Self Study English Reading - How to Self Study English Reading

okay let's talk about our next self-study skill  

reading this is another very common  question oh teacher how do i self-study  

reading well let's look at a few skills  first choose a story you know already

use an online dictionary for meaning  and pronunciation while you read  

and lastly write synonyms next to new words

so let's go ahead and go through these

first choose a story you know already read a  story in english that you know very well in  

your native language for example i know the story  harry potter so so so well i have read the books  

in my native language many times so when i want  to practice reading in another language well  

a great place to start for me is harry  potter because i know the characters i know  

the story and this helps me to understand  or infer which means guess the meaning of  

words in sentences right because i already know  the story so it could be any story for you just  

think what's a story you know very well and then  find that in english find that book in english  

this helps your comprehension or your  understanding and your language development  

because you learn slowly how to infer the meaning  of words in sentences or in a paragraph or in a  

story right so because you know it it is a little  easier to understand and maybe more interesting  

because it's a story you know and like the next  self-study skill for reading is use an online  

dictionary while you read so maybe you're reading  a book or maybe you like to read on a kindle or  

a tablet you can always have your phone nearby to  use an online dictionary while you read of course  

when you read there will be words you don't  know phrases you don't know things that will  

be confusing right so always have a dictionary  nearby when you see new words when reading you  

can look them up in an online dictionary so  one of my favorites is cambridge dictionary  

this is dictionary.cambridge.org something  like that just search cambridge dictionary  

it will go from language to language there  are many different languages and you can see  

meanings what does the word mean  and how do you use it in a sentence  

you can see the translation what is the  word in your language and you can click to  

hear how the word sounds and practice your  speaking as well right so this is very useful  

i think when you are reading remember all  of our language skills help each other  

when we get better at writing we get better  at speaking in reading and even listening  

and when our reading gets better  it helps our other skills too  

so don't be afraid to write the meaning or  translation above the word and read the sentence  

out loud a few times to help your speaking and  your reading comprehension or your understanding  

of what you're reading it helps to do it maybe  three times to really help your understanding  

right so make sure to use a dictionary while you  read and don't be afraid to write in your book  

if you are uh maybe you are  reading on a computer or tablet  

just keep a notebook and write the  words on on there as you go along

all right our last self-study method for  reading is write synonyms next two words  

so what is a synonym a synonym is a word with the  same meaning as another word so if i see the word  

big some synonyms or words with the same meaning  are large and sizable and we can use these all in  

almost the exact same way in most sentences right  synonyms are a great way to improve our reading  

comprehension and again also our speaking as we  learn different ways to say the same thing this  

is even uh as a native english speaker something  we learn as we grow up uh as as we go from  

kindergarten all the way through high school  and so on we learn how to expand our vocabulary  

and use more words and bigger words and more  descriptive words so you can do that too  

right this is a natural part of learning a  language and you can make it happen for yourself  

by writing out some synonyms so maybe you see  a big word or an unfamiliar word which means  

not familiar don't know it right  we are we don't recognize it  

so write synonyms maybe you see a really a word  oh what is that so yes we can look up the meaning  

in translation and it's helpful to write down  synonyms for that word so let's say you're reading  

and you see the word sizable and you  think what does that mean sizable  

so you look it up and maybe above the word you  write the words big and large and this helps  

you make the connection this is another word  i can use for big or large you can also write  

synonyms for small common words to expand your  vocabulary so let's say you see the word large  

and you look up a synonym above it you write  sizable you can go both directions with this  

but this is a great way to expand your language  and improve your vocabulary and your reading

and of course because all of our skills are  connected read the sentence again with each new  

synonym maybe you write three synonyms for a word  well read the sentence switching out with each new  

synonym most of the time as long as it's the same  part of speech so all adjectives for example then  

uh we can often use them in the same way  but we might need a different ending right