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tibbidee t1_j6d6uha wrote

Unless you really don't understand what's going on, simply ignore the unknown words and phrases and enjoy the general gist of the story. It trains your tolerance for ambiguity, which studies have shown to be a highly predicitive marker for success in language acquisition, i.e. the more you can tolerate to not understand every tiny little detail, the better you are in learning the language. So it's not only much more enjoyable to not consult a dictionary every few minutes, you're also training an important skill. If you're reall struggling, maybe pick an easier text for starters and work your way up.

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FairyPenguinz t1_j6df436 wrote

This is really important! To read for 'gist' and fluency. I think I read that this helps with syntax in the read language.

It can be hard but also having a pencil and notepad can be handy for words that repeatedly come up. I jot them down and at the end of a chapter or at a good break i look up those words. It takes discipline though to not start writing down every word!

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Mortlach78 t1_j6dzgkb wrote

This is how I read Pratchett books when I was learning English all that time ago. Basically, if I didn't understand something, I assumed it was a cultural reference I didn't know or a pune or play on words.

I read a lot of history books now and I still have the same approach when it comes to names. If someone is important, the name will be repeated a few times and I know I should actually remember who they are.

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FairyPenguinz t1_j6f969s wrote

The discworld novels are a wonderful universe to explore 😀 I can only imagine how complex some of the references must have been as there is such a large universe to draw from.

And I like your approach to non-fiction and important people!

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howamigrowingthis t1_j6drh4g wrote

Exactly this, if you are at a level to understand most of the book in your target language then just carry on reading. I look up words only if they repeatedly come up in the past couple of pages and I’m still none the wiser so I quickly look it up. Even then, try not to look up a translation of the word, but look up the word in your target language so you get a definition, not a translation. My tip would also be to take your time. Initially, you might find that reading in your target language is slow and feels easy for your mind to wander and choose the path of least resistance… but keep at it and it goes get easier and starts to flow. You’re training your brain through native level exposure, so initially it will feel tough. Good luck!

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hariseldon2 t1_j6dt57w wrote

The first couple of books I've read in English I couldn't get almost half the words but I got the sense of what was said. It helped that it was books I was familiar with already. Now I'm comfortable with everything.

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macroscian t1_j6dtxqo wrote

Very true. I'd studied very little English before digging into The Silmarillion as a kid. Couldn't find it in translation locally. Skipping words and phrases where I was unsure. The whole was very nice and a great reading experience, even though it was vastly different from when re-reading the book a few years later.

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