Tips on Learning English

Tip 3-Learning English

Learn English through Reading

Read English texts as often as you can.

This could be the news, short stories or novels, or texts from your textbook. Choose an interesting text that is not too difficult for you (otherwise it wouldn’t be fun).

Don’t look up every word which is new to you – even without a dictionary you will understand a lot. Just concentrate on what you do understand and try to find out the rest by intelligent guessing. That works rather well, especially if you are interested in the topic. If you are a football fanatic for example, you probably won’t have problems understanding an English text about football. 

On the other hand, someone who is better in English than you but not interested in football will have more problems understanding the same text.

Do also watch the news in your native language and try to find English news to some of the topics. Even if you don't understand every word in the English text, you will get the message as you already know what the text is about.

Read Between The Lines 

Proficient readers know how to connect the dots between what the author says and what he implies, or leaves unsaid. They use clues from the text or their prior knowledge.

Making inferences is an important comprehension skill. Students have to draw conclusions from ordinary events in their lives, and they also have to learn to figure out what an author implied, or didn’t write.

Meaning

   1.      Discern a meaning which isn't made obvious or explicit.

She said she was happy to go to the party but didn't seem concerned when it was cancelled.

Reading between the lines, I don't think she wanted to go in the first place".

2.   to infer something (from something else); to try to understand what is meant by something that is not written explicitly or openly.

After listening to what she said, if you read between the lines, you can begin to see what she really means. Don't believe everything you read literally. Learn to read between the lines.

3.   to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say or write.

Reading between the lines, I'd say that Martin isn't very happy with the situation.

4.  to find a hidden meaning in something said or written.

The report doesn't criticise the research directly, but you can read between the lines that the review committee wasn't impressed.

 

Origin

This expression derives from a simple form of cryptography, in which a hidden meaning was conveyed by secreting it between lines of text. It originated in the mid 19th century and soon became used to refer to the deciphering of any coded or unclear form of communication, whether written or not.