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How can a person learn how to read?

Updated: 8/21/2019
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8y ago

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Many people never learned to read in childhood, or never learned to read very well. ESL students also find it challenging to learn to read in a new language.

Anyone who desires to read can teach themselves or get help to learn. The first thing is to not feel ashamed or embarrassed that you need to learn. You aren't the only person learning to read, regardless of how old you are now. Second, learners must have an attitude of curiosity and a willingness to try (even with failures along the way). No one learned how to walk, climb a tree, or ride a bike without falling-- same with reading.


Some tips to get you on to reading include:

  1. Start with the basics -- words! Be willing to look at words. Notice words in everyday life. Tell yourself a definition of the words you see, such as at a supermarket. If you don't know what a word means, be willing to ask someone!
  2. Look at words as an adventure! Your task is to collect 100 words that are new to you. Write them down. Then look them up in a dictionary. Practice using the word in a sentence.
  3. Listen to your own speaking. Write down a simple sentence that you spoke, such as, I like roses. Or, I worked today. After writing it down, READ it back, out loud. Notice how your speaking sentences contain a noun or pronoun, a verb (doing something), and an object. Example: The man said hello to me. The dishes need washed.
  4. Next, write down a more complex sentence you spoke. For example: I went to the store and bought apples, Oranges, and bananas. Notice how when we speak, we group things together (apples, oranges, and bananas), and we put things into some order. Example: I visited my mother, then went shopping with a friend. Often "order" is chronological: what happened first, second, and third.
  5. Notice how when we talk, we normally make a complete thought with our spoken words. We don't just say, "I went." but instead we add details. I went to the shopping mall.
  6. Notice the extra words you use to describe people, places, and things. Descriptors are adjectives that come before nouns. If you spoke: I went to the new store in the mall, "new" is a descriptor. For one day, write down as many single-word descriptors you can think of, like: small, big, short, tall, mean, nice, ugly, beautiful. Add as many descriptors (adjectives) to your list that you can think of in one day.
  7. Now, take your adjectives list that you made and add a noun to each word. For examples: a small boy; a big man; a short woman; a tall girl; a mean salesclerk; a nice waitress; an ugly dress; a beautiful sunrise...
  8. The next day, make a list of as many verbs you can think of... Verbs "do" something, so they are easy to identify. Verb examples: walk, ran, spoke, lifted, think, made, make, etc. When you have at least 20 verbs, make a sentence with each one. Have a person "do" those actions. Examples: I ran up the stairs. My boyfriend lifted the bag. Make fun sentences, so it isn't boring to do.
  9. Most people who want to read might pick up a book with 200 or more pages in it. But instead, a new learner NEEDS to start with short writings. So whether you are a child or adult, go to the library and find a child's book. Pick one by what picture it has on the front-- that will help make it FUN to you. Children's Books use short, simple sentences. Your goal at the library is to read children's short books until you find sentences you cannot read. If that happens in the second book, that's OK. You are on a fact-finding mission to learn what level you CAN already read. If you can read 10 children's books without any trouble, go to the Young Adult section and pick 2 books. See if you can read 1 page in each book. If you CAN read 1 page in Young Adult books, go to the Adult books-- anything that interests you. You'll probably have more trouble reading more complex sentences-- that's fine-- you're discovering just what level you CAN read.
  10. If you can't get to a library, look around your house for store advertisements, newspapers, etc. Grab a pen and as you read, CIRCLE words you do not know. Also draw a box around sentences you do not understand. For example, let's say a store add says (but you do not understand): "3 cans of peas for .58 cents with store coupon". Write down what you think it means. Break the sentence into parts like this "3 cans---of peas---for .58 cents--with store coupon". Now, write what you think each part means. Example: The number of the item is 3 and it comes in cans. The type of item is peas. It costs 58 cents (for 3). I must have a store coupon (to buy it at that price). ***Reading is ALWAYS breaking a sentence into PARTS. Most people can understand the parts, but don't realize they DO understand what the parts mean.
  11. Write a sentence that makes no sense. Misspell a word you know how to spell. For example: The gilr (deliberately misspelled) ate candy. Spend a day looking for misspellings in magazines, on signs, in newspapers. Think about how you knew the words were wrong. It is partly because we memorize spelling, But it is also because of being able to comprehend / understand what we read. So it is a reading SKILL to notice what is WRONG in a sentence.
  12. Write 3 sentences about "What I did today." It can be very simple sentences. Like: I woke up this morning. I took a shower. I fed my dog. Writing down our thoughts is just as important to reading as listening to someone else speak, including what words people "speak" in books. Every few days, practice writing sentences. Try to make more complex sentences using "and" or "but". I woke up this morning AND took a shower. I fed my dog, BUT I forgot to feed my cat.
  13. Think about other kinds of games you can make about using words and sentences. Learning needs to be FUN. No one will grade you on these games. They are just so you can practice!
  14. Ask family members and friends to write 3 sentences about what they did today, and to give you their papers. Use those to practice reading. If you don't understand a word, use a dictionary.
  15. When you look in books, find complex sentences that use commas, semi-colons ( ; ), and contain words like and, but, though. If in a newspaper, cut out the sentence so you can study it more. If in a book, write the sentence on paper word for word so you can keep practicing with it.
  16. Ask friends / family to help you make up new word / sentence games. Have each person write a word or sentence on a piece of paper and fold it up. Put these into a large bowl. Then, practice reading the papers. Keep "score" -- Easy, ones you knew. Harder-- you read it with difficulty Hardest - ones you couldn't read or understand. Keep having friends and family add new papers to the bowl, along with the old ones. Keep your "scores" in a notebook so you can see your progress!
  17. There are SO many ways to learn to read AND to make it FUN while you're learning! However, remember this: Even for people who read very well, there are always words and sentences they don't understand. You will, and should, use a dictionary throughout your life. And, the best way to learn to read is to practice, just like learning to swim, play a musical instrument, learning to play a new video game, etc. Never give up. But start with the basics. There will always be harder words and sentences to learn.
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