How do you feel about reading English

1
How do you feel about reading English?
Look at what these learners think about reading
English.
I only read English because I have to. At work I
need to read technical manuals and instructions.
Thats enough for me! Roger, France
I usually give up after a few minutes. Its so
slow and boring-always looking up words in my
dictionary. I dont enjoy it at all. Susanne, W.
Germany
2
Reading
Ive always enjoyed reading - its one of my
hobbies. I often read books in other languages
too. I like reading detective stories in English,
for exemple, and Im sure Ive improved my
English a lot. Gilbert, France
How do you feel about reading English?
Find out what other people in your group feel.
3
What do you know about reading English?
Reading speed
Look at what Stan says about reading.
It always takes me a long time to read anything
in English - and its such hard work. Stan, Poland
Do you have problems like Stans when you read in
English?
Many people are slow readres in a foreign
language because they are so anxious that will
miss something that they stop and try to
understand every word. Other people are slow
readers because they say the words as they read -
either aloud or silently in their minds. What do
you do when you read in your own language?
4
Reading strategies
A good reader varies his or her reading strategy
according to why he or she is reading. Having a
reason for reading helps you to focus on what you
need or what to understand. When might you use
the following strategies? a)
Skimming reading a text quickly just to
understand the main ideas. b)
Scanning having a specific point in mind and
looking for it quickly in a text.
c) Reading for detail reading a whole
text very carefully for specific
information. Can
you think of a situation where you really need to
understand every word of what you are reading?
Give an example if you can.
5
Test yourself in a practice activity
Read what Erik says about testing himself.
I test my speed and my comprehension like this I
find a short newspaper article and read it once
quickly to get the main ideas. Then I cover it up
and try to write a brief summary of the main
points - sometimes in English, but usually in my
own language. Then I compare my summary with the
article to see how much Ive got. I time myself
reading and keep a record of my results. Erik,
Iceland Do you know of any good ways of testing
yourself?
Name Erik
Name Sofia
6
What do you need to do next?
Examples Here are examples of how Erik and Sofia
set themselves short-term aims.
Name Erik
Name Sofia
7
How do you prefer to practise your reading?
Personal strategies
Read about the strategies used by these learners
to practise their reading
I choose things to read in English that I would
read in my own language. I try to use the some
strategy for reading the English as I would for
reading the same sort of text in Spanish. Sara,
Chile
In the self-access centre I use texts with
comprehension questions. I always read the
questions before I read the text so that I know
what Im looking for. Yuen, Hong Kong
Once a week I try to go to the British Council
library in Tunis. I look through the newspapers
and try to find two or three interesting aeticles
to read. I find The Times and The Financial Times
not too difficut to read. Borhene, Tunisia
How do you prefer to practise your reading? Can
you think of any other ways?