Search from various English teachers...
Malaysia flagIylia Elena
Have you been reading lately?
Hi everyone, I'm Elena, and I'm learning Spanish.

I've recently picked up reading again after a very very long hiatus (we're talking about years of not reading a book from start to finish). I used to read a lot when I was in school, up until the year high-speed WI-FI took over the planet. At that moment, I did not even realize that I was slowly neglecting my hobby, and allowed the phone to take over everything. (Face it, some of us even have our sleep-cycle monitored in the shiny 3 by 6 magical device.)

I made the excuse that I was reading things off my phone -- news articles etc, and that was the new-age reading, and I'd also spend a lot of time watching educational and informative videos on youtube, so that's learning right? However, deep down I knew that these were just excuses.

So I made the decision to replace my phone (social network, netflix and gaming to be specific) with books instead and I'm happy to announce here that it has been absolutely WONDERFUL.

I'd love to suggest some titles if any of you would like. Reading literary works that is set in a certain era/place really compliments language learning, regardless of the language. It gives depth and image to the new languages that we learn and I recommend it to everyone.

P/s: If anyone would like to do a Spanish/English language exchange with me, feel free to send me a message! :)

Comments · 8

2
@David

Hmm, that largely depends on your interests. What kind of movies do you like? I'll try based on that. :)
1
I resumed reading two years ago. And I have been reading books in English since last september. I didn´t like books adapted to students, so, that meant a huge effort to me but it doesn´t matter, because I delight to read in English without any hurry. I have read during the last year (let me think...) Nineteen eighty-four, The art of war, For whom the bell tolls, Walden, Catch-22, and so on. It ussualy takes to me months to end one of them and, I must recongnize that sometimes I can´t understand the whole of the meaning but then I ask myself if it has been worth and if I have enjoyed it, and the answer is "yes, of course". So, I will go ahead with this hobby (at least, until I could resume my very real passion, the guitar ;-D).
1
@Som

It's great that you use Kindle. I can't focus too long reading an e-book hence it doesn't work well for me. It's soo nice that you have a big library! Maybe challenge yourself to a book one of these days. :)
1
Tienes toda la razón, Elena. I was a voracious reader myself and finishing a 200 page paperback in two hours used to be a piece of cake. Then came the Internet, Android devices and social media and did a power of no good to my attention span. End of books. I still have a pretty good digital collection on my Kindle, and my 6 by 3 has the Kindle app. Unfortunately I have not read more than about 15% of my virtual collection cover to cover. Mea culpa, no fault of the books. They are all excellent. As to my thousand plus physical book collection, it has sadly become a museum piece inside bookcases. The machines conquer us bit by bit.
1
@David

A book that i just read and loved would be EM Forster's A Room Without A View. It's set in the early 1900 in Florence/Surrey and is a satire on the English social culture in that period. Roald Dahl's books (both for adults and children) are always great too.

Speaking of trying a new genre, I just landed a copy of Stephen King's Dark Tower and I'm quite looking forward to read it as I've not read Mr King before.

How about you? What would you recommend?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!

Start Learning Today