Let me ask you a question.
Do you ever feel that reading in English takes too long?
Maybe you stop often, lose concentration or feel tired before you reach the end of a text.
If that sounds familiar, today's episode is for you.
In this lesson we're looking at four reading skills you probably already have, but might not be using consciously when you read in English.
By choosing the right reading skill for the right situation, you can read more efficiently, with more confidence and even more enjoyment.
Now, before we get started, it's important to note that this episode is based on a video lesson with an accompanying reading activity, which is really important for practice of this topic.
So, if you can, we strongly recommend opening the accompanying PDF while you listen, or coming back to it afterwards to review the ideas.
So get comfortable and let's get started.
We'll start with just reading, and this means reading quickly to get the general idea of a text.
We use gist all of the time.
For example, we know when someone is happy because we can see that they are smiling.
We can see clues that give us a general idea of the situation.
And we can use gist to help us understand quickly what a text is about.
And this gives us the context of the text and helps our brain to process the information in a way that makes sense to us.
This is really useful when reading an article or a text which is important for work or study.
And before you start reading every word, ask yourself, what is this text about?
And give yourself 30 seconds to answer that question.
This will help you to understand the information in the text better, as your brain will now be prepared for it and can access information it already knows about the topic to support you while you read.
But don't take longer than 30 seconds.
This is the preparation stage, not the reading stage.
And try this one at home.
Pick a random article in a newspaper or magazine and give yourself 30 seconds to decide what the topic is about.
And then read to find out if you're right.
Remember, practice makes perfect.
The next stage depends on your reason for reading.
If you want subjective information, like an opinion, you need skimming.
But if you're looking for objective information, like specific data or names, you should scan.
These are the speed reading skills.
But first, let's look at skimming.
Skimming is quickly looking through a text to understand general ideas such as opinions, emotions and topics.
Imagine reading several reviews for a product you want to buy, to understand if the feedback is positive or negative.
Now, the quickest way is to skim through, looking for positive and negative words.
Scanning is quickly looking through a text for specific information such as names dates numbers, prices and other specific information.
Imagine you're at the airport and you're looking at the departures board for your gate number.
Do you check every detail on each line before you move on to next flight?
No, you'd miss your flight.
You read vertically, not horizontally.
This is the key to scanning.
You can use your finger, the other end of a pencil or a ruler to help you do this.
But it's really important that you stay away from reading from left to right.
So remember skinning. is about opinions, ideas, topics and genres.
And with scanning, you're looking for names, dates, numbers, price and other specific information.
We can use these two skills to help us answer specific questions about a text.
And this is extremely useful when we are looking for specific information.
Now, let's slow it right down.
Intensive reading is when you read carefully and look at the text in detail.
We do this to understand things on a deeper level.
It's necessary to read slowly and carefully when trying to understand more complex information.
And we use this form of reading when we are learning about something.
When reading intensively, we often interrupt the action to look something up in a dictionary or reference book without any problems.
The aim here is to understand everything.
But be careful.
If you try to read every word in this way, you will not be able to progress very far with the text.
It's important to use this reading style only when you really need it.
And now to the most natural reading style.
You've certainly done this before and it may be your favourite hobby.
Extensive reading is reading for pleasure.
This is when you read in a relaxed way, simply because you enjoy what you're reading.
The only aim here is to enjoy the text.
And this could be a book, a blog, an article or even a comic.
In this style, you read every word, but you don't stop to check the meaning of each word.
You get the meaning from the general context.
It's because you're interested in the context that means it's easier for you to understand.
It's a great way to improve your understanding of English, because it helps you learn in a more natural way, where you pick up language without even knowing you're doing so.
There are two important things to remember with this type of reading, though.
Only try to read things you are interested in in this way.
And don't try to read too high above your language level.
Try graded readers and choose a book aimed at your level.
Now some graded readers even have exercises to help you practice and check your understanding, which is great for building your reading skills and knowledge.
But this type of reading isn't about learning.
It's about enjoying the act of reading.
Let's go over each of these strategies very quickly.
First we talked about gist reading, which is about getting a general idea of the text before you read.
Skimming is about understanding the opinion of the writer, and scanning is searching for specific words, numbers and phrases.
Intensive reading is about understanding the text deeply and extensive reading is reading for fun.
So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.
The most important takeaway is this.
Before you start reading, always ask yourself, what is my goal?
And once you know that, choosing the right reading style becomes much easier.
And if you haven't already done so, don't forget to open the accompanying worksheet for this lesson to practice your reading skills.
Now you can also watch the full video version of this lesson on our YouTube channel.
And if you'd like more structured practice, check out the skills boost lessons on Coffee Break, English TV.
As always.
Keep practising little and often, and remember improving your English is all about small, regular steps.
Thanks for listening and we'll see you again very soon for another Coffee Break English lesson.
You have been listening to a Coffee Break Languages production for the Radiolingua Network.
