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Reading in a Second Language

What to do when it’s tough.

Are you studying in a second or third language? Do you sometimes find that you read an article and you have to start all over when you get to the end?

Try this: Read the article once. Then use Google Translate to translate it to your first language (mother tongue). Read it in your first language (even if you’re not feeling fluent) and then in the original language again.

Yes, you’ve read it three times, but it’s not like reading it three times in the same language. You’re making new connections in the brain, between your mother tongue and the language you are using now to learn.

One of our students found that after doing this with five or six articles he was reading in his new language much more fluently. He no longer needed translation and he got the information he needed.

Oxford Specialist Tutors Online
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