Hi! Welcome to Series English!
My name is Antonia Romaker
and today we are going to talk about reading.
Today I'm going to give you some tips
on how to read books and to do it extremely effectively.
So we are going to take a look at a couple of points
and we are going to view reading
as a means of studying a foreign language.
Not just English, any other foreign language will do too.
So how do we read books?
What should I do it for? Why? How long?
How many minutes, hours a day should I read?
What books should I choose?
If you are at the very beginning,
it will be excruciatingly difficult for you
to read books in the original.
So that's why it might be a better idea to read adapted books,
adapted stories. What does it mean?
It means that the books have been changed,
the language has been simplified.
So there are not so many complicated, bookish words in the text.
All the words are more or less common, easy and understandable.
So the language is simplified.
And it will be much easier for you to read such books.
Usually those are some short stories,
because for a beginner or elementary student,
pre-intermediate student it will be quite difficult to read books
in the original, to read long stories, thick books.
So that's why reading short stories is a very good idea.
Especially if the texts are adapted.
For example, when I studied at school
we used to read some adapted stories by O.Henry.
He's a wonderful writer!
His stories are really fascinating and interesting
and they have this power.
But his language is a little bit complicated,
it's ornate.
However the adapted texts are simpler.
And that's why it was so interesting, fascinating and enjoyable to read them.
Try reading such short stories,
short stories by any authors, well, adapted by some teachers.
Try to find these, it might be really helpful.
Now if you are a little bit more advanced, like intermediate
or even upper-intermediate, you can start reading books in the original.
In English, in German, in French and so on.
You can try reading kids stories,
if you are not still very much advanced.
Kids stories are usually simple
and easy to understand.
So try reading those.
Also reading some chick lit might be a good idea.
What is a chick lit?
Well, it's chick literature.
What is a chick?
I am sure that you know it, a chick is a woman.
Well, it's a colloquial word.
Anyway, chick lit is literature about women,
who want to succeed in their lives and find their second half,
fall in love, have some kids and so on.
Try reading chick lit, it's usually not overcomplicated,
and the vocabulary is more or less easy there.
These books are easy to read, especially for women.
Well, men might try reading them too, for fun!
And thirdly adventure stories or adventure books.
Reading adventure stories might keep you on the edge of your seat,
excited!
If the book is interesting enough and it attracts you,
you can't wait to come home and continue reading it,
then it's a good book, it's for you.
Adventure stories are able to attract many people.
So try these out!
Well, several years ago, maybe seven or even more
I read all Harry Potter books in English.
In the process of reading try to pick up some new vocabulary.
I mean idioms, set expressions, phrasal verbs,
just some new words.
You can write them inside the book itself, using a pencil.
Or you can write them out on some post-its
and then stick them somewhere around your house,
so that you would be able to see them as often as possible.
You can take these little pieces of paper with you
and, well, review the information while you are going to work,
or you are in the subway, or you are anywhere else,
where you have just a couple of minutes to spare.
You might also put these little pieces of paper into your pockets.
So you have two pockets, you can have all these papers in one pocket
then take the paper out, review the information
and put it into the other pocket.
And then gradually you move those pieces of paper.
You might also you a post-it
to write one phrase and then
the translation of the phrase on the other side
into your own language,
or into another foreign language you study. Why not?
And you can do the same.
It doesn't matter what side you see:
translate from one language into another.
If it is English, then translate it into the other foreign language.
It is let's say German, I translate them from German into English.
I still write those post-its, with some phrases.
I usually write out some idioms I like for my classes.
For example, here I have: 'but then I lost my nerve',
'on the bright side', 'it all adds up'.
To tell you the truth, it's very tempting
without looking unknown words up.
But I strongly recommend, well, trying to look those words up
and even write them down.
So practice those expressions and
you'd better write out whole phrases, not just one word.
Write a verb with a noun, a noun with an adjective
or even a longer phrase.
It will be much more useful,
because later on these phrases might pop up in your head,
and you might use them completely
or you will understand the structure better.
And you'll understand how this particular word is used,
with what verbs, with what adjectives.
Do not forget about grammar,
pick up some grammatical constructions too.
If you see something unusual,
if something catches your eye,
you need to write it out and then ask some friends or yours,
a teacher or a native speaker to explain it to you.
And then you will understand the construction
and will be able to use it in your speech too.
Or pick it up from somebody else's speech
or a book, or a magazine, or a film!
Also try reading some books, which you have already read.
For example, now I am reading Harry Potter books in German.
And it is a little bit easier,
because I remember vaguely some information about the content.
So it's easier for me to absorb some new vocabulary
and grammatical constructions.
Reading familiar books as well as watching familiar films
Audio books.
Because in this case you also practice your listening skills,
In this case of course you should be a little bit more advanced.
And while listening to an audio book
because, for example, you are somewhere outside.
Very often you can understand the meaning of the word
you do not know.
So the surroundings, the rest words in this sentence
You can listen to audio books in all kinds of circumstances
cleaning the house,
doing sports
Listing to audio books is extremely convenient,
because you can do it almost anywhere,
Reading classics and specialized literature
is for aces at English.
It's of paramount importance,
and you need to get higher education.
And also if we talk about specialized literature,
that is some scientific articles, business guides,
so some specific texts, they could be of great importance for you,
Classics will help you develop your vocabulary
a lot of sophisticated expressions there
And finally you should read books, which you find interesting,
They should carry you away!
And enjoying the process is the most crucial point
in doing anything, as I have already pointed out
for you if you want to become a bookworm.
A bookworm is a person, who is excessively devoted to studying or reading.
To tell you the truth I do not have so much free time,
So I have been listening to Harry Potter in German.
and if you prefer reading books,
I love smelling books, there's something to it.
It's up to you. Just study the language
See you! Bye-bye.
ans subscribe to my YouTube channel,
if you want to continue studying English with me.
Happy English and Russian practice! Bye-bye!