
4. Check only some new words
If you are reading something completely new, however, and you are still having difficulties understanding everything, experts recommend that you do not translate every foreign word directly, as to do so would mean breaking the flow of reading. What would be most beneficial for you is to try and find out the meaning of the word from the context. If that is not possible, you would have to decide: is it a word, which is not important for the general meaning of the text? If so, it can be skipped. If it’s a word, which keeps repeating, and you still cannot understand its meaning and thus the meaning of the whole passage, then you should probably stop and look it up.
5. Read often
One last piece of advice would be to read a lot and to read often. Reread books that you have read. Read them again after 2 or 3 months, so you can see how you have progressed in that time. There is nothing more gratifying than reading quickly a book, which used to be difficult, and thinking “Oh! How easy it has become!”
Enjoy your reading in English!
Do you have more tips on how to read in English?
Please share them here in comments and help other to improve English more quickly!
More English learning tips:
– How to improve English reading skills
– Link School of English readers’ corner