Practice Reading to Improve Your English Skills
Practice Reading to Improve Your English Skills
Practice Reading to Improve Your English Skills
A record of 63.2 million people in the US speak a foreign language at home according to the Center of Immigration Studies, and of these Arabic and Urdu are the fastest growing. This averages out as one in five American residents who have a varied grasp on the English language and are having to find ways and deal with communicating in a second language. Whether you want to improve your English for professional reasons to seek employment or want to progress with your English speaking skills, using reading as a tool for improving your English is a step in the right direction.
Video of this post on the importance of reading
Read what you like
It might sound obvious but one of the first things to help to refine your skills is to find books and other texts which interest you. Picking up a historical novel based on something you have no connection with is unlikely to inspire you to continue reading to the end. On the other hand, broadening your knowledge and choosing an iconic novel from the top 100 books people recommend for men or women might throw you into a brave new world of intrigue and fascination. Just make sure you pick a book that you’re most comfortable with and will hold your interest all the way through.
Make the time to read
One of the main reasons why people don’t read more frequently is down to time. In our modern world, quite often work and family commitments make it difficult for us to make a special time to read. However, the beauty of reading is that it can be done anywhere from using your spare time sitting on a bus or in bed last thing at night. So get into the habit of having a book with you at all times. To ensure that you’re continually improving on your reading skills, try and spend at least 30 minutes a day on focused reading and you’ll start to notice that the more you read, the more you will improve your English.
Understand what you’re reading
It’s essential that you choose books that are aimed at, and just above, your level of English so that you are constantly challenging yourself to learn new words but not so much that you start to get frustrated by the vocabulary or concepts. It doesn’t matter if you read 10 books a week if you haven’t learned or understood anything from the content. Reading comprehension is equally as important as the reading of the words themselves so take your time and make certain you understand what it is you are reading about. Why not join a book club and share your reading experiences with others? This can help improve both your reading and communication skills.
Reading levels are different for everyone and even native English speakers can struggle with the skills needed to work hard and develop their English comprehension. If you persevere and don’t get frustrated then you’ll soon be flying through the pages of a gripping book while improving your writing, speaking and reading skills at the same time.
16 – According to last paragraph of topic , reading levels are different for every one . What it means exactly ? Is it tell us about different ways of improve reading skill? or about progress speed ? or not it tell us about different position of reading :D ?
As a serious discussion I have some question :
Which time is better time to reading ? Where ? and in witch position . Should we eating before reading or during it ? if before , How much minute before . witch type of foods is more important to make our brain fresh and more ready to reading ? And what is the best technique of reading (more about a foreign language) ? … Please let me know about your useful experiences.
Deep question! We’ll surely discuss them in the class.
It’s a deep question and needs more time for explanation.
let me tell you something, first of all, if you have read the content more carefully,
you can find out some ideas who can help you in the right direction.
The title ” Make the time to read ” shows you an offer how can you use your daily times
for learning and it has to be your daily habit.
our big problem and the main reasons are down the time because of work and family commitments
then we have to make from every second that we can find and use it.
The new generation has not believed to carry books with themselves but they are ready for every time
and every moment to use their cell phone.
and we know there are a lot of pdf books even with a sound like a podcast,
then when we are going to work or everywhere we need to go, we can listen to these things.
or when we are sitting on a bus, it is a great time to read the pdf files that we ever wanted to read
but unfortunately hadn’t enough times.
this is a good technique for learning new vocabulary and phrase.
Now, these days everyone has a cell phone,
record the words you would like to learn by your cell phone. then when you are out,
you can listen to your file and repeating same time.
in this way, you have created a precious time for learning without any stress.
so it is you that can create a time for yourself if you really want to learn something.
If you are creative enough you can make innovative mp3 files yourself, for an instance,
you can record new words and vocabularies with their spelling,
and also add up an example for the proper word you are recording.
So, it is up to you, how much do you create times for yourself and use this time with innovative techniques!?
Just trust yourself, you can change every impossible thing to possible thing.
There are a lot of other ways and techniques for learning that it needs to talk somewhere else.
Good Luck
I agree. Thank you.
Excellent job! Such a great and thorough response.
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It’s my honor to be helpful for your team.
🙏 I do appreciate it.
15. Why don`t people read more frequently?
Many people don’t read more frequently because of time constraints, digital distractions, and a lack of interest or access to engaging reading material. Busy schedules, social media, and entertainment options like streaming services often take precedence over reading.
Is it possible to explain again difference between the improve and improve on/upon ?
Improve: make it better.
Improve upon/on: make something that is better than it – Achieve or produce something better than
You really need to improve your typing skills.
You really need to improve on your typing skills.
improve on, [~ + object] to produce something better than:
I would say that you improve your typing.
you might improve on the essay you wrote last week.
Fantastic! Thank you for your thorough explanation.
Question number: 14
You’re right. She missed that part about putting a number before her question.
How can people practice speaking English without anybody else to help them?
⚠️ Please put a number before your questions to be able to refer to them more easily in the class.
This is Question 12.
This is 13.
That’s right. Thank you for the information.
Could you imagine, Every 4-year-old child ask 400 questions every days?
⛔ This question is totally irrelevant, and you cannot attend the next session unless you add another question. Your question must be about this post.
OK
Thank you for your understanding.
11-Which is the best topic to study English?
Question number: 12.
You’re right. Thank you for the correction.
Actually it depends on a variety of factors, including personal interests, expertise, educational level, English proficiency, and others.
11- Do you feel you have the responsibility to motivate other people to learn a new thing, the other language or something else?
Absolutely. I believe in inspiring people to learn and grow, whether it’s picking up a new language or exploring new topics. Everyone can benefit from continuous learning!
10- How can we motivate others to start reading the book?
Corrective feedback
reading the book :arrow: reading books
You need to use an indefinite noun because we don’t know which book(s) you’re talking about.
yes, you are right :)
9- Is there a book club in your neighborhood?
Yes, in my neighborhood, I know some well-educated people who attend book clubs.
8- As you have seen in the text, reading levels are different for everyone,
Then how to use proper books for the various level?
Because of the most publishers just want to sell their books,
So how could I grasp the right one?
Good question! We’ll discuss that in the class.
7- Is really spending 30 minutes a day, is enough for improving our English?
Corrective feedback
Is spending 30 minutes a day really enough for …?
what a great! , you are doing a great job for us
It’s all my real pleasure.
6- Why we have to read an interesting book for improving our English skills?
Corrective feedback:
Why do we have to …?
sometimes I make mistake like a child…
That’s quite natural. These are just mistakes, and not errors.
sometimes I make mistake just like a child…
That’s quite all right. We can just practice some grammar here as well.
What does “This averages” refer to?
The function of “average” in this sentence is a “phrasal verb” and not a noun, and it means: to result in a particular average number or amount of something. As a consequence, the whole sentence means:
This record or number indicates that “on average” 1 in 5 American residents … can speak another language.
I tried to assimilate the first sentence, but I couldn’t get the writer mean. Where is the subject and what does “Record” exactly mean?
I meant this sentence:
A record of 63.2 million people in the US speak a foreign language at home
Good question! Let me explain it to you:
The subject of this sentence is a “noun phrase” which is “A record of 63.2 million people in the US” which could be substituted for the pronoun “they” referring to this number of people speaking a foreign language at home.
Record in this sentence means “a fixed number of”.
Now the sentence is clear for me.
I’m glad to hear so.
4. Do you agree with me that acing an international language test needs not only language skills but also knowledge about various fields?
I strongly believe that , With new language , New personality emerges for learners so that learners should become familiar with related customs.
That’s why language and culture are intertwined.
I’m agree with you dear friend. I think there are many glossary of words in any language that deep understand of them need to know history and story of that word . In every culture there are myths, stories, and historical events that make words and important language parts . So I believe that to accurate understanding of any language we should read their history and live between their heroes in their novels ! .
Great! I totally agree with you.
3. Why do you think the author, Cassie, believes that reading is the principal skill to reinforce the other skills, and why not the other way around?
Although, the importance of reading has been probably exaggerated by Cassie. But it seems there is a highlighted point by reading. Reading is the most accessible tool which can be done anywhere. This is the point.
An important point from another perspective!
Some corrections, though:
1. Do not use a comma after “although”.
2. Do not start your second sentence after your first sentence starting with “although”.
You can learn from your mistakes by using this comment form more frequently. At the same time, you can exchange valuable ideas with many other partakers.
In the paste skills were very simple and you were able learn them with less time without documents or at most a few pages.
But nowadays skills are much professional. To be expert in one small skill you should read too many documents about it. It means you should read faster and understand faster. It need greate reading skill. In fact nowaday complexity in skills increased and the time is very limit to learn . Without reading skill we can not save the time and be perfect in our professions.
You’re absolutely right. To achieve this goal, we need to develop some special skills like speed reading, silent reading, making inferences and reading between the lines, skimming, scanning, and active reading, to mention just a few.
2. What is the difference between a second language and a foreign language?
As we discussed in the last session, foreign language isn’t mother tongue language. It is a new language that people learn so as to communicate in their new community. But second language could be learned from their childhood and is a language which is used in a tribe or nation. For instance a person who lives in Urumia, Kordish and Turkish are both his second languages ( the first one is Persian obviously). Now imagine he wants to travel to Spain to find a job. Spanish would be his foreign language.
Thanks for your comment! Such a comprehensive comment, thanks.
Some corrections if you don’t mind:
1. “Discuss” is a transitive verb. So, discuss something.
2. Just mother tongue (not mother tongue language)
3. Kurdish
Thanks indeed
You’re most welcome.
I think the second language is using between peoples who have some common items.
such as similar country with similar problems and rules, but with different local language. They may be so far from each other but their language as the second language, help them to have better friendly relationship.
You posted your comment so late that I didn’t notice it. Please leave your comments at least 30 minutes before the class time.
About foreign and second language, a foreign language is a language that is not spoken in the society. For example, English is a foreign language in Iran because it is not widely spoken outside language classes. Nonetheless, a second language is a language that is also spoken in the society but less dominantly than the native language. For instance, English is a second language in India because so many Indians already know this language and it’s spoken in the society.
As you know, in some country people has more then one language to communicate, For instance in Ardebil (it is one the province in North West of Iran), People talks Turkish and Persian. Turkish language is the second language in Ardebil because common language in Iran is Persian, although the English language is foreign language for all location in Iran .
That’s right. Good reply! Thank you.
1. What is the difference between improving something and improving on / upon something? [Paragraph 3]
It’s a phrasal verb and when you are in the middle of making the improvement we use this, to improve on.
for examples
Improve: make it better.
Improve upon/on: make something that is better than it – Achieve or produce something better than
You really need to improve your typing skills.
You really need to improve on your typing skills.
improve on, [~ + object] to produce something better than:
I would say that you improve your typing.
you might improve on the essay you wrote last week.
🏆 Excellent! Thanks a lot for your detailed explanation.