3584. By Reading You Can Learn but Also Acquire the Target Language

 Today I would tell you more about reading for learning English or any other language, and also about communication in the (remote) classroom. 

Reading books and readers is a language-learning booster. Yes, sir, it is. I do it myself, and I’ve done so for many years. It gives you language: grammar, ways of saying things in the target language, lexis. 

While I’m reading a science-fiction novel, I read, yes, but also I study the language. I kind of devour the words, the phrases, the sentences, and much is retained in my memory. 

And while speaking at the English lesson with my students, or while writing a new post for this blog, some expressions come up to that moment and I utilize them. 

I study the language, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy reading, I do, yep. 

Plus sometimes after reading a couple pages I go back and randomly revise some sentences or phrases or words, which thus get stuck in mind too. And afterward I can retrieve them when necessary. 

I have learned a lot of English in that way. And more and more I can understand unabridged books: before now I used to understand something – most but not all – from a page, some years ago. 

I postulate that reading is good for learning a tongue, although you should also practice Listening, Speaking and Writing. 

Now something about communication in the language classroom. If the students do have an intermediate level at the target language, say, some B1, the teacher should feel comfortable at using that tongue in the classroom, despite he may think his students will not understand much; come on, foster communication in that language in the classroom and when addressing the students via emailing. 

You in that way will catch yourself doing some nice service to your students: they expect you the teacher will use English or whatever the target language is. 

Have a nice day. Oh, also: I said reading is a language booster: I also notice I have more fluency and show more grammar accuracy through having learned a lot of English by reading, more than my dear students. Anyway, I notice they are improving and bettering.

And if your students have a lower level than intermediate, say, A2 for example, well, you should try to utilize the target tongue in the classroom; try and do it, I’d tell you.