A Case for Reading

You are probably familiar with the proverb, slow and steady wins the race. It’s never been more true for improving your English through reading. No matter what level you are, reading will always remain an important part of your language learning journey. Language learners can engage with reading based on their interests or goals which makes it one of the most enjoyable ways to enhance your English.

Reading allows you to learn at your own pace and it gives you an opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of English even if it’s just for a short while.

Some more benefits of reading:

• Expands your vocabulary

• Exposes you to a variety of grammatical structures

• Improves your general knowledge

• Makes you a better storyteller and writer

• Indirectly helps you with your spoken English

• Increase awareness towards other cultures

You might not like reading at first, but one can develop a reading habit over time. It won’t happen overnight, it takes time to get into a routine, but once you have cultivated this invaluable habit, you’ll be reading for pleasure in no time. Remember, it’s important to read widely (from novels to articles), and often so that you develop a life-long love of reading.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you along the way:

1. Ask yourself what’s the deeper meaning of the story. English is a contextual language as you might have suspected. When reading a story, always ask questions about the characters’ thoughts, actions, or feelings.

2. Read books at the right level. Many second language learners think certain books are too hard and you know what, they are probably right. Always follow the 80/20 rule when selecting books. Make sure you understand at least 80% of the vocabulary (I can’t take any credit for this, I learned this from a good friend and mentor).

3. Read for pleasure. Instead of playing a game or watching a TV show try to read in your free time. And, no, you don’t have to read the same book every day. Read some online articles or page through a magazine.

4. Pay attention to the relationships between words. Consider how certain words have similar spellings and meanings, how some of them are spelled the same but pronounced differently and what their origins are.

5. Read it over and over again. Don’t be shy to show your school’s library some love and take out the same book. Re-reading helps build understanding, speed and confidence.

Happy Reading!

Recommended Reading

1. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl: Sometimes the best way to start reading novels is to kick it off with a children’s book.

2. Animal Farm by George Orwell: An allegorical novel which tells the story of animals standing up to their human masters.

3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding: Widely used by many academic institutions as a study text. Just a word of warning, it can get quite dark at times.