How to Read in a Foreign Language to Get Fluent Fast

I started writing out the Psalms in Spanish and I've learned so much! I've read the Psalms in English many, many times, so im very familiar with them. Writing them out helps me focus on each word, and also it forces me to pay attention to accent marks.
I've learned a lot of vocabulary, and I have a feeling that sentence structure will start to click pretty soon (tense/case will take longer, but even that is starting to take shape).
I'm doing this almost every day and I honestly can see huge improvement from just a month or two ago when I began.

Some great advise, from my experience it works for any language, though there are some languages that'll take you more time to be able to start reading. Also you need to adjust it depending on your level. Usually it's a lot harder at the beginning and you also need to look up more words like no matter how well you adjust the level of the book. So for me, I'd say I tend to read more at a higher level to make the language more beautiful and interesting. And I do think that using those tecniques you were talking about is something that happens naturally as you practise, at least that's how it worked for me. For some reason just really liked the way you provide information❤

Although I typically read nonfiction by Mexican writers, I'm currently reading and enjoying the Spanish edition of Graham Greene's The Quiet American. I'm a senior adult learner and I'm having a hard time breaking out of an intermediate level of Spanish. But I keep trying. Thanks for your tips. I'm definitely going to try visualization.

I guess I (mid thirties) still a kid at heart, because I'm enjoying gradually working my way through kids books in my target language!
I definity agree with choosing a genre that you already enjoy, at least at first. Knowing the tropes you're likely to come across makes the process of working what's going on a lot easier, as well as making it more enjoyable.

In graduate school I was required to read 3 books the first semester of MBA degree in International Management. Though I lived in France for two years, on American bases, had French in High School and college, reading a book in France started as a daunting task. I was looking up words in almost every sentence. Then I bought the English versions of the books to read side by side. Not only did it speed up reading every sentence, but, invisibly enhanced my French vocabulary. I was anxious about the final exam on these books since it was a verbal exam all in French. I was concerned I may not even understand the question, much less adequately respond in French. It’s crazy what the mind can do as it turned out to be a breeze as I fluidly responded in a full conversational way. I was shocked to have gained so much from my reading. While the tedium of reading books this was so time consuming, I gained more fluency in French in one semester, than in years of “study.”

Hi! I'm Italian and currently I'm reading "20.000 leagues under the sea" to improve my English, "Viaje al centro de la tierra" para mejorar mi español y "Le tour du monde en 80 jours" pour améliorer mon français. I speak 4 languages but I would like to add a fifth one: the Brazilian Portuguese. I love the sound y la gramática es muy parecida a la del español et du français! Ciao!

I'm English and the other day I was talking in English to an English colleague. I used the everyday word 'dregs', I can't remember the context, and she asked how do I learn such words. Apparently I use a lot of words she isn't familiar with although I don't think my vocabulary is particularly rich. I asked her if she reads books and she said 'No'.

I'm currently reading my first 'real' book in Spanish. I'm at level B1 and I've read other books aimed at language learning, but this is the first 'proper' general book. It's a novel written by a Spanish author, and set in southern Spain - where I live - so I think these sorts of books are perfect because they contain both expressive prose and a rich, descriptive range of language, whilst also containing everyday dialogue, phrases, natural speech patterns, and colloquialisms. You get the best of both worlds. I'm really enjoying the experience and it feels great to be a third of the way through the book without using a dictionary, and still understanding the story. I read the local Spanish newspaper too, but it's mostly written in the Spanish 'active voice' which isn't really used in day to day speaking (the active voice is much more common), and, more importantly, there is no dialogue.

I don't understand everything(maybe 85% literally), of course, and even though I'm reading relatively slowly and trying to work out meaning based on surrounding words, the most interesting thing for me is just how differently it is structured in the natural, native form. The sentence structures are COMPLETELY different than the 'google Spanish' that a lot of beginner/intermediate learning tends to focus on. The idea that the language is structured to suit English speakers, and yet this is nothing like the style and structure of Spanish when native Spanish people use the language. It may be understandable and grammatically correct, but it sounds very strange and 'guiri' to a Spanish native. So yes, I think that this is an essential tool to use when you work up from intermediate to advanced.

Funnily enough, I always said that when I believed that I had reached a competent enough level that my first 'proper' book would be the classic 'Don Quijote De La Mancha' by Cervantes. I got around 50 pages in only to realise that I hadn't got the foggiest idea what was going on. 😂 A 600-page book written in archaic language was not a good starting book.

I like the part about reading aloud and that it helps to develop active vocabulary. Totally agree with that and I'm going to implement it.

Good video! I've tried to learn Korean and I gave up bcs I don't have a lot of motivation, but I used to read short stories for beginners and it was pretty good! I like the idea of reading the text out loud, I wanna study Korean again lol 😂

I'm actually learning French (trying to go from B2 to fluent) and I love Count Monte Christo so much that I also thought that it'd be great to read it in French so that's what I'm reading right now 😅

I'm currently learning Welsh and reading definitely helps. I also listen to a lot of music. As far as English, I like the concept of "speaking to the room." I can speak with a lot of slang or I can speak verbosely but, I generally tend to mix them up. On-topic, my elementary school had a yearly competition for the number of books read (along with book reports turned in) and was always near the top. People frequently ask me how I know so much and then get offended when I tell them that I read a lot. "Oh, yeah, well... I read, too, buddy!" Awesome! Maybe engage with content that will challenge you to better yourself instead of just laughing at fart jokes.

I love reading kids' books in English, so that's what I read in my target language 😅 I read the same book over and over until I really absorb the vocabulary. I read silently as well as aloud.

Good advice. I also highlight and look up later or realise what the word was after seeing it a few more times.🙂

Her English is clearly accented, however it sounds excellent! . Keep up the amazing work.

What about Japanese or Chinese?

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I totally agree! Great advice! Bilingual books are so helpful, you don't have to go to check in the dictionary! Currently reading a French-Spanish bilingual book of Borges, and a German-Russian bilingual book about Russia!

Can you do a video of what languages you speak? and maybe how you learned them 😁😁

Oh did you read books in Russian?

I'm currently reading "Du Côté de Chez Swann" by Proust. I started reading in French about a decade ago and generally read French with my morning coffee, around a half hour a day. I had read the "usual suspects" in English 50 years ago in college, but, I found work by Flaubert, Balzac and Camus far more rewarding in the original language. That is probably because I read slower in French and I have to be more attentive, still, it is a beautiful language. Hugo was my favorite last year, although I suppose his style is not for everyone. I love his writing, especially his digressions.

I think most people will find that it takes some time to settle in with a writer's style. After twenty or thirty pages, it all starts to flow much more smoothly, so don't give up! As for non-fiction, I would highly recommend the work of Michel Pastoureau if you have an interest in history. He writes in a clear, elegant style that is an excellent model for formal speech. Oh well, I better stop now, I've probably bored every reader to death by the first paragraph.

I’d love to know how you got to C2 in English.

Anyone learn German and has some recommendations?

I'm going to disagree with you here. Using erudite vocabulary or introducing intellectual themes in conversation is only worth doing if you have the everyday language chops to back it up. Also, in the UK this kind of behaviour won't generally be received as, "Wow, you know lots of great words! I really want to talk to you!", so much as "Gosh, you really love yourself and like to show off. I'm going to take you down a peg or two!" Probably it's different in other countries.

Reading widely and deeply is useful not because it teaches you to speak better but because it teaches you to read and write better. Learning to use the language's core vocabulary and sentence patterns (which in English means a lot of Anglo-Saxon words and phrasal verbs) to express a very wide range of meanings and learning to understand and use native intonation are more effective ways to become a fluid and natural speaker.

For skint cheapskates, do you think it's good enough to get AI to write content for you? Like most people asking for advice, I'm just asking you to tell me what I want to hear, but I think it's a reasonable idea anyway. Expense aside, it could take ages to find content that you're interested in written at the right level for you.

En plus le Comte de Montecristo est écrit dans un vieux français aux tournures bien différentes de ce qui se lit ou s’écrit de nos jours. Pour ma part, j’aime cette façon ancienne de s’exprimer; c’est presque musical… Bonne continuation dans ton apprentissage 😉

now that I am a language learner I have a way deeper appreciation for "Count of Monte Cristo" so I really llove that you name dropped it... I am reading it in Bahasa Indonesia and it's AMAZING experience.

I am a high B1 and thanks to LingQ it's right at my level.

Please which country are you from?
Is English your native language?

good points! children read a lot but at one point tend to lose interest (mainly because of school trauma lol) but it's important to keep reading to elevate your vocabulary and knowledge in general!!

Your pragmatism is impeccable ;) I really agree that bringing literary vocabulary into our everyday speech is a nice way to elevate discourse. I've been studying Spanish for a number of years and I think reading will be a good way for me to get to a higher level.

I think "children's books" depends on what you are talking about. I am currently reading the Percy Jackson series in French. I am on book 4. It is rated for ages 9-12 and I read it many years ago to my kids and it is a great read. I enjoy it immensely. I am 52. So yeah picture books....no but books written for middle schoolers are a good place to start if you choose an author that you enjoy.

Reading is my favorite way of practicing languages. It also helps if you love reading in general, not just for the sake of learning a language but for self-education and pleasure.

My current reads are Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson, and The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu.

Can't wait till I learn enough French to start reading on it :)

Reading in a foreign language is a huge part of the attraction for me, reading Camus and Maupassant in French for example feels like a much deeper experience.

Thank you!! I was looking for something like this yesterday because I started reading a graded reader (in my current level, which is A0) and I didn’t understand anything. I had no idea what to do, and today I saw this recommendation and couldn’t click fast enough

Be careful. If you are somewhat pretentious like me, and are interested only in reading High Literature, don't try to read the more difficult book you might enjoy. It's very frustrating. My favourite French author, Claude Simon, is considered hard even for natives. He's twice as hard as Faulkner at his hardest. I tried and failed.
Don't do this. It's a headache. It can make you feel unintelligent and give up. I gave up. If I had gone slower, I would be fluent now. I'm not repeating the mistake with French or German. The urge to pick a Hermann Hesse novel is strong, though.
Reading while learning a new language is great. But don't be like me. Take it slow and don't judge yourself too harshly.

I am going to buy Kindle and I will read Pan Samochodzik in English. When I was a kid I read stories of this famous detective in Slovak, then I reread them as an adult and I still love them.

We want a video about your routine please 🙏

I'm learning Russian using Assimil, but through German. I started with Russisch ohne Mühe heute and I plan to continue with Russisch in der Praxis. When I was learning German, something that really helped me was reading mangas I already knew, like Death Note or Alice in Borderland (btw the netflix show it's amazing) , but in German. I plan to do the same with Russian once I feel more comfortable with the language. Great video! :)