I read books a lot to the point one could call me a bookworm, but I was not always like this. When I came to Canada, I could not read books in English. I always liked reading from my childhood. Reading is one of my favorite way of passing the time, so I often stayed in my parent’s library room and read books. After moving to North America, I felt there was an empty hole growing me. I was so depressed that I visited the doctor. Initially, my doctor thought I became depressed due to rapid environmental changes. It was not like I was always depressed like this. It is not uncommon for a foreigner to become homesick and depressed. One day, we were talking about what activities I enjoy. I told her that I love going to places, experiencing new things, discussing an exciting subject with people, playing the piano, then reading. When I was talking about piano and reading, I started to cry. I realized that I substantially lost reading time. That day, I determined to learn to read in English. I began to read every day. Surprisingly, learning to read English books worked because I no longer felt melancholy.
I think most people can learn to read in a Foreign language at some level. Japanese students study English for six years. We aimed at approximately 7-8th grade level English after high school. There may be some natural aptitude for acquiring foreign languages, but people tend to develop foreign language skills in extreme situations. Later, I met some international students who had recently arrived in Canada. They read English books very well. There was a common trait among them. They seem to put themselves in an environment that they read English books before visiting Canada. Acquiring foreign languages can be done by adding little habits and tricks you can do every day.
A Habit of Checking Unknown Words
It is essential to look up the word you do not know. I do not always memorize the words, but you will eventually start to know them. I always look up unknown words, so I used to carry around a dictionary with me all the time. It was heavy, so I bought a tiny pocket-size Oxford dictionary to carry around. Since it was a pocket-sized dictionary, it contains fewer words with more simple definitions to understand than a full-sized one. So I ended up with few words I did not understand very well. This process can slow your reading, but it helped me gain vocabulary. Don’t overwhelm yourself, though. Some reading devices such as Kindle have a dictionary function. Now I read most of my books on Kindle because it is convenient. I downloaded an oxford dictionary onto my Kindle. Now I can highlight the word I want to look up with my finger, and Kindle will bring up the definition from the oxford dictionary. The process of looking up words is no longer a pain since I started using Kindle.
A Habit of Reading Every Day
Reading, in general, helps you to gain more vocabulary and reading skills. I felt the process of input and analysis becomes more efficient over time. The more books you read, the faster the reading becomes. I stopped voicing while I read in my early elementary years. It took me a little longer in English because I was constantly translating in Japanese first. Eventually, I stopped translating into Japanese. At this level, you are no longer thinking in your native tongue while you are reading. Then, naturally, you also stop voicing in your head.
Read a Book or Articles You are Familiar with
Read Something You Already Know or Materials that Interest you greatly. I started reading stories that I read in Japanese a long time ago. It is even better if you are interested in the material. Depending on your native tongue, the English can be drastically different. At least it was for me as English letters are quite other from Japanese letters. It can be overwhelming. I started reading something like “The Little House in the Prairies,” “Anne of the Green Gables,” or “Daddy-Long-Legs.” Something I read when I was young and loved reading.
It does not have to be a book either. I know a lady who loves Japanese manga so much that she learned Japanese by reading Japanese Mangas. When I was playing the League of Legends, I saw foreign people playing on the American Server. Some of them learned not only to read English from the game but also communicating in English. People tend to forget the pain of learning when they do something they want to learn. During my 1st through 3rd years in elementary school, we did not have access to the school library. Instead, we got 40-50 books in the classroom. Those books rotated every month or so. Not every kid was interested in reading. So my teacher in early elementary school would read a book and explained the book’s background to us. The book would no longer be available for few weeks because even kids who did not even touch a single book wanted to read the book. My second-grade teacher was such a good book reader. I bet she piqued many children’s interest in reading. It seems the sense of familiarity and interests removes obstacles to learning new.
You can use other media to gain familiarity. There will always be books that you want to read, but you have never read a book. Some books turned into movies. You can gain familiarity by watching a movie before reading the book. I used this technique for reading “Shogun” or “Gone with the Wind.” All Japanese school students must study ancient Chinese or ancient Japanese literature as a part of a Japanese class. I read comics books or books written in the modern language before I read in ancient languages. There is nothing wrong with those reading materials. The problem was the content of the sentence might transform into something different when you combine the translation of too many words with multiple meanings. Creating a sentence becomes building a puzzle from many pieces. Sometimes, this process does not work smoothly, and the sentence becomes a Frankenstein or Chimera. But, reading manga or movies of the material ahead of time can remove these problems as you can guess the correct meaning much easier since you understand the context.
Start With Books or Articles with Fewer Words
I started reading short stories for children because books written for adults were too challenging for me to read. I always love reading books written by Hemingway, E.M.Forster, or Tolstoy. At first, I started reading Anna Karenina, and I had to stop. It was too long; therefore, the content did not get into my head even after reading the book in Japanese. The reading experience was nothing but frustration. The first English book I read was “Anne of the Green Gables.” I was in Canada, and it was convenient. I even went the Prince Edward Island after I completed reading the books.
Summarizing What You Read
Summarizing what I read helped me understand the topic better and improved my English reading comprehension skills. According to Mason and Krashen (1997), the Japanese students who summarized the English books after reading improved their English more than students who did not (p. 91). When I find an exciting part of a book, I highlight and add notes. I also try to summarize the point in my own words. Kindle is also convenient for highlighting and adding notes. Those notes are lovely as I can go through notes after reading. If I could not understand my notes, I reread the section and rewrite my notes. Since you cannot rephrase something you cannot understand, this will exercise active reading. Additionally, you also learn to articulate what you read differently, enabling you to learn English at a higher level.
The Day You Meet the Book
I read Helen Keller felt like she was struck by a bolt of lightning when she started to understand a word means something. One day, I truly enjoyed reading English Books. I still remember completing a book, “The Watcher” from Dean Koontz, within several hours. The book was so engaging that the book consumed me. I even forgot I was reading in English. Since that day, I no longer felt overwhelmed by any books I read.
Learning to read a foreign language can be a slow process, but I have benefited from this skill. I can read many books written in English. Many books are translated into English before any other language. Many major academic papers are also published in English. It helps me when I need to research for work or casual writing.
It is possible to learn to read in a Foreign language. Learning to read a foreign language can be accomplished by adding a few small reading habits and easy materials you are familiar with or interested in. Look up words and summarize what you read. The process becomes less painful if you use Kindle. As long as you must maintain the habit, you will become a good English Reader.
Reference
Mason, B., & Krashen, S. (1997). Extensive reading in English as a foreign language. System, 25(1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(96)00063-2