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Books for non-native speaker to improve English
Posted: 16 Mar 2018, 05:55
by Radekl2
Hello.
Could anybody recommend me something interesting and easy to read to improve my English? Is it better to choose book I have already read or to try to find something new? I like historical novels, fantasy and sci-fun books.
Thanks for any recommendations.
Re: Books for non-native speaker to improve English
Posted: 20 Mar 2018, 12:44
by Bearmouse
Hi,
if you want to get better, type english-e-books or english-e-reader in Google (hope it's OK without the direct link). I was using these free sites when I was a teacher, you can choose the level or genre, some you can even download as audio books.
Re: Books for non-native speaker to improve English
Posted: 20 Mar 2018, 17:31
by EllieA
It looks like you have a pretty solid grasp on English already! If you want to improve more, read NEW books at your current level or a little above, read stories you ALREADY KNOW at a HIGHER reading level. For example, my Spanish is not very good (little-kid level). So I like to read Harry Potter in Spanish because it is a higher level then I can easily read. But because I already know the story, it helps me improve my grammar because I am focusing on that rather then trying to follow the story line.
An important note if you are reading to improve your English language skills- even though it is more expensive, stick to professionally edited and released books for this. A very large number of the self- or indie-published books have really bad grammar and syntax. If your English is not advanced enough to catch the mistakes, reading books full of bad grammar and wrong word-usage can imprint the wrong information in your mind and make it more difficult, not easier, to improve your spoken and written English.
As for recommendations, for easier literature look for books tagged YA or Young Adult. Some I would recommend:
Male Protagonist:
Hatchet by Gary Paulson -- A modern classic about a young man whose plane crashes in the wilderness.
Call of the Wild or White Fang by Jack London -- historical classic wilderness adventures
Red Rising by Pierce Brown -- First in a SciFi/ Fantasy about the future and a young man's fight against his oppressors
Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flannagan
Female Protagonist:
For fantasy, anything by Tamora Pierce, she has several series published.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine -- a Cinderella retelling
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman- historical fiction about a homeless girl in medieval England
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery- historical fiction about an orphan on Prince Edward's Island, Canada