How to Improve Your English Through Comprehension Practice

Increase your English skills by enhancing comprehension.

For students learning English as a second language, the many facets of learning a new language can seem overwhelming: vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, grammar and sentence structure and yes, you must comprehend and retain what you have read as well. Comprehension exercises are one way to increase your reading comprehension skills while helping to enhance your English skills. While comprehension exercises help you to focus and retain the main point of a written piece, they also help you define vocabulary, perfect spelling and increase familiarity with proper grammar and sentence structure.

Instructions

1. Read a short piece from the newspaper, a magazine or even a short story. Read as much as you can to develop a broad knowledge base. The more you know, the easier it will be to connect ideas together. Before beginning to read, skim the page for any headings or any graphs or photographs to give yourself an overview of what the material is about.

2. Read the piece using a strategy such as SQR3, which stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. You completed the first step, Survey, when you skimmed the material before reading it. Now read the piece once through and try to understand the main point and then either try to write a brief summary or recite what you thought was the main point. Review your summary and the main point of the article.

3. Mark any words you do not understand and also mark any areas of the piece that puzzled you. It could be sentence structure, spelling or paragraph placement. Look up unfamiliar words in a dictionary and practice their pronunciation. Analyze the other areas that have confused you and use that as a guide on what elements you need to study further, such as proper sentence structure.

4. Discuss the piece with a friend or instructor. This enhances your comprehension of the piece and also your English skills because you are forced to articulate your thoughts about the piece.

Tips & Warnings

• There are many resources on the Internet with sample reading comprehension exercises for ESL students; there are also many videos available online. Community centers often offer free or low-cost classes for individuals learning English. You might also consider hiring a tutor.

References

• The Literacy Web at the University of Connecticut: How to Improve Reading Comprehension

Resources

• Study my English: Practice for Students
• Better English for Everyone
• St. Michael's College: Academics: ESL/EFL Teaching/Learning Resources