English Reading
English reading is how you take meaning from a text when nobody is there to explain it. You do not need every word. You need the point, and then the details that matter for your purpose. Reading for detail and for the main idea is the split between those two jobs.
By 
Christopher Huntley. Updated
Read for a reason
The way you read depends on what you need. A timetable is scanned for one fact. A story is read from start to finish. An article is often read for the claim first, then for the evidence if the claim matters. Using the same slow pace for all three wastes the easy ones and still misses the hard ones.
Before you start, name the question the text should answer. "What time does it leave?" and "What is the writer arguing?" are different questions, and they send your eyes to different places.
The point, then the details
In most English articles the point is near the start of the piece and again at the start of each paragraph. The rest supports it with examples, numbers, or a story. Reading for detail and for the main idea separates those jobs: first find the claim, then go back for the facts you actually need.
Unknown words are not all equal. A word in the main claim is worth stopping for. A word inside an example often is not, if the sentence still makes sense without it. Guess from the words around it, and check only when the guess changes the meaning.
The city will close the bridge on Sunday. Buses will use the next street.
Several residents, including a baker on Oak Street, objected.
Habits that slow reading down
The usual trap is treating every word as equally important, or translating each one before moving on. Both make a page take so long that the point is gone by the time you finish.
Not: I stop at every new word and look it up. Use: I mark the word and keep going, then look up only the ones that blocked the point. Most new words in an example do not change what the paragraph claims.
Not: I translate each sentence into my language before the next one. Use: I follow the English sentence to its end, then check the one idea I missed. Translation breaks the sentence into pieces and hides how it fits the paragraph.
Not: I read the whole article at the same speed. Use: I read the opening slowly, then skim until a paragraph answers my question. Speed should follow the job, not the length.
A simple way through a text
Read the title and the first paragraph, and say the point in your own words. If you cannot, the point is later, or you missed a word that carried it. Then read for the details that question needs, and ignore the rest until you have a reason to go back.
- Name the question before you start.
- Read the title and the first paragraph for the point.
- Skim the paragraph openings.
- Slow down only where the answer to your question is.
- Say the point in one sentence without looking.
Absolute Beginner
- Reading a name badge and a simple form Finding a name, a country, and a number on a page.
- Reading numbers and prices Figures, prices, and times as written.
- Reading short public signs Exit, open, no entry, and the rest.
- Reading the alphabet and single words Letters and whole short words on sight.
Beginner
- Reading a form Understanding what each field is asking for.
- Reading a short newspaper article Finding the main fact in a very short report.
- Reading a short personal profile Getting name, country, and job from a few lines.
- Reading a short story Following who did what, in order.
- Reading text messages Following a short exchange between two people.
Elementary
- Common public signs and notices Understanding short public signs and notices seen in everyday life.
- Finding specific information Locating one fact in a longer text.
- Identifying paragraph headings Matching a heading to the paragraph it belongs to.
- Reading a description of a place Building a picture from a written description.
- Reading for the main idea Saying in one sentence what a text is about.
- Short Sentences — literal comprehension Literal comprehension of single, simple present/present-continuous sentences.
- Two-line dialogue comprehension Understanding the meaning and intent behind short two-line dialogues.
- Understanding a traditional story Following a narrative with unfamiliar detail.
- Understanding feelings and opinions Telling what a writer thinks from how they say it.
Pre-Intermediate
- Extracting the main points from an article Reducing a longer article to three or four key points.
- Finding key information in a factual text Locating the answer to a specific question in a factual passage.
- Following the key events in a narrative Tracking who did what, and in what order, through a short story.
- Identifying pros and cons in a text Sorting the arguments for and against into two lists.
- Matching information to people using textual clues Deciding which person a detail belongs to when several are described.
- Recognizing text type and purpose Telling an advert from a review, a notice, or a news report.
- Scanning for facts, numbers, and data Finding specific figures in a text without reading every word.
- Summarizing the main point of a text Stating in one sentence what a short article is mainly about.
- Understanding a personal description Picking out age, job, and personality details from a short profile or article.
- Understanding a short story Following character, setting, and outcome in a short piece of fiction.
- Understanding a theory or explanation Following an explanation of why something happens.
- Understanding cohesion — how connectors link a text Using because, so, but, and although to follow an argument across sentences.
- Understanding opinions in a short text Separating what a writer thinks from what a writer reports.
- Understanding rules and instructions Reading the rules of a game or a set of instructions and acting on them.
- Using topic sentences to follow a text Reading the first sentence of each paragraph to predict its content.
Intermediate
- Following a narrative Tracking events, order, and cause.
- Reading for specific detail Finding the one fact you need.
- Recognizing text organization Seeing how an argument is built.
- Understanding attitude and opinion Telling what a writer thinks from how they write.
- Understanding the main point of an article Saying in one sentence what a text argues.
- Working out meaning from context Getting an unknown word from what surrounds it.
Intermediate Plus
- Following a written narrative Order, cause, and consequence in a story.
- Reading for specific information Locating a detail without reading everything.
- Recognizing register and purpose Telling formal from informal, and why it was written.
- Understanding a description of a place Building a picture from prose.
- Understanding a longer article Following an argument across several paragraphs.
- Working out unknown words Using context and word parts.
Upper-Intermediate
- Identifying the writer's opinion Separating claim from report.
- Reading for detail under time pressure Scanning accurately rather than exhaustively.
- Recognizing text structure and cohesion How paragraphs and connectors hold a text together.
- Understanding a long article Following a developed argument.
- Understanding a narrative with shifts in time Following a story that moves around.
- Using contextual clues Inferring meaning the text does not state.
Advanced
- Evaluating evidence in a text Telling assertion from support.
- Following a text with dense reference Keeping track of what each pronoun points at.
- Inferring attitude and implication Reading what is meant rather than said.
- Reading for gist at speed Getting the shape of a text quickly.
- Understanding a complex argument Following reasoning across a long text.
- Understanding literary and journalistic style Recognizing register, tone, and craft.
Advanced Plus
- Assessing an argument critically Weighing evidence against claim.
- Reading dense or specialized text Getting through unfamiliar subject matter.
- Recognizing tone and register shifts Hearing where a text changes footing.
- Understanding finer points of detail The distinctions a careless reading loses.
- Understanding implicit attitudes and opinions Reading a position that is never stated.
Proficiency
- Detecting bias and rhetorical strategy Seeing the argument behind the sentences.
- Reading at speed, for gist and for detail Switching between the two deliberately.
- Reading between the lines Recovering what a writer chose not to say.
- Reading legal and technical documents Dense, precise text where a word choice is binding.
- Reading literary prose Style, voice, and what fiction does that reporting does not.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to understand every word?
No. You need the words that carry the point and the details you came for. The rest can wait.
Why is English reading slower than reading in my language?
You are still matching forms to meanings, and English word order may differ from yours. It speeds up when common phrases become one unit instead of a string of new words.
Should I read out loud?
Out loud is for pronunciation. For understanding, silent reading is faster and lets you skip what you do not need.