Those who tell stories rule the world! From short stories to a series of books, stories can act as an escape as they bring the reader to distant and magical lands filled with mystical creatures from dragons, satyrs and dwarves.

Repetition and Rhythm

Did you know that stories are an effective way to help you improve on your English? First, you get to practise your reading as you recognise words you’ve learnt and understand how they are used as they are put into the context of the story; you might just pick up a few new words in the process.

It will also improve your writing through the words you’ve added to your expanding vocabulary chest and your understanding of how certain words can be used in writing.

Audiobooks

It may sound a odd that stories help improve your listening and speaking as well but it’s true, you can improve on your listening and speaking through listening to audiobooks that are available; to hear how certain words are pronounced. Reading a story out loud helps you practise your speaking and you’d get to practice speaking more when you talk to your friends about the stories you’ve read.

How do you pick the right story to start with?

For beginners

Short stories are perfect for young children and those who have just started learning English, introducing them to new words and see how those words are used in the story. These stories are not only short but they are also easy to read and understand.

Some suggested titles you can look at are:

• “Little Red Riding Hood” (Easy)
  Click here to read
• “Paul Bunyan – An American Tall Tale” (Medium)
  Click here to read
• “The Boarded Window” (Advanced)
  Click here to read

For intermediate readers

For intermediate readers that are looking to expand on your vocabulary and elevate the use of English to the next level, simple short stories may not do the job.

One way to help you ensure that the language is not too hard or too easy for you is to give the book a test run. A test run? How would you do that? By reading a few pages of the book, it will help you determine whether you’d like to give it a try or otherwise.

You’d might want to look at certain books such as J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter Series” and Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games books”.

For advanced readers

Well, the sky is the limit for you if you’re an advanced reader. You may want to start giving books like J. R. R. Tolkien’s works on “Middle Earth”, H. P. Lovecraft’s books on the “Cthulhu Mythos” a look, to understand how English can be used in different ways to tell a story.

 

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”

• Joseph Addison

 

Expand your vocabulary, feed your imagination, and give your mind the exercise it needs, pick up a book today, your English adventure awaits.

We offer opportunities for everyone to learn English at any age, level or need at ILTI. Whether it’s for group lessons or private lessons, come and visit us at No. 6, Jalan Raja Dihilir, 31400 Ipoh, Perak or give us a call at 011 – 5620 8434

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