Learning all languages begins with reading. The first steps are always difficult to take, and they are the most responsible. Everyone wants to learn how to connect letters into words and words into sentences as quickly as possible. But how can you speed up this process? Make it more interesting?
Learning English, like other languages, begins with the alphabet and sounds, and only then you will try to learn words and make sentences from them. Gradually the first foreign words They will begin to pronounce almost like native speakers, and the sentences will sound complete. But most people have no idea where to start, how to structure their training correctly, and how to finish it. Eat 2 main methods: step-by-step or slow and fast, which is built on memorizing words.
Learning letters
There are not very many of them in the English alphabet - 26, so it will not be difficult for you to learn them. Remember, now try to name all the letters in the words as in the alphabet. Most people ignore this point and think that it is more important to learn the sounds. And this is not right! In practice, very often you have to spell words, for example, last name, first name, site name.
Learning sounds
The entire alphabet is divided into consonants and vowels. It is better to start learning with consonant letters; there are 20 of them in the alphabet, and 24 sounds. The pronunciation of each individual letter depends on its location. If you speak Russian, some consonants next to a soft vowel are softened, then in English it doesn't matter. And deafening voiced letters at the end of words is of great importance, since it can change the entire meaning. For example, debt - debt and dead - dead. English is designed in such a way that 6 vowel letters have 20 sounds, and how they are pronounced depends on their location in the word, on stress and on the “company” of consonants.
Connecting
Once you have learned the consonant and vowel sounds, you can start reading simple words. There are many specially created phonetic exercises, which are aimed at practicing all kinds of sounds.
Learning letter combinations
This stage is the most difficult, but do not be afraid. Only the first couple of lessons will be difficult. You don't need to learn everything at once, start with four vowel letter combinations. When you remember them, move on to the next ones. But always start with what you’ve already learned, it’s better remembered. Practice each letter combination in words. You can even write down the most difficult ones.
Offers
Have you learned consonant and vowel sounds? Do you know letter combinations? Now you can combine it all! Exercises and reading instruction need to be carefully selected and thought through. The basic principle is from simple to complex.
Intonation and stress
Each sentence has its own meaning. IN English phonetics allocate rising and falling tone. The first helps to express the incompleteness of the phrase, and the second indicates the completeness of the statement. The voice needs to be raised either at the words being listed or at the end of the phrase. Place emphasis only on significant parts of speech, both in meaning and grammar. The main thing should be the rhythm of pronunciation of all stressed words. When you start reading sentences, try to connect them into a single whole.
Learn to read English online
This method is quite effective and interesting. Exciting delivery methods bright pictures attract attention and turn everything into a game. If you try it once, you will look forward to the next lesson with great desire. Online learning to read is based on memorizing words by letter combinations or pictures, while all sounds are accompanied by voice. These lessons are especially interesting for children. This way you can kill two birds with one stone. Top up vocabulary, learn to pronounce and read.
How to read at the initial stage?
Try, as often as possible, to devote every free minute to reading either words or simple texts. First, study everything you read in detail, find features and patterns, translate all the words.
Learning to read English quickly is not that difficult. In a month you can master the basics. The main thing is desire and patience!
Video lessons
Many of those who start learning English sooner or later begin to wonder how to learn to read English correctly? Reading is one of the basic skills to master foreign language, so you need to learn to read correctly from the very beginning. Anyone can learn to read English.
There are many methods to hone your reading skills, but the most effective is a professional tutor. An alternative option is to travel abroad. If you decide to learn English at home on your own using textbooks, then it will be much more difficult for you, but it is possible. You need to start by learning the alphabet.
After you have learned the English alphabet, you can begin to study the rules of reading, since the next step will be reading and writing. Not all sounds in English are read the same way they are written/typed. Therefore, it is necessary to understand all these subtleties and learn to read English correctly.
As I already said, you can practice reading with simple tests, textbooks for children, children's books. You should not immediately try to study Byron or Hemingway. It will bring you neither benefit nor pleasure. What I recommend reading for beginners:
- Funny stories and jokes
- Tongue twisters (also help with pronunciation): Blake’s black bike’s back brake bracket block broke.
- So-called English language topics
- Proverbs and sayings: A bad workman quarrels with his tools
- Fairy tales
- Business articles
Well, now let's talk directly about the rules.
English rules reading
How to read stressed vowels:
- If the vowels are in a syllable that ends in a vowel (he) or in a position where a stressed vowel is followed by one consonant (except “r”) + silent “e” (pole), then they are read as they are called in the alphabet:
o-go
u - student ["stju:d∂nt] - If the vowels are in a syllable ending with one consonant (except “r”) or several consonants, then they convey short sounds:
o [o] - got
i [i] - filter - If a vowel is followed by the letter “r” or “r” + consonant, then they convey long sounds:
e+r [∂:] - her
i+r [∂:] - first - If a vowel is followed by “re” or “r” + any vowel, then they are parsed as triphthongs or diphthongs:
o+re - more
i+re - fire
Unstressed vowels:
- “y”, “i”, “e” convey the sound [i] if they are not followed by the consonant letter “r”: divide
- Those standing before “r” convey the sound [δ]:
player [`pleiδ ®] mortar [`mo:tδ] - “a”, “o”, “u”, as well as in prefixes and suffixes, convey the sound [δ]: economy
- “i” before a vowel conveys the sound [j]: immediate
Some vowels before some consonant combinations:
- "a" conveys:
before the combination “l”+ consonant wall
before “f”, “n”, “s”, “t” + consonant dance
before the combinations “lm”, “lf”.
In these combinations, the consonant “l” is not read half - "i" is played as before the combinations "ld", "nd": kind
- "o" conveys:
before the combinations “ld”, “lt”, “st”: holt
[L] before "m", "n", "th", "v": month
at the end of a word: hero [`hi¶rou] - “ough”, “augh” are read as: daughter [`do:t]
- "igh" is pronounced as fight
Features of consonant letters and letter combinations in English:
- Consonants may not be read: who
- Double consonants can be read with one sound: puddle [`pLdl]
- Voiced consonants are not devoiced at the end: tube
Silent consonants:
- “g”, “k” are not pronounced before “n” at the beginning and end of a word: foreign [`forin]
- “b”, “n” are not read after “m” at the end of the word: autumn [`o:tδm]
- “p” is not reproduced in combinations “pn”, “ps”: psychology
- "w" is not read before "r": wrong
Of course, these are not all the rules, but the most basic ones. Over time, by practicing teaching English, you will learn all the nuances of correct reading. It is through him that you will learn new expressions, phrases and words for free communication.
Reading Russian transcription
If you do not know how to read international transcription or choose a tutorial with Russian transcription, then do not rush to get upset. I will try to tell you how to reproduce Russian transcription. But first I’ll tell you about its advantages:
- High absorption rate
- Maximum proximity to English sounds
Of course, you won’t start speaking like an Englishman, but you can express yourself clearly so that you can be understood. A correct pronunciation will polish over time.
First, you need to understand that the emphasis falls on the letter that is highlighted in large font: child, vUmen. The length of vowel sounds is indicated as [:]. When pronouncing, it is important to distinguish between long and short English sounds, since the meaning of the spoken word depends on it. For example, ship is a ship, and shIip is a sheep.
How to learn to read English - Pay more attention to complex sounds: aspirated sounds, interdental sounds, long and short sounds
- Listen to adapted audiobooks narrated by native speakers. This way you can simultaneously perceive audio and text
- Having mastered the basic level of reading, pay attention to the falling and rising intonations in interrogative, negative and affirmative sentences
It's very simple! The hardest thing is to start.
Check out 21 variations of English accents
And how can you quickly learn this skill?
In order to achieve a goal, you need to break it down into stages of achievement. How to quickly learn this skill?
Let's highlight several components:
- First, you need to learn the alphabet and special attention pay attention to the pronunciation of letters.
- The second is to learn letter combinations used as part of words in English. For example, letter combinations of vowels -ch, -sh, etc.).
- Third, it is necessary not only to learn words, but also to pay special attention to their transcription, that is, correct pronunciation.
- Learn to read phrases and sentences and use intonation correctly.
How to learn to read English on your own from scratch
Now let's take a closer look at exactly how to quickly master the ability to read.
When mastering the alphabet, you must learn the transcription of each letter and at the same time know that the pronunciation of a particular letter English alphabet may vary depending on the word and the order of the letters. Do not sign the transcription in Russian letters - this way you will immediately eliminate the problem of “broken English”.
Pay special attention to the second stage - letter combinations, syllables. Learn. The rules for reading open and closed words, using letter combinations - there are few of them, but if the more you pay attention to such little things, the faster you will advance in your learning.
Correct pronunciation of different combinations of vowels and consonants is the main key to quickly mastering reading.
After mastering the words, pay attention to the intonation - this is already playing with the voice.
How to learn to read English correctly
As noted above, under no circumstances use textbooks or dictionaries where the transcription is written in Russian letters. This way you will distort your pronunciation.
There are only 6 vowels in English - A, O, E, I, U, Y and each letter has 4 ways of pronunciation depending on the type of word.
Also, vowels in combination with others form diphthongs and triphthongs (which are not so difficult to learn - only from 8 and 2, respectively.
And this is where transcription comes to the rescue. When independently learning to read in English, it is worth paying special attention to the icons of the Greek and Latin alphabet written in the dictionary on the right in square brackets.
In order to indicate the longitude of a particular sound, a colon is placed after it in the transcription. Thus, transcription deciphers the sound image of any word in the English language.
Pronunciation is the main component of successful reading acquisition
1. Features of articulation. English words must be pronounced as if with force, exhaling and straining the muscles of the mouth.
2. Tongue position. For a native English speaker, the tongue lies flat, and its conic is curved upward and will be located at the alveoli (tubercles above the upper teeth) or just short of reaching them.
This important point. You can keep your tongue in your mouth pressed against the upper cusps above the upper teeth, and thus, after a while, read English very well and clearly with a minimal accent.
It’s very good to watch videos that answer the question in an accessible form - how to read English quickly and well.
Reference material for self-learning reading
You can learn to read English most correctly in in this case- use of an English-Russian dictionary with transcription. You need to look up every unfamiliar word in a dictionary and immediately learn its pronunciation (transcription will help you with this).
Video - rules for reading English
Below is an interesting video that will reveal some of the features of pronunciation of syllables and words.
Actually, you are at the right place, dear! Many adults, we emphasize, use this phrase because it shows consciousness. Children, of course, for the most part begin to learn English purely at school and exclusively “under pressure”. Those who have developed a love for the English language themselves are in the minority, but they exist.In general, the process of learning to read depends a) on age and b) on the level of existing knowledge. Although, what level is there?! We just want to learn to read, right? It turns out that you need to start from the “zero mark”. Someone once proved that the older a person is, the less ability he has to learn new knowledge. But experience in communication native language adults have more. It will be useful for comparing the pronunciation features of letters in Russian and English.
More “experienced” citizens have the opportunity to study using a self-instruction manual, but it is still recommended to hire a teacher who will monitor the development of your reading and pronunciation abilities. And for children, a mentor in this process is simply shown.
Simple and clear
If the entire theory of learning to read in English is reduced to an elementary procedure, it will only contain 5 main points.
- We become familiar with our native language in early childhood. We begin immediately with words whose meanings we understand from their connection with the objects called by these words. Then we put them into sentences. But remember how your conscious mastery of the Russian language began? - From the alphabet, that's right, well done! So in English, first you need to put together a graphic representation of the letters and their pronunciation.
- Learn to record the sounds of the English language using transcription. This method, although “old-fashioned”, is effective. Many modern language schools They have already moved away from it, citing the fact that they teach them to listen to sounds and compare them with letters. We insist that a person must “see” the sound, and not just hear it. Mastering transcription means being able to read a word, no matter what features it has. Indeed, in addition to the rules, there are often exceptions. So if you have any doubts about how to read a word, you can always check its transcription in the dictionary.
- Don't betray English words"Russian spelling". There is an opinion that “it’s easier to remember” if you write down a word from the English language using symbols that we understand (a cat). It's easier to remember, of course. But, firstly, it hurts the eyes and ears, and, secondly, our goal is not just to remember, but to understand how to learn to read in English (“in English” is the key word).
The British have a saying that they say “Liverpool” but should write “Manchester”. This means that English contains a lot of sounds that you will not find in Russian. Therefore, if we replace sound units that are difficult for a Russian person with simpler ones, we risk learning the word incorrectly and, as a result, not performing main goal the process of learning to read. So practice difficult sounds. Master them - it will be easier later.
- Remember the basic rules of reading. Scare you, or what? - There are only 6 vowels in the English language. Aren't you scared? But each of them has 4 reading options, plus some " special cases". This is not to mention diphthongs and even triphthongs!!! - Aren’t you scared? And rightly so. We “painted” this “feature” in such a way, but in fact, difficulties can be avoided by grouping words with the same combinations of letters and, as a result, sounds. This will help you practice the reading rule on a whole series of words at once, which will go into your initial vocabulary.
Tongue twisters can also be to your advantage. Most of them are built on the principle of using the same sound combination in several words. Moreover, the effect of “rhyme” is often created, which further simplifies the assimilation of these words. And the fact that they are fast talkers is not important. At the stage of practicing sounds and reading rules, you just need to pronounce them slowly, with understanding and attention to articulation. You will always have time to increase the pace.
- Try to support the text with sound. This is another secret of how to learn to read English from scratch. Children at school often do "reading for assessment" assignments. They look at the textbook, where words are written that practice a certain reading rule. The teacher says these words and the children repeat. In this way, students draw an analogy between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. Adults can resort to the help of, say, audiobooks, which exactly repeat their text version. You can even start with children's works, which use the most simple words, and the rate of speech of the reader is low. Over time, it will be possible to take on more serious texts that belong to the “golden fund” of English literature.
You ask, “How can we cope with all this”? What about the teacher who teaches you? However, if you haven’t attracted him, you can do it on your own. It is enough to purchase an audio course for beginners or find it on the Internet. The convenience of the latter method is that you can download the lessons to your mobile phone, tablet or just in the player and listen on the way from one point to another. But it is better, we repeat, to study with an experienced teacher who will be able to tell you where and what is wrong with you, and will also correct these flaws.
Too good is also bad
Each of us, of course, strives to show ourselves at our best. the best side. We think that we will go to London or New York, Washington, or some other place where native English is spoken, and there we will be admired. But the only trouble is that such a concept as “original” has not been applied to the English language for a long time. Wherever possible, native speakers have come up with their own pronunciation standards. The speech you hear on some disc or in an audiobook may be much different from what will flow from the lips of a foreigner you meet on the street, and you will have to get used to this for some time.
In general, while mastering the basics of reading and pronunciation, try not to overdo it. As the lines from Bernard Shaw’s famous work “Pygmalion” say, there is no need to strive for perfection, because if you achieve it, then there is a risk of being misunderstood by the British or Americans themselves. People in different corners these countries speak differently. Therefore, you should not try to reach the ideal, but you just need to know how to read English correctly so that your pronunciation is “good”.
