5 Super Strategies for Learning a Language by Reading Books[1]

7/23/2019 5 Super Strategies for Learning a Language by Reading Books[1]

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5 Super Strategies for Learning a Language by Reading Books

Wish you were fluentlast week?

Youve seriously got to slow your roll.

But, hey, I get it most language learners want to hit fluency as fast as possible.

Nobody likes floundering around in basic linguistics like a toddler.

Would you be surprised if I told you that curling up and reading a good bookmay actually be the fastest way to

fluency?

Its amazing how the methods we use to learn language are often totally in-congruent with our goals.

Heres how the thinking goes: I need to speak the language fast, so Im gonna spend every second practicing how t

speak. Im gonna put all my energies into imitating the natives. Im not gonna go about reading books because they

ust too boring and too slow for me.

Maybe youve fallen in love with a native speaker and wanted to knock her socks off with confessions of lovein her

native tongue. Or perhaps a career promotionor assignment hinges on you being able to converse in a foreign

dialect. So you need to learn the language, and fast!

Nothing wrong with that. These are, after all, worthwhile pursuits. And hey, who really has the time to go slow and

wait for flowers to bloom these days?

But by sitting down and reading, youre going to get yourself farther, faster.

Why Youve Gotta Start Using Books to Learn Language

Reading a foreign book may sound like a waste of time. Its too academic, too high-brow, when you only wanted to

communicatelike a modern day native speaker.

Sounds intuitive, doesnt it? You just wanted to speak, so you practiced speaking. Unfortunately, common sense

works against you in this case. Because, get this: if you want to speak right, youre gonna have to do a lot of reading

in your target language. Language acquisition requires you to connect the dots. Listening is just one of the dots.

Getting the context right is one of the dots. Imitating the native speakers is one of the dots. Reading, sure

enough, is also one of the dots.

So if you really want to learn a new language fast,then you better get on the couch and read! You have no idea howlimited the speech-centric approach to learning a language really is. Here are some major reasons why reading

books is the best way to go:

You need to learn the rules first. You cant play around with a language (like everyday people do) until you

learn the rules of grammar and style. Native speakers understandably take these rules for granted, or arent

even aware that they exist! You listen to a native and what you hear are the grammar rules mangled in almost

every way possible. You hear the richness of the language as exemplified by the exception to the grammar

rules. The problem is, you wont grasp any language just by learning about the exceptions! You first need to

look into the underlying language principles that they break. Then you can practice breaking them just like any

native speaker. Only then will you truly appreciate the language.
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The brain is able to remember more when it sees things. Learning is facilitated by visual cues, and reading

helps the brain remember by showing it the words and the pictures that the word represents.

Books contain a richer language. The speech-centric approach is inscrutably vague. Compared to the

written word, the spoken word is very ambiguous. Average speakers dont spend as much time choosing their

words as writers do. So there is very little nuance in the spoken language. A lot of things are BADin the

spoken language. Spoken language eliminates much of the nuanced texture of the language by simply saying,

it was a bad dayor it was a bad sign . Meanwhile, in written form, things are more often awful, dreadful,

shocking, dire, unpleasant, evil, ruthless, base, poor, inferior, deficient, imperfect, naughty, mischievous,serious, critical, and so much more!

Attack the language on all fronts. If you really want to learn a language fast, you need to attack it in every

way possible. Confining yourself to a single learning source, you wont be able to connect the dots and make

out the big picture. You need to read, you need to talk to natives, you need to experience the language in all its

facets.

The Inherent Advantages of Learning by Reading Books

Im not even alluding here to the depth and breadth of knowledge that one gains from reading foreign nonfiction or

books on specialized topics like economics, politics, philosophy etc. Im referring to the simplest of books books thhave approximately 1 sentence per page childrens books!

Imagine. An unassuming 8-pager, targeted to 4-year olds and full of colorful illustrations, has something to offer a 40

year old professional.

Reading Eliminates Limiting Factors from Language Learning

A limiting factor is something that, regardless of the time, energy and money spent on the process, hinders your

language learning.

You dont have to travel to distant lands to learn a language.Learning shouldnt be encumbered by something

like the lack of a plane ticket. You just have to grab a book. Do that and youll be able to travelthrough space and

time. Stay in your seat and learn about how other people refer to tables, chairs, apples and other daily items in their

own language.

Your books will always be there for you.By reading a book, you remove another limiting factor of language

acquisitionthat of finding a capable and consistent instructor or mentor. The consistency issue is precluded

because the lessons are permanently printed on the book. Theyre not dependent on the moods swings or the

availability of the instructor. Books never tire or get mad after the 20threpetition. You go at it at your own pace. Your

self-esteem wont take a hit because another person is witnessing your relatively slow progress.

Books help you get more immersed in language.A book paints a picture that an instructor never can childrensbooks are especially good at this. You dont have to worry about having the money for professional instruction. Book

are the best alternative. Choose materials from the most reputable sources and you are assured of competent

teaching. (Forums abound with reviews that can help decide if a particular book will work for you.) The thing is,

reading can bring you at the doorsteps of the most experienced language teachers around those who have decad

of experience. No, you dont have to meet them personally, and its not like their personal coaching is cheap. But yo

can most certainly get a book that distills their most effective methods.

Reading Reinforces Word-Acquisition

Reading gives the brain much to work on. It actively involves the visual cortex in the learning process and makes the
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lessons more memorable. So instead of just listening to the Spanishword saltar(jump), youll see how the word is

spelled and used in a simple sentence. Youll also see a beautifully colored illustration of a little boy jumping. Thats

definitely more memorable than simply listening to a word being spoken, or seeing it written on a white board along

with a hundred other words.

Your grasp of the language greatly depends on the words youre able to make out in the context of a sentence. In

short, vocabulary.And a book is very good at making vocabulary lessons memorable enough for them to stick.

As Ive said before, you need to attack the language in different angles. Im not saying that reading trumps all the

other methods. Im not saying that listening and speech-centric approaches dont work. They do! And they all have a

role to play. Im saying that you need all of the approaches to give you different pieces of the puzzle. They all work

together to stimulate all the senses and burn the lessons in your head.

Word acquisition will be painfully slow without the help of a good book that makes the words come to life.

Reading Promotes Word Precision

As mentioned before, the written word is more nuanced than the spoken word. Writers consider their words more

carefully than a native speaker chit-chattingwith friends. When native speakers talk in person, they have the

advantage of a shared context. And often, they only have one listener to attend to.

A writer, in addition to the multiplicity of potential readers, needs to consider the different instances that a book will b

read. He needs to be thoughtful of the different backgrounds of his audience. So he needs to be very accurate and

precise with his writing. He cannot be as vague as the speakers, because he can easily be misunderstood and he

wont be there to defend himself.

So, if you want a more precise grasp of a language, youve got to read and see how the nuances slightly change the

intent of each sentence. And you wont get this kind of experience just by talking to the first native speaker you mee

Your book has gone through a lot of edits and rework to make it sound just right.

Learning a Language by Reading Books: 5 Super Strategies

If youre gonna be reading, then you better be doing it right. Youd save a lot of time and effort doing so. People who

swear that reading never works often arent doing it right. So here are the 5 super strategies thatll make reading no

only worthwhile but also very effective.

1. Read Childrens Books

Start with books that have shorter content, basic vocabulary and use simple sentence structures.

The category that meets all these requirements is childrens books. The thing that turns people off with this type of

literature is only that it insults their sensibilities. Im a fully grown man and you want me to read what??

They forget that, for all intents and purposes, theyre really just like kids in the language that theyre trying to learn!

Because they think they know better, they jump right to intermediate level books and then later complain that the

language is too hard to learn.

Starting off with the easiest reading material is very crucial to your progress. All the other books assume you have th

basics down. Dont think that by reading the intermediate material, you can learn the basics along the way. No, that

doesnt work that way. Youll only be hurting yourself when you become overly ambitious with your learning material

Drop your prejudice against childrens books and start reading early, not when youre already months into your
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studies. Have an open mind and youll be on the sure path to language acquisition.

2. Read Parallel Texts

In addition to reading the easy ones first, try reading books that are written in dual language, where the translations

are written immediately below the sentence youre reading. This one-to-one sentence correspondence will save you

from reaching for the nearest dictionary to locate the meaning of a word. As a result, youll have a smoother reading

experience.

Youll also be able to notice how the grammar rules of your target language compare with your own thanks to this

layout. Youll be able to take advantage of the similarities and be aware of the differences. You might, for example,

notice that the language youre studying predominantly mentions the subject ahead of the verb (e.g. The dog is

sleeping.) just like in English.

3. Read Extensively

This is about quantity.

Dont worry too much if youre not fully absorbing the actual meaning of the material youre reading. Just read on.

Dont be tempted to grab the dictionary on the first unfamiliar word you meet. Just barrel through the text and read o

anyway.

The purpose of this kind of reading is to expose you to as much material as possible. Dont worry about

comprehension. Were practicing your contextualizing abilities here. Simply guess what youre reading about. You

dont have to get it right all the time, just make a guess and trust that youll be close enough. (In the story youre

reading, for example, try to make out whats actually happening overall.)

Now I know that there are some types of personalities wholl be having a difficult time with this. They dont wanna

move ahead without first understanding every word, every phrase and every sentence on the page. Otherwise, they

get a nagging feeling that somethings wrong.

I strongly urge you to let go of the burden and just barrel through the text. Dont worry, nobodys watching.

4. Read Intensively

This is the direct opposite of the previous method. Youll need to designate reading time for both of these strategies

Each one has its own merits.

Reading intensively is about quality.

Actively be involved in what youre reading. Meaning, try to absorb all the lessons presented on one page before

moving on to the next.

Have a dictionaryclose by. Write copious amounts of notes on the margins of the page. Write your mnemonics,

insights and examples. Underline, highlight and encircle words. Dog ear the pages.

Your goal isnt to finish the book or to get the story. Your goal is to learn the language along the way. Dont busy

yourself with the character or the plot. Theyre but means to an end.

5. Read Your Hobby

Read about what interests you. Are you into cooking? Read recipesand cookbooks in your target language. Do you

love entertainment and celebrity stories? Im sure theres a ready publicationthat caters to that love.
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Thisll ensure that you wont get bored with what youre setting your eyes on. Because truth be told, reading in a

foreign language is no walk in the park at first. Youre facing a page filled with strange writing, punctuation and

grammar rules. So reading a subject that naturally engages you will help ease the labor pains.

In addition, the specific vocabulary you develop by reading a specific field will be your stable jumping off point into th

language as a whole. A field of interest, like cooking, will have terms and jargons that are often repeated and most

commonly associated with it. Try applying these words to the language as a whole. Sure, therell be terms that are

unique only to the field, but therell always be words that are perfectly applicable to the language in general. Use

these words to help open up the language for you.

Remember, these 5 strategies are here to make you not only read effectively, but also help you in the larger role of

acquiring the language. I hope you stop thinking that reading is only for people who are interested in higher linguisti

forms or complicated grammar rules. Its for everyone who hopes to understand a second language. Reading can

make the difference between you speaking the language that you love, and you still knowing only English.

If you want to get the very basics of a tongue, you better sit tight and read!

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5 Super Strategies for Learning a Language by Reading Books[1]