The Challenge of Reading Skill Development
Improving reading skills can be a real challenge because it is an activity that you do on your own.
Unless you’re reading out loud for someone, or reading to answer questions at school for a test or project, your reading skills are hard to see developing because feedback on your progress is well..mostly invisible.
Today I’d like to share with you some ways you can work on improving your reading skills in English – and these tips will also help you if you’re preparing for the CELPIP exam.
Story Time: University and Summaries
Let’s rewind the clock for a moment. The year is 1997, and I’m in my first year of university – studying with a full case load of courses.
It’s the most class taking, studying, reading, writing and academic work I have done in my life at that point.
I’m so busy between studying and working part time as a dishwasher, that I have to schedule bathroom breaks in order to get it my homework done.
It was a crazy time! I don’t quite know how I made it through, but I did obviously because here I am writing to you today!
The University Orientation Class That Changed Everything
I’ll never forget something I learned at an orientation class at the start of the year. I feel like this tip alone helped me make it through each of my classes. It’s something that took 5 or 10 minutes after each class, but it gave me so much more in return: a sense of being in control and understanding what was going on in each of my classes.
The Tip: at the end of each class, give yourself a few minutes and write a brief summary of the most important points you recall from the lecture or what you did during the class.
Refer to your notes only if you have to.
That was it. Nothing magical, but it totally made a difference for me. And after every class, and often minutes before the next one would begin, I would avoid visiting with my friends or standing in the halls waiting for the next class to begin.
Nope…none of that. Instead I would quickly make my way to the next class and sit down in the hallway, or I’d immediately head over to the university’s library where I’d grab a quiet table in the corner, pull out my notebook, and quickly jot down a summary of what we’d just covered in the class.
If there were things I didn’t understand, I wrote questions about it that would later bring up with my classmates or with the teacher next class.
But most of the time, I was able to get a paragraph or two about the main ideas we covered.
This helped me immensely during exam time.
So, what does that have to do with developing your reading skills for the CELPIP and English in general?
Great question: here’s the answer:
One of the best things you can do to grow your reading skills is to become an active reader.
That means you are interacting with the material you are reading.
- As you read, underline and circle ideas you like.
- Underline new words that you find.
- Talk back to the writer/author in your notes – imagine you’re having a conversation with them.
And finally, related to my story today, at the end of each section or chapter – take a moment and write a brief summary of what you just read.
This will help you organize the ideas you took in as you were reading. It will also help you figure out how well you were understanding what you are reading.
If you notice a section is hard, maybe go back and reread it. Pay attention to the parts that are more difficult for you.
Pay attention to any new words that might be making it hard for you to follow.
Think of summaries as an opportunity to check in with yourself to see if you’re following the main ideas of the writer.
NOTE: this is not a tip for the actual CELPIP exam day. You won’t have time to write summaries and engage with the text in the way I am describing here. This is a tip for developing your skills over time.
Remember: You need more time than you think to get ready for the CELPIP.
A Reading Skill Development Deepdive
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