| GETTING AHEAD: READING |
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| You should know by now that to REALLY get good at English, it's not enough to just come to class. The strongest students in your class will always be the ones who use other methods to supplement their learning. One excellent way to improve your English understanding is READING It doesn't really matter what you read- as long as it's in English. Follow these tips and you'll definitely learn faster, increase your vocabulary and start to really enjoy English. 1. CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING TO READ Choose something that interests you. if you like sport, read about sport. If you like Harry Potter, read about Harry Potter. If you study International Relations, read Time magazine. Make sure you like it! You can find interesting stuff everywhere- books, magazines, internet, newspapers. Comic books aren't a good choice because they don't really use much English in its correct forms. 2. READ THE PASSAGE QUICKLY, WITHOUT STOPPING This will help you understand the overall meaning of the text. If you understand the "context" (overall meaning), it will help you guess the meanings of unknown vocabulary. If you get stuck on a word, move past it the first time, come back to it later. 3. TAKE NOTES Make a note of the overall meaning of the passage. Read through one more time and note 5-10 unknown words. Try to use the context to guess their meaning, and then check your ideas in the dictionary. BY WORKING IT OUT FOR YOURSELF, IT STICKS IN YOUR MIND! 4. REVIEW WHAT YOU'VE LEARNT The next day, look at the words you noted down. Can you remember what they mean? If yes, bagus! If not, try to work it out again, this time you'll definitely learn it. 5. KEEP READING Don't get lazy- read as much as you can in English. If you have problems, bring the text in to your teacher, they'll be more than happy to help- they might even lend you more reading material! OTHER IDEAS: 1. FORM A "BOOK CLUB" AND SHARE BOOKS- DICUSS THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND TREAT IT AS A SOCIAL EVENT. 2. USE THE INTERNET FOR SOMETHING OTHER THAN "FRIENDSTER" 3. TRY USING THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES ON MOVIES 4. ASK YOUR TEACHERS FOR BOOKS AND ARTICLES 5. RESEARCH TOPICS RELEATED TO THE ARTICLE OR BOOK ON THE INTERNET- this will make you think a lot about what you've read. It amy even inspire you to write your own reviews or articles! |
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| WRITE A BOOK REVIEW! What is your favourite novel? Send us a review and we'll post it up here. Or... send us your Top 5 Books! Steve's Top 5: LES MISERABLES - VICTOR HUGO THE ALCHEMIST - PAULO COELHO THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME - MARK HADDON BARRY TROTTER AND THE SHAMELESS PARODY- MIKE GERBER EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED - JONATHAN SAFFRON-BOEUR |