Saturday, July 30, 2005
Reading
Reading is perhaps the best way of learning a language. It gives you an idea of structure and vocabulary of that language. So if you want to learn English or improve your English the first step would be to start reading. There is a vast array of reading material available in our daily life. All of us have access to one or more of the following reading materials Newspapers, magazines, comics, novels etc. Choose something that interests you the most. In fact it’s very important to choose the reading material of your choice so that you don’t get bored.
Newspaper reading however is perhaps the most fruitful. Newspapers reflect the latest language trends. New words that crop up every now and then find their usage in newspaper reports. You will find ready use of idioms, phrasal verbs and sometimes the figures of speech too. Initially if you don’t find newspaper reading interesting then read only the headlines and topics that you have interest in. Slowly and gradually you will get interested in other news items too.
While reading try to observe the punctuation and structure of sentences. Moreover try to “puzzle out” the meaning of words you don’t understand. Puzzling out the meaning of a word means to try to figure out the meaning of a word from the context it is used in. Look at the neighboring words and sentences and try to guess the meaning of the word. For example if you come across a word “sift” in a sentence like “It will take some time for her to understand what is real friendship and sift friends from her acquaintances.” Look at the words that follow sift – friends from acquaintances. So it could be “distinguish” between friends and acquaintances. Well we are very close because sift actually means “distinguish and separate out”. With a little practice you will master the art of puzzling out the meaning of words.
So go and get something to read and enjoy reading it…
Next time I will tell you about writing so have fun till then.
Newspaper reading however is perhaps the most fruitful. Newspapers reflect the latest language trends. New words that crop up every now and then find their usage in newspaper reports. You will find ready use of idioms, phrasal verbs and sometimes the figures of speech too. Initially if you don’t find newspaper reading interesting then read only the headlines and topics that you have interest in. Slowly and gradually you will get interested in other news items too.
While reading try to observe the punctuation and structure of sentences. Moreover try to “puzzle out” the meaning of words you don’t understand. Puzzling out the meaning of a word means to try to figure out the meaning of a word from the context it is used in. Look at the neighboring words and sentences and try to guess the meaning of the word. For example if you come across a word “sift” in a sentence like “It will take some time for her to understand what is real friendship and sift friends from her acquaintances.” Look at the words that follow sift – friends from acquaintances. So it could be “distinguish” between friends and acquaintances. Well we are very close because sift actually means “distinguish and separate out”. With a little practice you will master the art of puzzling out the meaning of words.
So go and get something to read and enjoy reading it…
Next time I will tell you about writing so have fun till then.
# posted by MoodsAndColors : 1:09 PM
