I get asked by students all the time how they can improve their vocabulary and continue to improve their English after they finish a course.
One thing I do commonly is to ask students what ways they can come up with to continue using English in their daily lives? One of the most popular responses I receive is “I can read English books!”
Reading English books is great, but it can also take a lot of time and energy. One part that can be problematic is the added difficulty if you’re not a regular reader already. If you’re not already in the habit of reading, adding the challenge of reading in a foreign language may not be the best way to start.
For people who already read quite often, adding in an English book to the mix could be the perfect solution to improving your English vocabulary. But for those of us who aren’t avid readers, we need something a little more convenient.
Blinkist is an app available for iPhone and Android users that gives you access to over 2,000 of the best non-fiction books on the market. The best part is, they shrink each of these books down to a 15-minute read. It’s an incredibly quick and efficient way to expose yourself to a vast amount of English vocabulary, and it couldn’t be more convenient to use their user-friendly app.
Think about it like this. If you just read one of these 15-minute reads a week, and you do that every week; by the end of the year you will have read 52 information and vocabulary packed mini-books. That’s an awful lot more than the zero mini-books in English that I’m assuming you read last year.
If you’ve taken one of my courses, then you’ve absolutely heard me talk about the importance of building good habits that you can actually keep when you’re trying to learn a new language. There’s no easier way to form a sustainable habit of reading in English than using this handy little app.
If nothing else, at least sign up for the free version and get access to the books that Blinkist chooses for you. I’ve had many students have success in improving their English vocabulary in this way.
Bonus Tip: Blinkist also offers you the ability to listen to the books in audio format, but you have to buy the paid version to take advantage of it. If you would rather listen to full-length books on audio format instead of just 15-minute versions, you can check out Amazon’s company Audible. By
clicking this link here you can sign up for a trial version of Audible and download two free audiobooks. There your’s to keep even if you cancel your membership before you pay anything.
Good luck with your English!