Reading

[dimitry781]

Hello!

I am a student, and furthermore, English is not my first language. So I work hard to improve my English, but the thing is it is EXTREMELY time-consuming. I want to read loads of books, but my reading speed is very slow (I try to read books in English). Going back to my English, when I read and encounter a new word, I look for it in a dictionary - that is why it is that much time consuming (it may take me a month to read only 1 book). I really want to read faster and understand more (I have noticed quite a lot of what I have read I forgot very quickly). Do you have any tips/suggestions on how I can improve my reading? What exercises I can do to improve my reading skills? Can you suggest any books/web-sites on this topic?

Thank you!
Dimitry

[sheffy4]

My former boss was a woman from Bulgaria. She liked to read for fun, and she told me that she usually reads books at least twice. The first time, she just reads it straight through without looking up the words she doesn't know, and the second time she takes the time to look up those words.
I know, this may double your reading time.
However, I have studied foreign languages (Spanish and German), and my teachers recommended that we [i]don't[i] look up every word we don't know.

Try to figure out what the word probably means by how and where it is used in a sentence. You probably do this in your native language all the time. Do you always look up every word you don't know in your native language? If you do than you are more disciplined than me!
My native language is English, and I almost never look up new words because I can infer their meaning from the text.

Lately, when I read new books I keep a notepad next to me and I write down the words that I just can't figure out. Then I look them all up and write down their definitions at the end. That way I'm not stopping to look up these words, and it doesn't slow me down.

Also, I know you are probably ambitious and want to read books that are complex, but perhaps you should mix in some books that are written for kids or teenagers. You will probably be able to read faster, and you will understand most of the words, and you will get into the habit of reading English without stopping every minute to look up a new word.

Lastly, if you have to look up every other word in a book, it is probably too advanced for you. Start with easier books and work your way up.

[CStrunk]

I completely agree with Sheffy.

I went to a course in intensive German, focused around reading, and the professor said the same thing. You shouldn't be looking up words in dictionaries, but finding what they mean in context. You can probably think of a few words in your native language that you know perfectly well what they mean, but can't come up with a concrete definition. That's because you learned it in context. It's also like when people define a word and use the same word in the definition.

[dimitry781]

Thank you so much! that was extremely useful information for me! Especially I liked the idea to write unknown words into notepad. I will definitely try out all your suggestions.

[Michelle]

If you have developed a working knowledge of a language I think you can skim over some words without looking them up. However, I found looking up every word I did not understand very helpful (albeit time consuming) while learning basic German. Now where I am fluent I would still recommend this to learners. Assuming or pretending you know what a word means is not the same as using it with intrinsic understanding.

My advice is to be as precise as possible in your understanding - even if it takes a bit longer - because you will gain more enjoyment from the language in the long run. If you look up a new word try to use it in conversation that day several times. It will stick and after a while reading will tend to go faster because you will have acquired a large vocabulary. Also, try reading out loud to yourself or others.

[Jennihul]

I just want to commend you for even trying to learn English. It is the wackiest language. The commonly used phrases make absolutely no sense in or out of context unless you were born in an English speaking country. People really pay no attention to grammar making it even more difficult to understand.

I never thought about this issue until I began working with a lot of spanish speaking women and had to use an online translation program to speak with them. I would have to completely rephrase all my sentances to suit the translator and slowly it became evident that we English speakers should consider ourselves lucky that the rest of the world is learning OUR language as opposed to us having to learn theirs.

Thanks for trying Dmitri....

Jennifer

[Marco Polo]

Well, I'm completely fluent in English and I STILL look up words in the dictionary. The truth is that unless somebody is uncommonly erudite, it's unlikely that s/he has a perfect command of this (rather complex) language, even if it's his or her mothertongue. So in this sense I actually consider myself an English student.

The dictionary is a vital resource when you're learning a new language IMO. It's quite easy to put words in context once you've got a definition, especially when you're working with nouns (of course verbs and adjectives are a bit more tricky).

[sheffy4]

Originally Posted by Marco Polo

Well, I'm completely fluent in English and I STILL look up words in the dictionary. The truth is that unless somebody is uncommonly erudite, it's unlikely that s/he has a perfect command of this (rather complex) language, even if it's his or her mothertongue.

oooh "erudite!" I had to look it up! lol

er·u·dite
–adjective
characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly:

[dimitry781]

Thank you for all your posts! I find English very hard, as it is SO-O-O irregular. Sometimes I am amazed how native speakers even understand each other. I find the best method to learn English is to read out aloud. But what if whilst reading I encounter a new word, which I have not heard before. How do I find out how to pronounce it correctly? I am thinking maybe try an online English course, but I am not sure. I really want to broaden my English as it is an international language (unfortunately ).