Most would agree that one of the most significant achievements as a language learner is when you can face language in its real environment.

In the case of reading, usually we feel we are not prepared to do this straight away so we turn to adapted material in the hope of starting to gradually feel more and more confident about our skills until finally trying to transition from ‘adapted’ material to ‘real life’ material.

One day, we finally feel prepared, and when this happens the feeling is usually of frustration. Real life language –which is the one we REALLY want to understand from the beginning- is far less comprehensible than what we expected, so we convince themselves that we need to build up on our vocabulary or overall grammar knowledge before we can proceed any further.

I’m here to tell you this should not be the case: You can start off right away with authentic materials, and you’ll have a great time.

However, there are a few things that you should keep in mind to make it valuable and enjoyable:

1# Find a reliable source for topics you’d like to read about. This is usually easier said than done, as it’s not always easy to find the right sources for your target language, so probably you’ll have to browse through the web a little. Once you find a source you are happy with, get the most out of it before moving on to another website. You should avoid biting off more than you can chew. Don’t binge read just for the sake of ‘reading a lot’. Don’t waste all the opportunities one single article gives you.

2# Get yourself a translation of that article in your target language into your native language. There are different ways you can get the translation, but they require some sort of workarounds to get them. I recommend you Im translator as it allows you to translate any online text, and not just that… it allows you to create interlinear texts! Google it and you’ll find detailed step by step instructions on how to use it.

3# Ideally, print out the text/s so you can work more comfortably.

Once these three steps are completed, it’s time to get down to work… but how?
Patiently.

When you use authentic material in a foreign language the procedure is quite different from what you do in your native language. Essentially because in our native language reading it once would be enough while in a foreign language it isn’t. You’ll read and read through your article several times. You want to take advantage of it by approaching it on different levels.

One more thing before we get any further into this: there are two layers to any type of text:

• The layer of message or information and
• The layer of language

The information you get from an article is wrapped up in the language the writer has used. Focus on getting the information first, and then move on to the language.

So, let’s get started:

I Unless you are a complete beginner, read the article for the first time in your target language.*
Don’t aim for too much this first time, just try to get the gist of it (a general idea about what it is about). One sentence or two are enough for now. Don’t worry about words you don’t know. Don’t focus on what you don’t understand, but in what you do.

II Read the text in your native language.

III Read the text again in your target language.

IV Compare both texts, trying to connect elements more precisely to your native language. Connect the dots, doing things like ‘[this word] is this verb in this tense’, ‘[this] is an adjective and it means [this]’. There is no fixed rule.

V Look for patterns. Notice the most apparent/repetitive ones. 2 or 3 words groups (verb + preposition/adjective + preposition/ verb phrases/connectors + prepositions/etc). While we are on this subject, I would like to mention there are some cool text analytics that you can try. Ask me and I’ll show you.

VI You can now focus on mining phrases that you think you will be able to use again. Mining is a fancier word for gathering. The idea is to ‘steal’ blocks of language, not isolated words. Don’t aim for a full sentence, though, as it would be too long to remember.

*In case you’ve just started learning the foreign language, start by reading the article in your native language first or you’ll be too lost. 

This is officially the end of PHASE 1, but you could extend the activity:

• Have a native read and/or record the article, listen to it a few times paying attention to pronunciation and entonation.
• Read the article aloud
• Read aloud to a Google Doc. Google Docs have a feature by which you can turn speech to text and it’s a great opportunity to check how tuned your pronunciation is.

Hope you find these suggestions useful!

Looking forward to your feedback!

Happy Spanish learning!

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