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Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 1:26 pm
by Bilingual_monoglot
Hello everyone. I have been using extensive reading to help improve my Tamil for a while. I have been reading Rajaji's abridged version of the Ramayana due to my familiarity with the story from childhood bedtime stories. However, I have a problem. I have reached a part of the story where I don't really understand the writing. My research on extensive reading has not given me information on what I am supposed to do in this case. I have come up with the following options:
1. Give up on the book and read something else
2. Skip this part of the book to one I can start to understand
3. Go through this portion of the text with a dictionary and turn this into intensive reading
4. Read this portion of the book in English translation and go back to the Tamil version later

Which of these options should I take? Or should I do something else entirely? I appreciate any advice this forum can give me.

Re: Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 5:17 pm
by rdearman
I would do #3, intensively read this section with a dictionary.

Re: Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 7:15 pm
by Brun Ugle
If you have an English version, you could read both in parallel. I think I would do that in combination with some dictionary work to figure out the words or expressions that are tripping you up.

Re: Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:26 am
by Bilingual_monoglot
Thank you both for responding to my query. I would have replied earlier but I have been quite busy lately. I am going to work through the text with a dictionary as well as the English version. Again, thanks for your help.

Re: Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:00 pm
by Beli Tsar
Another option which allows you to keep the reading extensive: go back to the beginning, and read what you have read already again.

A second reading from the start allows you to absorb lots more, become more familiar with the author, and to pick up more of their vocabulary.

Then when you come back to the hard section, you will likely find it substantially easier.

Re: Extensive Reading help needed

Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:02 am
by Serpent
I'm not familiar with the story. If you can skip the difficult part and the continuation will still make sense, you can definitely do it.
Sometimes you just need to keep going. In this case an audiobook will help if you can get one.
Going back to the beginning or using an English translation is also great.
If you do that, consider writing out the words you understood from the context. That's what Kató Lomb did.

Sometimes reading aloud can also help, but don't overdo it.

https://learnanylanguage.fandom.com/wik ... ding_Books have you seen this article?