Past Hokudai/Cast Entries

Monday, July 09, 2007

Improving Your Foreign Language by Reading


Reading
Is it boring or exciting? Is it fun or a chore (hard work)? It may be both exciting and boring and fun and a chore at different times. But, and this is important in improving your English, it Helps You Improve Your English. Or Chinese. Or Japanese. Yes, really, it does.

How can you improve your English by reading? Simple.
  • Reading improves your vocabulary.
  • Reading improves your culture knowledge.
  • Reading improves your grammar.
  • Reading improves your spelling.
But don't read just anything: This is important! Read what you are interested in. If you read something boring, you will be bored. If you read something difficult, it will be a chore. If you read something exciting, you will be excited!

(Hopefully, reading this blog helps you improve your English reading because it's not written in an academic style. It's a more..... relaxed way of writing.)

  • Online reading: There are a billion places to read online. Many are funny, many are exciting. You can find anything you want online.
  • Newspaper & Magazine reading: US newspapers are written to be read by anyone. It might be hard to find real newspapers but many newspapers have an online version.
  • Both Online and Newspaper reading helps you improve your Cultural Knowledge.
  • Book reading: (This used to be called book learnin') Reading an entire book is not as hard as it seems - the subject remains the same, the style is the same, the vocabulary is much the same - repetition of subject, style, vocabulary is good when you're reading. This improves your Grammar and Vocabulary.
And if you pay attention to what you read, your spelling will improve. Reading: A Winner!
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Mirai Sozo is the School of Future Learning at Hokuriku University. The primary focus is on language (English and Chinese) and management (hospital administration, sports, and business).
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