3600. On How to Learn a Language by Reading Books and Other Sources

 Many, many of us want and need to learn English or any other language. This blog is on teaching English. 

Now I can tell you how I do to learn that adorable language. I do some activities like listening to a radio station – one from Dublin – plus carry out activities from an English C1 coursebook – for example I carry on speaking exercises as if I were speaking to some other students, by developing some internal discourse – plus other activities plus… reading! 

I try to read two books in English, and the thing works. I assume that most of what I have learned has been by reading. 

Reading is not the only activity you need to do to learn a tongue, but you have to practice the four language skills. Anyway, reading may be the one that may give you the language for speaking and writing. 

Reading gives you grammar, lexis and ways of saying things in the target language. 

As I told you, I’m reading two books, one about teaching English, by Jeremy Harmer, plus a novel by Michael Crichton. So one non-fiction book and a novel. Also I read from the Web. 

Now something about my reading those books and how they help me learn a lot. I read those texts, but rather I should say I study them, though I enjoy reading them and studying them in a relaxed way. 

I read for example a couple of pages and then I go back to at random focus on quite many words and phrases to study their form, meaning and the like, all in a quick way. 

Sometimes I look some words up in the dictionary, or, say, only one. Sometimes I read as though I were writing those texts myself and thus the new words stand out from the text and so I can focus on them. Do you understand what I mean? 

As well I try and guess meanings of words from the context. And the like. Even some fewer times I re-read what I’ve read, for instance a couple of pages. 

In that way you build up a vat of words, phrases and idioms that come to mind when speaking or writing in English. I have not been able to go to many English speaking countries, yet I have learned a lot from people from those countries plus on my own… by reading. Just try yourself. And don’t forget listening, speaking and writing. Have a nice day.