Reading Books
- mikihui1006
- Jan 11, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 1, 2024
If you are looking for an effective and enjoyable way to build your vocabulary and improve your reading speed, this article is for you!
To be covered:
Benefits of reading books
My suggestions for developing a reading habit
What you can do while/ after reading a book
Free online resources
Benefits of reading books
Read for pleasure (focus on the meaning of the text)
Boost reading fluency
Learn new vocabulary items in context
Practise reading skills (e.g. guessing the meanings of words from context)
*Reminder: For extensive reading, you need to be familiar with around 98% of the words in a text in order to understand the meaning of the text (Nation, 2008). Therefore, it’s really important for you to choose a book of the right level.
My suggestions for developing a reading habit
You may think…
1. It’s too hard for me to read an English book. There are so many words that I don’t understand.
Start from graded books. They use simplified language to help you understand the text.
Buy an e-reader like Kindle. You can highlight and look up the words using an online dictionary. It will also compile a vocabulary list for you to review.
2. I’m not interested in reading. It’s boring.
Set a target for yourself (e.g. Read 3-5 pages every day).
There are a variety of genres and topics you can choose from. You can always start from short books, and you don’t have to finish the whole book if you really don’t enjoy it. Just pick a new book.
3. I don’t know what to read. The books I pick are either too childish or difficult.
Choose non-fiction books. I recommend self-help books, such as Atomic Habits and The Psychology of Money, as the authors usually use simple and straightforward language to get their ideas across to the readers.
Look for the bestselling books on different websites (e.g. Goodreads, Amazon).
Watch book review videos on YouTube to help you pick a good book.
What you can do while/ after reading a book
1. Jot down the vocabulary items (perhaps some high-frequency words) that you would like to learn.
2. Keep a reading journal (e.g. using Notion).
Summarise the book in your own words.
Jot down your favourite quotes.
3. Read and/or write book reviews on different platforms (e.g. Amazon, Goodreads).
Free online resources
Given the benefits of extensive reading, I’m going to share two online websites where you can read and listen to free e-books.
1. English e-Reader (https://english-e-reader.net/)
Most of the books on this website are graded. You can choose a book according to your English level.
Audiobooks are also available. You can download the audio files and listen to the audiobooks.
There may be typos (e.g. tor* -> for, ho* -> he) in some texts.
2. (For Hong Kong students) Hong Kong Library (https://libbyapp.com/library/hkpl)
A wide range of books and magazines are available. However, they are not sorted by CEFR levels so you may want to read a sample first when deciding whether you want to borrow the book.
Audiobooks are also available.
You can download the app ("Libby, by Overdrive") and read or listen to books on your phone.
Summary
I hope this article can convince you to take the first step in reading English books! It can be challenging to pick a good book at the right level, so I’ll recommend English books for learners of different levels from time to time. Stay tuned for the next post!
References
Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. Taylor & Francis Group.
這篇文章會介紹廣泛閱讀英文書的好處和資源。
將會提及的主題：
閱讀英文書的好處
建立閱讀習慣的建議
有效閱讀的方法
免費電子書資源
閱讀英文書的好處
著重理解書的內容，享受閱讀的過程
提升閱讀速度
更有效地學生字（因為有前文後理）
訓練閱讀技巧（例如根據前文後理去推斷生字的意思）
*提示：根據過往關於廣泛閱讀的研究，有學者提出如果要理解書的內容，你最少要認識當中大約98%的生字，所以記得要選擇一本適合自己程度的英文書！
建立閱讀習慣的建議
可能你會想⋯⋯
1. 看英文書太難了，我很多生字都不懂
有些英文書已根據程度分類，你可以根據自己的程度去選擇合適的書籍。
可以考慮購買電子閱讀器（例如Kindle），因為你可以方便地查字典，查閱自己收錄的生字表，而且你還可以記下自己喜歡的句子。
2. 我對閱讀沒有興趣。
為自己定下目標（例如每次看3-5頁）。
其實有很多不同類別和主題的書供你選擇，如果你想嘗試建立閱讀習慣，可以嘗試讀一本自己有興趣、比較薄的書。而且不用強迫自己完成整本書，如果真的沒有興趣，就開始看一本新的書。
3. 我不知道我應該看什麼書，有時我選擇的書太幼稚，或是太難。
建議先從非小說類入手，心靈勵志書籍（如：Atomic Habits, The Psychology of Money）是其中一個十分受歡迎的類別，通常作者會用教簡單淺白的方式去表達自己的見解。
可以瀏覽大型網上書店或書評網站（如Amazon, Goodreads) 的𣈱銷榜。
參考YouTube上其他人分享的推薦書籍。
有效閱讀的方法
1. 記下自己想學的生字（例如常用、常見的）。
2. 在自己的閱書筆記（如使用Notion），嘗試去概括書的內容，記下自己喜歡的句子或段落。
3. 在大型網上書店或書評網站（如Amazon, Goodreads）閱讀（或寫）書評。
免費電子書資源
除了購買書籍，你都可以在以下兩個免費的英文書電子網站去找自己喜歡的書。
1. English e-Reader (https://english-e-reader.net/)
所有書籍都已根據程度分類，大部分書籍都是為英文學習者設計，所以用字會有所調整。你可以根據自己的程度去選擇合適的書籍。
很多書籍都附有錄音，你可以下載錄音檔，一邊看書，一邊聽錄音。
要留意的是有些書籍有機會出現錯字 （例如：tor* -> for, ho* -> he）。
2. Hong Kong Library (https://libbyapp.com/library/hkpl)
如果你是香港學生，你可以登入香港圖書館網站，有更多英文書籍和雜誌的選擇。很多書籍沒有根據英文程度分類，不過你可以先閱讀樣本去判斷書籍的深淺程度。
在這個平台你也可以找到很多有聲書。
你可以在手機下載"Libby, by Overdrive"去看和聽書。
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