So I’m a non native speaker and although I’ve been reading English since I was a kid but I started reading English novels diligently only from last year and although I sure find certain books that are pretty easy for me to read and understand but then whenever I try to read books that are interesting and just slightly above my comprehension level it becomes really hard to understand and breaks my rythm every few minutes to find a meaning of certain word or phrase or sometimes just need to reread multiple times to understand a particular sentence.
I noticed it became so hard that I was barely able to finish 2 pages in half an hour and although the book was slightly complex but I’m sure it was written in a simple English and a lot of even other half decent non-native speakers could finish like 10-12 pages in half an hour if not more.
It’s becoming very frustrating. I want to enjoy the book but all these hurdles make it very hard for me to enjoy the book even though I know if it was in my native language i would probably enjoy it and finish it much much faster.
I really find so many books in English that I’d totally love to read but the constant break in the rythm and taking so long to read and understand just a single page sucks out all the joy.
My question is does it ever get easy for people like me who don’t have a very strong grasp on English?
by fin-freak
2 Comments
Practice makes perfect so don t give up. Keep reading and you won t have this problem anymore. I m also a non native english speaker but I read faster in english (simetimes faster than my mother tongue) bc of how much english media I consume. I read slower in german but there was a time when I read more german books in a short period of time and it got better.
it’s normal and it gets easier!
tip: if you’re reading an e-book (kindle or even just a phone app) you can just click longer on a word it will give you a definition or a translation instantly. it doesn’t break the flow as much as when i have to put down my book and look for it on my phone. i’m also fine with not understanding every single word and just try to guess the meaning with the context, constantly interrupting my reading can make it feel like a chore and i actually retain less