Improve the Italian vocabulary through reading

It is often believed that to improve one’s vocabulary and learn new words, it is enough to read a lot in Italian.

In some ways, reading is indeed a beneficial activity to memorize new vocabulary, but it is also necessary to know how to do it.

We usually read for pleasure and, even if the book is in another language, we don’t bother to look for the words we don’t know in the dictionary.

In doing so, we will not learn anything new, but we will limit ourselves to consolidating the words previously studied or that we already know.

That’s why today I want to give you some tips to get the most benefit from reading books in a foreign language.

If you study Italian, it would be better to start with a brief, and straightforward readings such as children’s books could be.

Too long and complicated text can be tedious, and you can “suffer” in an attempt to get to the end.

To learn the vocabulary through reading, it is essential to mark and search for the meaning of the new words, reflect on their purpose and, if necessary, transcribe them and review them after finishing reading.

At the same time, however, try to be selective: not all new words are useful to memorize. Some, for example, maybe too technical or outdated.

Read and reread the same paragraph or the same chapter if you are not sure you understood it. Careful but slower reading is more effective. So don’t rush!

Finally, another useful suggestion may be to buy audiobooks.
Reading and listening at the same time will also help you learn the pronunciation of new words.