Saturday, March 24, 2012

Reading Tips and Tricks for German Students

This is a copy of the sheet I gave my gr. 9 students before they started reading. Most of it is transferable to any English-learners, but I do give examples of German-English dictionaries.

Some Tips and Tricks for Reading in English!

1. Skip: if you don't understand a word or section, keep reading ahead. Come back to the section or word again and try to figure out the meaning. Use a dictionary only if necessary.

2.When you find a new word while reading, finish the sentence (better: the paragraph). If you haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems important, then you can look it up. Try not to look up the words in Google translate or any other translating device. These translations are usually wrong! Try to look the words up in an English-English dictionary (for example the Cambridge Online  English Learner's dictionary is very good! http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/)
However, if you are really having a tough time understanding a word, you can find its meaning in your own language using a bilingual dictionary (I suggest www.leo.org or http://www.dict.cc/) .

3. Read out loud: children read out loud when they first start reading. You can too. Get comfortable hearing your English voice.

4. Keep a vocabulary journal. (It's one of your tasks!)

5. Before reading make sure to have your vocabulary journal, your dictionary, and a pen and/or highlighter ready!

6. Choose the right place to read - You can’t really expect to understand a difficult book if you are trying to read in the same room with the television on and your little brother distracting you. The same goes for reading on the bus on the way to school. You also can’t expect to read and listen to music at the same time. Try to find a quiet and comfortable place with good light, and your dictionaries and other materials nearby.

7.Choose the right time to read - If you have a difficult text to read, it’s probably best to do this first. If you leave it until last when you are tired, you will find it even more difficult.

8.Talk with your classmates about the book!

9. If you are stuck on a word or don't understand something, ask your teacher!

                                                                                Good Luck :)

Some tips and tricks taken from http://www.englishclub.com and http://esl.fis.edu

3 comments:

  1. this is a great list! i might steal a few of them to help my english speaking students improve their german reading - looks like it could go both ways!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, you defiantly can do that! I took a look at your blog, you're a German teacher? That's really cool! That's my next goal :-) at the moment I am just tutoring German. A friend told me I should get certified online through Goethe institute. How did you get certified?

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    2. Yeah, you defiantly can do that! I took a look at your blog, you're a German teacher? That's really cool! That's my next goal :-) at the moment I am just tutoring German. A friend told me I should get certified online through Goethe institute. How did you get certified?

      Delete