The Reading Strategy Every English Learner Needs to Know (Step-by-Step Guide)

00:07:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEkkpHyA86s

Summary

TLDRIn this video, Jack from tofluency.com explains how to improve English through reading. He discusses the difference between intensive reading (stopping to look up words) and extensive reading (reading for enjoyment) and recommends a balanced approach. Viewers are encouraged to choose books based on genre, level, and enjoyment, and to consider graded readers and audiobooks. Jack suggests a method of highlighting unknown words while reading extensively and looking them up later, as well as creating flashcards for better retention. He invites viewers to share their book recommendations for learning English.

Takeaways

  • 📚 Focus on both intensive and extensive reading.
  • 🔍 Highlight unknown words while reading.
  • 📖 Choose books based on genre and enjoyment.
  • 🎧 Consider audiobooks for better understanding.
  • 📝 Create flashcards for vocabulary retention.
  • 📚 Use graded readers for easier comprehension.
  • 💡 Read a few pages before buying a book.
  • 📅 Review highlighted sentences over time.
  • 🤔 If you don't enjoy a book, find another one.
  • 💬 Share your book recommendations in the comments.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:07:50

    In this lesson, Jack from tofluency.com discusses how to improve English through reading. He introduces two reading methods: intensive reading, where you stop to look up unfamiliar words, and extensive reading, where you read for pleasure without interruptions. He emphasizes the importance of choosing the right book based on genre, level, and enjoyment, suggesting graded readers for learners. Jack advises readers to preview books before purchasing and recommends finding books with audio versions to aid pronunciation. He proposes a combined approach: read extensively while highlighting unknown words, then look them up later, and create flashcards for better retention. This method allows for vocabulary acquisition and grammar learning while enjoying reading. Jack encourages viewers to share their book recommendations for learning English in the comments.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is intensive reading?

    Intensive reading is when you focus on the language and stop to look up new words.

  • What is extensive reading?

    Extensive reading is when you read for pleasure without stopping to look up words.

  • How can I choose the right book for learning English?

    Consider the genre, level of difficulty, and enjoyment when choosing a book.

  • What are graded readers?

    Graded readers are books adapted for English learners to make them easier to understand.

  • How can I find books I will enjoy?

    Use platforms like Amazon to read a few pages before buying.

  • What is the recommended method for reading?

    Read extensively, highlight unknown words, then look them up after finishing a chapter.

  • What app is recommended for creating flashcards?

    Anki is recommended for creating flashcards with smart repetition.

  • How can I improve my vocabulary through reading?

    Highlight sentences, create flashcards, and review them over time.

  • What should I do if I don't enjoy a book?

    Put it down and find a different one that you enjoy.

  • How can I share my book recommendations?

    Leave your recommendations in the comment section of the video.

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  • 00:00:00
    - Which one should you focus on, which one is better?
  • 00:00:04
    Well, I recommend that you do both.
  • 00:00:07
    (upbeat music)
  • 00:00:08
    Hello, this is Jack from tofluency.com.
  • 00:00:12
    Thank you so much for being here today.
  • 00:00:15
    Now, in this lesson you're going to learn
  • 00:00:17
    all about books, and how you can
  • 00:00:20
    improve your English through reading.
  • 00:00:23
    I have a very powerful method to share with you,
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    and at the end I need your feedback.
  • 00:00:30
    But first, let's talk about a problem that many of you face
  • 00:00:35
    when it comes to reading in English.
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    The problem is this:
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    when you are reading and you see a word that
  • 00:00:43
    you don't understand, should you stop reading
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    and look up the definition of this word or,
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    should you just continue?
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    When you stop and look up new words, or you
  • 00:00:56
    analyze the language, this is called intensive reading.
  • 00:01:00
    Intensive reading.
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    So you focus on the language, and you stop when
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    you need to learn something new.
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    Extensive reading is when you don't stop,
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    and you just read for pleasure.
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    You're reading to enjoy the book.
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    We're going to talk about which one is best soon.
  • 00:01:21
    But first, let's discuss what type of books
  • 00:01:24
    you should be reading.
  • 00:01:26
    There are three things to consider when choosing a book:
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    the genre, the level of the book, and how enjoyable it is.
  • 00:01:37
    The genre means the category.
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    So when you go to the library, or a book store
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    you'll notice that books are categorized
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    into different sections.
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    Things like novels, history, science, et cetera.
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    So, if you love novels, then consider getting a novel.
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    If you are studying business English, then get books
  • 00:02:00
    based on business English.
  • 00:02:02
    This is important to say because I find that
  • 00:02:05
    a lot of learners feel like they have to read
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    a certain type of book.
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    But it's important to know that everyone is different,
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    and the book that is right for you might not be right
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    for someone else.
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    The level of the book is key too.
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    If it is too difficult to understand, then
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    it won't be useful.
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    If you have to stop at every sentence and look up
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    a new word, then you're not going to enjoy reading the book.
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    A great solution here, and I've mentioned this many times,
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    is to look at graded readers.
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    And these are books that are specifically adapted
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    for English learners to make them easier to understand.
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    They also tend to use everyday English, which is good
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    because this is the type of English used in everyday life.
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    Finally, find a book that you are going to enjoy.
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    And if you start reading a book and you're not enjoying it,
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    put it down and find a different one instead.
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    We want to enjoy reading because then we'll read more.
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    Here is a great way that you can find books
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    that you're going to enjoy before buying them.
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    Now go to amazon.com to do this.
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    And I've just chosen this book.
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    I searched for history books and found this one.
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    And you can see it says, Look Inside.
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    And if you click on it, you can actually start reading it.
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    And this is a way for you to know if the book
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    is going to be good for you or not.
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    So, let's just go to the introduction.
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    The man was seated at a desk in
  • 00:03:45
    a windowless basement office.
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    Two aides had just left the room.
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    I was now alone with a new U.S. Senator from Illinois.
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    It was January 5, 2005.
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    And you can continue reading this, to see if this book
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    is going to help you, and if you think it's
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    going to be interesting.
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    So before you choose a book, be sure to read
  • 00:04:07
    a few pages first.
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    A bonus tip is to find books with audio versions too.
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    As you know, English isn't a phonetic language,
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    which means that you can't infer how a word sounds
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    by reading it.
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    So getting an audio book will help you greatly.
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    And it also means that you can go from reading a book
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    to listening to a book, or doing both at the same time.
  • 00:04:35
    Okay, once you have found your book, now it's time
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    to start reading.
  • 00:04:40
    And let's go back to whether intensive or extensive
  • 00:04:43
    reading is better.
  • 00:04:45
    As a recap, intensive reading is when you focus
  • 00:04:48
    on the language, and look up new words, and extensive
  • 00:04:51
    reading is when you continue reading for pleasure.
  • 00:04:54
    Which one should you focus on, which one is better?
  • 00:04:58
    Well, I recommend that you do both.
  • 00:05:01
    And I recommend that you do both in a smart way.
  • 00:05:04
    Here is how.
  • 00:05:05
    What I want you to do is this:
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    read extensively, but highlight any words that
  • 00:05:12
    you don't understand while reading.
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    Don't stop to look them up, but just highlight them for now.
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    Do this for a chapter, or a specific number of pages.
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    And then once you have finished a chapter,
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    go back and look up the highlighted words.
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    This allows you to continue reading extensively, but,
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    you can then go back and look up these new
  • 00:05:41
    words and phrases so that you can acquire new language.
  • 00:05:44
    Here is a very key point about this method.
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    Don't just highlight a single word, but instead
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    highlight the whole sentence.
  • 00:05:54
    And here is how to take it one step further.
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    Take those sentences and create flashcards from them.
  • 00:06:01
    I recommend using an app like Anki, so that you can
  • 00:06:05
    get smart repetition.
  • 00:06:08
    And I've talked about this a lot in past lessons.
  • 00:06:11
    And I'm going to talk about it more.
  • 00:06:14
    And this is a method that I use in my program too.
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    It's where you repeat a sentence today, then tomorrow,
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    then in two days, four days, and eight days,
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    so that you can acquire this language over the long term.
  • 00:06:30
    And once you have done this over two or three months,
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    and you've gone through the entire book, what you can
  • 00:06:37
    do next is go back and read it again.
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    And you'll be amazed at how much more
  • 00:06:43
    language you'll understand.
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    And then you can read extensively and complete
  • 00:06:49
    the entire book without stopping.
  • 00:06:51
    So this is a reading method that will allow you
  • 00:06:54
    to acquire vocabulary, learn grammar, and also
  • 00:06:57
    read for pleasure.
  • 00:06:59
    But now, I need your help.
  • 00:07:01
    In the comment section below, share books that you
  • 00:07:04
    have found to be useful for learning English.
  • 00:07:09
    Okay?
  • 00:07:10
    Your book recommendations.
  • 00:07:12
    And let us know if these books are best for
  • 00:07:15
    beginners, intermediate speakers, or advanced learners.
  • 00:07:19
    And I might feature some of these recommendations
  • 00:07:23
    in a future video.
  • 00:07:25
    Once you have left your recommendation, be sure
  • 00:07:28
    to click over here and watch another one of my videos
  • 00:07:33
    on this subject.
  • 00:07:35
    If you've enjoyed this, then please share it.
  • 00:07:38
    And thank you so much for being here.
  • 00:07:40
    (upbeat music)
Tags
  • English learning
  • reading
  • intensive reading
  • extensive reading
  • book recommendations
  • graded readers
  • audiobooks
  • vocabulary
  • language acquisition
  • study tips