The 5 Rules

For Reading

1. Don't try to read it all: Get the main idea.

When you don't have much time but have a lot to read, reading it all will make lose your time. It is also unnecessary to get all the information. When it comes to read a text (not a book for leisure) the main idea of the text is what you are looking for.

2. Don't stop at unknown words. Guess the meaning from the context.

How ever long you will look at a word, if you have never met it before and don't know its meaning, it will never change itself or demonstrate any wit to tell you its meaning. So, the best way is to guess the meaning from its context.

3. Don't EVER translate! Feel what you read.

Have you ever read a book (in your native language) and, at one moment, because something distracted you (a move beside you, or even a thought crossing your mind), you lost track of the story and realise that you are just reading words and they don't mean anything to you? At that moment, you have to come back to where you were still IN the story.

Words trigger some emotions inside us and that is what we call reading. And just reading words one after another will not help comprehend the story, but to let your brain do the "translation" from the signs it reads into emotions will make you live the story.

Translating from one language to the other is very difficult and demands a lot of "feelings" and cultural background.

4. Skim the text to get the main idea.

To skim means to scoop out the top of something (like the cream from the fresh milk, the fat from a broth, etc.)

The best way to skim a text is to keep in mind that, whatever you skim is on the top: the top of the text (the introduction), the top of a paragraph (the first 1 or 2 sentences) which is the topic sentence, and even the title, will give you the main idea of the text.

5. Scan for important details.

Important details can be those asked in a question. It is therefore useful to find the keywords in the question that will orientate your search in the text.

But while skimming the text (jumping from one paragraph to the next one), you can scan for other details.

Those details are: dates, names, figures, titles, places, etc. And you are lucky, because not only figures and dates are digits (12344567890) but, in English, nationalities and places, together with names and titles, begin with a CAPITAL letter.

Be attentive also to signs like quotes " ", or brackets ( ), or hyphens - -, which give extra information that brings a clearer idea about the content of the text.

For Listening

1. Don't try to hear it all: Get the main idea.

We usually hear one word out of six in a normal conversation, even less when we watch a film, a bit more when we listen to the news (not watching the news).. But, paradoxically, language students want to hear more, and they usually get frustrated when they can't. But there is no use.

2. Don't stop at unknown words. Guess the meaning from the context.

If you stop listening because there is a word you did not understand or that you don't recognise, the chances are that you will lose completely track of the conversation or the talk because you stopped listening.

3. Don't EVER translate! Feel what you hear.

In oral communication, 80% is non verbal, that means not expressed with words, but by the body language and the voice. The body and the voice work in concert to convey the same message, so, even if you don't see the person, a smile is always audible.

We communicate to express ideas and opinions about a given topic. By doing so, we express our feelings. If you are a listener, it is better to have a bit of empathy (the ability to feel what the other person feels), so that you will "feel" what they say more than hear, especially if you don't know certain words.

Another good reason not to translate is that, IF you can listen and translate at the same time, then you don't need to pass any test of listening comprehension. ;) What I mean is that, in order to do so, you have to be able to listen, translate and still listen at the same time. that means you are a simultaneous translator-interpreter.

4. Take notes. Write your notes (keywords) in column

In column because:

1. it is shorter for your hand to come back at the beginning of the line

2. it is easier for you to read in a column, like a (shopping) list

3. By doing so, you will get an idea of the structure of the speech.

5. Read your notes in the same order you wrote them.

Logically, it will allow you to keep the same structure, but also to make sure that you don't miss out any information.

For Speaking

1. Don't try to say it all: Get to the point.

We are all human and we all like to hear ourselves. Moreover, we always think that what we have to say is important, without forgetting that we want our listeners to have ALL the information with all the details.

However, anyone can remember some occurrences when we were held up on the phone, just before going out of the door by someone who would "keep just two minutes" of our attention, but who ended up by telling their life.

Keep it short, concise and complete.

2. Don't stop at unknown or forgotten words. Explain with other words.

It happens to everyone: when you look for something, you can't find it. And it is where you need it the most that it is not there.

It is also about gaining time. Do not focus and what is lost or unknown, but use what you have at hand, or in mind.

3. Don't EVER translate! Express your feelings!

Translating one idiom from your language to another language can lead you to a very embarrassing situation.

The best way to share opinions, experiences or facts is to let your mind and your feelings guide you and express themselves with the words you know.

In fact, that is how some words came into your language from another, because those words were expressing ideas or objects better than any other word or phrases from your own.

4. Take notes. Write your notes (keywords) in column

In column because it is easier for you to read in a column, like a (shopping) list

Write just a few chosen words, quickly before speaking. Keywords that are related to the subject and what you want to say.

Any professional speaker will tell you that a speech without preparation is due to fail to have the impact it is aiming at. Even if you prepare it in your mind, failing to write your ideas down will surely lead you to forgetting some essential points, thus make you pause and hesitate in the middle of your speech.

5. Read your notes in the same order you wrote them.

Logically, it will allow you to keep the same structure, but also to make sure that you don't miss out any information.

There is also something very interesting about our brain: it first gives you flashes of what you could talk about. You then write words in connection with those thoughts. Each of those words will be linked to the previous one by some sort of logical connection.

Reading your notes exactly in the same order you wrote them will ease the exercise of your brain to remember, or recall, the connections between those words and thus help you organise your speech using the right words and, therefore, have a coherent message, complete quick and concise.

For Writing

1. Don't try to write it all: Get to the point.

For the same reasons as for speaking, wanted to write everything can make the text incoherent and even boring.

You don't have the physical time to write everything that comes to your mind about a definite subject. that is why you should focus on what is important to convey.

2. Don't stop at unknown or forgotten words. Explain with other words.

It happens to everyone: when you look for something, you can't find it. And it is where you need it the most that it is not there.

It is also about gaining time. Do not focus and what is lost or unknown, but use what you have at hand, or in mind.

3. Don't EVER translate! Express what you feel

Making a mistake while speaking is one thing, but while writing has another impact. "Verba volant scripta manent". So what might just be embarrassing or confused for a moment when you speak, stays forever if you write it down.

Besides, most of the time, people who don't think in the target language and translate from their own language to the other usually make the mistake of using the same sentence structure. But all languages have their own structure and ways of giving importance to some piece of information i the sentence.

4. Plan and organise your text before writing it.

Whatever is your method, it should always include some planning and organisation. the best way is to write down the ideas of your text, the outline and the conclusion you want to get at.

Allow yourself enough time to prepare your writing. Better spend a bit more on that than losing time or ideas rewriting or reorganising while in the process of typing.

5. Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.

A text that is full of mistakes looks as bad, if not more, than a text that is not organised in paragraph.

You would not make a splendid meal and forget to check that everyone had a chair to sit on at the table and some knives and forks to eat and some glass to drink.

That is how a text looks like when it is not edited before being sent to the reader.

(Imagine what you feel if (when) you see a mistake on this website. You might think that I am not as accurate as it might seem. And you would be right (and maybe you are).