Tips for Reading

Pirate · Post by **Pirate** » Sun May 23, 2004 11:01 pm

Hello everyone,

This is one part of the series "Tips for learning English". The series is today created in the sake of collecting and assembling tips which come from English learners. Post your own tips which really work Other members can learn from them, and if necessary we could discuss

You are in the READING section 8) .

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."
Sir Richard Steele

English Reading lessons: http://www.englishclub.com/reading/

Andrew77 · Post by **Andrew77** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 6:28 pm

I think reading is one of the most interesting occupations in our life. A book gives you opportunity to sink into the wonderful world. It also can make you more cute in understanding human communication but mainly yourself.
Reading English books helps you greatly with your language skills.
Good luck.

Talal · Post by **Talal** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:26 pm

Thank you pirate .

Pirate · Post by **Pirate** » Wed Mar 16, 2005 6:49 pm

No-one else have interest in discussing the topic?

Let's write something ... what should we read and why (newspaper, magazine, comics, book or poem ... etc) ? The advantages and disavantages? Should we read to catch the content only or should we write down all new words or something else? ...

If 2 friends read the same stuff in a certain period of time and then check the other by ask and answer quetions, what do you think? It is also possible for 2 penpals, right?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Mar 19, 2005 7:44 pm

pirate wrote:No-one else have interest in discussing the topic?

Let's write something ... what should we read and why (newspaper, magazine, comics, book or poem ... etc) ? The advantages and disavantages? Should we read to catch the content only or should we write down all new words or something else? ...

I remember once my English teacher said (he was a pervert to me, by the way), "If you want your English to be improved, reading is one of the many ways to get you there. Read anything in English. Anything that is interesting to you--comics, magazines, children or adult books, anything. Or even erotica stories if you think they could help you."
I and my classmates were laughing so hard, but I still thought he was a big pervert of all, with all of my respect. Yeah, it's quite confusing to understand but it's just like that because he was a good teacher although the way he talked was inappropriate for a classroom's environment.
Moreover, he told us to read the whole context first and circle or highlight any words that we did not understand, so we could check them in the dictionary later. He explained the purpose of that way is to help one gets interested in reading and not being afrad or lazy when it comes to the new words. Also, the more one reads a certain piece of writing, the more he/she understands how the author felts when he/she was writing that piece. Also, that person could review the new vocabulary words over and over, now with new understanding.
In addition, he also told us not to read something that we have no interest in or something that is extreme, which means something that is too hard for us to understand. You might think it doesn't make any sense because if you don't read something higher than your level, how would your reading skill get improved? Well, the key is reaching a higher level slowly. Don't do it too fast or you'll fall flat on the bottom. That's all I could share.

GiddyGad · Post by **GiddyGad** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 5:22 pm

Whatever the level of reading (I pay little attention to this differentiation) I advise to read the whole sentence if my students don't understand some word(s), the paragraph - if they don't understand a sentence, etc. If after having read a couple pages they still don't understand a single word of the read they should try to just re-read them in the same way. Only if this doesn't help they may look the key words up. Oftentimes meanings of words are explained by the context. One can see it only after having read some part of a text twice or even thrice.
And it's better to read big pieces: no author uses all the words and expressions of the language - there are words and expressions people favor, and some they avoid. In a big piece favorite words and expressions are repeated more than once in different contexts (you tell the author by his/her language, don't you?). This helps to learn to understand words without looking them up and to learn to enjoy reading.
The difficulty is to make students get on moving ahead... but it's usual - that's what a teacher is for.

Pirate · Post by **Pirate** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:42 pm

GiddyGad wrote: And it's better to read big pieces: no author uses all the words and expressions of the language - there are words and expressions people favor, and some they avoid. In a big piece favorite words and expressions are repeated more than once in different contexts (you tell the author by his/her language, don't you?). This helps to learn to understand words without looking them up and to learn to enjoy reading.

Yes, this is why we can remember words from books, and of course they are not easy to forget then

reddylee · Post by **reddylee** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 1:33 pm

I do know I have to read more and more in order to improve English level, but I usualy give up when I have read the beginning of a book. Because it is too hard to me, so I lost my faith to finish it.

Pirate · Post by **Pirate** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 2:19 am

Why don't you try easier reading pieces? Rome was not built in one day, wasn't it?

Chet Baker · Post by **Chet Baker** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 8:14 pm

Anonymous wrote: "If you want your English to be improved, reading is one of the many ways to get you there.

I agree with your opinion, my friend. Reading is most important if you want to improve your english.

chamodude · Post by **chamodude** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:09 pm

Reading is very very important.There are people who are not well used with having a reading--even in thier own mother language!--and obviously it may be a kind of nightmare for them.I guess,looking for a light theme,say showbiz magazines,could be the first approach toward William Shakespear. :)
you could well start with just one page,one day,then probabaly one page the next day,probably two pages the next day and son on.The idea is not to lose the interest in reading.

Carlos

northernwolf · Post by **northernwolf** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:55 pm

reddylee wrote:I do know I have to read more and more in order to improve English level, but I usualy give up when I have read the beginning of a book. Because it is too hard to me, so I lost my faith to finish it.

I think this question that many english learner ususally talk with it each other,of cause,me too,hehe!!so we must study hard !!!

EDUCATIONAL · Post by **EDUCATIONAL** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:08 pm

THIS IS A VERY INTERISTING TOPIC BECAUSE I USUALLY TEND TO GET LOST IN THE READINGS. I DON'T KNOW IF IT IS BECAUSE SOMETIMES I DON'T UNDERSTAN ALL THE VOCABULARY OR BECAUSE MY READING COMPREHENSION IS NOT JUST GOOD. IF SOMEONE HAS A SIMILAR PROBLEM PLESE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE IN ORDER TO IMPROVE.

Virgil · Post by **Virgil** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 7:42 pm

Hi!

I think your comprehension difficulties are due to your low vocabulary skills. If you're a beginner I suggest you to try to understand lyrics because they are shorter and you won't be tired of looking up a great deal of words and eventually give up reading, not to mention that by singing the related lyrics you will memorize the new words much faster. Also read short articles from magazines, newspaper and so on. Read it first in loud voice (I mean, loud enough for you to listen to your own voice), thereafter you look up the words you don't know. Then after sometime change gradually to longer articles, lyrics and this way you will have more vocabulary and thus, more understanding. If you're not a beginner and already make use of this suggestions the only further suggestion I give you is: read, read and read. Having more knowledge does not take space.

I do hope my suggestions can help you.
P.S. If you love English like I do please send me a private message so that we can chat.

Take care.

tikay · Post by **tikay** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 8:28 pm

Virgil has some great advise there with the learning of songs and the rest too. I would learn songs of another language~ now, myself... to begin a language. What a great idea! I am going to try this. :D

zaman · Post by **zaman** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:48 pm

i need from anyone here to give me a story or send me a book to read from it .
and thanks for all

maksoora · Post by **maksoora** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 6:47 pm

Some time I could sleep I directly read any book so I sleep ekekek. I don’t know when I start read any books or magazine I felt sleep I close the book then I go to sleep. 8)

marvine · Post by **marvine** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:23 am

I agree with Andrew77's oppions!
right,you can find lots of people's minds, espically these great people.and in their book, you can finf yourself,what kind of life you want be!
one word, people needs reading!

emilykorea · Post by **emilykorea** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 1:23 pm

the key here is to read, read, and read...as they say..practice makes perfect...

Rossana · Post by **Rossana** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:04 am

I totally agree with you,emily.
I hope it's okay if I will just call you by that name.

"Practice makes perfect" is true , though I've been hearing it since birth.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:34 am

If you're reading, read it aloud. This way, you get to practice how to pronounce words as well.

Also, read slow at first. You don't have to hurry since you're just practicing.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:25 pm

An additional tip is to read as if you're a part of the book. So when you're reading the dialogue by the characters, put some feeling into it. This way, you'll get some practice as if you're the one conversing. This will help you practice intonation and proper pronunciation.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:14 am

If you're practicing reading, be sure to encourage your friends to give you books or magazine subscriptions as gifts! It's thoughtful and very useful so you have a lot of materials to practice with.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:58 am

A good tip is to stop yourself from re-reading phrases and sentences. This can become a habit and can result to longer reading times. If it becomes a habit, it would actually result to lower comprehension.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:27 am

If you're reading a book, it's a good idea to summarize to yourself each chapter. Just talk to yourself on what the chapter is about. If it's easy for you, then it means that you comprehended what the chapter was about.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 9:22 am

Yes, it's a good habit to read the newspaper everyday. You can also see opinions and of course, it's good to be updated with current events as well.

englishhelps · Post by **englishhelps** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:55 pm

It's also good to join a lot of forums wherein you can practice your reading and you can learn a lot at the same time.

Tukanja · Post by **Tukanja** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 9:06 pm

Reading plays a great role in learning the language but both listening to and having words with natives isn't less important for sure.

clevermae · Post by **clevermae** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 6:47 am

Yes Indeed! The more you read, the better reader you'll become and smarter too! So, feed your mind to read!

awrang · Post by **awrang** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:15 pm

I agree as well , my English got better and better by reading a lot news and surfing the web! keep news heading... when you find interesting heading read up to the end...

clevermae · Post by **clevermae** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:42 pm

So useful thread! How about having some fun here like "game" the most exciting part is when your playing while learning.

Oriani · Post by **Oriani** » Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:11 pm

Reading is just a complex task! I remember my experiences during my British and Literature classes that I had to analyze novels, short stories, poems and discriminate the figurative language and etc... in MY case doing that was so annoying for me . On the other hand, during that process, I realized that everytima I had to read, I used my dictionary... it really worked. Conclusion: Reading and using a Dictionary help you to increase and improve your vocabulary as well as your fluency reading English.

easylsl · Post by **easylsl** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:31 am

Thank You for these beneficial tips :)

metonymy · Post by **metonymy** » Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:47 am

Morpheem is a new web site for English learners. It will have a new, short text per day, like a short story or a news text, with definitions and you can discuss with other learners. It is free and will start in a test period soon; you can sign up to be a tester: http://morpheem.com

kimrody · Post by **kimrody** » Tue Dec 09, 2014 7:43 am

Let's write something ... what should we read and why (newspaper, magazine, comics, book or poem ... etc) ? The advantages and disavantages? Should we read to catch the content only or should we write down all new words or something else? ...

Mohsen · Post by **Mohsen** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:38 am

Yaramaria · Post by **Yaramaria** » Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:42 am

Many of my students shy away from reading. Mostly because of all the new words they see which they feel threatened by. I tell them to read the whole paragraph first and write down any meaning they understood from the paragraph, then to circle all the new words they did not know.

I tell them to look for their meanings and see if the whole context / meaning of the paragraph changed. :)

KateMcKinzi · Post by **KateMcKinzi** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:11 pm

Being native Portugese, I have been learning English very effective and in an interesting way via Skype on English courses,
If you doubts, you should try, indeed;)
I tried to learn English on busuu | Learn Spanish, French, English and other languages for free by myself, but I lacked some power of will. Now I’m studying at myenglishdom.com and everything seems to be fine. I can see the progress.

ritzkevin · Post by **ritzkevin** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 6:23 pm

When reading, you have to familiarize the correct pronunciation of words. You also have to master the correct phrasing when reading. Intonation also plays a vital role. You can also seek help and guidance with an English tutor.

renujadhav · Post by **renujadhav** » Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:59 am

Try to read the book o table or chair with taking a cup of tea and little break.
It helps to stay away from sleep.

rajeshbojan · Post by **rajeshbojan** » Thu Mar 21, 2019 1:12 pm

Reading the right way will enhance our language and help us communicate effectively. Building rich vocabulary is possible when reading becomes a habit. Watch this video to learn more about improving your vocabulary through reading. I'm sure this is going to be very useful for the englishclub community. https://www.equip-e.com/vocabulary-counts/

Rajesh Bojan

Mrdaudiqbal · Post by **Mrdaudiqbal** » Mon Jun 10, 2019 9:57 am

Reading gives inner satisifation

Haxan · Post by **Haxan** » Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:35 am

hello
am a teacher current teaching in Thailand it is so nice the students are charming and i love working with them.had alittle struggles about the reading but eventually got a kickstart and everything is so far so good, I have tried out this method for my students and it has helped my students alot.just want to share it with my fellow teachers thank you
http://haxan360l.readinghs.hop.clickban ... nliveintrobetter reading for your students from scratch.

ambpickler · Post by **ambpickler** » Wed Jan 20, 2021 10:51 am

As a teacher, I often hear that people have trouble reading in English because they don't have the patience. They read slowly, many words are unfamiliar to them, and because of that, they stop reading altogether. I think this will be very helpful to them. thank you.

roozbehrah · Post by **roozbehrah** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:12 am

I have read an article stating that a study was done on which people learned to write in a language only by reading. It means we can acquire writing skills only by reading. I started reading in German and it actually worked

NicolePan · Post by **NicolePan** » Fri May 28, 2021 3:21 am

According to my learning experience, I think there are several reading tips : first is the ability to guess the meaning of words based on the context, which can help you perceive the meaning of the paragraph; the second is the ability of parallel-reading. Reading with questions and key words helps you to grasp the answers and improve reading efficiency.

thomaspedro · Post by **thomaspedro** » Wed Oct 19, 2022 8:55 pm

Wow! I am very happy to join this effective discussion with English reading tips and techniques. I have learned some important reading techniques from this useful thread. Thank you everyone!

sophiacarlberg · Post by **sophiacarlberg** » Wed Mar 22, 2023 2:04 pm

I tell my pupils to read the entire sentence if they don't comprehend a word or words, the paragraph if they don't understand a phrase, etc., regardless of their reading ability (I don't pay much attention to this distinction). They should try to simply reread the pages in the same manner if, after reading a few pages, they still don't comprehend a single word. They will only search for the crucial terms if this doesn't work. Word meanings are frequently clarified by their context. It is only visible after reading a passage of text twice or even three times. And reading lengthy passages is preferable: No writer ever fully employs the language's phrases and idioms; there are those that individuals only use sometimes. You can learn a lot about an author by their language when preferred phrases and expressions appear often in various circumstances. This aids in teaching readers to love reading and to grasp terms without having to seek them up. The challenge is getting pupils to keep going forward, but that's what teachers are usually there to do.

nadiaxxx · Post by **nadiaxxx** » Thu Mar 23, 2023 12:48 pm

Good thing I came here. You can find a lot of interesting things

Mr Greg · Post by **Mr Greg** » Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:32 pm

One piece of advice I have for teaching reading, patience.

Patience gives the reader confidence to try and make errors. Always give them the tools they need to try and read independently, such as enhancing their phonetic knowledge.

Sight words also place a huge role in fluency.

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