Are you a fan of science fiction and fantasy books? These genres are not only very entertaining but can also help you improve your English skills. You can enhance your language proficiency by reading books with captivating storytelling, unique vocabulary and imaginative concepts.
Following on from 9 great novels to help improve your English, we've gathered a list of great sci-fi and fantasy books that will transport you to amazing worlds and improve your language skills.
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This is an excellent option if you're searching for a classic sci-fi novel. This exciting book can help improve your vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing skills, critical thinking, and understanding of cultural and historical contexts. The exciting story of Martian invaders will captivate you, showcasing creative storytelling and making you appreciate the English language.
A captivating novel for young adults that combines science fiction and fantasy, featuring time travel and otherworldly adventures. L'Engle's writing style is straightforward, making it an ideal choice for those learning English. Explore its fascinating themes and vivid imagery to improve your language skills.
If you want a gripping sci-fi book about war, leadership and morals, try reading 'Ender's Game'. This book has it all, from thrilling action sequences to intriguing characters, and provides ample food for thought. Additionally, immersing yourself in this book can enhance your English language skills, expand your vocabulary and hone your critical thinking abilities.
This well-known magical world needs no introduction. The Harry Potter series follows a young wizard on his adventure through a fantastical realm of spells, friendship and excitement. The language is simple, the story is engaging and the characters are lively. This makes it perfect for English learners wanting to improve and pick up an easy-to-read novel.
An excellent choice for English learners seeking an insightful and challenging read. This science fiction novel can enhance your English vocabulary, reading comprehension, critical thinking and analysis skills.ÌýThe text explores various writing styles and techniques, while also exploring cultural and social themes that can challenge your perception of reality and the world. ‘Ubik’ offers a thought-provoking and mind-bending experience for those willing to explore its depths.
For an entertaining and light-hearted read, check out Douglas Adams' ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’. It's a science fiction series that uses humor, satire and adventure to tell its story. Adams' clever writing, wordplay and humor make it a fun way to explore the English language with a lighter touch.
For those seeking a challenge this is a classic example of the fantasy genre. This book takes readers on an exciting journey through Middle-earth, complete with intricate world-building, vivid descriptions and unique characters. Read it to improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills while immersing yourself in a timeless story of good versus evil.
Want something set on earth and with historical references? '11/22/63' is a sci-fi book that mixes time travel and history, making it a great read for English learners who are interested in modern history. This book introduces readers to a range of new vocabulary, helps improve reading comprehension and exposes the reader to the book's setting of 60's America.
If you’re looking for an immersive reading experience, check out Christopher Paolini's 'The Inheritance Cycle' series of books. This young adult fantasy series helps readers learn new words, understand stories better, follow character growth and enjoy detailed world creation. As you follow Eragon's story, you'll learn about writing techniques and the magic of storytelling in epic proportions.
Sci-fi and fantasy books take you to new worlds and enhance language skills with complex ideas and varied vocabulary. It can also help with understanding English pop culture references too. Try these books and let your English ability soar to new and unexplored heights.
When you’re teaching English to young learners, you might find that there are a few students in your class who are struggling. But sometimes it can be hard to tell why. Is it because their language level is low? Or are they finding classroom work difficult because of a general cognitive difference, like dyslexia?Ìý
Taking English exams can be intimidating and challenging. Everyone has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and it's common to make the same kinds of mistakes in an exam.
It’s possible to make use of this though, and improve your English from the mistakes you make. Today in our language learning blog, we discuss how we can use exam errors to perfect and improve your English.
Firstly, you want to establish what your weak and strong points are. Write these down somewhere each time and build up a record. It's essential to take note of the mistakes you make and try to see if there's a pattern.
Perhaps mistakes happen on:
These are only a few examples, but recognizing patterns or similarities can help you focus on areas that need improvement or extra attention.
Making mistakes in an exam can really impact a person's confidence, but if you can, look back and rationalize why that mistake was made. It can help your confidence in the future. Sometimes mistakes are made just because of a misinterpretation, perhaps a question wasn’t read correctly, and you realize you knew the answer after all.
Remember, the situation of being in an exam can be stressful and you may not think or respond in the way you normally would outside of the exam room, so don't be too hard on yourself.
Mistakes happen in the real world every day, and being able to look back at them and examine them critically is a valuable skill.
As we’ve already mentioned, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. It can be a great idea to compare your mistakes with others; they may be making the same ones.
You can team up and try to tackle them together, or you may know someone whose strength is in your weak areas (and vice versa). It's helpful to team up and help each other. They might have some handy tips and techniques for you to try.
It's good to switch up techniques at times and your errors might be giving you some guidance on doing so. If you tend to make errors with your spoken English, consider study techniques that work on that – like using recall or incorporating music to strengthen your speech.
Perhaps memory is an issue, so using tools like flashcards can help you. Some techniques focus on and help improve some areas more than others, so there isn’t one solution for all. Make sure to experiment and see what works for you.
Perhaps an obvious one, but just repeating and practicing the questions/tasks you’ve gotten wrong in the exam is a good approach. By doing it over and over again, with some persistence, it ends up being retained in your long-term memory.
You may want to study variations of the questions you struggle with, as exams tend to alter their questions and you don’t want to be thrown off in an exam if they reword/change the question slightly.
The next time you review your exam results, remember these steps, look for patterns, examine your thought process and don’t be afraid to ask others for help. With enough practice, those errors should be things of the past.
In the era of the Great Resignation, there are lots of factors that influence whether or not someone chooses to stay with their company or decides to accept a job offer from a new employer.
Whilst fair pay remains a constant in this, feeling included, valued, and cared about by colleagues plays a significant role in the decision on whether to stay or go.
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