Do These 3 Things to Enjoy Reading English Novels Effectively, without Ruining the Pleasure of Reading.

Reading English Novels

Once you’re at the intermediate to advanced level in English, it’s a good idea to Read English Novels and other books designed for native speakers.

But you know what?

It can be harder than you think it’ll be (hint: reading something like Harry Potter might not be a good idea… see the video below for why).

My top three effective reading strategies to help you

In a nutshell:

1. Focus on meaning not details.
2. Understand the difference between “intensive” and “extensive reading (and when, and why you should do each).
3. Read to background knowledge, not to English level.

Okay, so let’s go a little deeper into these…

And that’s about it.

Ultimately, it’s about keeping your reading natural. Not only does this help you enjoy reading more… but it’ll also stop you from making bad “thinking” habits when you use English.

Reading English novels (especially extensive reading) is an effective way to build vocabulary and knowledge of chunks in English. It’s also a great way to build your knowledge of culture (something I talk about in my MEFA course).

Just remember: keep it natural, and enjoy.

[Julian]

P.S. Can reading advanced texts help you to speak better? Have a look at this post for my answer.