I am one of those lucky people who grew up with English being my first language (you would not believe it with the amount of typos in my posts). Reading was always something I enjoyed but like most people, I found I had less time for it as I got older. Recently, I have been really trying to get back into the habit and thought about trying to incorporate some more German texts into my reading as my language ability gets better.
Not a textbook
Most textbooks focus on the four fundamental building blocks of language learning: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Textbook reading, while it for sure serves a purpose, it can get dry and boring on occasions. Most texts found in textbooks have no real purpose other than widening the author's experience of the language through new vocabulary or grammar techniques. There are very few textbook texts that have had a lasting impact on me. This is the complete opposite when reading a 'normal' fiction (or in some cases non-fiction) book.
What are we learning about
It makes sense that textbook texts would focus on specific language related to the topic of study. Sometimes though, these subjects seem a bit abstract or not relevant in the short term future. An example of this, I remember in German class in Year 7 (7th Grade) learning vocabulary related to school, uniform, different rules, and subjects you can study. Do I need this vocabulary now? Well maybe. Being able to read my university contract and recognise the type of language used to describe rules on good academic practice for example. Talking about what subjects and topics I am interested in. What I need to wear to a conference next week. All the vocabulary I learnt at some point creates a base of understanding for the language I am trying to integrate myself in.
Reaching Fluency
Defining fluency in itself, I think, is a more nuanced topic than some people let on. A common definition might be something along the lines of: being able to converse comfortably about any given topic. Personally, I have no ambition to label myself as 'fluent' because to me, this means that you are at the end of your language learning journey. There is so much more about German language, culture and history that I can learn and to be at the end is not that appealing.
So reading...?
I like reading. I want it to be as enjoyable as possible. If it can be helpful by improving my German vocabulary then that is a bonus. But as I pick up a German book, I have a million questions running through my mind: Is this book going to be too difficult for me? What if I don't understand something early on? Should I look up every word I don't know? And so many more until I get so anxious over the prospect of reading foreign literature that I don’t get around to reading the book. This has to change! At what point am I ready and at what point does this become fun?
My solution to reading
Depending on what you want to get out of reading a book in a foreign language, will make the difference if my method is suitable for you. If you want to just enjoy interesting books while passively increasing your vocabulary in your target language then this might be good for you.
Pick a book about the topic you are learning about. (I recently covered a unit of work on stress and work in my German course, so thought it would be fun to pick up a 'self-help' book on this very topic)
Try and pick short books, you will get more motivated to finish it.
Break the book apart into manageable sections. If you read about 30 pages a day but the chapters in the book are 70 pages long, then try and find a nice break at some point between them.
Read through a couple of pages until you decide to go back and look up vocabulary. Ideally, make a note of the vocabulary so you can learn it later (personally I just add this straight to a flash card app on my phone)
Praise yourself for what you recognise! Like, the concept of reading is pretty cool to begin with and then doing it in a different language is crazy cool. If you understand two words in a sentence then BRAVO, seriously!
Closing words
But is this as fun as reading a book in your native language? I think this mainly depends on what you are reading and how much pressure you put on yourself while reading the foreign book.
Recently, it feels like reading has become a sport. People like to boast about the difficult-to-read classics which they have devoured and wrote a thesis on in one day. Or the person who sits and reads 100+ self-help books and is now a guru making millions. Or even just the people who are trying to keep up with the latest 'trending' books. None of this sounds fun to me. I like to read books that are interesting or just enjoyable. It doesn't need to add a quantitative value to my life, but it does need to be something I look forward to in the evening. There is no reason that doing this in a foregin language can not achieve this. It just takes time to get into it.
I am still trying to craft this fine art of reading but I do feel very proud of myself for reading a whole book in German a few weeks ago. It is very encouraging once you have finished it and to see the progress you make. For sure the first few chapters were not the most enjoyable but as I got into reading the book (as I would in my native language) the more I forgot about trying to be 'perfect' while reading this book. Focusing less on what I don't know and more on what I am learning was a game changer for me.