Learn to read English for beginners

In order to keep you motivated, we will give you some tips to help you start reading in English: Here we will describe that learn to read English for beginners.

1-Read what you like

There is no better book to read in English, it’s just about following your taste. The key to staying motivated with reading is to read what we like, look for the English versions of the books of your favorite authors and you will see that it will be easier to maintain interest in reading in English as part of your learning process.

2-Choose a book according to your level of English

This is one of the most important aspects when venturing into reading in English, since if you are at a basic level, it is advisable to start with short books with a plot and simple vocabulary, since if we find it very difficult to understand , we will lose interest very quickly.

3-Listen as you read

Today technology gives us the advantage of being able to access almost any material we need, so we must take advantage of this to increase our learning opportunities.

What if while reading the book, at the same time you can listen to it? Audiobooks are a very good option to learn English by reading, since while you work on your reading comprehension you will be able to work on your pronunciation, carefully following the words and their correct diction. When listening to the words in English, you will avoid reading them in Spanish, which is a big mistake that is usually made, since it is a little more difficult to get rid of the bad pronunciation later.

4-Read popular books

By reading books with known plots, for example those that have been made a film adaptation, such as the famous Harry Potter saga or The Lord of the Rings, it gives you the advantage of knowing the story before reading the book by what will be easier to follow the reading without getting lost, you can also discuss your favorite parts with your friends.

5-Read books you have already read in Spanish

Do you have a favorite Spanish book? A very good idea is to search for it in English and read it, since you have the advantage of knowing the plot and if you manage to get hold of unfamiliar words, you can easily understand them because you already know the context in which they are found.

6-Have a dictionary handy

If at some point in the reading it becomes very difficult to understand some words and you cannot describe them by context, it is good to look them up in the dictionary, as this will help you increase your vocabulary.

Remember that the key to not getting bored with reading is to do it fluently, so it is not good to try to understand each word you read and you become addicted to the dictionary, the idea is to try to understand them by the context in which they are. Over time you will realize that there will be fewer and fewer unknown words that you will come across in your readings.

7-Read in loud voice

A very good way to practice pronunciation is by reading aloud and even if you can record yourself better, as this way you will be able to notice the errors in your pronunciation. If you find yourself using an audiobook, much better, since when you record yourself you will be able to compare yourself with it.

You can do this once you have read a chapter or the entire book, since the idea is that you take this as an extra exercise. The first and most important thing is to practice reading comprehension and trying to do it at the same time as you read aloud will make it more difficult because you will not put all your attention on understanding the words but on pronouncing it correctly.

Reading rules in English types are worth mandatory especially for children or new learners to grasp. as we all know that reading the fundamental thing while seeking any language. in this article, we will elaborate on the reading rule in English with different aspects and dimensions.

Reading basic consonant combinations in English

COMBINATION	TRANSCRIPTION	POSITION	EXAMPLE
NG	[ŋ]	end position	sacking [‘sækɪŋ]
SH	[ʃ]	irrelevant	shrine [ʃraɪn]
NK	[ŋk]	irrelevant	wrinkle [‘rɪŋkl]
CH	[tʃ]	irrelevant	achieve [ə’tʃi: v]
WR	[r]	starting position precedes vowel	wraith [reɪθ]
TCH	[tʃ]	follows a short vowel	watch [wɔtʃ]
QU	[kw]	preceded by a vowel	desquamate [‘deskwəmeɪt]
CK	[k]	follows a short vowel	slack [slæk]
WH	[h]	preceded by the vowel “o”	whodunit [, hu: ‘dʌnɪt]
WH	[w]	start position precedes vowel except for “o”	whack [wæk]
TH	[ð]	initial position of the service part, pronouns and position between vowels	the [ði:]
TH	[θ]	the starting position of the independent part of speech and the final position of the word	thane [θeɪn]

 

Reading additional consonant combinations in English

COMBINATION	TRANSCRIPTION	EXAMPLE
CC	[k]	account [ə’kaunt]
CC	[ks]	eccentric [ɪk’sentrɪk]
SCH	[sh]	schnauzer [‘shnouzər]
SCH	[sk]	scheme [ski: m]
BT	[t]	subtle [‘sʌtl]
PH	[f]	phenomenon [fɪ’nɔmɪnən]
PT	[t]	pterodactyl [, terə’dæktɪl]
PN	[n]	pneumonia [nju: ‘məunɪə]
KN	[n]	knife [naɪf]
GN	[n]	foreign [‘fɔrɪn]
LM	[m]	salmon [‘sæmən]
MB	[m]	bomb [bɔm]
PS	[s]	psychologist [saɪ’kɔlədʒdʒdʒɪst]
RH	[r]	rheumatism [‘ru: mətɪz (ə) m]

English consonants with two types of reading 

AGREE	TRANSCRIPTION	POSITION	EXAMPLE
G	[g]	precedes any consonant, vowel “a” / “o” ​​/ “u”, end position	guana [‘gwɑ: nə]
G	[dʒ]	preceded by vowels “e” / “i” / “y”	gender [‘dʒendə]
C	[k]	precedes any consonant, vowel “a” / “o” ​​/ “u”, end position	coal [kəul]
C	[s]	precedes the vowels “e” / “i” / “y” / td>	cyanide [‘saɪənaɪd]
X	[gz]	preceded by an stressed vowel	executive [ɪg’zekjutɪv]
X	[ks]	precedes a consonant, final position	excited [ɪk’saɪtɪd]
S	[z]	the final position follows a vowel and a voiced consonant, between vowels	realism [‘rɪəlɪz (ə) m]
S	[s]	start position precedes a voiceless consonant, end position follows a voiceless consonant	systemic [sɪ’stemɪk]

English consonants that have one type of reading

AGREE	TRANSCRIPTION	EXAMPLES
B	[b]	absent [‘æbs (ə) nt]
D	[d]	lady [‘leɪdɪ]
F	[f]	foam [fəum]
J	[dʒ]	jab [dʒæb]
K	[k]	keeker [‘ki: kə]
L	[l]	leader [‘li: də]
M	[m]	moaner [‘məunə]
P	[p]	pachinko [pə’tʃɪŋkəu]
R	[r]	reddish [‘redɪʃ]
T	[t]	telephone [‘telɪfəun]
V	[v]	viewer [‘vju: ə]

Reading rules in English types accented vowel combinations in English 

COMBINATION	TRANSCRIPTION	EXAMPLES
AI	[ei]	waive [weɪv]
OO	[u:]	goose [gu: s]
AY	[ei]	fay [feɪ]
OU	[au]	spouse [spauz]
EA	[i:]	beam [bi: m]
OW	[au]	chowder [‘tʃaudə]
EW	[ju:]	pew [pju:]
EE	[i:]	street [stri: t]
OY	[oi]	decoy [‘di: kɔɪ]
OI	[oi]	rejoice [rɪ’dʒɔɪs]
AI + R	[ɛə]	stair [stɛə]
OO + K	[u]	crook [kruk]
OU + R	[auə]	sour [‘sauə]
OO + R	[ɔ:]	indoor [, ɪn’dɔ:]
EE + R	[iə]	queer [kwɪə]

Reading rules in English types consonant and vowel combinations in English 

COMBINATION	TRANSCRIPTION	POSITION	EXAMPLES
WOR	[wɜ:]	precedes the stressed consonant	bywork [‘baɪwɜ: k]
AL	[ɔ: l]	preceded by a consonant except for “k” under stress	football [‘futbɔ: l]]
AL	[ɔ:]	precedes the consonant “k” under stress	calk [kɔ: k]
IGH	[ai]	irrelevant	knight [naɪt]
WA	[wɔ:]	precedes the consonant “r”	swarm [swɔ: m]
WA	[wɔ]	precedes a consonant at the end position except for “r” or consonant combination	want [wɔnt]

Reading rules in English types the -s / – es inflection in verbs and nouns 

ENDING	TRANSCRIPTION	POSITION	EXAMPLES
–S / –ES	[s]	follows after a dull consonant	myths [miθs]
–S / –ES	[z]	follows a voiced consonant, a vowel sound	ribs [ribz]
–S / –ES	[iz]	follows after “s” / “z” / “x” / “ch” / “ge” / “sh” / “tch” / “dge”	coaches [kəutʃiz]

Reading rules in English types the -ed inflection in verbs: 

ENDING	TRANSCRIPTION	POSITION	EXAMPLES
–ED	[t]	follows after a dull consonant	washed [wɔʃt]
–ED	[d]	follows a voiced consonant, a vowel sound	occurred [ə’kɜ: d]
–ED	[id]	follows after “t” / “d”	folded [fəuldɪd]