Having lived in Canada for eight years now, one of the most challenging aspects has been reading English novels. While technical and non-fiction texts are manageable due to repetitive terminology, English novels can be as difficult as random small talk without any hints.

This year, I set out to overcome this barrier with a small strategy, and so far, I have successfully read two children’s books by Roald Dahl and am one-third of the way through Harry Potter.

Here’s a bit of my strategy, as a success story:

For this attempt, I focused on eliminating factors that could make reading less enjoyable and aimed to make reading fun. Although some say you should choose books that match your level, I found that picking engaging books, even if they contain difficult words, worked better for me. If a book isn’t enjoyable, I quickly lose the motivation to continue, so keeping my interest was crucial.

In terms of finding words, I wanted to avoid getting discouraged by searching for unfamiliar terms. I used an electronic dictionary from high school, looking up words immediately when I encountered difficulties. While I didn’t keep a separate list of new words, repeatedly encountering and looking up the same words helped them stick in my memory.

Another strategy was to set achievable goals. Although it’s common advice, I often set overly ambitious goals and ended up failing repeatedly. Even small goals, when accomplished several times, provided enough of a sense of achievement.

I’m still uncertain how much this method will help improve my English reading skills, but the fact that I continue to read books is already satisfying enough.