Oxford Bookworms Library: 6 principles of effective reading

Nowadays, speaking English plays a significant role in international cooperation and the connection of modern society. Countries worldwide have chosen English as the common corporate way to communicate, among other languages. Therefore, many documents and books are written to help English learners access and improve their communication ability quickly and conveniently.

Oxford Bookworms Library is a series of English learning books published by Oxford University, a famous school with a long history in the world.

Introduction to Oxford Bookworms Library

Oxford Bookworms Library includes diverse topics with knowledge in many different areas of life but not bland academics. A unique feature of this book series is that it is divided into several levels for readers. So no matter what level of English you are at, you can study and read this series to improve and enhance your communication skills.

Depending on your interests and capabilities, you can choose for yourself an appropriate book. Each level has a certain number of right words matched with learners’ abilities. And vocabulary is integrated with each context with illustrations to help readers learn fast and effectively. As a result, you will be able to practice English better.

This book series is written entirely in English, but don’t worry because most vocabulary and structures are pretty common and straightforward. The Oxford Bookworms series with about 3000 core vocabulary helps you communicate and confidently use English at a basic level. In addition, learning grammar naturally through reading will help youunderstand and remember grammatical structures better.

Moreover, the book has pre-recorded Audio files to help you learn the correct pronunciation and develop listening skills. You can practice listening by listening and retelling the story. This enables you to remember vocabulary and improves your communication and pronunciation skills naturally and fluently.

Should we use dictionaries when reading books?

In fact, the most significant obstacle when reading is having to look up too many new words. Many readers of the Oxford Bookworms Library wonder if they should use a dictionary while reading this series.

Oxford University Press says “No.” They explain that to read English fluently, you must first learn to ignore “unknown” words or phrases, or you should learn to guess what they mean and keep reading. If you see a word appear many times in many contexts, you will understand its meaning and usage.

Don't use dictionaries when reading books
Don’t use dictionaries when reading books

Read the book comfortably, and don’t force yourself to immediately learn and understand new words in the story. Sometimes you will not be able to understand what the author wrote. You can underline the word and then check the dictionary later to avoid interrupting the reading circuit and leading to boredom.

Besides, if you don’t understand too many words in a passage, that stage may be too high for your level. The advice is to take a test from the beginning to determine which stage best suits your level.

Do Activities in each Oxford Bookworms book.

In general, learning English is like learning many other things. You will learn quickly if you have a need or are curious about something.

The more you expose and use it, the better your English will be and the more vocabulary you will have. There are many ways to learn a new language, but knowing how to learn for meaning and practicality will be the fastest and most effective.

Learning English or any other foreign language that is not your mother tongue always brings many difficulties. Therefore, to learn English well requires you to have clear motivation to study, practice hard, and do Activities to perfect your skills.

Oxford recommends fully participating in Activities before, during, and after reading the Oxford Bookworms series. It would be a big mistake to skip the Activities section in each book because this content is beneficial. They help you interact with the story better.

Do Activities in each Oxford Bookworms book

Do Activities at the end of each book

Listen to audio before reading each chapter of the Oxford Bookworms Library.

In the past, we were so familiar with the concept of paper and printed books. However, with the development of technology, we have access to e-books and audiobooks.

Audiobooks are a form of listening to reading books with the content transmitted through the human voice. Currently, the demand for reading books in audiobooks is increasing.

Oxford Bookworms Library provides readers with Audio files, including audio recordings of each book’s content. Combined with self-reading, the book user will hear someone reading the book out loud. For English learners, listening through audiobooks is a highly effective learning method.

Listen to audio before reading each chapter of the Oxford Bookworms Library
Listen to audio files before reading each chapter

Depending on the purpose, you can practice listening “passive” to “immerse” in English or practice listening “active” to absorb new words and knowledge as well as increase your reading speed.

According to experience from reviewers of Oxford Bookworms books, you should listen to the Audio file before reading each chapter. Combine listening and reading according to each book chapter; after listening to a chapter, you take out the book and re-read it again.

After reading each chapter, you can use the dictionary to look up unknown words or phrases. This way, you will avoid not understanding the content of one chapter before moving to another.

If you hear and understand the content well, keep listening to a few more chapters and then review the book to save time.

Should we listen to audio with headphones or speakers?

The voice of this book series is all English, so you can listen to the story while practicing pronunciation, and your listening skills will also improve quickly. When you’ve read and heard enough, you may not even need to look at the words; just listen.

You may feel that listening to audio files with headphones is better because it feels like the sound is flowing into your ears and is easy to hear. However, suppose you keep listening in such an ideal environment. When you encounter a natural environment with a lot of noise, you will find it much harder to hear.

Therefore, the advice when listening to the audio file of the Oxford Bookworms Library is that you should get in the habit of listening with speakers instead of headphones. This will help improve your listening faster.

Listen to audio files with speakers instead of headphones

Listen to audio files with speakers instead of headphones

Currently, many speaker products integrate modern Bluetooth technology. You can put or take it anywhere and comfortably listen to audio files. These speakers bring great audio experiences with more modern and convenient user features.

Instead of buying, you can use the SwapNow application to exchange it with your unused item to listen to audiobooks and learn English. One point to note is that you should not use a speaker with too strong bass because it makes the voice read loudly, sounding very “tired.”

Write a Summary after listening/reading each book’s chapter. 

The summary is paramount when reading books
The summary is paramount when reading books

The summary is considered crucial when we read books. The skill of summarizing is relatively tricky and complex. However, if you practice and master this skill, it is incredible. You also need to consider the findings in the reading process so you can comment and evaluate fully.

Once you’ve read it, it’s equally important to determine what you’ve learned from the book you’ve just read that you must put it all together. Therefore, after each Oxford Bookworms book, you should remember what you have learned and your shortcomings and evaluate whether you have accomplished the original goal.

Then, write it down on paper and compare it with what you read when you read it to redefine what has been achieved and what is still limited to continue to improve. You will not only practice the new words you have just learned and understand the content of the stories deeply but also train your memory better.

Connecting “bookworms” to read books together.

The ultimate goal of language learning is to be able to use it, and the most effective way to do this is with regular practice. However, practicing English is difficult without a good place to cultivate it. In addition to libraries or on-site reading community projects, reading is currently being responded to by many groups on social networks.

Connecting bookworms to read books together

Connect and discuss books together

If you can connect with “bookworms” to build a reading group, that would be great. You can talk to each other about the story’s content, phrases, or grammar that you do not understand.

When you read Oxford Bookworms books together, you can explain to each other, which means you will remember longer and more deeply what you have just learned.

In addition, if possible, you should find a companion or a mentor with a good level of English to help you review the content. This will be more effective than doing it alone.

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