Improve your IELTS reading

Audio: 4 min. 46 sec.

When it comes to self-study, reading is one of the best ways to improve your English, find new vocabulary and review problems regarding grammar.

That's not even to mention that reading novels and non-fiction texts can be great for enjoying yourself while also practicing new language.

To help you do this more effectively, this blog is going to highlight some key points that will make reading easier for you and some common mistakes the average student might make while going through text.

Speed reading (It's not a race, but...)

Reading is time-consuming and usually requires you to give yourself a set period to properly do it.

However, there are some little habits you might have developed that could be slowing down your reading speed.

Finger/Pen – Do you use something like your finger or a pen to move along the sentence you are reading so you can highlight each word?

This is a habit that students often develop when they first start learning English.

When you are a total beginner, using your finger like this can help you sound out individual words but as your level improves, this actually slows down your reading speed.

Your hand cannot move as fast as your eyes so by doing this you are limiting your maximum reading speed.

Mouthing – Many students will read aloud while they are looking through a text.

This can be a good way to practice pronunciation, but it has a negative effect on your reading ability if you do it all the time.

Even if you say the words to yourself silently, just like with your finger you are making it so that you read more slowly. 

The average speaking speed of a fluent English speaker is around 100-150 words per minute (wpm), and the average reading speed is 200-250 wpm – almost twice as fast, so try to just focus on the text without “saying” the words as you read.

Reading purpose (Why am I reading this?)

When you plan on reading something, it is worth considering what you are trying to achieve.

For example, if you are reading because you want to improve your vocabulary, you should probably read slowly and carefully with plans to check a reference book like a dictionary when you come across new or difficult language.

If you are reading something like a news story, on the other hand, you will probably find it easier to scan the text for key words – nouns, verbs, dates, numbers and locations.

These will tell you the main idea or “gist” of the article without you having to spend a long time reading each and every word.

If you want to improve your reading in order to succeed in an exam, it is vital you identify what the purpose of each text you need to read is.

Depending on what exam you are doing, each reading task you are expected to complete will require its own specific approach.

Time management is also a significant part of this, so make sure you follow the above suggestions to avoid slowing yourself down as well.

How can I read more?

Improving your reading requires frequent practice.

To do this, it's a good idea to get a book that you can spend significant time reading – looking at articles and stories online is good, but having a book is better.

The book can be on any topic, but it should be about something you are passionate about or something that you want to learn more about.

Make reading this book part of a daily or weekly routine of “leisure reading” and try to stick to your schedule.

Something you can do as a practice activity with this book is a “reading sprint”.

Set yourself a 5-minute timer and see how many pages you can read in this time limit.

Then, set yourself a 4-minute timer and try and read the same amount.

By forcing yourself to stick to a target with less time, you will find that your brain tries to get information more quickly and as a result you can improve your reading speed.

The faster you read, the more benefit you can get out of your reading time, as well as improving your reading ability in day-to-day life and study.