Lesson 4: Reading Widely for Vocabulary Growth
The Ultimate Long-Term Strategy
After learning how to use a dictionary, practice active recall, and create mnemonics, it's time for the single most powerful strategy for vocabulary growth: reading. A lot. This is called extensive reading1, and it means reading a large amount of material for general understanding and enjoyment. It is the best way to see how words work in context2 and is the key to true, natural language acquisition3.
Why is Reading So Powerful?
- Natural Spaced Repetition: When you read widely, you will see important words again and again in different situations. Your brain naturally learns which words are most frequent and important.
- Understanding Through Context: You learn the 'feeling' and 'nuance' of a word by seeing how it's used in a real sentence, which is much better than just memorizing a definition.
- It's Enjoyable: If you choose topics you love, learning vocabulary doesn't feel like studying. When you enjoy something, you do it more often, and consistency is the key to success.
What Should I Read?
The best material is something that is interesting to you and just a little bit challenging. Here are some ideas for B2 learners:
- Graded Readers: These are books written specifically for English learners at different levels. They are a perfect place to start building confidence.
- Young Adult (YA) Fiction: Novels like *Harry Potter* or *The Hunger Games* use engaging language that is exciting but usually very clear.
- News Websites and Blogs: Read about your hobbies! If you like football, technology, or cooking, find a popular English-language blog on that topic. For news, try sites like BBC News, Reuters, or local English papers like the Khmer Times.
A Smart Reading Strategy
The goal is to enjoy the flow, not to stop every two seconds. Try this method:
- Read for the Main Idea First: Don't stop for any unknown words unless you are completely lost. Just try to understand the general meaning.
- The "Rule of Three": When you see a new word, try to guess its meaning from the context and keep reading. If you see it a second time, do the same. If you see it a third time in different articles or chapters, it's probably a high-frequency word worth learning.
- Look It Up & Record It: Now is the time to look up that important word in your monolingual dictionary. Use the skills from our previous lessons to create a full entry in your vocabulary notebook (definition, part of speech, collocation, example sentence).
In Practice: Sokha's Reading Habit
Sokha wants to improve her English for her tourism job in Kampot. She decides to read English travel blogs about Cambodia.
- She finds the word "picturesque" in an article. From the sentence, "We visited a picturesque fishing village," she guesses it means "beautiful" or "pretty." She keeps reading.
- In another article about Kep, she sees it again: "The national park offers picturesque views of the ocean." Her guess is confirmed.
- When she sees "picturesque" a third time describing the salt fields, she knows it's a useful word. She looks it up ("pretty, especially in a way that looks old-fashioned") and creates a notebook entry for it, including her own sentence: "The countryside around the Kampot river is very picturesque."
quiz Check Your Understanding
1. What is the main purpose of extensive reading?
- a) To learn grammar rules.
- b) To read a lot for enjoyment and general understanding.
- c) To memorize every new word on a page.
Click to see the answer
Answer: b) To read a lot for enjoyment and general understanding.
2. According to the suggested strategy, you should look up a new word when...
- a) ...you see it for the very first time.
- b) ...you have seen it several times and recognize it's important.
- c) ...you finish the entire book.
Click to see the answer
Answer: b) ...you have seen it several times and recognize it's important.
3. Why is reading a novel you enjoy a good way to learn vocabulary?
- a) Because it's enjoyable, you will do it more consistently.
- b) Because novels have the hardest words.
- c) Because novels are usually short.
Click to see the answer
Answer: a) Because it's enjoyable, you will do it more consistently.
edit Your Mission
- Find Your Material: Your most important mission! Find one article, blog post, or short story in English that you want to read. Choose a topic you are passionate about.
- Read for Fun: Set a timer for 15 minutes. Read your chosen material. Do not use a dictionary. Just read and try to follow the story or main idea.
- Become a Word Collector: After your time is up, go back and find just ONE interesting or important word you didn't know. Use all your skills: look it up in a monolingual dictionary and create a "deep learning" entry for it in your vocabulary notebook. Congratulations, you have started the most powerful habit for vocabulary growth!
book Lesson Glossary
- Extensive Reading (noun phrase) - Khmer: ការអានទូលំទូលាយ (kaa aan tu-lum-tu-liey) - The practice of reading large quantities of material for general understanding. ↩
- Context (noun) - Khmer: បរិបទ (bɑɑ-rĭ-bɔt) - The situation in which something happens and that helps you to understand it. ↩
- Acquisition (noun) - Khmer: ការទទួលបានភាសា (kaa tɔ-tuəl-baan pʰie-saa) - The process of learning a language by experiencing it naturally, without conscious study. ↩