Reading skills

Now we have longer time to read so we'll see what to read, how to do it and why we should do it. Let's start from the last one to the other points.

Reasons for reading

Most people read for pleasure, so you usually read things which seems to be interesting or meaningful for you. Try to find your favoutite autor or the sort of books you enjoy in graded readers if your level is intermediate but original versions if you are in avances levels. To yo from graded to original I really recommend using short stories rather than thick novels. These are links which help you:

• General pages: you can see this link or this one
• Graded readers: this link or this articule where some links are described (click here)
• Original versions: one of the most popular one is VOA but you also have this one; if you don't have time, you should try this short-short story link

But some people read for getting information, that is, the news, manuals, articles, abstracts, etc. You can go to the the webpages of news. These are some examples:

• News in levels: click here
• Articles for learning English: this link
• International editions of the most remarkable newspapers like Le Monde Diplomatique (English edition), The Guardian, or even El Pais

Reading also helps you to improve your other language skills by increasing your vocabulary, fixing structures, giving you accuracy and implementing your own general knowledge. 

How to improve your English with reading

• Read aloud to have better pronunciation; if you use a reading with audio you may compare your performance afterwards.
•  Reading gives you samples to follow in your writing and even in your formal speech
• Nowadays there's plenty to read on the internet, for pleasure, work, information, travelling, hobbies... You just need to look for what you want to read.