6 simple steps to read effectively in a foreign language (A1-B1)

April 26, 2023

Do you relate to any of these?

When I try reading in my target language….

👉 I spend more time looking up words in the dictionary than reading.

👉 I often lose the thread of the plot, which makes my mind wonder.

👉 I struggle to remember what I read last time, so waste time re-reading previous pages.

👉 I’ve even tried reading children’s books, but the stories are really boring.

These are all common problems associated with reading in a foreign language, which can deter learners from persisting. This is a huge loss, as reading is one of the most effective ways to improve your language skills.

Reading can improve your grammar, vocabulary and spelling, as well as your ability to deduce meaning from context, which is a far more useful skill than recalling vocabulary on gamified memory-based apps. Reading effectively has a domino effect as it can improve your writing with the right strategies.

Luckily, with the right material and the right technique, you can combat all of these issues, and boost your learning exponentially; find out how below:

Choose a graded reader at the appropriate level

A graded reader is a book that is adapted to suit specific language levels, specifically those defined by CEFR. There are many different series available but one of my favourites is Lire et s’entraîner by Black Cat and Cideb. Whether you prefer reading on paper or on your device, Black Cat and Cideb offers both, along with the audio files of the stories. There are books available in French, Spanish, German and Italian.

Who would have thought that you could read about the Adventures of Arsène Lupin as a beginner? You can find other series (for a range of budgets) in The European Bookshop.

If you’re not sure what your level is, check out my How good are my language skills? post.

Now you’ve got your book (or app) in hand, follow these steps to read like a pro:

Complete the activities set out before the chapter

Most graded readers have a brief activity to complete before you start reading a chapter, that introduces you to some of the vocabulary that will feature in the chapter.

Make sure to complete each one and don’t hesitate to refer back to them mid-chapter when you come across a vaguely familiar looking word whose meaning has already slipped your mind!

Listen and read at the same time

The beauty of the eReader app and the physical books (which come with a link to the audio file online, or a CD if you’ve bought an older book) is that you can have the story read to you.

This has multiple advantages:

It models the correct pronunciation for you: by highlighting each word said, it will create connections in your mind between how a word looks and how it’s said, replacing that English interference that’s had you say words like “mozzarella” (IT), “bouquet” (FR), “tortilla” (ES) and “piranha” (PT) like a Brit.
It’ll minimise the possibility of your mind wandering: this method ensures “active reading”; reading in a foreign language will not be a relaxing activity – like you may find it is to read a book in English – until you reach around B2 level, so treat it like an academic exercise.

Sample page of *Misterio en Buenos Aires* on *eReaders: Black Cat and Cideb* app

Read one page at a time

The length of each chapter in graded readers ranges from two to four pages. Even so, it’s still worth tackling only one page at a time.

💡Don’t look up every word you don’t know:

When you starting out reading in a foreign language, the objective is to get the “gist” of the story. Only look up the meaning of a word if it appears repeatedly on the same page, or is stopping you from getting the “gist”. Never look up more than three words on any given page. For a word you do look up, write a synonym for it above the word in your book if you already know one, or the English meaning if you don’t.

Write a summary sentence per page

After reading each page, write a sentence at the bottom of the page in the target language, which summarises the main thing that has happened.

This can be something as simple as “[X character] speaks to [X character] about [X].” Try to do this in your own words, but when you’re starting out, feel free to pinch parts of sentences here and there from the page.

This has three functions:

It increases your exposure to new vocabulary: this is because it forces you to re-read parts of the story. There are many theories about how many times someone has to be exposed to a new word in order to learn it, but in reality, it varies greatly from person to person. Ultimately, the more times you’re exposed to a word, the better. So keep reading back.
It increases your ability to form sentences: this is because the exercise bonds your current knowledge with new language chunks from the page.
It shortcuts your start up time next time you read: you’ll only have to read a maximum of 4 sentences (one per page) to be brought up to speed. Now that’s effective reading.

Complete the post-chapter questions

Most graded readers have comprehension and grammar exercises to complete after you’ve read the chapter. If you need to look back for answers, do so for the first couple of chapters, then start to try to complete the activities from memory.

Also, make sure to read to the end of each chapter in one sitting. This allows you to “round off” your understanding of the plot so far and it’s also a great motivator! The Black Cat and Cideb graded readers all have 8 chapters, meaning you only need to sit down and complete these 6 steps 8 times before you can officially say that you’ve read a whole book in a foreign language.

Ace your writing in the process

These books are really useful tools for improving your writing skills, too. I’d recommend typing all of your summary sentences from one chapter into one of the following sites, depending on the language you’re learning:

Spanish: Spanish Checker
French: Bon Patron
Portuguese: Language Tool
Italian: Italian Checker
German: Language Tool

Here you can bulk out your summary with connectors, eliminate repetitions by swapping in synonyms, and following my other tips for acing your writing technique like a school kid. Then let your checker do some magic, and correct your errors. Always keep a record of these so that later you can see how far you’ve come!

Final thoughts

Learning to read effectively is so fundamental to the language learning process, and the steps I laid out above combat all of those pesky bugbears I mentioned at the start of this post. With a graded reader and by following my 5 steps:

You’re able to recall what you read last time within 30 seconds (from your page summaries)
You stay focused on the story throughout, without your mind wandering (audio accompaniment)
You are motivated by compelling stories (age-appropriate stories, including adaptations of classics)
You stay focused on the book rather than falling down a dictionary rabbit hole (limiting your dictionary searches)
You can test your understanding of the plot every chapter (with the post-chapter activities)

If you are succeeding at all of these, then you are very much an active reader!

Do you consider yourself to be an active reader? Have you tried these techniques and do they work for you? Which other techniques do you use? Comment below!

Psst! If you liked this post, please give it a like below 😊👇!