Adrian was frustrated! Seven months earlier he had started an adult ESL class in his home country, Brazil. But it wasn’t working. His English wasn’t getting any better.

Why did Adrian quit?

This was unusual for Adrian. He’s used to success. He’s a full professor of law at one of the leading universities in Brazil. He teaches courses in constitutional law and philosophy of law. He contributes to books and writes articles in his native language, Portuguese.

What was the problem? Adrian memorized lists of vocabulary words. He took and passed all of the grammar tests. He talked in class when his teacher asked him to, even though it made him uncomfortable. He did everything he was asked to do, but his English wasn’t improving very much. So Adrian quit.

Adrian finds success

A few days later Adrian sat down at his computer, went to Google, and began to search for help. On a bilingual blog, he says he found this statement (definitions added):

Acquisition (picking up a language) requires meaningful interaction (involvement) in the target language – natural communication – in which speakers are not concerned with the form of their utterances (what they say) but with the messages they are conveying (communicating) and understanding.

Here’s the important part of that long sentence: we acquire, or pick up, a language when we understand it in natural communication – when we understand what people say or what they have written.

Adrian remembers thinking, “That makes sense!” If I cannot understand, how will I learn?”

Soon Adrian found the ESL Podcast and began to listen to it. He subscribed to the learning guide and began to read it. Later he found VOA Special English. Soon he was reading and listening to both whenever he had time.

A few months later, in a casual conversation, one of Adrian’s friends from the ESL class was amazed by his English. He asked Adrian where he was studying, and he said, “Man, I’m studying alone.”

How good is Adrian’s English? He tells me that about two years after he began this process, he decided to write an American professor at New York University about an article he had written. When he did, he received an answer. Adrian was ecstatic! It was the first time he had tried writing in English, and he was successful.

Today Adrian continues to read and listen. His English is good enough that he reads and listens to articles from the Economist. He listens to CNN Student News, the ESL Podcast, and VOA almost every day.

He enjoys reading John Grisham’s books because Grisham is an attorney, and his books are about attorneys and court cases. Since Adrian is an attorney, Grisham’s books are easier to understand.

Oh, I must not forget. Adrian also loves to read Spider Man comics!

Why was Adrian successful?

Adrian was successful because he spent his time reading and listening to interesting, easy-to-understand English. As his English got better, he moved to more difficult reading, like Grisham’s books and the Economist.

In three short years, Adrian’s English has improved significantly. Today he can use English to easily discuss almost anything, including his new favorite subject – how to acquire more English.

How does he feel about it?

Here’s what he says:

Studying English is a huge pleasure for me now. Reading in English opened a whole world and I feel that is only the beginning.

You could do the same!

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

What is the purpose of language education, or instruction?

I read an interesting answer to that question yesterday. And it might surprise you. I found it in a paper, or article, called The Autonomous Language Acquirer. The purpose of language instruction, according to the paper, should not be “to develop fully proficient (skilled or expert) speakers of the foreign or second language.” So what should it be?

The paper describes two goals for language instruction. First, language instruction should help students understand how language is acquired, or picked up. Second, language instruction should help students learn where and how to get and use comprehensible input – understandable English to read and listen to – from the “outside world” when they leave the classroom.

The purpose of language education, according to the paper, should be to help students become autonomous – independent, self-directed – language acquirers.

If you have read ABOUT Successful English, you will already know that this is the purpose of Successful English. If you keep returning, you will learn more and more about acquiring English, and you will learn where to find and how to use interesting, comprehensible reading and listening to improve your English.

If you want to get started today, take a look at The Basics.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

Reference: Krashen, S. (2006). The autonomous language acquirer. In Skier, E. and Kohyama, M. (Eds.) More Autonomy You Ask! Tokyo: Japan Association for Language Teaching (Learner Development Special Interest Group).

Shin Kyu-cheol, professor in the department of English language at Far East University, says that extensive reading* is crucial (of the greatest importance) to English acquisition.

Professor Shin was interviewed for this morning’s edition of the Korea Herald, a Korean English-language newspaper. Here are some of the things he said about extensive reading (ER):

• ER exposes students to language and culture.
• ER helps students learn how English is used in specific contexts.
• ER helps develop critical and creative thinking skills and cultural understanding.
• Students should choose books that are interesting and easy to understand.
• ER helps improve all four skills – reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
• ER helps students internalize words and expressions which they can then use when they write.
• Students should concentrate on being able to communicate.
• Students should not worry about being perfect or having native-like pronunciation.
• Language education should be “learner-centered” – teachers and schools should create an environment in which students are motivated to voluntarily study English.
• Teachers should be facilitators, who help students select good books and study in good reading environments.

He is absolutely correct!

*Extensive reading is recreational reading of large amounts of interesting, easy-to-understand material, usually fiction.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

Added note – after publishing this post, I sent the following e-mail to the Korea Herald:

I want to commend the Herald for publishing Professor Shin’s ideas about the importance of extensive reading for English (language) acquisition. While he is correct in all that he says – his ideas are based on a large body of academic research – perhaps his most important suggestions are those that would bring changes to language education in Korea and most other countries.

I am an adult ESL specialist who works with immigrant English learners, including many Koreans, in southern California. Their transition to life in the U.S. – for education or employment – would have been much easier if their language education had been based on the principles he describes.

WE

In 2005, Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez was looking for an idea on the streets of Los Angeles. Instead, he found Nathaniel Ayers and his music. Since then Lopez and Ayers have become friends and Ayers – a gifted but mentally ill musician – has become known to everyone who reads Lopez’ columns in the Times. Take a look at the 60 Minutes video story about the two men, read Lopez’ articles, and more in Online | Advanced. It’s the story of Mr Ayers and Mr. Lopez.

I originally wrote about Mr. Ayers and Mr. Lopez in The Musician and the Writer at the ESL Podcast blog.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

When I first saw Lit2Go – just after they started – I thought it was a great idea, but difficult to use. Now they have a totally new face – at iTunes U – that looks good and is easy to use!

Lit2Go features classic English literature that is in the public domain (out of copyright). It includes many popular works, such as Sherlock Holmes, Huckleberry Finn, Ann of Green Gables, Black Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland.

Mostly for high intermediate, advanced English learners.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

Anything you do to make English more comprehensible (understandable) while you read will help you acquire more English. That makes picture books and comics good sources of comprehensible English.

But wait, you say, aren’t picture books and comics for children? Well, yes and no.

A lot of picture books are for children, but there are good picture books for adults – older children! – too. And if our goal is to improve our English, what’s wrong with reading children’s books? Many of my adult students have improved their English by reading children’s books first. When their English improved – often quickly – they moved on to other kinds of reading.

What about picture books for adults? There are two creators of picture books that I think are especially good for adults. Both of them write and illustrate (create the pictures) their own books.

David MacAulay

David MacAulay is best known for his books about how things work or how they were built. They are interesting and full of practical information. You’ll pick up a lot of useful vocabulary about the human body, electricity, construction, and the many other things MacAulay writes about.

My favorite MacAulay book is Motel of the Mysteries. It’s a very funny book about an archaeologist in 4022 who discovers an American motel. Unfortunately, he gets it wrong; the motel isn’t what he thinks it is! You’ll have to read the book to find out how he got it wrong.

Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco had trouble in school and wasn’t able to read, until she was 14, because of dyslexia (a learning or reading disorder). As a result, she began drawing. She began writing later and became an award-winning and much loved storyteller.

Her personal experiences, and her family’s, come to life in her books. The story of her trouble in school is told in Thank you, Mr. Falker. Her family is made up of different ethnic backgrounds and traditions and those differences help create many of her stories.

Polacco’s books have always been favorites of my students. And I have enjoyed reading them, too.

Finding and buying books

Let me make three suggestions about finding and buying books. They may not work for everyone, but I know they will for some of you. First, buy paperbacks. Paperback books are always less expensive. Second, you can usually get a better price at Amazon.com if you use the sellers that Amazon links to. You can find the links in the middle of the page, below the title of the book.

Finally, try sharing the cost and the books with friends who are also trying to improve their English. Maybe a group of you could begin a small lending library of English books.

Comics

Comics are a great source of comprehensible English – and hours of fun reading! Marvel Comics now makes most of its comics available for reading online. You’ll have to subscribe – they cost $5 per month – but that’s not much for the benefit you’ll receive.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

The saddest e-mails I get from students who need to take the TOEFL are those that ask, “Can you help me? I need to take the TOEFL iBT soon – one even said ‘next week.’ ” I received another a few days ago. I don’t like to answer those e-mails, because the answer is often, “No, I can’t.”

It takes time

It takes time to develop general language ability. It takes time to develop academic language ability. It takes time to develop academic skills. And it takes time to learn test-taking strategies. Three weeks, or sometimes even three months, are not enough!

To succeed on the TOEFL, you will need all of those:

• conversational English
• academic English
• academic skills, such as essay writing
• test-taking skills

What to do

As soon as you know that you need to take the TOEFL, you should do two things:

• Become familiar with the TOEFL. A good place to start is to take the TOEFL tour. You can find more information in a post called Check out the TOEFL that I wrote for the ESL Podcast blog.
• Evaluate (measure) your English ability and academic and test-taking skills.

Here are two good ways to to evaluate your skills:

• Take the TOEFL practice test (Check out the links at the bottom of the page.). You should do this as soon as possible and, again, during your preparation process to see how you are doing. One of my recent students, a nurse from Taiwan who is preparing to do graduate work in the U.S. has been doing this, and it has been very helpful.
• Talk to a good, experienced TOEFL tutor, especially one with college or university teaching experience. A good tutor can help you evaluate your language, academic, and test-taking skills and suggest specific ways to improve them.

After you know your strengths and weaknesses, you will have a much better idea of what you need to do to get ready for the TOEFL.

Academic English is changing

If you expect to simply memorize information from your textbooks and lecture notes, you may have a rude (sudden, unpleasant) surprise when you come to an American college or university. Today students need to do much more. They need to be able use all the language skills – reading, listening, speaking, writing – inside and outside of the classroom, alone and in collaboration (working together) with other students, to investigate, create, and report. The old idea – that the purpose of teachers is to pass their knowledge on to the students – is dying. Instead, a new idea – that the purpose of the teacher is to help students learn how to learn for themselves – is growing. And, with the new idea, a new set of language skills is needed. Those are the skills the TOEFL iBT is designed to measure.

Don’t wait! Start now to prepare for the TOEFL.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

TODAY’S QUESTION: A challenge is a difficult task. What is the biggest challenge you face, or experience, as an English learner who doesn’t live in an English-speaking country?

Let’s Talk! is an online discussion about learning English as a second language.

• Each discussion will be open for two weeks.
• If you want to reply to what someone else has written, click on Reply at the end of their comment; your reply will be added after their comment.

I’d like to hear from you!

Warren Ediger

My students have always enjoyed reading short stories by American writers like Jack London, O. Henry, and Mark Twain. You can find a growing list of these short stories – from VOA Special English – here on Successful English. The American Stories are in the Online | Intermediate section of Successful English.

You can read the stories, listen to them, or – what I recommend – read and listen to them at the same time. The stories are arranged according to the level of difficulty – from easiest to most difficult.

I have marked stories that my students enjoyed the most with asterisks (*).

Enjoy!

Scientific research tells that most of our fluency – our ability to use a language – comes from what we read and hear. Reading and listening have the power to improve vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension (understanding), writing, spelling, TOEFL scores, and more.*

The most important thing you can do to improve your English is to read and listen to as much interesting, easy-to-understand English as possible. Here’s why.

An explanation

Learning a language is a natural process. It’s something our brains do very well. When we read or listen to language that we can understand, our brains acquire, (pick up, or absorb) new language – new vocabulary, new ideas about grammar, new ideas about how to use the language.

This process – acquiring new language – has several interesting characteristics:

• It’s automatic; we don’t have to decide to do it.

• When it happens, we aren’t aware of it; we don’t know it’s happening until someone says, “Wow! Your English is so much better!”

If we do what we need to do, it will happen. We can’t avoid it.

What’s the secret?

The secret is something called comprehensible input.

While you are reading this article, you are receiving input, ideas from the words and sentences that I am writing. If you understand what I am writing, even if you don’t know all of the words, the input you receive is comprehensible. Comprehensible is simply a technical word for understandable. When we receive comprehensible input, our brains acquire new language.

Do you remember how you acquired your first language? When we were young, we acquired our first language from comprehensible input. Our parents and other people used simple language when they spoke or read to us. They used one word, then phrases (short groups of words). They spoke and read slowly. They used gestures (body movement), pictures, and objects. They did everything they could to help us understand our language, to make it comprehensible to us. When they did, our minds acquired, or picked up, the language. One day, when we were ready, we said our first word. And everyone got excited! You acquired your first language because your parents and other people surrounded you with comprehensible input – understandable language.

When we begin to learn a new language, we need to do the same thing. We need to surround ourselves with comprehensible input. We need to read it. And we need to hear it.

The advantage of reading = more language

Students often ask about watching television or movies. They can be helpful, but not as helpful as reading (or other kinds of listening). Reading has a significant advantage for language development. Here’s why: reading is full of language.

That may seem like an obvious, perhaps even a silly statement. But take a moment to think about it. When we watch a movie or television program, we listen to the dialogue (the conversation between characters). But we see the location and the action. The only language we hear is what the characters say to each other. But when we read a book or story, we read the dialogue and we read the writer’s description of the location and the action. We receive more language – more comprehensible input – than we do when we watch a movie or television program.

Think of it this way. When we watch a movie or a television program, it’s like having a language snack. When we read, it’s like sitting down to a full language meal, plus dessert!

Reading and listening that get results

If you want to read and listen to improve your English, here’s what you need to do:

• Read and listen a lot and do it often

Read and listen every day, even if it’s only for 15 or 20 minutes. If you can do more, it’s even better!

• Read and listen to anything that gives you pleasure

How can you tell that you’re reading and listening for pleasure? You are reading for pleasure when you don’t want to stop because you enjoy it so much. When you forget what time it is. When you don’t notice the people and activity around you. When you feel like you are inside of the story.

• Read and listen to things that are easy to understand

It’s easy enough when you know almost all the words. When you can read and listen without stopping. When you can understand the story or ideas without looking up words in the dictionary. When you don’t have to read slowly.

Some Suggestions

• Read and listen without stopping. If you are curious about some of the words, look them up after you finish reading or listening, but don’t stop in the middle of something!

• Read and listen more than once. If you enjoyed something so much that you want to read or listen to it again, do it! Each time you will acquire more English.

• Read and listen at the same time. There are benefits to seeing and hearing new language at the same time.

• Read and listen to things written by the same author. To articles, speeches, or lectures on the same subject. To the same genre (kind) – for example, historical fiction about World War II. This is called narrow reading or listening and it is very helpful.

• Read English books that you first read (in translation) in your own language. If you read a book in your language, you will understand it better – and acquire more – when you read it in English.

Begin today! And make it a habit. The sooner you begin, and the more you read (or listen), the more your English will improve.

Warren Ediger
warren [at] successfulenglish [dot] com

*If you want to look at a summary of the effects of reading, look at Dr. Stephen Krashen’s list of 81 generalizations, or statements, that can be made about the benefits of reading. These statements are the result of more than 40 years of scientific research.