How to become fluent in a second language? This is the one million dollar question that MyDialogue is trying to resolve. Acquiring fluency requires the accumulation of several skills (as presented in our app) ,and reading, though overlooked, is a major one of them. But why exactly?
Learn new and varied vocabulary
Reading will inundate you with new vocabulary which will both familiarise you with a language and improve your speech. You can even learn different types of speech by selecting specific material. A newspaper will help you with formal speech, and a youth novel will aid with your slang! Additionally, with spoken media, if you do not understand a word,you may encounter two problems. 1:) You might not be able to make out the word to be able to look it up. 2:) You may not be able to pause the program. Reading resolves both these problems!
Learn at your own pace
Unlike television, where you must keep up with a pace that native speakers often struggle with, reading enables you to learn at your own pace. It may take you ten minutes to fully understand a paragraph, and that’s okay! You are able to organise your learning in accordance with your own needs.
Choose your level
You’re a novice in English? Select a children’s book. You are a pro? Start with an adult novel. Your motivation will increase as you see your level progress by reading increasingly advanced material.
Unlimited resources
There are over one million books published each year in the USA, which provides you with inexhaustible material to constantly improve your English!
Improve your accent
Reading kills two birds with one stone as you can learn new words, while simultaneously improving your accents are extremely difficult to master, especially amongst adult learners, but reading out loud is one proven method to improve it.
Improve your spelling
Written skills are a key component of fluency and reading assists this. Your writing will improve as you discover words and learn to recognise their spelling. Although there are approximately 171,476 words in current use, just 3000 make up 95% of texts, and reading will expose you to these 3000 most important words!
Read what interests you
Language learning is a long, laborious process, and to keep motivation to achieve fluency, it’s important that it’s not monotonous. With reading, you can improve your English by reading about your own interests and hobbies which transforms English learning into an engaging activity.
