How to Learn to Read Another Language

If you lot're learning a foreign linguistic communication, and you don't read regularly…

STOP!

You should be.

But do yous know how to read effectively in another language, without getting overwhelmed by unknown vocabulary and complex grammar that doesn't brand sense?

In this article yous'll learn how to utilize reading to quickly larn new words and boost your fluency in your target language, even if yous're just getting started, and even if you've tried and failed earlier.

Reading, after all, is the foundation of my StoryLearning method, where I teach languages through stories (you can try it here)… so this article is important!

Let'southward go!

Why Should You Bother Reading In A Foreign Language?

You've probably heard before that reading helps you to learn language.

Merely why?

What are the benefits of learning a linguistic communication with stories, equally opposed to with a textbook?

Understanding what reading is, and why you would exercise it, is the first step to becoming an effective reader.

The master do good of reading is that you lot gain exposure to good quality, tongue. But you tin can read in unlike means.

If y'all read a lot (for pleasure or study), this is commonly known as extensive reading. You read large amounts, and are concerned with enjoying the story or learning from the contents.

It might be natural for you to read a lot in your female parent tongue, just this is very different from the kind of reading you might exercise in a foreign linguistic communication textbook.

In your textbook, you lot read short passages of text, which yous written report in detail with the aim of understanding every word.

This is known as intensive reading.

With intensive reading, because you're reading in so much depth, yous can't become through very much material.

Both approaches have value and are an important role of a balanced approach to language learning.

But it'south all-encompassing reading where all the magic happens.

By reading lots of books, websites, magazines or newspapers (any you savour) in another language, yous'll chop-chop build up an innate understanding of how the language works, because y'all comprehend and so much fabric.

Tin you see how this is very different from what you lot get from your textbook?

(I describe how to use reading as a complete language learning method here.)

Then what's the catch? 🙂

Well, in society to have full reward of the benefits of all-encompassing reading, yous have to actually read a lot!

Easier said than done.

Why You lot Notice Reading In A Strange Language Difficult

Reading is a circuitous skill.

In our mother natural language, we use "micro-skills" to assistance united states read.

For case…

• You lot might skim a item passage in order to understand the gist.
• Or you might scan through a long train timetable looking for a particular fourth dimension or place
• If I lent you an Agatha Christie novel, you would breeze through the pages fairly quickly
• On the other hand, if I gave you a contract to sign, you would likely read every give-and-take in smashing detail

Here'southward where it gets interesting.

When it comes to reading in a strange language, studies have shown that we abandon well-nigh of these reading skills we take for granted in our mother tongue.

Instead of using a mixture of micro-skills to help us understand a hard text, we only start at the first and attempt to understand every unmarried word.

Inevitably, we come beyond unknown or difficult words and quickly become frustrated with our lack of understanding.

Audio familiar? 🙂

And then what can you do virtually it?

Well, in one case you're aware of this, you can adopt a few elementary strategies (such as the 10 Rules of StoryLearning) that volition help you plough frustration into opportunity, and use reading to chop-chop heave your language skills!

How To Be A Smart Reader & Language Learner

With this in listen, here is the thought process I recommend you have when reading books in your target language:

• When reading books, enjoyment and a sense of achievement are vitally important because that keeps y'all coming dorsum for more
• The more you read, the more you learn
• The all-time mode to enjoy reading books, and to feel that sense of achievement, is past reading entire chapters from beginning to cease
• Consequently, reaching the stop of a volume is the about important thing… more important than understanding every give-and-take in it!

And this brings us to the single near of import signal of all…

You must accept that y'all won't understand everything you read.

This is completely normal and yous should wait it.

The fact that yous don't know a word or sympathize a judgement doesn't mean that you're "stupid" or "not skillful enough".

Information technology but ways you lot're engaged in the language learning process, just like everybody else.

So what should you do when there'south something you don't sympathise?

How To Bargain With Words You Don't Know

If you observe yourself stumped by an unknown word, hither are 5 means to tackle the problem:

• Expect at the word and run into if it'due south familiar in whatever way. There is often crossover in the vocabulary of unlike languages. Accept a approximate – you might surprise yourself!
• Go dorsum and read the trouble judgement many times over. Using the context of that sentence, and everything else that's happening in the story, try to guess what the unknown give-and-take might mean. This takes practise, just is often easier than you think!
• Make a note of the give-and-take in a notebook, then you can check the significant later. Then keep reading.
• Sometimes, you might notice a verb that y'all know, conjugated in an unfamiliar mode. For example, in Spanish:
  to speak – habla r
  they will speak – habla rán
  speak (subjunctive) habla se
  Yous may not be familiar with this item verb form, or non understand why its employ in this instance, and that may frustrate you. But is information technology absolutely necessary for y'all to know this right at present? Can you lot still understand the gist of what's going on? Usually, if you've managed to recognise the primary verb, that is plenty. Instead of getting frustrated, simply notice how the verb is being used, and so acquit on reading!
• There volition exist times when you're simply dying to know the pregnant of a particular discussion. Fine – but if you terminate to wait upwards every word, y'all'll never get anywhere. Instead, only look up words that seem to be cropping upwards once more and again – they volition be the key to understanding what you lot're reading

Now that nosotros've dealt with the big issue of difficult vocabulary, let's await at the reading process itself.

The Six-Step Process For Reading In A Foreign Language

1. Read the first chapter of the book all the way through. Your aim is simply to reach the end of the affiliate. Therefore, exercise non terminate to look up words and do not worry if there are things you do non understand. Just effort to follow what'due south going on.
2. When y'all accomplish the end of the chapter, try to summarise what you lot've read – the characters, places, ideas, events etc. You could make a few notes in the target language, maybe writing downwardly some of the principal characters and events.
3. Become back and read the same chapter again. If yous like, y'all can read in more detail than before, just otherwise only read information technology through one more than time. As before, don't worry well-nigh agreement everything. It'due south a gradual procedure that tin take fourth dimension, and I call it "reducing doubtfulness".
4. At the finish of the chapter, go along to jot down notes about what you lot've read. This can be whatever is in your mind – it's yet another way to help you process what you lot're reading.
5. By this point, you lot should first to have some agreement of the main events of the chapter. At this betoken you lot might like to proceed to re-read the chapter, this time using a dictionary to bank check unknown words and phrases. Just call back – avoid the need to sympathise everything. Apply the skills mentioned above to deal with words yous don't know and focus just on the vocabulary you think is vital to the narrative.
6. Otherwise, if you feel you have followed the master events of the chapter, you should continue on to the next chapter, and enjoy the volume just as yous would in your mother tongue.

(This is covered in more than depth in the ten Rules of StoryLearning)

At every stage of the procedure, at that place will inevitably be words and phrases yous practise non sympathise or cannot call up.

Instead of worrying, endeavour to focus instead on everything that you have understood, and congratulate yourself for everything you have done so far.

Virtually of the benefit you derive from reading will come from reading entire sections through from beginning to end.

But once you have completed a chapter in its entirety should you lot go back and brainstorm the procedure of studying the linguistic communication in more depth.

Becoming An Independent Reader

These steps are designed to do something very important: to train you to handle reading independently and without aid.

The more you can develop this skill, the better you'll exist able to read.

And, of class, the more than you lot tin can read, the more y'all'll acquire.

Retrieve that the purpose of extensive reading is not to empathize every word, as you might exist expected to in a textbook.

The purpose of reading is to enjoy the book for what information technology is.

So, when yous're reading, if y'all don't understand a discussion, and y'all can't guess what the discussion ways from the context, the start thing you should do is just try to keep reading.

It's not piece of cake.

And you'll be tempted to reach for the dictionary at every plough.

Simply if you can larn to exist content with not agreement everything whilst reading a strange language, you'll exist developing a powerful skill, because you become an independent and resilient learner, who of a sudden has a world of language at their fingertips.

Brusque Stories For Beginners

If you lot accept read upward to this point, you might exist thinking:

That's all very well, but how can I observe books that are at the correct level for me?

It can be a challenge.

And so-called graded readers exist in about languages, merely I've found that they're not e'er and so helpful.

They're either too difficult, also slow, or contain parallel texts which remove all the claiming of reading and make it too easy for you every bit the reader.

So I decided to make something different.

I'm creating collections of curt stories, written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level (A1-B1 on the CEFR).

The books are published with Teach Yourself (a name you might be familiar with!)

Each drove is designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading.

Stories characteristic:

• A multifariousness of compelling genres, from scientific discipline fiction and crime to history and thriller
• Stories broken down into manageable capacity, so you lot always make progress with the story and experience a sense of achievement
• Realistic amounts of new vocabulary then that yous're not overwhelmed by complex words
• Plenty of natural dialogues in each story, so you can learn enough of conversational language
• Regular plot summaries, comprehension questions and word reference lists, so you don't have to fumble effectually with dictionaries and struggle through dense text

The books come up in beginner and intermediate series:

CLICK Here FOR More than Data ON THE BOOKS

Happy reading!

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Source: https://storylearning.com/blog/reading-in-a-foreign-language

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