How To Use English Books And Newspapers To Improve English Speaking And Writing

Hello, I’m Jane at DailyStep English and welcome to my Audio Blog

How can I use English books and newspapers to improve my English speaking and writing? 

 

My students often ask this question. The answer is simple: Read Aloud – it will help you with your English speaking, writing, grammar and vocabulary.

With this free English learning technique, you can use any English text to learn how to speak and write better English.

Read ALOUD whenever you can. When I say aloud, I mean speak the words, don’t read them silently. It’s so easy to do and it is also completely free. 

So  how does it work? When you speak English in conversation, you are the person that chooses the words you use. You can only speak within the limits of what you know.

Perhaps you worry about making mistakes with your English, especially when you are at work, so you limit yourself to speaking and writing English that you know you can use.

This can make your progress in English slower, because you don’t take many risks  in case you make  mistakes.

But when you read aloud, you are saying someone else’s words – the words of the writer. So when you read aloud, you learn how to speak English in a new way because it makes you speak words that you have not chosen yourself.

In fact, this concept  is crucial to the DailyStep English learning method.

You will probably not understand all the words that you are reading, and you may not always know how to pronounce them – but don’t worry!

Reading the words aloud gives your mouth and brain practice in saying English words and sentences, and if you practise this technique, you’ll find that you can form sentences more easily and quickly when you speak and write English in future. 

When you read English aloud, try to read the text at least twice. The second time you do it, you will find that it is easier than the first time.

You will also find that certain phrases and grammar structures become fixed in your head, even if they are new to you.

After that, it is a good idea to go back and look up the meaning of any words and phrases that you did not understand – but this is not essential to the exercise.

Another thing that is very helpful is to write out the words, either by hand with a pen and paper, or type them into to your PC or phone.

This will help your English writing skills, grammar and punctuation.

For this free English learning technique, you can use a book, a newspaper, or anything online – in fact, any English text, as long as it was written by a native English speaker.

Just make sure that you speak the words rather than reading them silently. You can also do this with one of my DailyStep Audio Lessons, or any of my Audio Blogs.

Ideally, choose some text on a topic that interests you. That way you will also learn vocabulary that you may want to use in future.

So, for example, if you are interested in football or music, try to read aloud on these topics and make a note of the new vocabulary. 

Are you ready to start? OK – go back to the beginning of this page and start reading it aloud.

 If you like this lesson, please share it. Thank you 🙂

More English self-study tips? Learn How To Think In English And Speak English Easily