Zjednodušená četba nebo originály?
People sometimes ask me to give them some tips on what books are there to help them enhance their vocabulary (do you want to measure your vocabulary size?)
There are two ways
1) Graded readers
2) reading original books
1) Graded Readers books can suit majority of students of English. There are several levels of the books that differ according to the amount of keywords they are consisted of. For example books for beginners (level 1* - * may vary according to each publisher) includes 500 keywords, while advanced Graded Readers (level 6*) comprises of up to 3000 keywords. Graded readers are either classical or contemporary popular books that are shortened, simplified and adjusted for students' needs. Some of them are just a simple text, other can also include some additional featchers, such as pre(or post)-reading activities, grammar and vocabulary sections, discussion and much more. Here is a link to one of many e-shops that offer large variety of graded reading.
2) some students complain that Graded reading is too boring for them. They say simplification of the book takes away all the beauty and they prefer going the hard way, specifically by reading originals - no matter what effort it costs. But even for those who are afraid to start reading books in original it doesn't have to be the trip through hell. Actually, the step can be quite smooth. Yes, some originals are difficult to read, they might contain words that they never see or hear again. The glowing example of this is reading classical literature (approximately until the beginning of 20 century). Book by Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare or others are real murder to your determination to read books in original. Many archaic words won't be of any use nowadays. However, there are also books in English that are quite easy to read even in their original (unabridged) version. Take for example stories, fairytales or generally literature for children. You might ask: isn't it silly to read books for kids? That's where you'd be wrong. Little English children start to expand their vocabulary by being read such easy stories like this. And I'd recommend doing it the same way - step by step, slowly but persistantly. It'd be silly to expect great progress in very short time. You know, kids have huge brain capacity, they are able to remember a lot in relatively short time but I mind you, you are not kids any more. Nevertheless, if you stay determined and focused .... you'll make it in the end. I myself have read several children's books, therefore I can give you couple of tips and suggestions.
1) Charlie and Chocolate Factory
2) Wizzard of Ozz
3) Little Prince
4) Alice in Wonderland
5) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Most of the children's book are quite easy to read and they are pretty short as well. They are devided into chapters. It's very convenient because you can set goals for yourself, e.g. to read a chapter per week or so.
There is another group of books that is easy to read due to various reasons. Here is a list of few of them.
1) Alchymist
2) A curious Incident of a dog in the night-time.
3) Twilight
More about Graded books (in Czech) you'll find on this link.
