Reading Skills Plays an Important Role in English Improvement

Introuduction：One of the best ways to make progress with English is to read. Readind text in English can help students in many aspects of their learning. When they read in English they learn new words and grammar strucures.

If the students repeatedly see that new vocabulary they’ll learn it by heart and then they’ll be able to use it when writing or speaking in English.

Key words: reading skills play an important role English improvement

Ⅰ.Why to read

1.Reading can open up new worlds and enrich students’lives

Reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth， practical or theoretical. Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet， libraries， schools and bookstores， if students can read well and if they see reading as a source of information， then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind， access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present. It truly is magic !

Through books， children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world， improving their understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This， in turn， contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a \"global village\" and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone. This can happen through nonfiction but， perhaps even more importantly， reading novels that are set in other places and time periods can give students a deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.

Through stories and novels students can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas， with no negative consequences in their real lives. They can meet characters who they'll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Books also give students the opportunity to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving， the concepts of cause and effect， conflict resolution， and acceptance of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries allow students to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for very young children， a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve gives a confidence boost. Students can predict the patterns and successfully solve the riddles.

2.Reading can enhance students' social skills

Although reading is thought of as the quintessential solitary activity， in certain circumstances reading can be a socializing activity. For example， older students can be encouraged to read aloud to younger ones as a means of enhancing their relationship.At school or at a library story hour， books can bring students together and can be part of a positive shared experience.

3.Reading can provide students with plenty of good， clean fun

I've saved the most important point for last. Reading can provide students with endless hours of fun and entertainment. All of the pragmatic reasons above aren't at all necessary to justify reading's place in students' lives. Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow students to dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure; Inspire your students to read. Give them access to plenty of reading material that they'll enjoy and discuss it with them. Sample everything - traditional printed books and ebooks on Internet， classic students’ novels and fairy tales， as well as more modern stories.

4.So reading really does matter after all

There are so many ways in which reading continues to be both a vital skill for students to master， and an important source of knowledge and pleasure that can last a lifetime. Make the most of all the resources that are available and waiting for you: printed books， online books， magazines and so forth. Encourage follow-up activities involving creative writing skills and the arts， as well， so that your students can reflect upon or expand on what they've absorbed and， at the same time， develop their own creativity. As you help your students appreciate the magic of reading， you'll find that there's a whole wonderful world full of literature out there that YOU can enjoy.

Ⅱ.How to read

English reading skills are important and necessary for learning English ， reading ability is one about language comprehension. In today’s English language learning and using English reading has an important position which is reflected in the reading skills development and training so that students have a truly comprehensive reading skills and ability which include the level of understanding and reading speed.

Here are five useful tips that can help make reading a rewarding experience rather than a dreaded chore.

1.Be preparedwww.Ｅxamda.CoM

Never rush straight into reading. Before you begin， look at the title and any pictures. This will give you a good idea of the topic. Think about what you already know. Next， predict what the reading will be about. Think about what you want to learn and write down any questions you may have. Preparing yourself for the reading in this way will get you started before the first page is even turned.

2.At first sight

Now that you've got a general idea of the topic， you can begin. Read the entire text over once without stopping. Don't worry about the details just yet. In the beginning， all you should be trying to do is get a feeling for the main idea. This is called skimming. When you're done， think about how much you've understood and remembered.

3.It's all in the details

Remember those questions you wrote down before? Now it's time to find the answers. Read the text again， but this time， read it slowly and carefully. Look for any words or phrases that relate to your questions. This is called scanning. If you come across anything else that's interesting and important， underline that too. Once you're finished， you should have a fuller understanding of the text.

4.Words、words、words

You don't have to understand every single word to understand the text. Pick out key words or phrases you don't know and write them down. But don't reach for the dictionary just yet! Try to guess the word's meaning from context - the words or phrases around it. After you've taken a guess， go ahead and use the dictionary to see how close you were. You might be pleasantly surprised!

5.Final reading

By this time， you should be familiar with the text. Read it one more time. You can now focus on any unusual grammar structures or sentence styles. When you've finished， sit back and think about everything you've just learned. That wasn't so difficult， was it?

Ⅲ.What to read

In order to help the students enjoy reading in English，we can suggest they pick up a writer that they like a lot， such as Roald Dahl， author of Matida， James and the Giant Peach， Charlie and the Choclate Factory and many others. They can also focus on a topic that interests them: football， Internet， fashion， education， news…. There are countless types of topics the students can choose and they can search the magzines， books or Web pages that discuss these topics.

If the students are intrested in playing Computer Games， why not study different ways to improve it in English? If they want to join in a Summer Camp in Canada，why not explore the destination in English. Languages are much easier to learn when you use them in an interesting and relevant way for yourself.

Another thing the students can try is resding the same book， magzine article or Web page more than once. If they read something andthey read it again in a couple of days or weeks. They’ll notice that the second or successive timethat they read it they’ll understand it more and they’ll be consolidating the new vocabulary and grammar.

Students are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While a steady diet of violent cartoons may have a detrimental effect on students’development， carefully chosen stories and books can have a positive influence on them， sensitizing them to the needs of others. For example， books can encourage students to be more cooperative， to share with others， to be kind to animals， or to respect the natural environment.

Ⅳ.Conclusion

It’s important to get into the habit of reading texts in English:books，newspapers，magzines or websites. If the students read a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes every day， they’ll notice improvements in their vocabulary， oral expression and their English reading skills.

Referrence：

[1]Mickhall Swan.Pratical English Usage[M]. Oxford:Oxford Uniersity Press，2005.

（作者單位：南昌大學附屬中學國際部）