Reading magazines, newspapers, books and articles on the internet can expand your command of English. That is because writers in these separate media use language in different ways, for example, books include more descriptive material than other forms of writing and, therefore, are good sources of adjectives and adverbs.
Join a book club to prompt you to read books you might not have selected yourself. Book clubs choose reading material in a variety of ways. Some use lists provided by librarians, others take member suggestions, and still others are run by publishing companies that provide fresh choices each month. Work through a reading list. The key to techniques 4 and 5 is stretching your comfort zone by finding new material in subject areas that are not as familiar to you as your usual reading choices.
Look them up and write down the definition. This is a proven technique that works. Discerning the meaning of a word through the context in which it is used only gives you a shallow level of understanding. But, be careful! The answers are not always the exact words from the reading text. Reading comprehension requires vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, and thinking skills. In our intermediate courses, 2nd English Course and Practice English and Reading , the readings have longer and more complex sentences.
These are important first steps to help you understand what you are reading. Read along with the text while you listen to a native speaker read it. Remember, read to learn English! After reading and listening to the passage, test your understanding with the comprehension activities. Because these are practice activities, the text will still be on the screen. But what if we take the text away? Can you still remember the main ideas?
The text is no longer on the screen and you need to remember and think about what you read in Drawing Conclusions activities in the Practice English and Reading course. This is your chance to to show you know how to learn English with reading and thinking skills!
There are many ways that reading helps you to learn English, but reading itself is an important life skill. In everyday life we use reading to get information about the world around us.
There are signs on the street. Can you park your car here? Which days can you park? How long? There are letters from school or utility companies that come in the mail. There are also bus schedules, bills, medicine labels, ads, health care pamphlets, and technical manuals for our electronic devices. When you are new to a country, this is the first kind of reading you need. Viktor and Karina learned that reading skills are very important when signing an agreement to rent an apartment in one of our 2nd English Course video stories.
Everyone loves our interesting and funny stories about different characters living in the US, but understanding them is often a challenge. To reach your goal of understanding the spoken language in the videos, you can use reading. On video pages, click the Read Text button and read the video script while you watch and listen to the characters. Do that several times and listen as you read each word.
At least half of English words are derived from Greek and Latin roots , so enormous benefits come from being familiar with them. Understanding the logic behind words always pays off in terms of learning and recalling. Even if you never refer back to your lexicon again, writing words down at least once will greatly enhance your ability to commit them to your permanent memory. Another excellent learning aid is to write an original sentence containing the word — and using your lexicon to do that is a great way of enforcing this habit.
You can also add many other details as you see fit, such as the date you first came across the word or maybe a sequential number to help you reach some word quota you define.
There are many ways you can keep your personal word list; each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so make sure to pick the format that works best for you. You may prefer to keep it as a simple text file in the computer, or in a regular paper notebook, or maybe as flash cards in a shoe box.
One option is a computer spreadsheet, for its handy features such as searching, sorting, and filtering. Your process can be as simple as you wish—the key is to define it beforehand and then follow it. By knowing exactly how and how often to process your inbox, you stay on top of your vocabulary improvement process, even when there are other pressing matters crying out for your attention. Playing games and engaging in group activities are useful in any kind of learning, but particularly effective for language-related learning.
Gather your family and friends and play word games together. Some interesting options are Quiddler , as well as the classics Scrabble and Boggle. The person reads the word, defines it, and the others must come up with a sentence using the word. Consider the following recommendations:. The Internet is a gold mine of resources for vocabulary building. Here are a few to get you started, though many more exist:.
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