Carmody wrote:Many thanks.
What I do on a text is read it Extensively the first time through and then two more times with extensive drilling down and look up.
I just did not know if that Intensive reading included reading the text out loud. I am not sure if that is Shadowing or not?
I'm a newcomer, with everything to learn..........
Thanks.
I don't know whether you are being sarcastic, as you are definitely not newcomer (the limits of written communication are sometimes too tight), please stop me, if I seem to be explaining stuff too much, or if I am saying something wrong.
I wouldn't say extensive is "just reading it". The point of extensive reading in general is devouring lots and lots of the content. "Extensive" reading and "intensive drilling down and look up" is not how I think it works (please someone correct me, if I am wrong). That would both be intensive reading. You can read it as many times as you want. I definitely wouldn't call anything shorter than a book "extensive reading" truth be told, but that might be just me. I don't think reading out loud is necessary for intensive reading, but it is one of the things you can do, sure. No, shadowing is different. Shadowing, as I've understood prof. Arguelles' explanations, is repeating after audio while it is running, just a tiny bit of time after the recorded speaker.
A much clearer example of the difference between intensive and extensive reading:
Let's say you have 50 hours of time to spend.
Intensive reading: you spend half an hour on a page, as you are really thorough, look everything up, put it to anki, look up the grammar, make sure you understand the idioms exactly right. So, you get through 100 pages (perhaps less, as intensive reading may go much slower, from my experience). Your goal is to squeeze as much value out of those 100 pages as possible. The text selection is crucial for the result.
Extensive reading: let's say you read 40 pages per hour. Ok, 35, to not be called unrealistic (but 40 are realistic in a not too difficult language rather soon, from my experience). That means 1400 pages. You skip a word here and there as you either understand from the context, or it is not important. You improve, as you see everything again and again in those 4 or 5 books (or 3, if they are thick ones). You encounter the more common and more important stuff much more often than the rare stuff, and that works like a natural SRS. You see the words in various examples and contexts. You don't remember stuff after the first encounter probably, but you do after the fourth or fifth one. And should you choose one book wrong, there are others on your list to make up for it.