Improve Reading Skills

Reading is an integral part of learning English, but many students find it difficult. These tips will help you improve your reading by using skills you use in your own language. 

Tip 1- Read for Gist

Gist = the main ideas

of the text. Keep going. You shouldn't look up new words while reading, but rather understand the main ideas. The general idea of the story is usually clear to you when you read it.

Tip 2- Use Context

The context refers to words and situations around a word you don't understand. Take a look at the example below.

For dinner, I went to the shlumping to buy some chitla. 

What's 'schlumping'? - it must be a store because you bought something there.

What's 'chitia'? - It must be food because you are going to eat it for dinner.

Tip 3- Use Your Own Language

Thinking about how you read in your own language is one of the best tips for improving your reading. Look at how you read various documents. Are you a newspaper reader? Are you a novel reader? How do you read a train schedule? et cetera. Even if you cannot understand every word, this will give you clues about how to read in English.

If I am reading a schedule, summary, or other outlining document, do I read every word in your own language?

Of course not! Reading in English is just like reading in your native language. In other words, it is not always necessary to read and understand every single word in English. Read more about the similarities between English and your native language here.

Tip 4- Understand Different Reading Skills

In every language, there are four types of reading skills:

Skimming - used to understand the "gist" or main idea

Scanning - used to find a particular piece of information

Extensive reading - used for pleasure and general understanding

Intensive reading - accurate reading for detailed understanding

Skimming

Skimming is used to extract the most important information, or the 'gist'. Look over the text, noting key points. Skimming allows you to quickly gain insight into a current business situation. You don't have to understand every word when you skim.

Examples of Skimming:

• Reading the newspaper (quickly to get the daily news)
  
• The latest magazines (find out which articles you would like to read in more detail)
• Business and travel brochures (stay up to date quickly)

Scanner

Search for a particular piece of information by scanning it. Find the piece of information you need by scanning the text. Scan schedules, meeting plans, etc. to find details you need. When scanning, don't worry if you don't understand the words or phrases.

Examples of Scanning

• The "WhatNewspapers./ airplane schedule
  
• A conference guide
• This reading lesson plan can be used to practice scanning reading skills on your own or in class.

Extensive reading

Using extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures is beneficial. Don't worry if you don't comprehend every word in the text.

Examples of Extensive Reading

• A marketing strategy book
  
• or a book you read before bed
• A magazine article that interests you

Putting these skills into practice can be made easier with this lesson focused on improving vocabulary through extensive reading.

Intensive reading

In intense reading, one extracts specific information from short texts by reading very closely and accurately. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the specifics of a specific situation. In this case, it's crucial that you understand every word, number, and fact.

Examples of Intensive Reading

• A report on bookkeeping
  
• A claim for insurance
• A contract

Improve Other English Skills

Reading skills can be used to improve pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary as well as other areas of English learning.

Reading Tips to Improve Your Pronunciation

Reading Tips to Improve Your Vocabulary

Reading Tips to Improve Your Conversational Skills

Reading Tips to Improve Your Grammar

Reading Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills

Learn about these four basic reading skills by reviewing these quick review texts. If you teach an English course, you can use this lesson plan focused on identifying reading skills in class.