Why read in a second language?

Why read in a second language?

There are many reason why we should read in general, but this is even more important when you are learning a second language.

First of all, when you read in a second language you are getting more natural language. This will be even more evident and true as you read books from certain places. You will also get a better idea of the culture from that place because at many times authors introduce cultural aspects of where they live or where they are from in their writing. I highly recomend watching this interesting TED talk from Ann Morgan and how she read a book from every country in a year. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_morgan_my_year_reading_a_book_from_every_country_in_the_world

If you are already a good reader you can read extensively reading large ammounts of text to get enjoyment from what you are reading from that place. On the other hand, you may be more interested in intensive reading where you want to make sure you read every word that is on each page. It is best to mix the two approaches. First you should read to read so that you are enjoying what you are doing and after that you can go back and read with more care to make sure you understand every word in its context. 

You may want to start with basic reading material such as newspapers, webiste, comics, or other simple texts that interest you as you build your understanding of the second language as well as your vocabulary.

There are a few important ideas to keep in mind as you read in a second language:

• At first it will take more time to read and understand what you are reading. Just keep on reading make sure you read something you will enjoy.
• Start simple.
• As you read more you will learn more.
• Make sure you read the whole text so that you get the complete idea.
• Make a point of finish each book, newspaper, or article that you read.

What about unkown words?

• First, try to deduce the meaning by looking at the context.
• Second, break up the word to get the meaning, therefore, looking at root words, prefixes and sufixes.
• Third, if neither of these work use a monoligual dictionary to get the idea of the word in the second language.
• Finally, you can use a bilingual dictionary to understand the word in your mother language.

Important steps to reaidng in a second language:

• Skim/scan the text to get an idea and look for important information.
• Read the article or chapter of a book once for enjoyment.
• Read the text a second and third time to get a deeper understanding of the text, language used, and new vocabulary.
• Write a summary of what you have read in the second language.
• Tell another person about what you have read and what you have written.

It is not difficult to read in a different language and doing so continuously can greatly improve your understand in the second language.

Keep on reading!