Reading Material

"Read, read, read." That is a statement I used to say again and again to my ESL students.

If you are an ESL student, reading in English will improve your vocabulary and your understanding of how the language works.

The "English Tiger in the Jungle."

Learning English can be compared to visiting a tiger in the zoo, or in the jungle.

When we visit a tiger zoo, it is in a habitat that is made to be similar to its natural habitat in the jungle. While it is wonderful to be able to see a live tiger at the zoo, we don't really get a complete picture of what a tiger is capable of and how it truly lives because it is limited by the size of the zoo enclosure.

When we get the chance to see a tiger in the jungle - its natural habitat, then we get a true idea of what tigers do and how they live and survive (or not) from day to day.

Reading English is like seeing the 'English Tiger in the Jungle.' Especially when reading fiction, you come across words and phrases that are used as native speakers use them in spoken English. Next to being in an English-speaking country, reading is one of the best ways of getting a good command of the English language.

So.... let's pick up those books and start reading!

Read Out Loud!

When we read out loud, we train our eyes, ears, and tongue. Doing that can help things to "stick in our minds" more. If there is someone available at your reading level or higher that can listen to your reading, that can be beneficial as well. They can point out any mistakes you may have made in pronunciation or even grammar. One thing I was especially picky about when I was teaching ESL is pronouncing the letter "s" at the end of a word. That "s" is very easy to "drop" if you don't pay close enough attention.