Useful if adapted to read literature in English?

Is it worth it to read the adapted literature in English, or to start with the original? On the Internet, a lot of opinions are on this subject, so we decided to give you a simple and clear answer, based on the experience of our English teaching experience.

When you open the book, you open your mind (new knowledge).

In this article, we will describe in detail about whether to read adapted literature in any level of knowledge and whether you want to use a dictionary while reading or not.

Who should read adapted literature ?

We will not torment you, everyone has to read uusefuladapted texts at appropriate level. There is a myth that the adapted literature is a "pale face" and  "dry exposition" of the original work. In fact it is not. Indeed, these books contain less idioms, less complex metaphors, similes and vivid specific terms.However, the story remains the same, and the benefits of reading is not reduced!

Some people believe that it is necessary to start with reading books in the original, even if you're just starting to learn English. In most cases, it is advised to read fairy tales, children's stories. However, we wish to note that the literature for children can contain a fairly large amount of vocabulary is not very necessary for everyday communication (all the "princess", "fairy", "magic wands" can never come in handy).

And if you start with the classics? Non-adapted works of William Shakespeare are sometimes hard to understand even with the level of Upper-Intermediate . Oh, there are so many unused English archaisms.

I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.

Spike Milligan

Read contemporaries? Well, it is useful, interesting, but hardly any Beginner and Pre-Intermediate student will be delighted at the prospect of diving in the dictionary to find every third or fourth word. A man may dislike reading in English, or even worse - to abandon the idea of language learning in general. According to our teachers, the optimal number of unfamiliar vocabulary in the text is around about 5-15%. With this amount of unfamiliar words you can guess the meaning of most of context, but it is much more useful and interesting than the endless immersion in the dictionary. In addition, the reading of this text will not be difficult, you will understand what is at stake, and you can get a real pleasure to work with the book.

Therefore, we recommend buying a specially adapted literature. Please note, usually on the book indicates what level of knowledge it corresponds. However, we recommend you to view many pages to finally make sure that it suits you. There is a little secret that they know some fans of the books: do not view the first page, look in the middle - in the middle of the product, you will see the true level of sophistication and style of the author. Usually, the first few pages, even adapted text books are little more complicated in start than in the middle.

Adapted publications have several advantages

1. In the adapted texts are usually used most frequently used words. That is why it is called as "adaptation": rarely used complex vocabulary is replaced by a simple and frequently used vocabulary of native speakers.
2. Often at the end of the book is a glossary. You do not need to search for additional manuals.
3. After reading the chapter you are invited to perform several tasks: you are free to check how well you understand the meaning of reading. Usually you need to answer questions about the content, analyze the actions of the main character, and so on. We recommend to perform such tasks aloud at the same time so you excel in oral communication skills too.
4. Excellent understanding of the text motivates further study of the English language.

When can I refuse to read the adapted literature?

If you have reached the level of Intermediate , you can try to read the original texts. However, do not rush to seize gladly "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee or "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. Start with books with a simpler vocabulary, such as the romantic saga "Twilight", trendy "Hunger games" or the popular "Harry Potter". Lovers of literature are more serious, you can start with short stories of Hemingway or Maugham, and try to read Stephen King. The plot is probably familiar to you, not so many flowery phrases are readily enjoyable.

A home without books is a body without soul.

Cicero

How often should you look in the dictionary?

You've probably heard more than once that when reading guess the meaning of words out of context and work less with the dictionary. Sometimes, however, you can not do without a dictionary, for example, in such situations:

1. Word plays an important role in the proposal and has the primary meaning, and you can not guess its meaning from the context, you have several choices. In this case, of course you are supposed to look in the dictionary, so as not to lose the thread of the argument of the author.
2. The words which are often found in the text. From this we can conclude that it may often used colloquially speakers. In this case, it is better not to guess, and find out the exact meaning of the word and enrich their vocabulary.

We hope that our article has interested you, and you will be happy to dive into the world of fiction in English. Happy reading!