How to improve your reading skills - tips for self-learners

First of all, who is a self-learner? How would you describe one?

I would say a self-learner is a person who has acquired new knowledge in a particular field through self-study, by teaching himself/herself. Apart from the dedication to learn something new, successful self-learners need to create and follow a plan in order to achieve their goals, and they need to be able to find suitable sources and materials to acquire new skills. Finally, they should be able to apply their new knowledge in practice. I think that each self-learner deserves admiration because it requires a lot of determination, diligence and discipline in order to succeed.

What do you need to pay attention when you want to successfully learn a foreign language by yourself? Undoubtedly, you have to practice ALL of these skills:

reading- writing- listening - understanding- speaking.

In this article I will focus on reading and share with you some of my tips and recommendations.

You might say that it is not so easy to read something when you are a complete beginner. That's true, but you do not have to start with a classic novel :-)

When you live in a foreign country and you learn their language, look around and read every sign or signboard, every poster for yourself. If you do not understand it, take a photo of it and try to find the words in a dictionary. Working with a dictionary, especially an explanatory one, is an excellent way how to learn new words.

And what else can you do?

• In many languages there is literature adapted to each level, even level A1. You can start with the bilingual books when the same text is in two different languages (one of them is your native).

• Maybe you have a favourite book that you know almost by heart? Try to find it in your target language and start reading it. You don't need to concentrate on the content much but draw your attention to the vocabulary you don't know!

• Flip through magazines, read headlines and captions, or comics - there you can also see pictures which can help you to remember words in context.

• Do you like quotes? Look for ones in your target language, Pinterest is full of them.

• Advanced students can try, for example, crosswords, word searches or word jumbles, etc.

And try to read aloud, this will also help you with your pronunciation!

If you like learning languages and you think you have the drive and discipline to do it yourself but do not know where to start, how to set up an effective plan, and need some encouragement from time to time, it's a good idea to seek help and support. If your target language is Czech or English, we are here for you with our new language coaching program :-)!