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How To Determine Reading Level Of A Book: 5 Best Tools

Learning how to determine reading level of a book helps you find appropriate books for your child and challenge their abilities.

When choosing children’s books, the reading level of the book can be pretty important. You want to challenge children to read a bit higher than they think they can while not discouraging them with books that are too difficult. 

According to a US survey by Test Prep Insights, almost half of the respondents haven’t read a book in the past year. However, the same survey found readers prefer print books over ebooks.

So, whether you’re working with beginning readers who want to improve their habits or advanced readers in your life, learning how to determine the reading level of a book is a valuable tool. Thankfully, parents and educators have a number of tools available to help them.

This guide will discuss what reading levels are, how to find them and how you can ensure that the books you offer are suitable for the children in your life.

Contents

• Tips on How To Determine Reading Level Of A Book
• What is Reading Level?
• Why Reading Level is Important
• Reading Level and Interest Level
• Common Measures for Reading Levels
• Tools to Find the Reading Level of a Book
• A Final Word on How to Determine Reading Level of a Book
• FAQs About how to Determine Reading Level of a Book
• Author

Tips on How To Determine Reading Level Of A Book

So how can you determine the reading level of a book? Before delving into the tools available to help you find a book that your child can read, first, you must understand what reading level is.

What is Reading Level?

The reading level of a book determines how well a child can read it independently. Unfortunately, reading level is often confused with grade level, so a book with a fourth-grade reading level is designed with vocabulary and syntax that the average fourth grader can understand. 

However, it is not always as simple as picking a book that is leveled at your child’s grade level. Your child’s teacher can tell you that students fit into a wide range of levels, even within the same classroom. 

As your child’s reading skills develop, you’re going to need to find reading materials that match. Knowing how to read reading levels will help.

Why Reading Level is Important

Children who are learning to read need to have a text they can read successfully. If text is too easy, the child gets bored. If the text is too hard, the child gets frustrated.

This balance is where the reading level helps. Finding a book that matches your child’s abilities and interests will encourage successful reading, and reading level is key to that.

Reading Level and Interest Level

Another benchmark you can check into is interest level. This metric shows how interesting a particular book is likely to be to your child based on their age or grade level.

If a child is particularly behind or advanced in reading level, finding books they want to read but match their reading level becomes more challenging. Adding interest level to your decision-making will help guide you to the books they will be most interested in reading.

Common Measures for Reading Levels

Many tools measure reading levels. As you learn how to determine the reading level of a book, you will find that these tools make the job a lot easier, so you can find a book that fits the child’s reading level. Here are some popular reading systems to consider.

1. Fountas-Pinnell Guided Reading Level

Fountas and Pinnell created the Guided Reading Level. This leveled reading system assigns a level to individual books. Factors that impact that level include repetition of words, the complexity of sentences, and sentence length. 

This program uses specialized reading lists with books that already have a grade level measure.

2. Grade Level Equivalent

The Grade Level Equivalent leveled reading system assigns an actual grade level to the book based on what students typically can read at a particular stage of their education. This metric is labeled with a decimal point, where the first number is the grade level, and the number after the decimal point indicates the number of months into the school year the student would be. So, a score of 2.1 means second grade one month into the school year.

For parents that are new to reading levels, this can be a helpful metric as it shows a level they can easily relate to their student’s age and grade. However, parents need to realize that students develop their reading abilities at different speeds, so any particular child may read at, above, or below the published reading level.

3. Developmental Reading Assessment

The Developmental Reading Assessment, or DRA, assesses a child’s reading ability through a reading test. It then gives the student a score based on that test. Factors it checks include:

• Phonemic awareness
• Alphabetic principles/phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Reading engagement

Books are given corresponding scores based on text complexity and vocabulary. Thus, teachers and parents can easily connect students to books that fit their abilities after taking the test by lining up the test scores with the scores of the book.

4. Lexile Framework for Reading

The Lexile Framework is a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development metric. It uses Scholastic Inventory Test scores to evaluate text and determine what reading level it is. 

To use the Lexile Framework, students must take a standard test or the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI). This then matches them with a reading level that matches their ability.

You can look up the Lexile level of a book online on the Lexile website.

5. Accelerated Reader Book Levels

Accelerated Reader is a complex readability formula that rates text complexity. It uses grade level ratings to indicate what year and month a student could read a book independently. 

Accelerated Reader is different from straight grade level equivalents because it uses interest level as well. This indicates if the content of a book is age-appropriate for the particular grade level. 

Tools to Find the Reading Level of a Book

Understanding the different reading tests and reading level measures is important, but it does not help you learn how to determine the reading level of a book when your child wants to read something. Thankfully, you have several tools at your disposal to help. 

1. Scholastic’s Book Wizard

Scholastic offers a book wizard tool that has over 65,000 children’s books in the database. You can search using the title and author to find an individual book’s reading level. If you are looking for recommendations for your child, you can search by reading level, subject, grade level, or genre and get a list of suggestions. 

2. Renaissance ATOS Analyzer

If you can’t find your book or text in another tool, you can copy a portion of the text into the ATOS Analyzer to see how it rates. This tool uses a readability formula to tell you how easy something is to read. It also merges with the Lexile measure, so you can search for individual books if they are in the database.

3. Lexile Look Up

Lexile’s online tool lets you search for a book by its ISBN. Just enter the number on the Quick Book Search to see if it is in the database. The website also allows you to look at a list of books based on your child’s reading level.

4. Accelerated Reader Search Tool

The AR search tool lets you search for a particular book’s readability, Lexile level, and interest level. It reports a grade level based on whether or not a child will be challenged in the reading but not frustrated.

5. Correlation Chart

The Correlation Chart is part of the State of Washington public library system. It lets you find the reading level of a book, then use the tool to compare that to the reading level in another measurement. If you are looking for a specific measure but know another one, this tool can help you compare.

A Final Word on How to Determine Reading Level of a Book

Reading levels help you choose books for your child that fit their interests and abilities. You can avoid frustration and boredom by selecting appropriate books. Using reading levels also encourages more independent reading, especially with young readers. 

Parents can sometimes struggle with finding reading levels for different books, but using a book’s ISBN, you can search in several tools that have book lists based on reading level. Using these tools and asking your child’s teacher what their current reading level is will allow you to choose the right reading material for your child.

FAQs About how to Determine Reading Level of a Book

How to find the reading level of a book?

Using different tools, such as the Scholastic Book Wizard or the Accelerated Reader Search Tool, you can learn the reading level of many children’s books to help you choose appropriate reading options for your child.

How to determine my child’s Lexile reading level?

If your child is at school, they will be tested each year under their standardized testing program. This testing will give your child a Lexile reader measure. Simply ask your child’s teacher or check their standardized test score report to learn your child’s measure.

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Author

Lexile Level Guide for Authors to Help Your Book Succeed

If you write any books for children, you need to make sure you’re writing at their reading level. Books that are too advanced can turn away readers whereas ones that are too easy won’t challenge them.

As an author, you want to make sure your book succeeds and using the Lexile level can help your book get into the right hands of readers.

While it’s not a guaranteed way to make your book fly off the shelves, it certainly can help parents find your book.

This lexile level guide for authors will help you understand what it is, why you need to care, how to get a score, and how to use it for your own book publishing.

Table of Contents

What is the Lexile Level?

The Lexile level is a method used by schools to measure a student’s reading ability.

According to Scholastic, “The Lexile Framework was developed by MetaMetrics©, an educational assessment and research team, funded originally by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.”

After taking a test, a student can receive their Lexile number which measures their reading ability.

Essentially, you want to pair a reader with a book at their reading level or just slightly higher if you’re going to challenge their skills.

Schools and parents use it for their students in order to find accurate books for their students and their general reading level. That’s because most school grades have a certain reading level that they stay within.

Authors need to know the Lexile level so they can write books at the level of their ideal readers. It also helps when it comes to selling a book since you can generally say the reading level your book matches.

Not only does the Lexile level measure word complexity, but it also takes things like word frequency, sentence structure, and some types of grammar into account as well.

This is why you generally see books with lower Lexile level numbers have shorter sentences.

However, it does not often take things like context into account. That’s why some books with heavy, dark themes can have a lower Lexile count than others, even though they should be read by different ages.

Parents generally find books at their child’s reading level and it can also help schools measure if their students are on track or not.

Lexile Level Chart

Let’s take a look at the Lexile level chart itself (created by Scholastic).

With this chart, you can see that the higher the measurement is, the higher the student’s reading level is.

As you can imagine, charts like this don’t always take advanced readers into account. There are tons of kids who read at or below their reading level. However, it’s a general rule of thumb.

Lexile Level Guide for Authors

The Lexile level was designed by brilliant people to help rate how difficult a book is. It’s not a suggestion of a reading level, it’s a set number range that measures understanding.

The last thing you want as an author is to frustrate your readers by writing above or below their reading level.

Now that you know the basics of the chart and how schools use it, you might be wondering how you can apply it to your own book. Let’s dive in.

How Authors Can Use the Lexile Level

If you want to be a child book author, you’re going to need to know everything you can about the Lexile level. It will dictate the words and language you use so you can write for your intended audience without it being too hard for them to read.

If you look at the chart above, you can see that there are general ranges you want to keep your writing in between depending on the age range you are targeting.

Parents will pick books in certain ranges, along with the age recommendations. This is why you need to know the range your book falls into so you can be on the correct list.

If you want to figure out your general range, Lexile has a text analyzer to figure out where your writing is ranking. You’ll need a Premium membership to use the Text Analyzer, but that’s something that might be worth it for you.

How to Get A Lexile Level for Your Book

Getting a Lexile level for your book is simple.

You will need to go to their certification site to submit your book. They will follow up with more information and a quote.

Then, you’ll send in your book and within the month, you’ll have a certified Lexile measurement. Now, you will be able to use it on your book and in your overall marketing.

Once you have your level, you will be able to put it on your books so parents can find your books for their children. It can also help your marketing to have an actual certified number.

Some book stores also organize their books by Lexile level, so it can help in that regard as well

Examples of the Lexile Level

Let’s take a look at some famous books so you can get an idea for what kind of reading level is along the Lexile Level chart.

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is at reading level J
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is at Lexile level 870L
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White is at Lexile level 680L
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff is at Lexile level AD 410L
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maruice Sendak Are is at Lexile level AD 740
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is at Lexile level 1070L
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is at Lexile level 950

Is a Lexile Score Mandatory?

While it’s not mandatory to publish a book, it is growing in popularity as a way to sort and organize books.

More and more schools are relying on the Lexile level in order to buy and use books for their students, so having a score certainly could help you in that regard.

Most schools are making their students be graded based on the Lexile reading score (Lexile claims that over 35 million students in all 50 states have gone through a test).

It can also be flawed and not always the best measurement of a book and if it’s appropriate. For example, The Grapes of Wrath has a lexile level of 680L but the context of the book is heavy and isn’t required reading until high school.

It’s important to keep not only complexity but the content in a book in mind, which a Lexile level cannot always take into account.

With all of that being said, it’s certainly something that can help get your book into the hands of more readers, so with that in mind, it’s a good idea to do.

What to Do Next

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What books to read in English with your level of knowledge ‹ Ingleks

Reading is one of the key English skills, so it is important to practice it from the very first stages of learning. In this article, we will tell you what to consider when choosing a text to read, give a list of books in English by level of knowledge, and also give some tips on how to read books in English correctly.

Contents:

• 1. How to choose a book to read in English
• 2. What books to read with your level of knowledge
• 3. How to read books in English correctly: 7 tips

First, we advise you to watch the webinar of our methodologist Svetlana on the topic "What and how to read in English."

How to choose a book to read in English

We have identified several criteria that will help you choose books to read in English.

1. Age and level of knowledge

Simple children's stories can be useful for those who do not yet have a wide vocabulary and do not know all grammatical constructions. But popular science novels with serious vocabulary are suitable for people with an average and high level of knowledge, from there you will learn a lot of new words.

2. Goals of learning English

If you are studying English for work, choose professional literature, such books will help you learn useful vocabulary. If you need to build your vocabulary with colloquial expressions, choose modern prose with lots of dialogue. In this case, you will learn to speak like the heroes of your favorite work.

3. Genre of the book

Choose books that interest you: reading should bring not only benefits, but also pleasure, so you should not take the first female novel that comes across if your favorite genre is detective. Feel free to choose books of that genre and that author that you like to read in Russian. However, consider the fact that you may find it easier to read modern fiction with simple dialogue than science fiction or historical detective stories, where you will encounter a lot of unfamiliar words.

4. Year of writing

Classical works by British and American authors are written in accordance with all grammatical rules. In such books you will find interesting phrases, various comparisons and synonyms. At the same time, you may come across vocabulary that is not used in modern English, which will make it difficult for you to read the work, and you still cannot use the learned words in everyday speech, because for native English speakers you will sound too pretentious and grandiloquently. Agree, if you ask in Russian, “Is it far to the store with dishes?” instead of “Where is the nearest supermarket?”, it is unlikely that you will be answered adequately.

Modern literature is current words and phrases, slang expressions, dialogues from everyday life, and sometimes simplified grammar. In terms of benefits for learning English, modern literature is the best option for reading.

5. Complexity of the text

For an English book to benefit your knowledge, it must be uncomplicated, but not too simple. On average, you should meet no more than 10 unfamiliar words on the page (3-5 are better). This amount of new vocabulary will allow you to understand the meaning of what you read and maintain an interest in reading. You can guess the meaning of most words from the context, and this is much more useful and interesting than constant peeping in the dictionary.

6. A familiar book or not

Try to take a work that you have already read in Russian. In this case, you will not get lost in the plot, you will be able to guess the meaning of many words from the context, remembering the text in Russian. If you feel sorry for wasting time rereading an already familiar text, take something new, in which case you will be motivated to read the work to the end to find out how the book ends.

7. Format

The choice of electronic or printed format depends on the habit and conditions in which you read. The advantage of an e-book is portability and the ability to connect a dictionary, which will make it easier to find the meanings of unfamiliar words with one click on them. Nevertheless, a paper book is more convenient to work with if you are going to return to what you read earlier in order to better remember new words and phrases or to remember the storyline after a break in reading.

Audiobooks have won the hearts of some readers and caused an uproar in others. We will share an interesting and useful way of reading - listen to the text of an audiobook and repeat the phrases after the announcer, trying to imitate his pronunciation. Thus, you will improve your pronunciation, develop the correct intonation, get rid of the accent. You can read more about this technique in the article “How to learn English from audiobooks + 7 cool resources”.

Don't have time to read books? Then pay attention to 7 excellent sites with texts for reading in English, on these resources you will find short stories for people with different levels of knowledge of English, including texts for beginners.

We asked our teachers to tell us about how they started reading books in English. You will find their answers in the article “What to read in English: our teachers advise”.

Which books to read with your level of knowledge

Next, we will consider in detail which books are better to read in English, depending on your level of knowledge. In order to correctly classify yourself as one or another category of readers, we recommend that you first take our test to determine the level of English.

In the table, we have listed books recommended for reading in English by level of knowledge. Many of the works we attributed to several levels at once. This is due to the fact that people at the same level may have a different stock of knowledge. In addition, we have sorted the books within the level from easy to hard. If you have never read a work in English, start at the top of the table and work your way down.

Under the table you will find detailed recommendations for each level of knowledge, be guided by them when choosing a book.
by A. A. Miln ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Tales of Beatrix Potter ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ Charlotte’s Web
by E.B. White ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ Matilda,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔ The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ The Golden Compass,
The Subtle Knife,
The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ Harry Potter
by J. K. Rowling ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ The Chronicles of Narnia
by Clive Staples Lewis ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ The Twilight Saga
Stephenie Meyer0088 ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ Shopaholic series
by Sophie Kinsella ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ novels
by Nicolas Sparks ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ 9008 EAT, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ IT,
Carrie, 9007 Carrie, ET.
by Stephen King ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ Fahrenheit 451,
Dandelion Wine,
A Sound of Thunder
by Ray Bradbury ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ Old Man and the Sea,
A Farewell to Arms,
For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔ and the there was None,
Detectives
by Agatha Christie ✖ ✖ ✖ 0003

Of course, we do not recommend beginners to read literature in the original: even children's fairy tales will still cause difficulties in reading. However, you can already study simple texts.

• English textbooks

The textbooks at your level contain simplified texts filled with useful words and phrases, so we advise you to start with the texts in the textbooks.

• Adapted literature

Adapted books are a great help in learning English. The simplification of the text consists in the fact that complex, rarely used words are replaced by simpler and more frequently used ones. You can find books for your level of knowledge at english-e-reader.net. We also recommend reading the article Adapted Books: Is It Worth Reading?

• Plain texts

Plain texts adapted to your level of knowledge are a great alternative to books in English. Try to read the texts on the rong-chang.com website - they will be clear even to people with a very small vocabulary. In addition, at the Elementary level, you can try reading English books for toddlers, such as the adventures of Paddington Bear.

Books in English for the intermediate level

We included Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate and Upper-Intermediate in the intermediate level of knowledge.

At the Pre-Intermediate level, we recommend reading adapted literature. Keep in mind an important detail: some publishers simplify the texts too much, so the text of your level may seem very easy. In this case, we recommend taking the book to a more difficult level. If you see those same 3-10 new words per page, feel free to start reading. At the same level, you can try reading children's books, for example, by Roald Dahl. His stories can be safely read to an adult: the author's original humor will not leave you indifferent.

At the Intermediate level, you can already start reading literature in the original. We want to warn you right away: the first few pages of any book in the original in English will be a real test of your stamina. You will immerse yourself in the world of living English with a variety of grammatical structures, new words, idioms, phrasal verbs. And here the main thing is not to dive into the dictionary for every word. Take note of only those words without which it is impossible to understand the meaning of the text. After a few pages, you will get used to the author's style, get involved in the plot, and it will become easier to read.

The Upper-Intermediate level provides even more reading opportunities. You have a solid vocabulary and a good knowledge of grammar, so you will be able to read most books without difficulty, using a dictionary on rare occasions. The advice remains the same: do not look up every unfamiliar word in the dictionary and enjoy reading.

Books in English for advanced levels

Advanced and Proficiency people are the luckiest - they can read almost any book in English. The only exception may be specialized literature, but if you are fond of quantum physics, then in order to gain new knowledge, you can take up books on this topic.

How to read books in English correctly: 7 tips

1. Write down unfamiliar words

To get the most out of reading, learn new vocabulary from the text. Write down whole phrases or fragments of phrases in which you met an unfamiliar word. In context, vocabulary will be easier to learn and you will know which words go with the word you have learned. Do not want to spoil the pleasure of reading? Then set yourself the task of writing down words from just a few pages a day, and then just read the book, using a dictionary only as a last resort. And don't forget to read about how to expand your vocabulary through reading.

2. Pay attention to grammatical constructions

While reading, pay attention to how English tenses and grammatical constructions are used in the text. This is a very useful exercise, because the more a person reads, the more competently he speaks and writes. The logic is simple: you get used to seeing correctly formulated sentences, memorize them and subsequently reproduce them in your speech. Find out some useful tricks for learning grammar constructions from the article "How to improve your knowledge of English grammar while reading."

3. Read aloud

By reading aloud you practice correct pronunciation, but only if you know the rules of reading English well. We recommend reading our article “TOP-13 “Russian” mistakes in English pronunciation”. At the same time, reading aloud can quickly tire you out, so alternate it with reading to yourself.

4. Use the correct dictionary

As we have already written, the dictionary should be used sparingly and in most cases try to do without it. Moreover, if you have already reached the Pre-Intermediate level, try using an explanatory (English-English) dictionary instead of Russian-English. So you learn not only a new word, but also its definition in English. Read our article about the benefits of an English-English dictionary.

5. Don't use translation software

Machine translation is bad for fiction and English learning in general. So far, none of the most advanced programs can translate phrases taking into account the context. If you have a desire to use the help of the program, think about whether the text you have chosen is too complicated. Perhaps you should take something simpler so that when reading, you can manage with your knowledge.

6. Be patient

Of course, we painted a very rosy picture: take a book in English and read it easily. In fact, the first pages will be given with great difficulty, because you have actually been pulled out of the Russian-speaking environment and plunged headlong into the English language. Our advice is to stick with the first few pages and try not to go into too much detail. While reading, do not try to analyze every word. Remember what happens while reading in Russian: you do not read each word separately and do not think about it, but perceive the text as a whole and imagine what is happening in your head. Do the same with the English text: draw the plot in your mind, try not to think that some words are unfamiliar to you.

7. Read regularly

Try to read at least 4-6 pages a day. It will take quite a bit of time, but the results of your classes will be noticeable very soon. Particular attention should be paid to reading for those who take a break from learning, for example, during a vacation.

Do you want to not only read, but also discuss what you have read in English? Then sign up for a conversational English course.

Now you know which books in English to read for beginners, and which ones are suitable for people with an average level of knowledge. We have a rather large list, but we are sure that the readers of our blog also have something to say on this topic. Write in the comments what books and at what level you read.

© 2023 englex.ru, copying of materials is possible only with a direct active link to the source.

TOP books in English adapted by level of knowledge

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"Harry Potter" in English is not very easy to read, but much more interesting than in Russian . There is nothing to say about Alice in Wonderland: no matter how many talented translations there are, all puns can only be fully appreciated in the original. In general, reading in English is correct and useful. And we will help you choose a book for your level, so that it is also pleasant.

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Why read in the original

The more that you read, the more that you’ll know.
The more that you know, the more places you'll go.

Dr. Seuss

Any English-speaking child will confirm that Dr. Seuss does not give bad advice. If you love to read, but are afraid to start with a voluminous and full-bodied English novel, don't worry. Especially for educational purposes, publishing houses produce adapted books in English: for beginners, for the intermediate level, and so on. Yes, you will get a complete picture of the work of art a little later, but you can congratulate yourself on the first English book you read already starting from the Elementary level!

You can apply for training here

1.

Reading in a foreign language enriches vocabulary, even if we ourselves do not realize it. Of course, in order to learn new vocabulary more effectively, it is better to read a book, writing out unfamiliar words and memorizing their translation. When choosing books to read, be guided by your learning goals: if you need colloquial speech, pay attention to modern “light” prose, but if you want to master special vocabulary, the most obvious advice is to read literature from the area of ​​​​your professional interests.

2. Reading improves spelling

English spelling is full of mysteries and surprises. The spelling of many words defies logic: you just have to memorize. And the best way to do this is to read more English-language literature so that the images of words are stored in memory.

3. Reading broadens one's horizons

E-books and blogs, news sites and social networking feeds: reading has reached a new level in the twenty-first century. A single information space makes it possible to learn about what is happening in the most remote corners of the world, to join the world's cultural and scientific heritage.

4. Reading in the original language boosts self-esteem

Listen to how you feel when you finish the last page of your first English novel: a wonderful feeling. “She reads Orwell in the original” sounds proud! Any psychologist will tell you that motivation is important when performing any task. So do not miss the opportunity to once again praise yourself, this one is not at all superfluous! :)

Reading English books in the original is not only useful, but also pleasant

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How to choose a book to read

• Choose adapted books in English for your level (see the list of recommended books for levels A2-C1 later in the article).
• Choose works according to your ability: start with short stories, gradually moving to larger literary forms.
• The more exciting the learning, the more effective it is: try to find books that are interesting for you. Detectives, thrillers, mysticism - or any other topic that awakens your imagination and makes you read the book to the end will do.

Children's books in English

If you know only a few hundred words in English, pay attention to children's literature: many children's books are also interesting for adults. In addition, children's literature, as a rule, is generously provided with illustrations, which helps to understand the plot.

Fun fact: the acclaimed children's writer Dr. Seuss, discussed earlier in this article, wrote his best book, The Cat in the Hat , using just 220 words. This list of the first children's words was compiled by the publisher, obliging the author to use them in his work: everything to earn the love of the target audience!

Free English-language children's books can be found on the Internet. For example, on the KidsWorldFun resource.

English comics

Like children's literature, comics are a great way to start reading in a new language. There are a great many genres of comics: there are comics for children, for adults, entertaining and educational.

• Free Online Comics Library
• Marvel Comics
• English grammar comics

Film scripts in English

One of the proven and effective methods of learning a new language, recommended by many polyglots, is to read books in the target language that are already familiar in translation. The same applies to film adaptations: it is useful to read the scripts of the films you have watched. Advantages: the context is known, the plot is clear, you can guess the meaning of new words in the course of the story.

• Movie Scripts and Screenplays
• 101 Greatest Screenplays
• Awesome Film

Books in English about personal development and professional literature

Reading them kills two birds with one stone: you learn English vocabulary that is relevant to you and learn new things about an important topic for you. If you are keenly interested in something, why not read about it in English? Another advantage of such literature is that it is easier to read than fiction novels. The style is simpler, the vocabulary is limited to the topic under consideration.

Reading in English improves vocabulary

3 "life hacks" for beginning readers of English literature

It is not necessary to understand every word

Сontext is king (context is king)! If you have grasped the main idea of ​​the story, that is enough. Moreover, if you understand everything you read, most likely you have taken a book of too low a level for yourself. Try to find such books where about 70% of the vocabulary will be familiar (the rest will have to be written out and learned).

Read aloud in English

It may seem strange, but reading has proven itself to improve pronunciation and listening - if it is reading aloud. By reading aloud, you tune in to the sound range of the language being studied. However, it is important to work on pronunciation and in addition to reading, otherwise the incorrectly “guessed” pronunciation of a particular word may annoy you for years afterwards.

Listen to audiobooks when reading English

When learning English, in which the same combination of letters can be pronounced in a dozen different ways, it is very important to pay attention to the correct pronunciation of new words. We have already written about the book + audiobook format: when reading an English-language book, you listen to its audio version, voiced by native English speakers. Very handy for learning pronunciation!

English books: read and listen

Books adapted for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of English (A2-C1)

A2 level - elementary level

Books in English help to develop vocabulary

Level B1 - threshold or intermediate (threshold or intermediate)

Read English books in the original

Intermediate English (intermediate, B1-B2)

Learning English by reading books in the original is interesting and exciting

B2 - intermediate-advanced level (vantage or upper intermediate)

Airport Arthur Hailey Level: upper-intermediate Genre: thriller Volume: approx. 180000 characters English version: British/Canadian Disaster novel based on real events is fascinating even after half a century. Book: Airport Film adaptation: Airport (1970)

The Talented Mr. Ripley Ripley Patricia Highsmith Level: upper-intermediate Genre: detective, drama Volume: approx. 130000 characters English version: American Tom Ripley is a 25-year-old young man who grew up without parents in an atmosphere of hatred and fear. Is it any wonder that his attitude to the world and people is not distinguished by special tenderness? .. Screen adaptation: The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) Audiobook download: mp3 (5 files, 182 minutes, 208 Mb)

Tomes are a girl's best friend!

С1 - advanced level of English (advanced)

Check if you know the top 100 English words

Useful:

10 "star" TV series that make learning English easy and fun

6 levels of English proficiency: steps to English reading excellence 9030 language

The "golden age" of Anglo-Saxon literature before the invasion of the Normans - the era of Alfred the Great, the conqueror of the Danes, who devastated Britain for almost two centuries.

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