Reading effectively

Yes, we can read, but is it enough?

Do you have problems with reading? Here in my blog, I’m going to give you some advice about how to be an effective reader of English.

Firstly, if you read because you have to, I suggest you to look for a book that you like and if you find the topic interesting, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Secondly, if you have to look up a dictionary each time you don’t understand a word, you should think about reading an easier one, otherwise you’ll get tired in a moment. You mustn’t look up all the words in a dictionary! You should guess their meaning because of the context and continue with your reading.

Thirdly, instead of stopping and looking up every word, you should read some words at a time, in chunks. There are also three ways of being a good and fast reader: reduce the time for each stop, reduce back-skipping and read as many as three to five words at a time. Doing all this, you won’t get tired, you will do less physical and mental work and you’ll be able to read more and smoothly.

To be an effective reader you should use different strategies: read for detail (read carefully to find specific information), skim (get main ideas by reading quickly) and scan (look for a specific point that you already have in mind). So, you should have a reason for reading, as this could help you to focus on the things you need to understand. 

It is important to stipulate a timetable for your reading because you’ll be more organized. I also recommend you to collect your favourite books and read them more than once, as when you read them again, you will find them even more interesting, as you have a good impression of them.

To have a good comprehension level, follow these instructions after reading a text: Read quickly to catch a general idea and write three questions that it could answer. Scan to find the answer to your three questions. Read the text with attention, write the important ideas of each paragraph and write the words that you didn’t know before reading it. After that, write three ideas that you have learnt and ask yourself these two questions: was the text interesting, why? Was it useful to you, how?

 

Finally, these are some sites that could help you to be an effective reader: 

www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic-group/reading                                                                 

www.world-english.org/improve_reading_skills.htm