IWTYAL 006: Which is better – intensive or extensive reading?

Today's episode features a question from Marcelo: “Now that I'm at an intermediate level of English, which is better – intensive or extensive reading?”

In this episode:

• What are extensive/intensive reading?
• What are the benefits of each?
• How language teachers use these approaches
• The “intermediate plateau” and how to break through
• Why speaking alone isn't enough to help you reach an advanced level in a language

Strategies for extensive reading:

1. Make sure choose something to read that you're interested in
2. Try not to use a dictionary whilst you're reading
3. Read things that are lower than your current level

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

“Graded readers” are books that have been simplified. Here are some examples:

Today's featured resource

• Alex Rawlings talking about reading at the Polyglot Gathering 2014

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Olly Richards

Creator of the StoryLearning® Method

Olly Richards is a renowned polyglot and language learning expert with over 15 years of experience teaching millions through his innovative StoryLearning® method. He is the creator of StoryLearning, one of the world's largest language learning blogs with 500,000+ monthly readers.

Olly has authored 30+ language learning books and courses, including the bestselling "Short Stories" series published by Teach Yourself.

When not developing new teaching methods, Richards practices what he preaches—he speaks 8 languages fluently and continues learning new ones through his own methodology.