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The True Understanding of Literacy

A guide to more successful reading

By Aya JundiPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Have you ever read a sentence or two, and didn't even understand what you were reading? It happens to the best of us. The English language is so complex, it has so much you can learn. Even if you're a native speaker, and you think you've mastered the language, chances are there is still something for you to learn.

But not all things are taught in school. During elementary school, I loved reading. I would sit with a stack of books next to me, and would be reading for hours straight. However, children's books are fundamental. As I reached middle school books got more difficult—not for the reading aspect, but for understanding. Once you've reached a higher level of schooling the teachers just toss a book at you with a packet alongside, saying everything is due two weeks from today. That drove me to lose interest. Why? Because nobody taught me the major transition in the English language.

Steps to Success

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

It only took me five years to gain my interest back in reading. Here are the following four things I followed to get back on track.

1. Imagination

Once you've begun reading your mind is in a completely different world. Display whatever you're reading in your mind to help you picture what is going on. Be careful, not all text fonts are created equal! Sentences can be expressed in different voices, which can cause a misunderstanding. For example 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘴, it could mean the character is saying something in his/her head, or it can be a flashback of something that another character has said before.

2. Find a genre you're interested in.

Now in some cases choosing your book isn't an option, since teachers like to assign one book for the whole class. So let's say your teacher assigns you a book, you start reading it, and you come to find out that you're uninterested in the book. Take a minute to ask yourself why you're not enjoying the book. Is it because you don't have enough background knowledge of what you're reading? Or is it because you disagree with the authors' opinion? So if you're forced to read a particular book, make sure you do your research before giving up. And if you do have an option to pick your book, make sure to find which genre suits you best.

3. Understanding of words

Sometimes not knowing what a word means can throw you off. Make sure to keep a device or dictionary next to you to look up those difficult words as you come across them. It will help expand your vocabulary, and understand why it was used in that sentence you were reading.

4. Understanding setting

Stories can take place in many different periods. One book can be written in the 1980s, and another can be written in the 21st century. Perhaps you might be reading a book that took place in a time you weren't even alive. That doesn't mean you can't read the book. It just means that you're supposed to have some background knowledge about how life was back then so you can better understand the story.

Enjoyed my story? Please leave a tip to support me for my upcoming stories. Happy Reading! :)

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