Reading in another language is boring and it takes a lot of time!
Well, that is how I felt at secondary school learning French and German. Using a dictionary to find every word I didn’t understand and trying to translate word for word – at the end, I would understand almost nothing. Now that is exactly how I would NOT teach reading and how I do NOT read or learn Spanish.
So that is why I like this little cartoon I found. Today
we read more than in the past. We have text messages and emails, we are on the internet everyday reading the news or a blog or our wall on
Facebook. But I think
we also read less.
Twitter is limited to 140 characters (characters = letters or numbers), and nearly the same for text messages. My posts on Facebook are usually shorter than a ‘tweet’ (the noun and verb for Twitter). A lot of my emails are only one or two paragraphs.
But I think that is
perfect for English learning. Short pieces of reading which are not very difficult, just a little difficult, or we could say, ‘challenging’.
Obviously, some people need reading skills more than others. A lot of people learn a language to communicate by speaking and listening. For them, reading and writing are not very important.
So I have several questions this week.
- Was your experience of English reading similar to my experiences French and German class?
- How did you practise English reading in classes and how do you practise it now?
- Do you think you got enough reading practice at school/university/language school?
- What were your favourite topics to read and what were the most boring?
- What were your favourite learning activities connected to reading?
- What worked and what didn't work?
Answer all of the questions or answer just one of the questions. As always, I look forward to your opinions.
Gordon
P.S. Here’s another couple of cartoons I liked!
P.P.S. Just so I am clear - I really like reading now - even in Spanish!
The recommendations here are based on using, not losing your bilingual dictionary. Generally I think it is better for learners to use an English to English dictionary but I think bilingual dictionaries are useful and I think the suggestions here are good ways to use them. So, take a look at Rliberni's 10 Ways to Increase Your Vocabulary.
