[12:41] Improve English Listening and Reading Skills with Just 30 Minutes a Day

[Immersive English Listening Training]! Just half an hour every day, selected short conversations + scenario-based practice, combined with Chinese dubbing assistance, making comprehension easier. Male and female voice comparison strengthens listening sensitivity, and progress is visible! Scientific breakdown, sentence-by-sentence intensive listening, say goodbye to the trouble of 'not understanding.' Below is some immersive English listening content compiled by Qicai website.

To half-hour English. I'm Emma, and today we have such an important topic for you. And I'm Ryan. We're here to help you improve your English listening skills, and today we're talking about reading. Yes, reading. I know, I know. Many of you listening right now might feel. Well, maybe a little scared of reading in English, like seeing a lot of words you don't know. Absolutely. It can feel slow, frustrating, and sometimes you just want to give up. You see a long sentence and think, oh no. Exactly. But what if I told you that improving your English reading can completely change your whole English learning journey? A whole new world can open. That's exactly right, Emma. Reading is really the base, the cornerstone of learning English. When you can read well, everything else gets easier. For our listeners learning English, think about it. You can read more news, understand different ideas, maybe even get a better job. It's like unlocking doors.

We know someone who felt exactly this way. Six years ago, she hated reading English. Every word felt difficult. Wow, six years ago. So she started as a beginner, just like many of you might feel now. Yes, she needed a dictionary for almost every sentence in her university textbooks. It was slow and frustrating, just like we said. Oh, I can really imagine that feeling. It's easy to get discouraged when you have to stop for every word, but she didn't stop, right? No, she didn't. She decided to create a plan and her reading slowly got better. Today, she can read books, articles, reports easily. That's amazing. That's a really key point about having a plan. Because when you start, it feels like there are so many challenges. Limited vocabulary, long sentences. Yes, and the fear that you're too slow, you worry, will I ever read like a native speaker? Let me explain that in a simple way. Learning English reading is like building a house. You need to start with the foundation. Here's a simple way to think about it. The foundation is your basic vocabulary. You need those first bricks.

Right then, you build the walls brick by brick. That's understanding sentences, putting the words together. And finally, you complete the whole house. That's understanding the whole article or book. It takes time and patience, but each step is necessary. That building analogy is perfect, and it reminds me, our friend made mistakes too, like misunderstanding something important. Oh, yes, she told us about a meeting where she misunderstood data in an English report. Her idea was completely wrong because of it. Oh, no, that sounds embarrassing. Everyone laughed. Yes, but she learned from it. She learned she needed to read very carefully and understand every important detail. Mistakes are learning chances. You're absolutely right. Don't be afraid of mistakes. They help you learn.

Now, what was her big turning point? How did she really start improving? Her turning point was joining an English book club. They started with a simplified version of Harry Potter. Harry Potter, a simplified version sounds like a really smart place to start. Was it easy at first? No, she still had to look up many words, but slowly, after three months, she found she could guess meanings. She didn't need the dictionary for every word. Wow, finishing that first book must have felt amazing. So, starting with simple materials, like graded readers is key. Exactly. Graded readers are written for learners at different levels. The vocabulary and grammar are controlled, which helps a lot.

Yes, so you can choose one for your level, not too hard, not too easy. What's a good way to use these simple materials? Let me break this down step by step. Here's a simple way to think about it. Try reading the text three times. Three times. Okay, tell us more. First, just read it. Don't stop for every word. Try to understand the main idea. Okay, just read through. Don't worry too much about single words. Right, second, read it again. This time, mark the words you see often, but don't know. The frequently occurring words. So, find the important new words you see many times. Yes, third, learn those specific words you marked, just those key ones. Okay, learn the words that are really important for understanding this text. Exactly and fourth, read it a third time. Now you know the key words and you can focus on understanding everything better.

Integrating English into your life is another key point. Make English part of your daily routine, like setting your phone language to English, or following English speakers on social media. That's a great idea or subscribing to English newsletters, even putting English word cards around your home. Our friend started reading articles from BBC Learning English for just 15 minutes every morning. That small habit helped her learn so many words. Just 15 minutes a day, that's totally possible for anyone and here's another key point, read about things you like. Yes, interest is the best teacher. If you love cooking, read English recipes. If you love sports, read English sports news. Our friend loves traveling, so she reads travel blogs and guides in English. It makes the learning fun not like homework.

Writing can help your reading. Writing helps reading. How does that work? Well, try summarizing an article you read, or write your thoughts about it. This helps you really process the information and remember it. Oh, you have to understand it deeply to summarize it. That makes sense. Our friend started an English diary, right? Yes, she wrote about what she read and the new words she learned. This helps turn words, you know, into words you use. Transforming passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. That's super useful for speaking and writing too.

Now, let's talk about when you feel frustrated. When you read something difficult and think, I don't understand anything. It's normal to feel that way. The key is changing your mindset. Don't expect to understand 100% right away. Yes, even if you understand only 60% or 70%, that is progress. Our friend learned to enjoy this fuzzy understanding. She knew that with more reading, the picture would become clearer. You build confidence with small victories. Small victories, like reading one page without stopping too much, or understanding one complex sentence. Yes, she even kept a reading achievements notebook writing down every small success like read a news article without the dictionary today.

For our listeners learning English, remember to set reasonable goals too. Don't try to read a whole novel in one week. Let me break this down step by step. Set specific small goals. Like this week, I will read one short story. Or like our friend did. Read just one page of a book every day. Just one page. That's so manageable. Exactly. That simple goal helped her build a strong reading habit. And when you reach a goal, celebrate. Celebrate like buy yourself something nice. Maybe or just get a special coffee or watch your favorite movie. Give yourself a reward for your hard work. Positive reinforcement makes learning much more fun.

And what about those difficult parts you really don't understand? Don't skip them. Our friend would mark them, analyze them, try to figure them out, like when she didn't understand as well as. As well as, that can be confusing. How did she learn it? She collected many example sentences with as well as and read them again and again until she fully understood it. She turned a difficulty into a learning chance. That's amazing dedication. For our listeners learning English, remember this story. This is possible for you too. Strong reading ability really does open doors. Knowledge, culture, career. Our friend's career is much better because she can read English professionally. It's like planting a tree, isn't it? You plant the seed. That's basic vocabulary. Water it every day. That's your daily practice. Wait patiently. That's accepting the learning process. And finally, you get the fruits. Fluent reading, it takes time, but the results are so worth it. Imagine reading English novels easily, understanding work emails, browsing international news, it's all possible. Just remember it's a journey, not a race. Some days are harder, that's normal, but keep moving forward. Even small efforts each day add up to big results over time. We really believe you can do it. Yes, you can, so take one of the methods we talked about today. Maybe the three-step reading or setting your phone to English. Or just reading one page a day. Try it for just five or ten minutes. Start simple. Start today and slowly build that reading ability. You've got this. Yes, we're cheering for your English learning journey. Thanks for listening to Half Hour English. See you next time.

Above is the immersive English listening content整理ed by Qicai, hope it helps you!