reading tip: The many benefits of crossword puzzles for learning english
(February 2023)
A great combination of putting reading and vocabulary skills together is to do crossword puzzles as part of a daily or weekly routine. You can find unique ones each day in your local or national newspaper as well as for magazines. They are a bit time consuming and can be more advanced for those English students who are new to the language or are at the intermediate level.
However, in my view, there is no better way to test your vocabulary skills by reading clues and definitions for each word in your average crossword puzzle. Even native English readers will struggle with getting them filled out right away but it is a true way to test your mettle and also progress each day to trying to get to the point where you can fill them out each time without missing any blank areas.
To supplement your private lessons or group classes, a great way to practice English reading on your own is to read the clues next to the word boxes where you must fill in the blanks yourself. The clues will have the definition or meaning of each word and the word boxes will have the number of the letters in the mystery word. Sometimes, crossword puzzles can come with synonyms or similar words to the one you have to know to figure out the puzzle.
Lastly, as you get more and more of the puzzle done, letters will link together so that once you get one word filled out, another one may get easier as you have one or two letters that go along with the mystery word to help you with guessing which one it is. Remember to be patient, take your time, and don’t get frustrated if you cannot fill out an entire puzzle your first time.
I recommend trying to get as many words filled out as you can, come back to it later, and remember to do a puzzle each day to improve your English reading and vocabulary skills. I can promise you crossword puzzles are excellent exercises for your mental acuity and linguistic knowledge. If you are able to financially, you can even buy a book of crossword puzzles for more practice if you get tired of buying multiple newspapers and magazines. You can track your progress daily or weekly and it will help make you even more committed to boosting your reading proficiency with this kind of practice.
reading tip: Advertisements, billboards, paper flyers and much more
(January 2023)
With the New Year upon us, it is a good time to be reading a lot more as during the holiday season, there are a lot of advertisements, billboards, posters, paper flyers, and much more competing for our individual attention. While this can be annoying to deal with in terms of focusing too much on consumerism and buying gifts, it can be helpful for non-native English speakers to practice their reading comprehension.
When you are learning a new language such as English, you should be able to know what’s being sold to you or what holiday is being referenced. For example, if you are a trip to New York City for the New Year’s holiday, you will find so many advertisements on buses, taxis, buildings, and elsewhere. Especially if you are in a place like Times Square, you will see not just a lot of imagery but a lot of English words as well. It is good to know that they are not just saying “Happy New Year!” but also other examples like “For a Limited Time Only!”, “Get It While Sales Last”, or “Visit Us at _________________ (Location / Place).
While advertisements, billboards, flyers, posters, and other written kinds of English advertising can be a bit repetitive, it is good to know what the words mean and how it applies to you. Maybe you don’t need to buy anything but it can be good to know what exactly is being advertised, where it is being advertised, and if the price is good enough to be worth it. I think for any English reader you should be able to read, interpret, and understand English language advertisements, billboards, and other commercial placement in public places.
Even if you do not end up buying anything, it is a good chance to practice your vocabulary knowledge, see how the basic grammar structure is in place, and then to be able to explain it to friends and family later to they can test your knowledge of your English reading abilities. Start off with your local town square or local bulletin board before you work your way up to visiting Times Square at New Year’s time though. With any reading material, you should start off with a basic flyer or poster to read it before you try to make sense of multiple billboards, screen writings, and digital advertisements that only last 30 seconds to a minute each and may be difficult to read all at once. Take your time with basic advertisements to read and work your way up in terms of your proficiency in this reading area.
reading tip: Read passages or excerpts in english with your native language alongside it
(OCTober 2022)
This particular tip may be a bit unconventional to use but for me, it makes a lot of sense if you need assistance with your English reading to understand better what you as the student are reading. If you can, try to find an original passage or excerpt from a book, article, or a magazine, then you can get it translated or try to do it yourself to English. You can then have both passages right next to each other so you can read the one in English as well as in your native language to compare the words, phrases, and the content of the passage.
It can be challenging to read the English passage, excerpt, or even a full essay without having the chance to compare it to your native language. By having them side to side on a piece of paper or at least one right after the other, you can go back to see how the translation was done or how the vocabulary or overall phrasing was done in the translation. You can also write down the English words that you did not understand originally in the passage and then go on to read the translation in your native language to get the full meaning of the words you had to highlight or underline for later.
While it would be good to read the passage in English and translate it entirely to your native language, that is a very advanced skill to master although that could help you to improve your reading proficiency as well. I think it would be best instead to read the passage or excerpt in English at least twice and then read it in your native language to see how the translation was and to fully grasp the meaning of the written English. The 3rd time you then go through the English passage, you can go back to focus on the English words you didn’t know about the first two times and to highlight the words that were translated from your native language into the English equivalent.
By highlighting words, phrases, or even sentences that you could only understand after looking at the translation, you will be able to then avoid the same mistakes or errors again as you will understand the original English passage 100% after seeing the translated version and to see where you were wrong when you tried to read it the 1st or 2nd time in English. If you highlight or underline those first two times in English, you should be able to quickly point out in the translated version what those words meant when translated to your native language, which will definitely help you in getting the full meaning of the entire passage with a little help from the native language translation that is side by side or would come after the English version.
reading tip: understanding legal and other forms of formal documentation
(JULY 2022)
A very difficult yet underrated type of proficiency in the English language is being able to understand formal and/or legal writing. Throughout your life, you will have to deal with different kinds of contractual paperwork. Especially if you are non-native English speaker, you will still have to deal with paperwork in English as it is still the global ‘lingua franca.’ The most common forms of legal documents include labor contracts, rental agreements, house / condominium mortgages, work contractual agreements, and even student or work visa paperwork.
I think the most important paperwork for non-native English speakers deals with being able to apply to be a student or as a temporary or permanent worker in the country if you are moving to an English-speaking country for those kinds of opportunities.
In another vocabulary tip, I will cover the kind of words and phrases that come up in contractual paperwork but as for reading, you need to practice in advance by trying to read and decipher the meaning and the context of each kind of contract. Contracts and legal documents can range from 1 page only to hundreds of pages total. I would make sure that you start off small and begin with beginner or intermediate level vocabulary contracts as practice.
You should be using a highlighter or pen to mark words or phrases or even sentences that you don’t understand and will need to translate back to your native language. You should expose yourself to different kinds of paperwork whether it deals with housing, work, school, or even just for something silly that you and your friend drafted up to practice.
Contracts and legal documentation involve legal English, which along with medical English may be the hardest kind of English to learn but you should always do your best to understand what you are signing off on before you put pen to paper. You should work hard at knowing how to read contracts because if you do not, it could put you in a tough spot or you can end up agreeing to do something, pay someone, or commit yourself to something that you have no idea if you want to do it or not.
As the saying goes in English, you should always be able to “read the fine print” before putting your signature down especially when it is not your native language. Make sure to practice on reading contracts and other legal documents to prepare yourself for the real forms when they come to you because you don’t want to be in ‘hot water’ or trouble later because someone took advantage of your inability to decipher the language or the ‘fine print’ that they gave to you to read fully and accurately.
reading TiP: Checking out the sports pages
(April 2022)
If you are not a fan of news, opinions, or weather when it comes to reading the newspaper, I think a lot of people will enjoy reading about sports in English. Sports pages have a lot of descriptive vocabulary, include short stories, and are usually at a 5th or 7th grade reading level. If you are an Intermediate level English student, you should be able to handle reading the sports pages even with a little bit of difficulty involved. For Advanced students, it’s likely to be quite easy to master.
Like any other type of reading, there is a similar introduction and conclusion with each body paragraph describing the events of the game / match, how the players did, and what was their reaction(s) to winning or losing. Usually, sports stories are most similar to a descriptive or narrative essay with the who, when, what, where, why, and how included at least once through the article. Sports articles usually range from 300-500 words in the newspaper so they don’t take that long to read or re-read. Sometimes, they can be much more in terms of length if it is a featured story.
For example, if you are doing a feature article on LeBron James or Cristiano Ronaldo, those stories are likely to be at least 800 words in length and sometimes, more than a 1000 words. Those articles may go beyond sports to discuss the personal details of each player or their family background. Sports are not just about the game but about the players and the city where the sport is played. They are some of the most fun and entertaining articles. It is excellent practice to try reading the sports pages in English especially when you have a favorite team being featured.
Try reading the sports pages in the newspaper each day of the week or at least a few days a week and it will definitely improve your English Reading proficiency over time.
reading tip: explore your local library and get a library card too
(January 2022)
There are few greater gifts to the greater public than your local or city library. If you live in an English-speaking country and it is not your native language, you should be utilizing your local library to read different books for free! A library card costs nothing and you can rent a few books for a month usually. Of course, you’ll have to return them all or you’ll be fined a small fee for not returning the books but a library card is the key to unlocking a lot of knowledge; almost limitless in scale.
Libraries are quiet, orderly, and relaxing if you want to spend an evening or a weekend day reading a new book. As an English learner, you’ll better be able to concentrate, read, and analyze what book you are currently going through. You can focus on just one book or several depending on how many you take out to read there or at home. It’s a good place to study your English reading skills as well without any major distractions.
Librarians who run the library can also give you recommendations, find a particular book for you, or help you with an online search if the book you requested is available at another library. Having access to a library also allows you not only to read books but also articles, magazines, and newspapers since most libraries will have subscriptions to other written materials without it costing you anything to read them there or rent out.
Public libraries are really important for spreading knowledge, exposing people to books they wouldn’t normally have access to, and to have precious quiet time to read what they want without any distractions and to also study what they have read without any interruptions. I highly encourage the English learner who wants to improve their reading to invest in a library card and to visit their local library to read books and other written forms of writing on the weekends or on the evening(s) when their schedule allows for it.
reading tiP: try interpreting graphs, tables, and spreadsheets
(December 2021)
While there may not be many words, phrases, or sentences involved, it is good practice for either work or school to read and then interpret a graph, table, or other visual kind of spreadsheet in English. Usually, it will be more numbers, figures, and symbols than actual words, but you may end up having to write a summary or analysis in response to what you have read or seen.
From mathematics to physics to finance, being able to read these kind of visuals and write or speak about them is key. I primarily made this a Reading tip because you may have to know some English words or phrases in order to know what the graph means. Take for example this graph with some English words in terms of a correlation:
Now, you may be thinking as you read this graph: “Why do I need to worry about the English here when it’s so few words?” The question is while not the most important part of the graph, in order to explain it to others, you have be able to use your English skills to do so. To describe a positive or a negative correlation between ‘temperature vs. heaters sold’ or ‘advertising vs. heaters sold’, you have know what a ‘heater’ is, the concept of ‘temperature’ as well as how ‘advertising’ is related to selling heaters.
Once you understand the data, you have to break it down for you audience whether you are speaking or writing about it, which would be in formal written English in complete sentences. In order to explain a graph even with limited English, you will need to later break it down in English even if the mathematics or statistics behind it is the most important thing to know. You can’t have a math explanation with using English reading or interpreting skills and you can’t explain in English without knowing the statistical equations behind the graphs or tables. They go together like Yin and Yang so you have to keep them together always in your reading and interpreting abilities.
reading tip: The need for speed reading (Time your reading speed)
(October 2021)
As you get more comfortable with reading longer form articles, short stories, and reviews, I would recommend taking the time to speed up your reading to see how quickly you can go through one piece of reading and still understand that piece of reading. In terms of comprehension, you should be able to tell somebody else the main idea and supporting ideas of the article after reading and to be able to highlight any people mentioned or places by heart.
When you speed up your reading, it will force you to retain information more quickly and to be able to cover more words without needing to go back to re-read or to slow down with pronunciation or looking up vocabulary words in the dictionary. Often times, in English reading exams, you will be timed in terms of reading short stories, articles, etc. and need to answer questions about the article. Sometimes, you can only read that article once or twice and not be able to review it while you read the questions so timed reading exercises are really important to do in order to prepare for those exams.
Speed reading isn’t absolutely necessary to do right away but for intermediate or advanced readers, they will need to be able to go through reading an article quickly and comprehend it after the first reading only. Then, they will need to write about it, answer questions about it, or even explain it verbally to a teacher or professor.
I recommend testing yourself by giving yourself 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 25 minutes, etc. and see how much reading you can get done and to be tested by someone else with a quiz or practice questions on how much you understood. If you do not understand a few vocabulary words or one individual sentence, it is important not to stop but to keep going as you are on the clock. Speeding up your reading while maintaining your comprehension is a key part of developing your English reading skill-set as you become more comfortable reading longer-form pieces of writing.
Reading tip: Test yourself with the news Ticker and News chyron
(september 2021)
One underrated way to improve your English reading skills is to try to read a news ticker or ‘crawl’ quickly. They are usually featured on a billboard and highlight current news events of note. They go very fast though and can be difficult for even native speakers to read in full. If you can read them out loud and then say them back to the person next to you (assuming you know them well enough), it is a good challenge to thrust upon yourself as an English reader.
News crawls or tickers are meant to be difficult to read to simulate the fast pace of news in our increasingly digital world. Not all news can be covered in live segments or reports so these ‘tickers’ or ‘chyrons’ are used by news organizations to fill in the gaps when the reporters, journalists, or anchors can cover the news that falls beneath the headlines.
Now, Chyrons are another English word for the ‘headlines’ or top stories. They are written at the bottom of the screen but in bold, capitalized font. They do not run quickly across the screen and usually stay for a few minutes. They are much easier to read and to pronounce out loud for the English learner. While the ‘ticker’ headlines are small, quick-moving, and hard to read, the Chyrons are easier, slower, and bigger in terms of font.
Combined, the Chyron and the Ticker give people the news when they don’t have a lot of time to watch the television news anchor or listen to the news reporter give his or her report. A good English reader will want to focus on mastering both reading the news ticker and the news chyron. You should be willing to put in a lot of time watching the news since you will be able to practice reading both the Chyrons and the Tickers to get better at both. You can also listen actively to the news report or segment as well to familiarize yourself with the vocabulary as you read what the screen says.
Be sure to take your time and practice this kind of reading. It is very advanced, challenging, and does have vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to the average English learner. Still though, this is excellent practice of English reading and you’ll see immediate results in terms of your reading proficiency when you put both good effort and hard work into this kind of reading. Good luck!
reading tip: why you should give written interviews a chance
(July 2021)
Interviews are a guided kind of conversation between two or more people, but usually two, with an interviewee answering questions that the interviewer asks of them in a question form. It can be a one-on-one conversation but sometimes, there is more than one interviewee or participant who is answering questions from the interviewer.
Usually, an interviewer will be from some news or media outlet and will be recording the interview on TV or writing in down to be put in a print or online version. Interviews can be short or long in terms of length depending upon the time allotted to the interviewer to ask questions of the participant.
Here are the main characteristics you need to look for when reading an interview:
•Goal-driven (getting the required information out to inform the public or evaluate a decision)
•Question + Answer (back and forth between the interviewer and the participant(s)
•Structured (planning and preparation involved; clear sequence without any surprises)
•Controlled (Interviewer will dictate the pace of the interview and the questions posed)
•Unbalanced (Interviewee will be responsible for more words than interviewer, usually a 70 / 30 split in favor of the interviewee)
Why read an interview to improve your English language comprehension:
Interviews have both formal and informal language that can benefit a reader’s vocabulary and grammar knowledge.
2. Interviews use a lot of expressions, idioms, and phrases in English to help boost a reader’s proficiency.
3. You can learn a lot about different topics by hearing from notable people in different industries from medicine to politics to sports, etc.
4. Reading different kinds of questions will make it easier to form your own as an English learner when you’re writing your own or copying them later when you are speaking.
5. There are a ton of interviews out there to help you practice from a short five question interview of one page to an interview of over ten pages.
There are multiple reasons to read interviews to boost your proficiency but none as important as expanding both your grammar and vocabulary knowledge. Interviews are easier to decipher and understand when compared to a story or a book so take your time as an Intermediate reader to try out an interview.
You’ll definitely have an advantage as an English reader the more interviews you read to be able to handle harder subject matter types when it comes to advanced forms of reading. First though, you have to become good at reading, understanding, and analyzing interviews whether they are short or long.
reading tip: Handling basic and more complex sentences
(May 2021)
To get to that next level of reading and after handling the pronunciation of words and phrases, you should tackle full sentences next. It is important to start with sentences that are either short in total length (five words) or have mostly small words.
Take your time with reading full sentences, enunciate each syllable, and remember to not get discouraged if you make mistakes at first. Please remember to read each sentence until you get the pronunciation correct. You should be able to build up your reading proficiency by trying out different sentence lengths and difficulties. Also, it’s important to try to write down your sentences and read them out loud to yourself.
Let’s look at the following sentences in English from basic (easy) to medium to hard (difficult) in terms of overall complexity and difficulty:
•The boy plays in the snow. (Easy)
•Thomas liked dancing to Salsa music during his trip. (Medium)
•George Washington was the first President of the United States. (Hard)
•She likes to eat ice cream. (Easy)
•Jordan always knew that he wanted to be a doctor. (Medium)
•The governor thought of how he could pass legislation giving his constituent a raise in the minimum wage. (Hard)
You will need to work your way up and don’t get discouraged if you need to start over again when it comes to reading sentences. You may have to go back to individual words or short phrases before you tackle an actual sentence. This is a key sequence in order to master the beginning stages of reading proficiency for English or any language in general.
I want to emphasize the importance of sounding out syllables and saying each one of them out loud in any individual word within a sentence. Practice makes perfect and to become a basic reader in English; you need to be practicing every single day at the beginning to maintain your proficiency level and to be able to read basic and more complex sentences.
reading tip: basics of reading words with one or more syllables
(April 2021)
Reading words must be done slowly and with an emphasis on getting the pronunciation right. The pronunciation of any individual word comes first and that includes knowing how many syllables are in each word and what sound each syllable makes. It is important to start with small words in terms of length and difficulty and then work your way up in terms of difficulty. Before you read phrases or sentences, start with reading individual words first.
•One syllable:
-Cat
-Sky
•Two syllables:
-Poem
-Hotel
•Three syllables or more:
-Restaurant
-Appreciation
For one syllable words, say all the letters together and don’t break them up at all.
For example: Emphasize only the ‘ah’ sound in ‘Cat’ but don’t separate the word into any more than that singular sound to connect the consonants of ‘c’ and ‘t’ with the vowel ‘a.’
For two syllable or more words, you have to break down reading the words into two or more sounds.
Examples:
•Po-em
•Cho-rus
•Res-tau-rant
•Po-et-ry
The Syllable is a single unit within a word, either written or spoken, which makes up an unbroken kind of sound to make up English words. Syllables, when used correctly, can help improve your pronunciation and help you to read words out loud to build up your reading proficiency.
Syllables can have one (monosyllabic) or have more than one too (polysyllabic). Words with multiple syllables are harder to pronounce but are important to practice when reading. They help you break down a tough word into individual sounds to help you sound out the word when you read them to make it easier.
When you are able to sound out the syllables correctly, whether one, three, or five, you are able to read full words correctly in English and your pronunciation is bound to get better over time and with a good amount of practice. Definitely, do your best to incorporate this aspect of reading to your proficiency testing in order to get to that next level of English reading learning.
Reading tip: What are reading contexts? (Leisure v. Functional)
(February 2021)
Reading Contexts focus on all the elements that influence our reading depending upon how we read in different situations or for different types of materials.
A reading context includes:
-The setting
-The text
-The purpose for reading
There are two main reading contexts: the leisure context and the functional context. Depending upon the context, it changes how we read, why we read, and what do we want to get out of reading.
In the leisure context, our reading is focused on our own personal pleasure. We are reading for entertainment or for personal knowledge or for our own enjoyment. You can take your time when reading for leisure and often do it for personal reasons or for social reading such as for a ‘book club.’ You will often read to share with friends and family in this context. There is also no pressure involved to present or write about what you have read too.
In the functional context, our reading is focused on a professional or educational obligation, usually not of our own choosing. We are reading for our own personal goals or objectives to achieve something for our work or our schooling. You often have to use your reading comprehension skills to explain to a teacher or to a professor about what you have read and why it is important to know about what the book is about.
Your approach to reading will be different depending upon the context of your reading. Reading a short story will be different when it is for a written school assignment than if it is for talking with our friend about it after you finish going through it at a leisurely pace.
When you know what context (leisure or functional) you have for your reading, you will have advantages over other readers. You can better make decisions on which kind of reading is worthwhile to you, for your own enjoyment or for your own professional goal-setting. You’ll be able to select the right information to use for focus or for utilization. You can better understand difficult words by knowing the sentences / paragraphs around them. You could also highlight or underline them to come back to later. You can improve your imagination and identity through leisurely reading and handle daily needs and tasks with functional reading.
reading tip: understanding unknown vocabulary words using sentence context - (Compare and contrast)
(January 2021)
When you are reading an essay or an article, you may come across some unknown vocabulary words that you don’t understand. It’s critical to write down the words you don’t understand and to look them up in a dictionary if you can. However, if you don’t have that option, I really recommend looking at the entire sentence to decode the meaning of the vocabulary word(s) that you are struggling with. You do not need to know every single vocabulary word in an essay or article when you are reading it to understand the context or the meaning.
Here are two examples that can help gain insight into how to know what unknown vocabulary words mean by looking at clues that show us how those same words can be interpreted:
When the light brightens, the pupils of the eyes contract; however, when it grows darker, they dilate.
“Dilate” means the opposite of “contract.”
2. The children were as different as day and night. He was a lively conversationalist, but she was reserved and taciturn.
“Taciturn” means the opposite of a “lively conversationalist.”
For these two written sentences, we can see how to interpret the vocabulary words of ‘dilate’ and ‘taciturn’ as being the opposite or ‘antonym’ of a previous word. This kind of contrast is likely to come up in a formal reading passage especially for an exam on reading comprehension. It is important to be aware that vocabulary words may be contrasted in the same sentence.
Contract - Dilate.
Conversationalist - Taciturn.
Key words within a sentence can help you locate the meaning such as ‘however’, ‘different’, and ‘but’ as shown in the two sentences above. These words reference the fact that there is an opposite meaning to come based on differences such as contract meaning ‘to close’, while dilate meaning ‘to open’. You also have ‘conversationalist’ going with ‘lively’ or active in other words and then the other person in the sentence being ‘reserved’ or ‘taciturn’ (a synonym of reserved meaning shy).
Looking for these context clues while reading while help your understanding of written sentences a lot more. You can better read through an essay or article much more quickly when you can draw these conclusions by using context clues like looking for ‘antonym’ words that express the opposite and using ‘but, however’ to signal that the word being expressed is different from a previous verb or adjective. Understanding contrast or opposite words based on sentence clues is just one context element you should be aware of for better reading comprehension while learning the English language.
reading tip: devote a block of time per day to read
(November 2020)
Finding the time to actually read is a constant struggle. Between running errands, doing your job or schoolwork, and also taking care of family members or seeing friends, time is limited to actually read in English. However, what I find is that in order to make significant gains in reading proficiency, it is key to be able to devote 15-30 minutes each day to read in English. It may seem like a lot of time but I think the best time to do it is before bedtime.
Rather than looking at your phone and scrolling through different applications, I believe it would be more advantageous to actually put the phone down and pick up a book instead. It can be any kind of book, of course, but choose one that is equal to your current proficiency level in English. Reading a book is a good way to relax and transition to going to sleep in my opinion and it also engages your mind in a mentally healthy way.
Building up a reading habit will take effort and time but if you set down the book on your nightstand and actually even set a reminder for your calendar that 10 PM or 9 PM is reading time, you can make it work. Having the book in a visible place in your bedroom or even living room will set off a cue in your mind in which you remember that it’s time to read. You may falter every now and then but as long as you set reminders and leave a visual cue or two, you will be more likely to read each night or even in the morning, which will allow you to become a better English reader.
As you may know by now, reading in English takes time to develop but setting a specific time each day to read will do wonders for your proficiency level. You will also learn new words, gather new information, and expose yourself to different genres that appeal to you. Discipline is not easy to achieve but I find that the benefits of exercising discipline will show positives in your life in the long-run as well as your ability to become proficient in English.
reading tip: headlines can help you with beginner comprehension
(october 2020)
Whether it is a newspaper, a bulletin on the TV screen, or a book title, reading headlines can help you with your reading comprehension. This is a very niche piece of advice but checking out different titles or headlines will really help your vocabulary out. You will expose yourself to different words, phrases, or expressions that you normally wouldn’t encounter. A headline will grab your attention and reading them will help you find a book or a magazine or a TV program that will appeal to you to listen to or read to beyond just the headlines.
While headlines are short and to the point, reading enough of them online or in person will help your vocabulary even more. If you are a beginner just starting out with English, it would be in your best interest to tackle the headlines first so that you will be better able to understand the full article, story, or report if you can get the headline.
Headlines are quicker and easier to read than most other forms of reading and are only about 2-10 words in total. You can find headlines almost anywhere making them a key reading task to master. Whether it is via TV, via radio, via billboard bulletin, or via the local newspaper or on the Internet, you will find so many headlines after a while that you will become well-versed in news vocabulary and general expressions by the time you try out another form of reading.
Getting started with headlines is a must as an English student. Don’t get frustrated if it takes you a few readings to become comfortable with understanding what the headlines mean. It will take time and take effort to do so but once you master the headlines, reading short articles or paragraphs will become a lot easier.
reading tip: Children’s books are a good place to start
(September 2020)
When you would like to get started with your English proficiency and have mastered your understanding of basic words and sentences, the next step for you to conquer is to be able to read a children’s book. I know that if you are an adult or a teenager reading this tip, you may be wondering: “why should I read a children’s book when I am older?” Well, if your English language proficiency level is low but you would like to boost your confidence and improve your reading skills, children’s books are a great place to start.
It is important to not just dive into a hard novel or even a shorter book but a children’s book of 10 to 20 pages is ideal to really help you as a beginner get to be more comfortable with English reading when you may not be ready for longer reading materials. It is not something to be shy about or be reluctant to do because when you are studying a new language, you are basically a child in the sense that you are not able to communicate or understand at the level of a native or fluent speaker. You must be able to do away with your ego a little bit to focus on those reading materials that may be for children in English who are native speakers would actually fit you quite well.
I also would say that it is important to read these children’s books out loud to yourself or to family members or friends who speak English at a higher level than you so they can both help you out with the vocabulary and the word pronunciation. It makes it more of a fun activity and you are likely to be less self-conscious about reading at a children’s level when you are doing it with trusted friends and/or family members.
If you are able to understand what materials you are reading at a child’s level, you can feel free to tackle higher levels of reading that a teenage or an adult aged speaker would be more comfortable reading. I do believe, however, that you should start with short materials that you can fully grasp and even explain to your teacher to show your reading comprehension. Once you have done that, it is a great stepping stone to harder English materials which may be more appropriate for your age level but for which are usually reserved for intermediate and advanced learners. By mastering children’s books for a bit, you can build up your confidence and move on to harder and more challenging reading materials.
Reading tip: read the subtitles for movies and tv
(August 2020)
Netflix and other streaming services are extremely popular right now all over the world. If you are looking to improve your English skills, it is not just listening where you can improve but also reading. You may be asking: “How can I read and watch a program at the same time?” Well, that’s a good question. You may forget that many streaming services and even cable programs come with English subtitles, which is really good to practice your English reading skills and also boost your vocabulary too.
If your English proficiency is very low and you are not ready to watch movies or TV programs in English, a step in the right direction is to enable English subtitles with watching the program in your native language. You will be able to see the English words translated from your native language and be able to get more comfortable with reading the words and also understanding their meaning.
If you are able to start reading the English words consistently and understand their meaning, it will definitely help you in other parts of the language later on. To be able to read the words and understand them in your native tongue, it’s the first step towards becoming fluent in English. It will also make the experience of watching TV and/or movies much more educational as you strive to enjoy some entertainment but also add it to the English learning process.
We all spend a lot of time using streaming services with family and friends especially now so why not use subtitles in English to practice your language abilities and make it educational at the same time? You can also write down the words you do not know and look them up later to translate into your language so you have the exact meaning. Watching movies and TV does not have to be without its own educational benefit and this advice of reading subtitles will help you when it comes to vocabulary retention and increased reading proficiency.
Reading tip: fiction vs. Non-fiction books
(June 2020)
If you are getting to the advanced level as an English reader, you may need to make that important choice of whether to focus on fiction or non-fiction books. There’s no clear answer on this choice and they both have their positive and negatives. You have to see what both are, how they differ, and which may be easier for you as an English student.
I would recommend you learn about what fictional books represent. They are all not true (fiction) and they use imaginary characters and events to draw the reader in. Some fiction books have real settings (places events occurred) but that’s pretty much the extent of the truth behind it. Fictional books may change actual events to have different outcomes and use different names to represent real people. In my opinion, the best fiction books like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter are completely fictional and have an author with a wide imagination. That kind of effort to build a fictional universe takes a lot of work but it can make for an engrossing read where you will find yourself turning the page and being really invested in the story.
I am not big on fictional books but they do a great job in boosting your vocabulary and grammar knowledge at the same time. They tend to be easier to read too before non-native speakers given that you need less of a historical or cultural knowledge to understand what’s going on. I also believe they can be more fun to read than non-fictional books and can be hard to put down when you’re really invested in the characters and plot. However, some fictional books tend to be not one’s ‘cup of tea’ (strong distaste) so make sure you understand what the story is about before you buy it. Some people like science fiction and others like fantasy novels; it’s good to find out which genres of fiction you think you would like and then to go from there.
Non-fiction is my bread and butter (where my tastes lie in books) and for which I can say a lot of good things about. You learn a lot about a particular subject such as history, culture, geography, and politics, which can teach you a lot about a particular English-speaking country as well. You can really learn a lot about the world in general and expand your knowledge base on a number of subjects. The coolest aspects of reading non-fiction is seeing what it was like to live through powerful real-life situations like the Cuban Missile Crisis or the events of D-Day. Non-fiction books can transport you to relive past events and also recent events to put you in the room where it happened. Some non-fiction books can be quite dry to read so it’s good to read the reviews and the synopsis (plot) before you decide to buy.
The biggest thing I can say in this tip is to try to read both fiction and non-fiction books and expose yourself to both as an English reader. You can then decide over time if you want to focus mainly on reading fiction or reading non-fiction. However, I would recommend just not reading one or the other but try to read both in an effort to not limit yourselves to just one genre or one form of reading. The main aspect of reading both fiction and non-fiction is to expand your horizons, improve your reading proficiency, and learn more about the world and our place in it.
reading tip: the joy of poetry
(May 2020)
Reading poetry is an excellent of way of developing your English reading comprehension. There is so much of it out there from different times in history and from different genres that you could never get bored of its diversity and its subject matter. Whether its Edgar Allan Poe or Shakespeare, there is a lot of great imagination and wisdom behind poems and it would benefit any English language learner to partake in this form of reading.
Poems do not necessarily have to be that long and there are different types of poetry in English. From haikus to free verse poetry to sonnets to soliloquy, there are various types of poetry that you can study with over a dozen major forms being represented in the language. You can start out with haikus and work your way up to epics or sonnets that are harder with the vocabulary and more complex with the grammar tenses. Because of the Internet, your ability to find poems to read is inexhaustible and you will be able to find so many poems of different genres that you could never get bored.
Another good thing about poetry is that it does not take long to go through a few poems and you can also reflect on the poem through writing about it, who were the characters, what was the message, and how it can be interpreted if there was an overall meaning. Students enjoy poetry because it stirs the imagination and makes you reflect whether the subject is about love, friendship, conflict, or family. Poems can cover a wide number of subjects so it will definitely help your vocabulary knowledge and also teach you a new way to interpret and understand the English language.
Overall, you would be wise to set aside 30 minutes or an hour per week to solely devote to reading English poetry, whether online or through a book. After reading these poems, you can reflect on what it was about, what you took from it, and how to describe the poem(s) you read to another English learner. In addition, it does not end with reading poems in that you can start to develop your own writing skills by writing your own poems once you get comfortable enough with the vocabulary and grammar structure of poems as there are many types of them. If I could make one recommendation, you should start with haiku(s) first as that kind of poem tends to be the easiest to read and understand compared to the other types I have mentioned.
reading tip: the good part about twitter
(March 2020)
We all know that social media can be a mixed bag. With concerns about privacy and even people’s behavior across different platforms, it is not hard to see why there is some legitimate criticism about it. However, as a learning tool, social media can be useful and even educational if you know how to use it. For Reading especially, a popular platform like Twitter can improve your reading comprehension skills in English quite a bit. While you may only be reading a short paragraph, Twitter’s timeline will end up exposing you to a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different people.
The good thing about Twitter is that depending on who you follow or how many people you follow, you can definitely learn new things about news, politics, sports, music, entertainment, etc. As an English student, you are also boosting your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary even in these short sentences that Twitter is known for. More than just Reading as well, you can also send messages to English speakers to practice your writing and to express your opinion about different topics. Twitter may be a news platform but if you use it correctly, it can be a platform for you to become a better reader over time.
If I had to make a few more suggestions about Twitter for English reading, make sure you read the articles that the people you follow post to get more in-depth information about the subject and then to make your own personal judgment about it. Twitter is meant to share information but you have to be careful about who is sharing it, why they are sharing it, and what their potential bias may be.
A double combination of reading the tweet and then reading the full article and then measuring that person against a few other people’s writings on the same topic will help with your critical thinking and analysis skills. Becoming a good English reader is one thing but if you are able to analyze and summarize different viewpoints to come up with your own conclusion based on facts, you are definitely on your way to becoming an advanced English learner.
Twitter for English is not just about memes and finny GIFs. It is a chance to learn more from English speakers about different topics, improve your grammar and vocabulary knowledge, and to also interact with users in a polite manner by practicing your own writing and critical thinking skills.
reading tip: sample news articles from different sources
(February 2020)
Becoming an avid reader takes time and patience but consistent practice goes well with choosing news articles from different outlets. In order to get a wider perspective on today’s issues and even the issues of tomorrow, reading news articles of different lengths and different perspectives will make you not only a better reader but also more of a critical thinker.
Most news articles are shorter in length from 400-600 words but it is easy to find longer-form articles of over 1000 words as well. Practicing your reading skills by being able to handle shorter, medium, and longer length articles will also set you apart in terms of having a higher level of overall proficiency. A good reader will not only understand the written content but be able to later analyze it, perhaps write a response to it, and even form an opinion highlighting both the merits of the article as well as its defects. You can do this more easily when you read about an issue from people of different backgrounds and from different perspectives.
Reading about the news from the same source all the time tends to lead to more bias and an inability to think critically about an issue. In order to really know an issue or a topic well, I believe it’s good to practice your knowledge and understanding by seeking out different news sources to get the full picture. After being able to practice reading different articles of various lengths and measuring them up against each other, your opinion will have additional merit and you will be able to speak more holistically on the subject because you have gathered up the different sides of the issue, have separated the facts from the fiction, and have done your research regarding the biases and the viewpoints of the news sources you are using.
When you want to become an advanced reader in English, using different news sources, understanding their viewpoints, and then forming an educated opinion afterwards are key ways in which you can become not only more proficient but more trusted on the subject when you want to voice your own perspective. It takes a lot of effort and time but to become a proficient reader, critical analysis and thinking skills come into play and will help you to understand the news better and how it affects both you and your community if at all.
reading tip: pick up the newspaper and give it a try!
(December 2019)
One of my favorite ways to learn a language is to pick up the local newspaper and give it a try. It simply does not matter if it is an article about geopolitics, economics, or last night’s football match result, what matters is that I am learning new vocabulary, understanding new grammar tenses, and improving my reading comprehension abilities. It will be challenging but if you want to get to the next level of your proficiency in English, I really do recommend giving it a shot even if it is done on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis.
Reading the newspaper is usually not as challenging as you may think. Usually, the reading level of your average English language newspaper ranges from a 3rd grade elementary level to an 8th grade elementary level. If you are currently living, traveling, or working in an English speaking country, purchasing the newspaper is a cheap and reliable way to practice your English reading skills and improve your comprehension. You would only need to spend a few dollars or pounds depending on the country but it is a nice leisure activity that will also challenge you.
When it comes to reading the newspaper for language learning, it is important to highlight or underline the words you don’t know, try to see which grammar tense is being used with the verb(s) in each sentence, and also write down questions regarding what the article is about and what the main idea(s) of it are. You can also ask a friend or tutor who speaks English natively or at an advanced level to help you interpret the article and then have a conversation about it.
Newspaper reading can be a solitary activity done alone but it does not have to be. You can really do it with a friend or a tutor in order to get the most out of it. You can also combine the reading of the articles with listening to them by practicing your pronunciation out loud and also later by speaking about the article(s) with somebody else. Most importantly, you are learning about the local culture and the society by reading the newspaper and by keeping up to date with what’s going on in the English-speaking country you are studying or living in. Give it a try one day and let us know how it goes! It could be one of the best habits to pick up when it comes to improving your English reading comprehension.
reading tip: from short to long articles (testing your proficiency)
(october 2019)
Whether from a newspaper, an online journal, or a magazine, there is an unlimited amount of articles out there in English to digest to improve your reading proficiency. It is important to note that you should look to only read those articles that are at your level of understanding. You have to be sure that your comprehension relating to vocabulary and/or grammar is up to the level of the article. If you’re not sure, err on the side of caution and choose an easier article. You should want to challenge yourself but only when you are certain that you can understand the general message and substance of what is being written.
When you are a beginner, an article of 100-150 words should be sufficient enough to challenge you in terms of your reading comprehension. An intermediate English reader would be fine with a longer article of 250-500 words. While an advanced reader should be able to tackle an article of some sort of 500 words or more without any major issues. When it comes to reading a short article or a long article, it is not about how quickly you go through the article but whether or not you can understand its contents, interpret and even translate it to your native language, and then perhaps explain it to another person who does not speak any English.
If you are able to do that such as read, translate, interpret, and explain the article from English to your native language, then you are definitely on the right track. Remember also to get sufficient practice in each day and try to read one article per day to keep your abilities sharp. Consistency is key with reading and understanding articles and you have to be able to build that skill up over time. Start with small articles when you are a beginner and continue to work your way up to more difficult articles while taking notes along the way. You want to be able to understand the grammar tenses, translate the vocabulary words, and then explain the article to a native speaker to see how well you understood it.
Reading English articles is underrated practice and if you can do it often and well, your language proficiency skills are bound to increase exponentially.
reading tip: get help from a friend or tutor
(September 2019)
An important way for you to have fun reading while making it more fun is to do it with a friend. This friend, preferably with advanced English comprehension or a native speaker of the language, can help you immensely with boosting your vocabulary or grammar knowledge. You can feel more comfortable reading out-loud with them or reading silently and then stopping if you need to ask for your advice.
It doesn’t have to be a friend if you do not have that option but find that family member, tutor, or mentor to help you with your English reading material. When you are working on your reading comprehension, you’ll want to work on activities, exercises, and worksheets relating to the material that your friend or tutor can assist you with in solving. It would only take a few hours or at least one hour per week for this assistance to make a big difference in your reading comprehension.
If you are not able to afford a tutor, then a friend or family member with a high level of English proficiency is your best bet. If your city or town offers free or low-cost language exchange programs, then definitely seek those opportunities out. You’ll want to be able to practice your English reading with somebody else as much as possible with a minimum of at least one hour per week to start improving a little bit at a time.
reading tip: choose the genre you enjoy the most
(June 2019)
A key point of becoming a good English reader is to read what you enjoy and would actually want to finish whether it is a short story, a novel, or a book. There are a large number of genres available in the English language to read and you can’t possibly read them all. I think it’s best then to choose a few or one genre in particular that you like the most.
Instead of forcing yourself to read horror or to read science fiction, which could be genres that you dislike, it would be best to choose a genre or two that you really enjoy. For example, if you like books about travel, make you should read adventure novels or books that have settings in other countries. If you like books about action, maybe you should read books about war or conflict between the characters, either fictional or non-fictional. If there’s a genre like mystery and you want to read a series surrounding that particular genre, a good series to read would be the Hardy Boys to get the most out of the mystery genre.
Your English reading proficiency will get even better when you are reading books from a particular genre that you enjoy. I believe you will pay more attention to the grammar and the vocabulary of the written content and you will also be more invested in the characters, setting, and the story of what you are reading. If you have the choice to read books in English, choose those genres that you care about and those books that you’ll finish and you’ll retain that information for the foreseeable future.
reading tip: highlight or underline what you are reading
(May 2019)
When you are reading in English whether it’s a short passage or an entire novel, it’s important to highlight or underline any vocabulary that you do not understand or want to remember for the future. You may want to use these unfamiliar words or phrases to boost your knowledge of English vocabulary or to use them in your own spoken or written sentences. In addition, underlining or highlighting what you don’t understand will make it easier to assess your reading proficiency level and what you will need to work on.
You want to make sure that you only underline or highlight words or sentences that you want to come back to or that you want to find out the meaning behind. Also, as a substitute for highlighting or underlining, you could also use it post-it notes or sticky notes to come back to what you are reading if your book or magazine is a rental. You do not want to be highlighting with a marker or underlining with a pen a book or a magazine that you do not own or will not keep for the next few years.
As you are highlighting or underlining these English words or phrases, it’s good to write them down on a separate sheet of paper as you read. By doing that, you will be able to come back to them later as you look in the dictionary for its meaning or when you try to come up with your own sentences for these words or phrases.
The act of highlighting or underlining while reading will give you a much needed advantage in better understanding English compositions whether it’s a poem, a short story, or a novel. Taking the time to highlight or underline will necessitate deeper thinking and an ability to self-analyze your comprehension of English writing. If you carefully examine and dive deeper into reading material by underlining or highlighting words and phrases, you’ll be better able to understand and utilize the language to become better in the language. Through your greater examination of the meaning and substance of the words and sentences that make up the reading material in front of you, you’ll stand out from other learners as you develop your English language proficiency.
reading tip: an hour per day of practice
(march 2019)
When you are first developing your reading proficiency, having consistency and a set routine is key in order to become better at this part of the English language. I recommend to dedicate one hour per day in terms of reading different materials that will help you better improve your reading comprehension. Whether it is for learning new vocabulary or understanding the grammar structure of the language better, consistent and daily practice with reading will help you go far.
In order to do the one hour per day of reading practice, it’s important to set up a time in your daily schedule to devote solely to reading English material. It does not have to be a book or a novel but rather a newspaper or a magazine that may be easier to digest if your reading proficiency is lower. Also, it may be best to highlight and underline words and sentences that you do not understand and can ask your teacher or tutor about. It doesn’t matter if you read English in the morning, afternoon, or at night. The main thing is to set aside an hour in your schedule to focus only on reading in English.
You may have to shut off your phone, turn off the TV, or disconnect the Internet but you have to make sure to get rid of all distractions before you begin your hour of reading practice. You’ll want to maintain your complete focus so you can retain more knowledge and understanding from what you have learned. You can listen to music that helps you to concentrate but it is important to focus primarily on the task at hand and not to be distracted. If you stick to an hour per day of practice, you should see results in terms of improved reading comprehension within a few weeks, if not, sooner than that.
reading tip: practice reading out-Loud to gain confidence
(February 2019)
An important way to combine your reading and speaking skills together is to read out-loud. What you are reading does not matter as much as how you are reading it. The best way to become better at reading comprehension is to practice your pronunciation out-loud to see if you are saying the words correctly and if you understand what they mean. You cannot really get better at reading comprehension if you are reading silently at all times.
While most of us have an inner voice in our head that sounds out what we are reading, it does not really help in the long run in terms of boosting our knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. The best way to practice reading is to do so out-loud and especially in front of another person. Being able to read in front of a close friend or a family member will do a great deal towards boosting your self-confidence. They will not judge you for giving it your best shot and if they are a native English speaker, they can help you by improving your pronunciation and teaching you the meaning of certain vocabulary words.
By sounding out the letters, sounds, and words, you’ll be able to get more out of reading a story, a magazine, a newspaper, and even a book as you build your reading proficiency up. You can take your time and go at the pace that you need to as it is best not to take on too much if your reading level in English is not up to par yet. As with anything, being able to master reading involves being able to both speak about what you are reading and comprehend the meaning behind it.
If you have a choice as to read silently or read out-loud, if you really want to improve your English language abilities, it would be best to read out-loud to get that needed practice. When you read out-loud, you are forcing yourself to pronounce, comprehend, and work on your speaking all at the same time. Whether you are alone, with a friend, or with a family member, do your best to read out-loud to better your reading proficiency over time.
reading tip: mix up your reading outlets and content
(December 2018)
A key tip for English reading is the importance of being able to try out different outlets for you to improve and boost your proficiency in this area. While you may want to focus solely on newspaper articles, short stories, passages as well as snippets from magazines, I believe it is absolutely necessary to expose yourself to an array of written content especially in different areas. From sports magazines to newspaper articles, it is key in boosting your vocabulary to focus on reading different kinds of outlets to gain a broader and more well-developed perspective of what the English language is.
In addition, you will also be able to read the writings of different authors by mixing it up from columnists to authors to poets. Each form of reading will be different from the next and you will be able to recognize and interpret different styles of writing in English based on your capacity to read from different outlets. If you want to be a well-versed English reader, you’ll need to be proficient in not just a short story or a magazine article but also to be able to understand and interpret newspapers, books, and assorted poems. Having such a wide array of content knowledge as well as of different subjects will put you ahead of other students in terms of English reading proficiency.
There will come a time in your English studies when you will be asked to speak or write about a newspaper article or a short story that you read from a teacher and a professor. Please be sure to read the article or story with thoroughness and don’t be afraid to take notes, translate from English to your native language in order to grasp the content better. By exposing yourself to reading different types of content (magazines, stories, articles, books, poetry), your English proficiency will improve in not only reading comprehension but also in the areas of vocabulary and grammar.
How you interpret the reading you do is very important as well. Please be sure to do your best to speak or write about what you have read in English and try to practice with a friend or a family member since this kind of assignment is likely to come up eventually during your lessons, classes, and/or courses in this language. If you take an hour or two a week to read in English only and to focus on different types of reading content week by week, you’ll well be on your way to having a high level of English reading proficiency.
REading tip: focus on your own level of proficiency
(October 2018)
The most relevant tip I can give for a English language learner when it comes to developing your reading abilities in this language is to start at your level of proficiency whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced reader. The main thing to keep in mind is to not overdo it by reading at a level that you are not comfortable with tackling yet. If you are reading at a beginner level and you try to go for reading an advanced kind of reading material in English, it’s likely to not work out for you in terms of your comprehension and overall understanding.
It may be difficult for you to start out slow but you’ll progress more over time if you start at the basic level of reading and continue to make your way up the proficiency levels with consistent reading practice. However, it’s much better for the average English reader to read at their own level so that they can best understand the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax and to be able to draw their own conclusions about the reading material rather than to force themselves in reading a much more difficult piece of reading that will be nearly impossible to understand.
For a beginner reader, it would be best to focus on short stories of an elementary level of syntax as well as short articles of 500 words or less as well.
For an intermediate reader, you can focus on longer newspaper articles, regular magazine articles, and short novels of an intermediate level of grammar and vocabulary.
For an advanced reader, they should be able to read an average length size of a book, novel, etc. as well as be able to comprehend the meaning of most of the articles in a newspaper and a magazine rather than just a few as an intermediate reader would. They should also be able to read a research paper and/or an academic essay without feeling lost or confused.
The main thing to take away from being an English reader is to go at your own pace and don’t force yourself to read at a higher level than you are comfortable with. It’s really best to stay consistent with your reading at a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level and be able to master the vocabulary, grammar, syntax, etc. that goes with that level before taking it further. Once you have been tested enough on your reading comprehension at that level, you can be comfortable enough with moving up to a more advanced proficiency of reading and have a better chance of success that way in your studies.