Reading is a great way to build your vocabulary by seeing new words and phrases in context. It’s fun, too. Sometimes, though, reading alone in another language can be a little lonely. One of the most fun things about reading is discussing what you’ve read with your friends afterwards.
If your friends can speak English, you can help each other with any problems you might have with understanding a book. Learning as part of a group is really motivational for some people and the support of enthusiastic friends can help inspire you to study, even if you are feeling a little down.
Starting a book club is an ideal way to get a group of learners together and learn loads of interesting vocabulary. How do you do it, though.
The first step is to decide what kind of books you want to read. Some book clubs like to focus on a certain genre or style of books. Other people find that challenging themselves to read a variety of books helps them discover authors they might not have heard about otherwise. A common method is for the members to take it in turns choosing books. This is great because it means you get to share your favourite books with the other members.
Once you have decided what kind of books you want to read, you will need to find some more members to join your club. If you have friends nearby who are studying English, you can ask them. If you don’t know anyone in your area who is studying English, you could put an advert for members in a local newspaper or on a local Internet forum.
For people who would rather keep their book club online, using a social networking website such as Facebook is a great way to start a book club. Just start a group, add friends you think may be interested, and leave all your comments and questions about the boos as online messages.
So, now you have your books and members all you need to do is decide which book you want to read first and start the discussion. It’s best to set a date that people can aim to finish the book by, then once you reach that date, meet up or go online and discuss the book.
As well as your personal opinions on the style of the author and the story, it’s useful to keep a note of any phrases or sentences that you don’t understand. You can discuss these with your fellow members and help them with any questions they might have.
When you have finished discussing a book, make a note of all the things that came up in the discussion in case you want to look back at them in the future.
Which book will you discuss first in your book club?
Today’s image is by Zsuzsanna Kilian.