| Жора-обжора писал(а): |
| As for me, being a really book lover, I can't read in English. It's not my native language, so I have to think twice and it makes me tired. On my opinion reading is a pleasure but not a work. |
Dear Olga, if you don't mind I'll write the information got from somewhere while looking for texts to read. It's for my students.
It deals with the problem you're worrying about. Here it is.
The most important thing is to choose texts you care about. If you can't stop reading that means you have chosen a good text. It doesn't have to be intellectual; it doesn't have to improve your knowledge of science or history. Don't feel guilty about reading comics, magazines, detective stories or romances.
You should choose texts that are exactly one difficulty level above yours, but not more. But if you aren't enjoying the text, switch to an easier one.
If you want to use contemporary, natural English, you have to learn contemporary, natural phrases. Not all texts contain such phrases. Many books contain literary phrases that are simply not used by normal educated native speakers.
Want to learn to talk about computers in English? Read a computer forum or a technology blog.Want to write scientific papers? Read scientific papers. Want to write business letters? Read business letters. As you read, stop and notice useful phrases.
Each author has his own vocabulary and grammar. So if you are a beginning reader, jumping from author to author can cause disappointment because every new text will seem difficult. You may feel like are making no progress. On the other hand, reading a few similar texts gives you a sense of accomplishment, which can be very motivating.
So I wish you good luck!