Near the start of learning my first foreign language (Spanish), it felt like a bit of a chore. But the moment I started reading, my mindset changed. In my eyes, I was no longer learning Spanish; I was now enjoying Spanish. Reading has been one of the most effective language learning strategies I’ve used, and it’s something I continue to do in all of the languages that I’m learning. It has helped me so much, and that was one of the reasons why I started this blog. I wanted to share my tips related to language learning, but I also wanted to create written content that people could read to practice their English. I then decided I wanted to write even more to help people improve, so I decided to do something that could hopefully enhance the learning of others, like reading my first Spanish book did for me. I decided to write two books that people could hopefully enjoy and also improve their English at the same time. I’m not an experienced or trained author; I’m simply an English teacher with a passion for languages and an experience of how to learn them effectively, and I wanted to create something that could help people in their own learning. If anyone is interested, these are the links:
https://mybook.to/AnUnmotivatedMan
The two books are part of a
series. The first part is An Unmotivated Man, and the second is Past Actions. They
are both available in paperback or Kindle versions. I am hoping the links work;
if there are any issues, please let me know.
Image by Jose Antonio Alba from Pixabay
Why did I write these books?
There are many good reasons to
read in general: it can be fun, interesting, good for the brain, and relaxing. It’s
also an excellent way to absorb a language naturally. In reading, you’ll
encounter lots of vocabulary and grammatical structures that your brain will be
able to acquire in a natural way. Over time, your brain will adapt to the new
things you’re reading, and the language will slowly become automated in your
mind.
Reading a post on a blog about
language learning may be informative, but it may not necessarily be the most
entertaining thing in the world. I decided I wanted to write stories that are light-hearted
and hopefully entertaining, which will allow people to improve their English without
really realising it because they’ll be too busy enjoying the story.
I also wanted to write these
stories for intermediate learners. From my own experience, being an
intermediate learner in a language can be frustrating. There is a lot of
material that is too easy and a lot that is too difficult, and both can be
equally frustrating. As a result, I wanted to write something designed for
intermediate learners (mainly B2, though I believe high B1 learners could also
benefit too). I also wanted to make them as effective for learning as possible.
The chapters are short because I wanted to give you a sense of achievement
after each one without getting too bored trying to follow a really long chapter.
Throughout the chapters, there are occasional words in bold that I’ve provided
a definition of at the end of each chapter, allowing you to learn new
vocabulary along the way as well. When you’re reading something, it’s essential
that the text is enjoyable/interesting and at an appropriate level for you, and
I’m hoping that I’ve been able to do this for intermediate learners.
How to read these books:
It’s important to try to focus on
the flow of the story instead of overanalysing the English used, as I believe
this makes the process of reading more fun and natural. Take your time and don’t
get frustrated at any words or structures you don’t understand. Reread the
sentence and see if you can work it out from the context, but if you’re still
not sure, you’re of course free to search it online yourself. However, I would
advise against doing this too much because it can make reading seem like a
chore and disrupt the flow of the story. Whether you like to take notes of
vocabulary and analyse the English or simply continue reading the story, it’s
your decision. The most important thing is doing whatever you enjoy doing the
most, as this is when learning is most effective, in my opinion. I hope they
can help!
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