Reading in English.
It’s supposed to be one of the best ways to increase your vocabulary in English. Especially to be able to talk about general subjects like travels, culture, hobbies, and other everyday subjects (des sujets de tous les jours).
The problem? The obvious (évident) resources like Time and Newsweek are VERY difficult to understand. They include plays on words (des jeux de mots), complex phrases, and nuances of the language that can make even a basic message hard to understand.
But still, reading in English is essential to increasing your vocabulary. Plus, it’s easy with the right resources: you can do it anywhere (n’importe où), you can do it without a partner, you learn more than just language, and it’s enjoyable (plaisant).
My favorite resources for reading in English
That’s why I’m so happy to share some of my favorite resources for reading in English with you today. In fact, I recently started working with a group of SBFG Ambassadors and in our sessions, we use both resources from today’s video. The discussions in our sessions have been so fascinating.
If you’re looking for ways (Si vous cherchez des moyens) to increase your vocabulary on everyday subjects (and I bet you are! et j’en suis sûre ! ) here are three resources that will help you enjoy reading in English.
Here’s where you can find resources for reading in English
If you want to find out more about Go English and English Now, visit the site of the publisher Editions Entrefilet.
If you’d like more information on the graded readers mentioned in the video, check out these publishers:
Black Cat (I love their collection of fiction stories.)
Macmillan (Their collection of non-fiction readers is fantastic, especially if you like to read about other countries.)
Collins Amazing People (One of my favorite publishers for graded readers.)
You can search for all of these readers on amazon.fr, or ask your local book store (librairie) to order them for you. They may even have some in stock already!
Now, I’d love to hear from you.
What resources do you use to read in English? If you’re reading something in English already, what is it?
Leave a comment below and let me know. Remember that thousands of other French-speaking professionals come to SBFG to boost their English and boost their career. Your contribution may be exactly what someone else needs to build their confidence, speak better English, and feel great about themselves.
Thank you so very much for watching, commenting and sharing. You make Tuesdays one of my favorite days of the week.
P.S. Do you know a bookworm who would love to read in English? Maybe a close friend or colleague, and you know they’d love these resources. Please share this with them!
Have a fantastic week in English,
Christina
As promised, here’s what I’m reading at the moment. They’re not graded readers, but they are books in English 🙂
1. General interest book: Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (I’m a fan of X-Files…)
2. Book about English: The Company Words Keep: Lexical Chunks in Language Teaching
3. Work-related book: The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity At Work
I often read 2-3 books at the same time, depending on how I feel at the moment. Generally a book related to teaching English, a business book, and just a book I find interesting! I like to read teaching and business books when I’m taking public transportation, or on the weekends, and to read a general interest book before I go to sleep.
What are your reading habits? Also, do you prefer paper books or e-books? Just curious…
Hi Christina,
Go English doesn’t seem allthat different than VOCABLE. I don’t know the former, honestly. Are the difficult vocab and phrases translated into French ?
Yours,
Bernard
Hello Christina,
I have just found your website; It’s SUPER ! Learn English with a will is a play activity. It’s “le pied” in French!
I will come back often to this site. See you soon.
Regards,
Sébastien
Hi Sébastien,
Thanks for your comment, and for your kind words! I’m glad you enjoy the videos and that you think “it’s the foot”! (No, it’s a joke! “It’s the foot” isn’t a real expression in English! We would say something less imaged like “It’s fantastic” or “It’s really great”.)
If you want to be sure to get future lessons, sign up to join the Speak Better, Feel Great Community. I’ll send you a new video every week!
Looking forward to seeing you on the blog!
Hi Bernard,
Thanks for asking, and yes, Go English is very different from Vocable, because the articles are specially written to correspond to a certain level of English. Go English includes articles for levels B1, B2, C1, and C2. Each article is labeled with the level it corresponds to, and yes, the difficult words & expressions are all translated at the bottom of each page.
I highly recommend it. It’s great for intermediate to advanced levels, the articles are interesting, and you learn a lot of vocabulary.
Thanks and I hope you’ll find a copy of the magazine to see for yourself!
Have a great week,
Christina
Hello Christina!
I’ve just discovered your website. Well done! To my point of view, it’s very attractive and helpfull. Thanks ! My main problem remains in my understanding of spoken and heard English (Strangely, I don’t hear all the sounds (?) However, I love reading in English, in particular detective novels (my prefered authors : James Lee Burke, Connelly, Blake, Bruen…). I even dream in English, I really love a lot this language! Though my level is still very bad for thinking and speaking in this foreign way… HELP!
France.
Hi France,
Thanks for the compliments, and also for sharing your favorite authors! It seems a lot of people like reading detective novels, as I have several coaching clients who enjoy them too!
That’s great that you can even dream in English, and it makes me happy that you love learning the language.
As for not understanding or not hearing all the sounds in spoken English, it’s quite normal. This video explains why: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/26-pourquoi-cest-difficile-de-comprendre-les-americains-quand-ils-parlent/ I hope it helps you! There are also 2 videos with interactive exercises that follow that video:
Exercises to understand spoken English, part 1: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/exercices-pour-comprendre-langlais-parle-1ere-partie/
Exercises to understand spoken English, part 2: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/exercices-pour-comprendre-langlais-parle-2eme-partie/
I hope they help you!
Hi France,
Thanks for the compliments, and also for sharing your favorite authors! It seems a lot of people like reading detective novels, as I have several coaching clients who enjoy them too!
That’s great that you can even dream in English, and it makes me happy that you love learning the language.
As for not understanding or not hearing all the sounds in spoken English, it’s quite normal. This video explains why: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/26-pourquoi-cest-difficile-de-comprendre-les-americains-quand-ils-parlent/
I hope it helps you! There are also 2 videos with interactive exercises that follow that video:
Exercises to understand spoken English, part 1: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/exercices-pour-comprendre-langlais-parle-1ere-partie/
Exercises to understand spoken English, part 2: http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/exercices-pour-comprendre-langlais-parle-2eme-partie/
I hope they help you!
Hi Christina,
I ‘m seeing your video since few weeks and I ‘m very pleased to do so.
Il’s a funny way to learn English and to learn vocabulaire and also some English sentences type.
I have to perform a virtual classroom next week for personns Who don’t speak french, in order to explain a new tool that these personns have to fill, but it Will be a bit difficult. Never mind, it Will be a good experiment.
I would like to read english Books, but it si difficult to find one with the level of English that each of us have.
I will go to the newspaper shop and ask for Go English.
I sometimes hear 6 minutes English from BBC and see some American series with subtitles.
I’m writting this comment from m’y IPad and it is a bit difficult because the automatic correction want always change the words to a french word.
Thank you for your videos.
Best regards
Valèrie
Hi Valérie,
Thanks for your comment, and for writing it in English! Good for you, and I appreciate your effort! I’m glad that you like the videos and that they help you improve your English, especially with the fixed sentences.
Your project for the virtual classroom sounds really interesting! I too have to learn how to use a virtual classroom for a client of mine very soon, so I can relate to the challenge and the good experience that it will be! Tell me how it goes for you and how you do to explain everything in English!
For the resources, yes, Go English is great and you’ll probably be able to find it at the newspaper or book shops (if they have a magazine area). I hope you can find it!
Have a great week and see you soon on the blog!