#language learning help

First, you need to be reading something you can follow without looking up words. Meaning, if I want to read a book, I need to be able to read the whole thing understanding what’s going on, even if some verbs, adjectives or whatever are missing. That makes it 10000 times more enjoyable and you are more likely to continue doing it. And hell, it will just be more engaging haha.

Following up on that, if you can’t seem to find a book that you can read and reasonably understand, maybe because you are in a A2-B1 sort of level, you could benefit from reading books that:

- You have already read in your native language, so you know the story and what is going on. Almost all of us have read books like Harry Potter, for example. 

- Also, short books, in pocket size, are great motivators since you finish them faster and that will feel like a huge accomplishment, finishing a whole book. A good example is L’homme qui voulait être hereux, by Laurent Gounelle. Engaging story (for me anyway), not overly complicated at all, and short. So short you could read it in an afternoon if you wanted. 

- Books for teenagers or young people, could be more simple, and have less complicated vocab. Le Petit Prince (for French) is kind of for children, but not really, I would put it more in this category. Plus it’s super beautiful even for an adult.

- Manga, if you like it, has shorter texts, but isn’t overly easy or anything (some can be rather complicated). For an example of an easier type, I recommend Chi’s Sweet Home, available in multiple languages and extremely cute and beautiful.

- Books for children, if you really aren’t in that stage yet, and need something really simple. This are books that have maybe a sentence or two in each page, with drawing to help understand; they are made to help children when learning to read.

Then, if you really want to learn vocabulary (just reading the book is already REALLY great), I’d do as others have said, and as I think is the less distracting way. You read, and underline with pencil (or whatever you prefer) all the words you don’t know. And maybe after a chapter, or two, or really whenever you want (but if the book is long, after a chapter is safer haha) you look them up, and you write down their definition IN YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE.

And if, and only if, you think it’s really valuable and will help you, to have the equivalent/translation in your native language, you write that down too. I’m doing this for the words I encounter in my B2 book and honestly, it helps you learn to understand the word, instead of memorizing the translation.

You then just mostly read the definition, imagine in your head what it is, wheter it’s an object or a context, and if it’s something like a connector (for example puisque), try putting it in a sentence. Honestly, do that with any type of word, it’s always really useful. 

You can use different colors for the word, the definition and the translation.