If you are a language student and love reading, you’re fortunate because reading is highly beneficial for your language practice.
We language teachers always say that you must use your interests to make your learning experience more enjoyable. So, if reading is one of your passions, you can use it as a way to practice a foreign language and improve your language skills.
I recently had a wonderful conversation with Giulia of Italian Time Zone about how we can use reading as a way to improve language skills. We shared our personal experiences as language students and teachers, discussed the benefits of incorporating reading into the students’ language practice, and compiled a list of reasons why it is important to include reading in our language practice. That conversation, which you can find here (it’s in Italian), inspired me to write this blog post.
So let’s see how reading in a foreign language can help you improve your language skills.
1. First of all, it is a slow activity, something you can do without anxiety. You can take your time doing this practice, without worrying about understanding what’s being said or having to solve a grammar quiz. You can just sit down, have a cup of tea, open your book, and immerse yourself in the language, hassle-free. And learning without anxiety is undoubtedly beneficial to your language acquisition process.
2. Moving to more specific aspects of the language, reading is a great way to improve your vocabulary. When you read, you come across new words and phrases and, most importantly, you see in context the words and expressions you already know, which is really useful to understand how to use them correctly. Finally, seeing the same words used multiple times in the same text will help you memorize them.
3. Also, reading can help you understand grammar better. When you read, you can see how sentences are built and how grammar is used to create a sentence. This will undoubtedly reinforce your understanding of grammar elements and structures, and you can finally learn how to use them besides fill-in-the-gaps and other similar grammar exercises. You can see how grammar is used in real language, and those boring grammar rules will finally make sense!
4. Needless to say, if you jump into a foreign language book without preparation, you are headed for disappointment and frustration. This is why you should start with graded reading first. Graded reading books are specifically designed to use reading as a language practice and to learn how to read a book in a foreign language. This is why they are complemented with all sorts of activities to help you practice the language and turn you into a “real” reader soon.
5. Using reading as a language practice can go beyond just reading. You can read while listening to the audio version of the same book, for example, to improve pronunciation and make connections between words and sounds. You can rewrite certain sentences, keep a reading diary, write down your comments about reading, or record your voice while reading. These are all effective ways to make reading a fantastic exercise for your language learning.
6. Finally, when you get to the point of reading a book in its original language, not one written for students but a real piece of literature, you’ll experience the wonderful sensation of being able to read a “real” book, without translation. This is a milestone for book lovers and will boost your self-confidence – and this is something we always need when studying a foreign language, right?
So, if you love reading, I’d definitely try to include it in your language practice activities because it will do wonders for your language skills.
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