Learning English Blog

It is neccessary to have a vast business English vocabulary to pass a job interview and get into a good western company. Here are 5 easy ways to develop your vocab.

1. Watch a business news channel in English. This is a great way to get exposed to what is going on in the business world and which words and phrases are commonly used. It is interesting as well as educational.

2. Listen to podcasts that teach business English vocabulary. These are mp3s that can be downloaded onto your Ipod. These shows will explain new business terms slowly and clearly. Once you learn them, you will be able to use them and what business people are talking about.

3. Use business English forums. You can performance your writing skills and newly learned vocabulary.

4. Read English books about business. There are many great books about business that native English speakers read. If you know enough about business, these books are often easier to understand than a novel written in English. There are many modern non fiction books about management, economics, consumer psychology, and various others.

5. Talk with native English English speakers about business topics. Do not be afraid to ask questions if you are uncertain about certain words. Make sure that the native English speaker is also interested in the subject or it will be a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

If you follow those 5 ways you will be well on your way to learning more vocabulary and making more money.

Knowing the difference between the subjects and the verbs in a sentence is neccessary to effectively communicate and convey messages. Being aware of these will also let you remember where to put commas and semicolons in your sentences. Whether in writing or in speaking, understanding the latter will surely help you know how to successfully connect with your correspondents or audience.

Simply put, in English grammar, a verb is an action word or a word that shows a state of being. Examples of words that show action are sings, runs, cooks, swims and goes. Words that show a state of being, on the other hand, are am, is, are, was and were. “She dances with grace.” is an example of a sentence with an action word, while “He is my father.” is an illustration of a sentence with a word expressing a state of being. However, when an action word comes after the word “to”, it is called an infinitive phrase. The leading verb is located either before or after the latter. “I like to paint.” and “The attempt to get him impeached worked.” shows an infinitive phrase coming before the main verb and after the latter respectively.

Conversely, the subject in the English grammar is what executes the verb. Words or groups of words that act as subjects are usually either nouns or pronouns. A phrase beginning with “of” usually marks the end of a subject. “A pile of history books was stacked on her study table.” is an example where “pile” is the subject and “of history books” is the phrase beginning with “of” that comes after it. To easily orientate the subject, look for the verb first. Then examine who is responsible for the action. In the sentence “Her mom came home early.”, the word “came” is the verb. What or who came? Her mom did, so “mom” is the subject.

Sentences stating commands or requests may come in forms where in only the action being instructed or called for is stated. “Go!” and “Talk quietly.” are instances where this is shown. In such cases, it is supposed that the person being talked to is the subject. This is because the answer to the questions “Who is being told to go?” or “Who is being told to talk quietly?” is the person responding to the statement.

There are also times in English grammar where in two or more actions and two or more subjects are present in the sentence. “He likes her, but she loathes him.” has two subjects and two verbs, “She and I went to the party.” has two subjects and one action, while “I exercise and jog every day.” has a single subject and one verb.

On the whole, subjects and verbs come hand and hand in constructing sentences in English grammar. Remember the regulations provided here and you will surely have an simple time identifying which is which in every sentence you encounter.

You have to predict where you are going to use English in the future. Since you know you want to do listening practice, you already know part of this question. Try to answer a few more questions. Questions like what vocabulary do you need? And, what kind of English will you be listening to most? English in seminars, on video in large meetings, or person to person. Will you be listening to English to learn facts and figures, or people’s thoughts and feelings?

Now, do a few searches on the internet for this target language, and places where you might find it. For instance, look on YouTube.com for specialized videos that you can use. You may consider making your own materials using some of the language you find on sites that come up in your searches.

The second question is, “What are your skills?”

This can be restated as what are your strong and weak points? You will learn and grow more if you find materials that help you strengthen your weak points.

Some students understand grammar, but cannot hear the sound combinations in English. Other students can hear all the words, but understanding the meaning is difficult. Each type of student needs a little different English listening practice.

If sound combinations are difficult, then you want to really find sources of recorded English conversation. YouTube.com and other video sites like it are great places to start. If you need to work on grammar and complex sentences, you might still choose YouTube.com, but you would look for instructional videos instead, since they give grammatically correct but more complex sentences.

The third question you might find useful is: What are you interested in?

Aside from learning the specific vocabulary and expressions you will need, you should listen to other recorded materials as well. There are several reasons for this. One is that it will help you develop your ‘English personality’ or expressing your self personally. Another reason is the wider range of general expressions you can hear. You will also be more motivated to listen and learn.

After coming this far, you will be ready to answer the next question. Are you planning to do mostly intensive listening practice or extensive listening practice, or a mixture of both?

Simply put, intensive listening practice helps you develop listening skills. Extensive listening practice helps you build experience, and build a wide range of vocabulary and expressions you are generally familiar with. Most students need to work on intensive listening practice, and certainly this is the kind of study to begin with.

In the case of intensive listening practice, you will be looking for shorted recordings that have the scripts available for you to study with sometimes. Extensive listening practice requires longer recordings and scripts are not necessary.

So now you have answered all these questions and you still ask, “Where can you find these materials?”

A great place to start is the English Listening World website. Lots of free materials are there already and the selection is growing. If you cannot find the exact materials you need or want, you might consider making your own, or having some custom-made recordings. Making your own listening materials takes lots of work but it is not impossible, and you will be studying even as you make them.

Making your own materials involves selecting the target language (vocabulary or grammar or expressions), writing the script, editing – or getting it edited – and then recording. The last two steps you can have done for you by native speakers, so this is clearly not impossible for you.

There are numerous sites that will help with editing. In fact, if you don’t want to write the script at all, you can supply the target language and have it written for you at a site such as eWrite.com.

Getting the script recorded would be a bit more difficult, except English Listening World has a few pages where scripts can be submitted for editing and recording. Your script will be available to the public on the internet, but the service is free.

With a few good questions, you can help yourself answer where to get good listening materials and start your listening practice today!

In the past the TOEFL exam was a paper based test, however since 2005 it has become exclusively delivered via the Internet. To register for the test there are three primary steps you must follow. You must register and receive an ETS id number. After, choose the test day and time that best suits your needs. There are many test sites and many times throughout the week that the test is being offered. Many English Language Schools and colleges and universities through out the world offer the IBT TOEFL test. The current price for the test is $170.00 and payments can be made directly to ETS through their website.

As the IBT TOEFL is the English language standard by which colleges and universities decide on acceptance it is important to study hard for the test. The TOEFL test is not pass or fail. Each individual institution that uses the TOEFL score sets up their own standard of admittance. One school may accept candidates with a score of 70 other colleges may only accept candidates with a score of 80 and above.

Preparing for the TOEFL class can be done individually as there are many books and third party resources to help someone study. Due to the importance and high demand of a good TOEFL score schools and colleges have created classes built around strategies for passing the TOEFL successfully. These classes usually follow the guidelines and framework of the test and your study id focused on each of the four content areas.

The Reading Section consists of 3 to 5 passages and you are responsible for answering academic questions based on those readings.

The Listening Section consists of 6 passages 3-5 minutes in length and then test takers are required to answer questions based on the listened information. There is a mandatory 10 minute break after the listening section.

The Speaking section is consists of 6 Questions that test takers answer by speaking and being recorded.

The Writing Section involves measuring the test takers ability to read and listen to information and then write about it.

Students can take the TOEFL test as many times as they want, but most colleges only accept the most recent scores. The entire test lasts about 4 hours and all sections are completed together.

Not only do you have to prove your qualifications for the position to your interviewer and sell your personality, you have to do it while speaking a foreign language as fluently as possible. Fortunately, most interviews follow a similar formula, so there are ways to plan ahead on how you are going to answer some common questions that you might be asked.

Most interviews will start off with a casual, informal greeting. It’s important not to be thrown off by this. While the rest of the interview will likely be in a mostly professional tone, a friendly greeting is intended to help you relax before asking the tougher questions. The interviewer might simply ask you how you are feeling, or they might ask other simple, non-business questions. You should try and give a relatively short answer – you want to acknowledge their question and show your understanding, but you don’t want to turn it into a whole conversation.

One of the big focuses of any interview will be on your qualifications, including your education and your past work experience. Here, it’s important to remember to use the past tense. If you’re talking about coursework that you completed or a job you no longer have, be sure to speak in the past tense: “I studied business at…” or “I worked for…” If you’re talking about your current employer or you’re still enrolled in classes, then you should use the present tense. Also, when talking about your education, be sure to mention what courses you’ve taken in English.

One of the trickiest parts of an interview is explaining your particular set of skills to the potential employer. There’s a strong chance that there are many aspects of the job that you are applying for that are things you haven’t dealt with in the past. You need to be able to show the interviewer how the experience and skills that you do have can be applied to the position that you’re trying to get. You may want to spend some time prior to the interview learning what sort of responsibilities you’ll have at the job you’re applying for. Then, think about your skills and past experiences and try to make a connection.

Another tip when interviewing for a job in English is to pick out some words ahead of time that you can use to describe yourself, your abilities, and your past experiences. Consider using words such as reliable, enthusiastic, innovative, personal, and other adjectives that describe your positive traits. This both displays your comfort level with the English language and shows the employer what you have to offer them.

The most important thing to remember when applying for a job in English is not to be too nervous. While a potential employer will want to know that you’re a competent English speaker, they will also understand that you English won’t be flawless. In fact, many people who speak English natively don’t speak it perfectly. If you make a mistake, don’t worry too much about it or you’ll just end up making more mistakes because you’re nervous.

If you need to improve your score in the IELTS exams, you should focus on the following ten areas:

1. Improve your overall English ability

The IELTS exam has been designed to test your ability to communicate in English, so ultimately you cannot score well without a high level of English. Learning any language is a slow process that requires hard work and perseverance. The best way to improve your English is to immerse yourself in English…take every opportunity you can to read, write, speak, and listen to English. In addition, try to develop regular habits for doing things in English, such as, reading the daily news in English or starting a blog in English. Research shows that it is important to interact in English frequently as opposed to big chunks of infrequent study.

You can improve your listening skills by listening to the BBC news or watching movies. In doing so, try to understand as much as you can about what the speaker is saying, and do NOT rely on subtitles – they only improve your reading! Reading can be improved by regularly reading English newspapers and novels. Try to guess the meaning of words you don’t know and only use a dictionary to check your guesses or for words you can’t guess the meaning.

Writing can be improved by writing more often…how about starting a blog or joining a chat group or forum. Speaking can be a tricky one if you are in a non-English speaking country. One thing you can do is to record yourself speaking and listen to it for mistakes. Another thing you can do is to try to meet people over Skype – even if they are non-native speakers you can still benefit from this kind of interaction.

2. Understanding the Exam

The exam always follows the same format, so you should learn about the different question types, and how to answer them. First of all you should be clear about whether you will be taking the General Exam or the Academic Exam because the requirements are quite different for each.

Reading: You should know about the different text types that are used in the reading exam, and also the different question types. This will help you develop reading skills and strategies to answer each type of question, and also let you develop time management skills for each question type. Note: many students have trouble completing the reading section and as a result their grade is often lower than their actual level of English.

Writing: All candidates will write a 250 word essay, so everyone should practice writing a complete 250 word essay within 40 minutes. Many students practice essay writing, but they fail to practice with the time requirement – as a result they are unable to complete their essay during the actual exam. You need to make sure you are preparing for the correct type of exam because general candidates will write a letter whereas academic candidates will write a report based on a graph/diagram. Clearly the requirements are different, so the preparation for each type should be different.

3. Understand how the exam is graded.

Although your exam grade is a single number for each of the four section of the exam, this is not how all sections are assessed. In the speaking and writing sections there are four criteria for assigning a grade. Understanding how each of the criteria is evaluated is essential to maximising your score. This is because we should try to give the examiner what they are looking for so that they will assign a high grade! As an example, in the speaking test – you need to use some idioms or some infrequently used language in order to score a 7 for the vocabulary component of your score. As for grammar, you need to use some complex or compound sentences or your score is limited to a 5, in terms of grammar.

How the writing test is graded

Your writing test is graded and marked from 1-9 in accordance with four key criteria, as follows:

Task Fulfillment: this concerns whether you addressed all parts of the question, and also whether you fully developed all parts of your answer.

Coherence & Cohesion: Coherence refers to your writing being easy to understand and cohesion refers to the way it fits together – such as the quality of your sentence structure, paragraphing, and use of connective devices.

Vocabulary: To score highly you must use higher level words, pay attention to collocation, and also control your word endings (correctly use singular/plural and use the correct verb ending for the correct tense).

Grammar: To score highly you need to use a variety of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and also avoid grammatical errors, such as with articles and prepositions and sentence order especially when they make your writing difficult to understand.

Special Note: In some instances errors can count in two categories; for example, many grammatical errors also result in a lower score for coherence. On the positive, it is useful to learn lots of connective devices because they can count for Coherence & Cohesion as well as vocabulary. Part of your self-study should be aimed at efficiently using your time to maximize your grade.

How the reading test is graded

Your speaking test is graded and marked from 1-9 in accordance with four key criteria, as follows:

Fluency and coherence: Fluency is about your ability to speak at a normal speed without excessive hesitation and restarting. Coherence refers to your speaking being easy to understand.

Vocabulary: To score highly you must use higher level words, pay attention to collocation, and also control your word endings (correctly use singular/plural and use the correct verb ending for the correct tense). In addition you should try to show an ability to paraphrase and use colloquial language.

Grammar: To score highly you need to use a variety of sentence types (simple, compound, complex) and also avoid grammatical errors, such as with articles and prepositions and sentence order especially when they make your speaking difficult to understand.

Accent: Your grade is influenced by the level to which your accent makes it difficult to understand what you are saying, and also the degree to which you use language features of a native speaker such as intonation, stress, and rhythm.

Special Note: In some instances errors can count in two categories; for example, many grammatical errors also result in a lower score for coherence. On the positive, it is useful to learn lots of connective devices because they can count for Coherence & Cohesion as well as vocabulary. Part of your self-study should be aimed at efficiently using your time to maximize your grade.

4. Do lots of practice exams and receive feedback

Doing lots of practice exams is the best way to familiarize yourself with the specific style, requirements, and necessary success factors of the IELTS exam. It is also a way to make mistakes without suffering any penalty. For example, better you find out that you have trouble with the time constraints of the exam before you actually sit the exam. Practice tests also give you insights about the types of questions you will be asked and the answers they require. For instance, many of the answers in the reading exam are synonyms (word with similar meanings) of words in the text. This is useful knowledge because there is usually no point in trying to find words in the answers in the text – instead you need to work on your skill in finding synonyms for these words. This avoids you wasting time looking for words that are not there!

Doing practice exams is not enough. Make sure you maximise the effectiveness of your learning by learning from your mistakes. Try to see patterns in your errors – what kinds of errors are you frequently making? The next step is to learn to overcome these errors. If they are grammatical errors you should do some grammar quizzes focused on that area, an excellent site is at http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar.

Of course if you are doing practice writing exams you will need a professional to give you feedback on your mistakes and how to avoid them. This is not just about proofreading for errors, you may have problems with the way you are structuring your essays. You are welcome to post in the writing section of my forum, which is available on the website connected to this article.

5. Developing skills

In addition to improving your general level of English and doing practice exams, you also need to work on many skills that will help you to perform better on the test. Reading skills such as skimming (which parts you should strategically read) and scanning (best choices for searching for information) are essential to deal with the time pressure of the reading exam.

Writing skills such as how to structure an essay and how to highlight your key points are necessary to score 7 and above. If you are doing the academic test you will need to learn how to write a report based on a graph/diagram – this requires a lot of specific vocabulary as well as a high level of ability in using the correct tense to describe trends. For the speaking exam you need to learn how to structure answers to questions and to quickly paraphrase words you don’t know (part of the criteria for level 7 and above) and you will need to develop skills in note making and speech making for the part 2 long answer.

To score well in the listening exam, you should develop excellent pre-listening skills, so that you can predict answers and establish listening objectives. It is also useful to have skills in guessing the meaning of words – as you are likely to encounter many of these!

6. Work on your time management

In the IELTS test, time management is a vital element and so part of your preparation should focus on how you will manage your time in the exam. Candidates who do not perform as well as they had hoped often complain that they were unable to finish all parts of the test.

In order to improve upon your time management, you should improve your general English ability, do lots of practice exams under time restrictions, and work on skills that assist your ability to deal with the time pressures of the exam (such as skimming and scanning in the reading exam).

7. Get a tutor or join a class

If you really want to make progress, especially in a short period of time, you really need to join a class or hire a tutor. This is because a tutor or teacher can guide you on how to prepare for the exam, what skills to develop, and also give you valuable feedback on your practice exams and performance in class. Of course it is better to have a face to face class. However, if for some reason you are not able to meet with someone face to face, I have a low priced online service where we can chat online. My essay correction and feedback service may be of use to you also – even if you already have a teacher; do they have the time and experience to give you the level of correction and feedback that you require?

8. Find a study partner

One of the most overlooked resources of most English learners is a study partner. It seems many people think that they can only practice their English with a native speaker; however, it’s not true. There are a lot of mutual benefits of having a conversation with another student or with reading each other’s essays. Even though you may be at the same IELTS level you will have different strengths and weaknesses. Also, any kind of practice is still worthwhile because it still gets you using and thinking in the language. Finally, you can help motivate each other!

9. Set realistic goals

Part of knowing the exam and understanding the grading criteria is about knowing where you personally are and what you must do to get to the next level. It takes about 10 weeks of full-time study for most students to rise to the next IELTS level. Therefore if you are a level 5 student, it is not likely that you will be able to get a 7 within 10 weeks. It is best to be working on raising one level. To illustrate this if you are a level 5 student you should be focusing on things like correctly using complex sentences, learning to paraphrase unknown words, and the overall structure of an essay.

10. Establish a timetable and reward system

Based on the goals you have set for yourself you should set up a timetable for reaching those goals. A timetable will help you to push yourself to study and to get through sufficient work to achieve those goals. As mentioned above it takes about 10 weeks of full-time study to raise one level – so if you really do want to jump two levels within 10 weeks, you will need to work twice as hard as a full time student – and study about 10-12 hours per day! If you are gifted it may take less, but don’t kid yourself.

Set aside the maximum number of hours you can spare each day to practise English for all four parts of the test. Practice regularly and give yourself a reward between tasks (I like ice-cream!). Take at least one day out of your week to rest and forget the test completely or you will become stale and depression may start to kick-in! Take every opportunity to immerse yourself in English whenever you can. Watch TV and films, listen to the radio, visit English websites and have as many conversations with native English speakers as you can.

Every year more and more people are studying courses in Business English to improve their chances of finding a job at home, career prospects and to be able to work in English speaking countries. If you’ve already studied a General English course or similar, or your English is already quite good, you might be wondering if it would be useful to study Business English.

In a Business English course you learn the vocabulary used in business and perform different business tasks to practice applying it. These include, for example, how to do a presentation in English, how to negotiate and formal writing. Further topics include how to conduct meetings, how to give opinions, understanding job profiles and marketing vocabulary and writing letters and emails.

While business has its own vocabulary, specialised areas within business have their own (unique) vocabularies as well. Such areas include finance, politics, law and trade. It is not possible to cover all the vocabulary in these areas in a course. There just isn’t the time! It is useful to take a course to learn general business vocabulary and practice carrying out business tasks in English. Many people use an English textbook or dictionary to translate specific terms in their area of work or profession. There are also specialised courses for lawyers, bankers etc, but these are usually quite expensive and are normally paid for by the employer.

English is the universal language of business, trade, politics and international law. The majority of students study to improve their job prospects at home. Many companies like their staff to improve their English and send them to study at language schools. It may be worth asking your employer if they would pay for your course, while showing it will have a benefit for them.

The second great reason to study English for Business is for living abroad in an English speaking country such as the UK, United States, Canada and Australia. There are many jobs that you can start after you have studied English to Advanced or Upper Intermediate level. You don’t need to have studied Business English to work in a bar or restaurant, for example! For many office based jobs however it is best to be able to understand English business terms and to have carried out business tasks before in English, such as presenting and writing. There are still some office based jobs you can apply for, however, and learn Business English as you go. They usually require some clever searching, but they are out there! If you manage to secure an office based job it will help to take a course at the same time. This will also demonstrate to your employer that you are serious about working in the country. If you are just looking or are working in a temporary position, a course will definitely make you more attractive to employers.

English input is listening and reading: English going into your mind. The best way to learn English is to focus on input: listening and reading. Output will come later: speaking and writing.

At the school in Bangkok where Dr. J. Marvin Brown developed “Automatic Language Growth,” students only listen for the first 700 to 800 hours. The students who are the most successful are the ones who don’t try to speak. Students who begin to speak earlier are less successful.

What Dr. Brown discovered is that after 700 or 800 hours of listening, students begin to speak naturally. By that time, their understanding of the language is excellent. They already have some fluency. And after that the program continues to focus on listening and reading. Students only speak or write when they want to; the whole program includes 2000 hours of listening.

Automatic Language Growth, a.k.a. The Listening Method, teaches you fluent English without thinking about it. You are not “practicing” or even “studying” in the normal way. The language grows in your unconscious mind, not your thinking mind. You can analyze and think about English forever, and you still will not be able to speak or understand it. Stop thinking, stop analyzing.

And it’s not difficult or stressful like the usual methods of learning a second language. Traditional methods of learning a second language put the student through a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress. Research has proven that learning is enhanced in a low-stress environment. The Listening Method is not difficult at all; in fact it is based on duplicating the natural, joyous process of a child learning their first language.

For many students, the most difficult part is just accepting this new way of learning. You think you have to try to speak and be corrected by a teacher and learn grammar rules and go to English classes and study in the normal way. But how many people really learn fluent English in the normal way? Almost none; most language students work hard for years and end up frustrated and bored, with zero fluency.

So it’s time to try something new. Don’t worry about speaking and writing until you are ready. Listen as much as you can to native speakers speaking English. Find an mp3 listening course to learn English. In this way, fluent English will grow in your mind quickly and easily, without even thinking about it. It’s not difficult, its fun, and it works.

There are some mistakes that most teachers make in their first years of teaching. The purpose of elaborating these mistakes is to make teacher more aware, and thus help them teach in a better fashion. Let us discuss the same here.

Speaking Quickly

The purpose of communication is to have meaningful interaction between the participants. Speaking too fast is commonplace among new teachers. When teachers speak too quickly, students fail to understand them. This is a waste of time for both the parties. This is especially important for educators who teach foreign languages like French, German or Chinese. We must remember that a child learning a new language would find it difficult to interpret a sentence spoken too quickly. Speaking slowly, however, can work wonders. It can help your students understand you better. Teachers should gradually increase the pace of conversation as the child starts learning the ins and outs of a particular language.

Unclear Enunciation

Clarity in speaking is the key to productive teaching. Native speakers often do not enunciate clearly. Your enunciation skills should math the learning ability of your pupils. A mismatch would result in frustrated students and waste of time. Proficient speakers emphasize on proper diction. Again, the whole thing boils down to underrating your student’s level of learning.

YES does not always mean YES

Most of the times when a teacher asks his students if they understood a lesson properly they would nod their heads as if saying ‘yes’. In reality, even if they do not get a concept right, they would say ‘yes’, either to shy away from learning or just out of fear. It is the responsibility of teachers to make students feel comfortable in class. A simple way to check if your student has learnt a concept properly is by asking him to repeat the main points of that concept.

Impatience

Many times, we do not wait for students to speak. The result is obvious- improper communication. Communication consists of three important aspects- speaking, listening and assimilating. If we keep on speaking without giving out students a chance to speak, we would never be able to address the pain points of the students.

No Acknowledgment

How often do you acknowledge the answer given by your student? Everyone loves being noticed. Teachers, therefore, should acknowledge the questions, answers and even doubts of their students.

There is at least a billion of people who speak English. 500 million of these people are Internet users. That’s why you started learning this language, right? There are millions of websites written in this language. If you want to benefit from all this knowledge, you should improve your English reading skills. How can you do it? Here are five tips!

1. Read as much as possible

Okay, that’s not a secret. Practice makes perfect. Read as much as you can. It can be everything: a book, newspaper, comic, magazine, instruction, blogs, websites, message boards and so on. If you don’t understand something, then use a dictionary. However, first try to guess what a given sentence or word can mean. There will always be a word whose meaning you won’t be sure of unless it’s a really easy text. If your English reading skills are low, start with easy stories like fairy tales or books for kids. If your English skills are better, try with something more difficult. Constantly try to enrich your reading experience by reading various things.

2. Read only things which you are interested in

It’s very important! Don’t read things which bore you because you will not benefit from it. Read about things which interest you – you will be more concentrated and have more fun. And fun is really important, too! If you love cats, read about cats. Don’t read about stock market only because there’s a text about stock market in your handbook. Forget about handbooks and get something more interesting for you.

3. Practice regularly

Set aside at least 15-30 minutes a day to read. Eventually, it will become your habit. Making reading a habit is one of the best habits you can adopt! The more you’ll read, the better reader you’ll become. A lot of people say that a habit develops after 21 days, so make up your mind that you will read at least 15 minutes a day for 21 days. After this time it should become your second nature. And your reading skills should be way better than now.

4. Pick the right book

Read only books which you can more or less understand. If you need to look up a word in every sentence, it’s not a book for you. Find something easier. You can start with fairy tales which are usually written in easier language. Generally speaking, books for kids are way easier. Don’t be embarrassed to read them – you are learning!

5. Read bestselling authors

Agatha Christie, Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, Dean Koontz, Robert Ludlum and so on. Type “List of best-selling fiction authors” in Google if you want to find more of them. These authors paint compelling pictures, they write very well and reading well written texts is the best way to not only improve your reading skills but also improve your writing skills. You can kill two birds with one stone!

If you take some time, you will become a better reader. These five tips will greatly improve your reading skills – just follow them.