- Reading for pleasure (extensive reading) at the right level builds fluency faster than studying grammar.
- You need to know around 95–98% of words in a text to read comfortably without a dictionary.
- Active reading strategies (predicting, questioning, summarising) significantly improve retention.
- Understanding discourse markers — words like however, therefore, moreover — is essential for following arguments.
- Twenty minutes of daily reading consistently outperforms occasional long sessions.
Reading comprehension is one of the most important — and most underestimated — English skills. It is not just about knowing words; it is about understanding how sentences and paragraphs connect, how arguments are structured, and how to extract meaning from texts that may be longer, denser, or more complex than anything you have encountered before.
The good news is that reading comprehension is highly trainable. The strategies in this guide are drawn from second language acquisition research and are practical enough to implement today.
1. Why Reading Comprehension Is Difficult in English
Before looking at strategies, it helps to understand why comprehension breaks down. Common causes include:
- Unknown vocabulary — even one or two unknown words per sentence can disrupt understanding.
- Unfamiliar text structure — academic, legal, journalistic, and narrative texts all follow different conventions.
- Discourse markers — missing words like nevertheless or consequently can invert your understanding of an argument.
- Cultural references and idioms — expressions that make no sense when translated literally.
- Processing speed — reading slowly puts too much strain on working memory.
2. Tips 1–4: Before You Read
Tip 1: Preview the text
Before reading, spend 60 seconds scanning: title, headings, the first and last paragraphs, and any bolded or highlighted text. This activates background knowledge and creates a mental map of what to expect, which dramatically improves comprehension as you read.
Tip 2: Set a reading purpose
Ask yourself: What do I want to find out from this text? Reading with a specific question in mind makes you an active reader. Convert headings into questions: "Types of Renewable Energy" becomes "What types of renewable energy are there?"
Tip 3: Build background knowledge first
If a text is about a topic you know little about, spend two minutes reading a short overview (a Wikipedia introduction, for example) before tackling the main text. Background knowledge plugs the comprehension gaps that vocabulary alone cannot fill.
Tip 4: Choose the right level
Research suggests you need to know at least 95% of words in a text to read it comfortably. If you are stopping every few lines to look up words, the text is too difficult for extensive reading. Either choose something easier, or treat the text as intensive study material.
Paul Nation's research on vocabulary and reading shows that knowing 8,000–9,000 word families gives near-complete coverage of most everyday English texts. Focus vocabulary learning on the most frequent words first — they give the highest return on study time.
3. Tips 5–8: While You Read
Tip 5: Read in chunks, not word by word
Fluent readers process groups of words as units, not individual words. Practise reading phrases as complete thoughts rather than decoding each word in sequence. This increases speed and reduces the working memory load that slows comprehension.
Tip 6: Use context clues for unknown words
Before reaching for a dictionary, try to infer the meaning from context: look at the surrounding words, the sentence structure, and the overall topic. Guessing in context is itself a skill that improves with practice and reduces reading interruption.
Tip 7: Notice discourse markers
Words like however, therefore, in addition, despite are signposts that tell you the logical relationship between ideas. When you see however, expect a contrast. When you see therefore, expect a conclusion. Missing these signals is a common reason for misunderstanding arguments.
Tip 8: Ask yourself comprehension questions as you read
After each paragraph, pause briefly and ask: What was the main point? How does this connect to what I read before? This forces active engagement and prevents passive word-by-word reading without real understanding.
4. Tips 9–12: After You Read
Tip 9: Summarise in your own words
After finishing a section or text, write or say a two-sentence summary in your own words — without looking at the text. This reveals what you genuinely understood versus what you merely read.
Tip 10: Re-read difficult passages
If a sentence or paragraph genuinely confused you, re-read it slowly, identifying the main subject, verb, and object. Long, complex sentences often become clearer when you strip them back to their grammatical core.
Tip 11: Record new vocabulary in context
Write down any new words with the full sentence where you found them, plus your best guess at the meaning before checking. Recording vocabulary in context makes it far more memorable than a list of definitions.
Tip 12: Read regularly, not occasionally
Twenty minutes of reading every day produces far greater gains than two hours once a week. Consistency builds reading speed and vocabulary gradually but reliably. Make reading in English a daily habit rather than a study session.
5. Key Discourse Markers to Know
| Function | Key markers |
|---|---|
| Addition | furthermore, moreover, in addition, additionally, also |
| Contrast | however, nevertheless, on the other hand, yet, despite, although |
| Cause / effect | therefore, consequently, as a result, hence, thus, because of this |
| Example | for example, for instance, such as, namely, in particular |
| Concession | although, even though, while it is true that, admittedly |
| Sequence | firstly, subsequently, following this, finally, in conclusion |
| Summary | in summary, to conclude, in short, overall, to sum up |
6. Choosing the Right Texts
Vary the types of text you read in English. Each type builds different comprehension skills:
- News articles (BBC, The Guardian): practise skimming for gist and scanning for facts.
- Short stories: build narrative comprehension and emotional vocabulary.
- Non-fiction books: develop sustained focus and ability to follow complex arguments across chapters.
- Academic abstracts: learn to compress meaning and recognise hedging language (suggests, may indicate, appears to).
- Professional texts in your field: build the specialised vocabulary your career requires.
Build Your Reading Vocabulary
Strengthen the vocabulary that powers your reading comprehension with LexFizz's free flash cards and quizzes.
Explore Exercises →🛠️ Try our free Readability Checker — check a text's difficulty level before choosing it for practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is reading comprehension difficult in English as a second language?
Reading comprehension in a second language is challenging for several interconnected reasons: limited vocabulary (unknown words disrupt flow), unfamiliarity with text structure and discourse markers, reduced processing speed, cultural references and idioms that do not translate, and the cognitive load of decoding grammar and meaning simultaneously. Improving in all these areas gives the best results.
What is the SQ3R reading method and does it help ESL learners?
SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. Survey: skim the text before reading. Question: turn headings into questions. Read: read actively to find answers. Recite: summarise each section in your own words. Review: revisit the whole text at the end. Research supports SQ3R for non-native readers because it activates prior knowledge, creates a reading purpose, and reinforces memory.
How many unknown words can I have per page before reading becomes too difficult?
Research by Paul Nation suggests that readers need to know approximately 95-98% of words in a text to read comfortably. This means no more than 1 unknown word in every 20 (5%) for comfortable reading. If you encounter more unknown words than this regularly, the text is probably too difficult for extensive reading — though it may be suitable for intensive study.
Should I look up every word I don't know when reading in English?
For extensive reading, looking up every word breaks your flow and is counterproductive. Train yourself to use context clues to guess meaning. If a word appears more than three times and you cannot understand the text without it, then look it up. For intensive study texts, looking up key unknown vocabulary and recording it in context is beneficial.
What types of texts should I read to improve English comprehension fastest?
Read at the right level — not too easy and not too difficult. The most effective approach is to read graded readers at your current level for fluency, while exposing yourself to slightly harder authentic texts for challenge. Vary text types: newspapers, short stories, magazine articles, and non-fiction in your professional area. Variety of text type is as important as level.
How does skimming differ from scanning in reading comprehension?
Skimming means reading quickly to get the overall gist — you look at headings, first sentences of paragraphs, and highlighted text. Scanning means searching a text for a specific piece of information without reading the whole text. Skimming is for 'what is this text about?'; scanning is for 'where does it mention X?'
What are discourse markers and why are they important for reading comprehension?
Discourse markers are words and phrases that signal the logical relationship between ideas: furthermore (addition), however (contrast), therefore (result), for example (illustration), although (concession). Fluent readers use these signals to predict what comes next and to follow the structure of an argument. Missing them is a common cause of comprehension breakdown.
How can I build vocabulary to improve my reading comprehension?
The most evidence-based strategies are: (1) Spaced repetition with flash cards. (2) Keep a vocabulary notebook with words recorded in context. (3) Learn collocations and word families, not just single words. (4) Use new words actively within 24 hours. (5) Read widely so words appear in multiple contexts, reinforcing retention.
What should I do if I understand all the words but not the meaning of the text?
Understanding individual words but not the overall text points to a comprehension gap beyond vocabulary. Common causes: unfamiliarity with text structure, missing background knowledge, failure to recognise discourse markers, or difficulty tracking pronouns. Solutions: read the text twice, build background knowledge, practise identifying discourse markers, and summarise each paragraph in one sentence.
How much should I read in English each day to improve comprehension?
Research suggests 20-30 minutes of daily reading in English produces measurable improvement in vocabulary and comprehension over 8-12 weeks. Consistency matters more than marathon sessions — daily reading of 20 minutes is significantly more effective than two hours once a week. Start with materials slightly below your maximum difficulty to build fluency before pushing to harder texts.