10 Tips for Reading English
Reading exposes us to new vocabulary, expressions, and sentence structures. It also improves our comprehension and critical thinking abilities. Reading allows us to see the role grammar plays in the way a sentence is built and shows us where to use punctuation.
In our last blog post, we looked at mastering the four essential language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Today we’re diving deeper into the first skill: Reading.
Below are 10 tips for Mastering the Reading skill:
Set goals
Read regularly
Read different materials
Practice comprehension
Use context clues
Keep a Vocabulary Journal
Join Book Clubs or Language Groups
Practise Active Reading
Read Aloud
Review and Reflect
Set Goals:
Set reading goals for yourself that you feel you can achieve. Setting goals for yourself is an easy way to stay motivated. When you reach the goal, make sure to cross it off your list! This will show you just how far you’ve come and keep you motivated to read some more.
Gradually increase the level of difficulty of your goal and challenge yourself with diverse genres to enrich vocabulary and comprehension skills. Celebrate your progress to stay motivated throughout your language learning journey.
Some examples of goals are:
I want to read 5 English books by the end of the year.
I want to read 10 pages a day.
I want to read a book or article in three different genres: non-fiction, fantasy and mystery.
Read Regularly:
Dedicate time to read daily. Even 10 minutes a day will help. The more you read, the more exposure you get to different styles of writing and language patterns. Reading every day helps us recognise words more easily, and the more we see a word, the better we remember it. This helps to expand your vocabulary.
The more words you know, the easier it is to understand the piece you’re reading. Improving your vocabulary and comprehension enhances your overall language proficiency.
Read Different Materials:
Explore various types of content, books, newspapers, blogs, and magazines. Even social media posts can be a source of entertaining or informative reading material.
Each reading piece offers a unique language experience, as each one exposes us to new vocabulary, punctuation and grammar. The biggest challenge for some people is to read a variety of materials, as the topics may not always be interesting, so we might not want to keep reading. Try to finish at least 10 minutes of reading each day, even if it is in short materials like blogs or social media posts.
Focus on Comprehension
Pay attention to understanding the main ideas of what you're reading. Summarise the content to make sure you understand. It may help to ask yourself questions at the end of reading, to see if you can answer the questions. The clues below will help with understanding what you read.
Use Context Clues:
When you read a word you don’t know, try to understand its meaning from the surrounding text. Context clues help you understand the materials by making your brain think about what it sees in connection with the word—when we link ideas to a word or phrase, we can remember it better, and understand it better.
Some context clues can look like synonyms (another word with the same meaning), antonyms (words that mean the opposite), or even examples. If you still don’t understand a word after you’ve looked at context clues, feel free to look it up! There is no problem with using a dictionary if it helps.
Keep a Vocabulary Journal:
Keep a record of new words you find while reading. Review and practise them regularly to reinforce your memory.
Keeping a vocabulary journal is helpful when you set goals for yourself. Looking back and seeing how many new words you've learned can motivate you to keep going and make progress!
Join Book Clubs:
Discuss what you’ve read with people who have similar interests. This will improve your comprehension and conversational skills!
It’s a great way to practise the vocabulary that you’ve learned from reading, and it shows that you understand what you’ve read. If you don’t understand, then it’s a great way to improve your comprehension. You also get to make friends with people who can help you with listening and speaking English.
Practise Active Reading:
Make notes and highlight vocabulary or expressions while reading. Engage with the text to promote deeper understanding. This will make you really think about the things that you read, and will help you remember new vocabulary.
Read Aloud:
Many people don’t like this tip because it makes them feel silly. Practise reading aloud to improve pronunciation and fluency.
Review and Reflect:
Think about what you've read and discuss the material with other people. This helps strengthen your comprehension and aids in critical thinking.
Reading English can be fun and informative. You don’t have to understand everything, but it’s good to try!
Why Reading helps with Speaking English
Reading exposes language learners to authentic language usage, which helps them see and remember new vocabulary and understand how grammar is used in real-life situations. Learners internalise grammatical structures and develop a ‘natural feel’ for grammar rules and sentence patterns.
As learners encounter various sentence structures and expressions, they become more confident in constructing their own sentences when speaking. Reading diverse materials enhances cultural awareness, enabling learners to engage more effectively in conversations with native speakers.
Mastering the Reading skill empowers learners to expand their vocabulary, grasp grammar rules, comprehend complex texts, and engage with the language's cultural context. It forms the backbone of language learning, enabling learners to develop their speaking, writing, and overall language abilities.
Let us know what you would like to read, and we’ll write a blog for you!
Happy reading!
To read more about why reading is a primary skill, please check out our blog: Mastering English: The Four Skills.
