The two most important of reading styles are known as Intensive Reading and Extensive Reading.

If
you learn to master the what, how, and why of these two manners of reading, you will have two
extremely powerful tools in your language learning arsenal, which will fuel your ability to acquire
vocabulary indefinitely.

Intensive Reading

To read intensively is to completely deconstruct a text, with the goal of absorbing as much meaning
from it as possible. This is done by taking a text, and systematically looking up every word, phrase, or
collocation that you do not understand.

This is an activity that requires great mental effort and focus. Because of this, the learner who engages
in intensive reading must be careful to follow specific guidelines, or else risk boredom and burnout.
Specifically, if you wish to read a text intensively, you must take care to read texts that
are interesting and short, to read only for brief periods of time, and to do so when you have the most
mental energy.

Let's explore these concepts:

● Texts for intensive reading must be interesting, because if you do not enjoy what you read, you
will quickly forget the content, and have more mental resistance to the intensive reading
process.

● Texts for intensive reading must be short, because the end goal is to understand the text down
to the most minute detail. The longer a text is, the more laborious it is to complete such a deep
analysis, so it is better to stick to shorter texts in order to avoid mental exhaustion.

Ideal learning materials for intensive reading include:

● News articles

● Wikipedia articles

● Short stories

● Blog posts

● You must intensively read for brief periods of time specifically to avoid the mental exhaustion
that is described above. It takes much focus and effort to go from zero (or partial)
understanding of a text to complete understanding, so it is best to limit intensive reading
sessions to 30-35 minutes maximum.

● You must intensively read only when you have the most mental energy, in order to further
boost your capacity for learning, and to reduce the risk of mental exhaustion that comes with
 deep analysis of even the shortest texts. Of course, mental energy levels fluctuate throughout
the day—and even differ greatly from person to person—so exactly you should intensively read
is something you need to determine for yourself.

Extensive Reading

To read extensively is to simply read as much as possible, without concerning oneself with the minutia
of meaning and the occasional unknown word. This is done by reading for large swaths of time, and
looking up words only when you deem it absolutely necessary to your understanding of the text.

If the text you wish to extensively read is at the appropriate level, you'll find that most unknown
words can be deciphered by looking at their surrounding context, making overt use of translations or
dictionaries unnecessary.

While intensive reading requires a high level of focus and deliberate effort, extensive reading is meant
to be a fun and pleasurable experience, requiring a low expenditure of mental effort. The more
extensive reading you do, the more language you are exposed to, allowing you to increase your passive
knowledge of vocabulary quite quickly.

Specifically, if you wish to read a text extensively, you must read texts that are interesting, level-
appropriate, of moderate length, to read when you can dedicate longer blocks of time, and to do so
when you are relaxed.

Let's explore each of these aspects of extensive reading in deeper detail:

● As in intensive reading, texts for extensive reading must be interesting. Since extensive reading
is done for longer periods of time, you must take care to select texts that hold your attention,
and keep you coming back for more, hour after hour.

● Texts for extensive reading must be level-appropriate. Since you will not be attempting to
understand every single word and phrase (as in intensive reading), you must be able to
understand a high-percentage of a text before you even begin. The goal is to absorb unknown
words through context; therefore, if you don't understand the bulk of the context, the text is
not yet appropriate for you to read extensively.

● Texts for extensive reading must be of moderate length. Specifically, a text should be, on
average at least 15-30 pages long. Texts of this length are long enough to fully develop an idea
or narrative, and require you to keep mental "track" of ideas, concepts or characters as they
develop over time.

Ideal learning materials for extensive reading include:

 ● Graded Readers

● Online Platforms such as LingQ (affiliate)

● Bilingual & Interlinear Books (affiliate)

● Monolingual (Native) Books

● Magazines

● Comic Books

● Extensive reading must be done for longer blocks of time when compared to intensive reading.
This is because you will be reading longer texts, which naturally require more time to read,
and because sitting down to read for longer periods allow you to get into the "flow" of reading,
and therefore mentally process the material more deeply. When aiming to extensively read a
text, it is best to do so for sessions of an hour or more.

● When extensively reading, it is best to stay relaxed. Reading in a relaxed, low-stress

environment will help you associate reading with pleasure, and therefore increase your
willingness to read more often, and for longer periods. Clearly, you don't want to be so relaxed
that you fall asleep, but instead just relaxed enough that you feel comfortable, and willing to
absorb whatever you're reading.

SENTENCE PATTERN :

In English, our sentences usually operate using a similar pattern: subject, verb, then object. The nice
part about this type of structure is that it lets your reader easily know who is doing the action and
what the outcome of the action is. A subject performs the action in a sentence.

Easy way To identify the sentence pattern

• The subject shows who or what is doing the action. It is always some form of noun or pronoun.

• The verb shows the action or the state of being. It can be an action verb, like “run,” or a state verb,
like “seem.”

To analyze sentence structure effectively, focus on identifying key elements such as subject, verb,
object, and modifiers. Pay attention to sentence length, variety, and punctuation. Break down
complex sentences into clauses and phrases, and consider how they contribute to the overall meaning.
Some Basic Sentence Structures

In English, the basic sentence structures are:

Subject-verb-object (SVO): Here, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb on the
object.

Example: Sarah (subject) loves (verb) ice cream (object).

Subject-verb (SV): The structure consists of just a subject and a verb without an object.

Example: The bird (subject) sings (verb).

Subject-verb-adverb (SVA): The structure adds an adverb to provide more information about the
action.

Example: She (subject) sings (verb) beautifully (adverb).

Subject-verb-indirect object-direct object (SVIDO): in this structure, there is a verb, an indirect

object, and a direct object. The indirect object receives the direct object.

Example: He (subject) gave (verb) his sister (indirect object) a book (direct object).

The arrangement of these elements within a sentence is crucial in determining its clarity, coherence,
and overall meaning. Teaching these different types of sentences acquaints a child with different kinds
of sentence structures, thereby improving their language proficiency.

an object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb or the direction of a
preposition. Objects can be direct or indirect:

• Direct object

The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. It answers the question "what" or "whom"
about the verb. For example, in the sentence "The students eat cake," the direct object is "cake".

• Indirect object
The noun that receives the action for whom or to whom the action is performed. For example, in the
sentence "Give the book to me," "book" is the direct object and "me" is the indirect object.

To find the object in a sentence, look for the noun or pronoun that comes after the verb. However, not
every sentence needs an object, as in the sentence "He ran".

Here are some examples of sentence patterns and their answers:

• Subject + Verb: The chef cooked.

• Adjective + Subject + Verb: The creative chef cooked.

• Adjective + Subject + Adverb + Verb: The creative chef methodically cooked.

• Adjective + Subject + Adverb + Verb + Prepositional Phrase: The creative chef methodically cooked
in the kitchen.

• SVO: The cat chased the mouse.

• SVC: She is a doctor

In English grammar, an indirect object is the word or phrase that receives the direct object. In the
sentence The teacher gave the students cake, the indirect object is the students. The direct object is
cake, and the students are the ones who eat it.

• Complements

A complement is required to complete the meaning of the verb. For example, in the sentence "He put
the cake in the oven", the complement "in the oven" is necessary to complete the meaning of the verb
"put".

• Adjuncts

Adjuncts (a) are some times called adverbials. An adjunct is a phrase which is not necessary to the
structure of the clause, but which adds some extra meaning to it. In the sentence They waited outside
for ages, the phrases outside and for ages add extra meaning to waited. They tell us where, and for
how long, the people waited.

Adjunct of Place: An adjunct of place tells us where something happens. It can be a single word, a
phrase, or a clause. Some examples of adjuncts of place are:

Single words: here, there, above, below, inside, outside, near, far

Phrases: in the house, at the park, on the table, under the bed

Adjunct of Time: An adjunct of time tells us when something happens. It can be a single word, a
phrase, or a clause. Some examples of adjuncts of time are:

Single words: now, then, yesterday, tomorrow, today, soon, later

Phrases: at night, in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, on Monday, in December

Clauses: when I was young, when the sun was shining, after the rain

Sentence Pattern - Exercise

Identify the pattern of the following sentence :

1.She/ will come - SV

2.She became a teacher- SVC

3.One of the boys / must go - SV

4.I wish you Happy new year -

SV IO DO

5. It is dark everywhere-
SVCA
6.I am a programmer in this company
SVCA
7.He / always / dresses / neatly
SAVA
8.He / gave / the book / to him
SV DO IO

9.The sun / shines

SV
10.I / met / his friend / yesterday
SVOA
11.They / gave / me / tea
SV IO DO

12.They / gave / a pen / to him

SV DO IO

13.He/ irons/ his shirt

SVO

14.This morning / at seven / I / heard / a sound

AASVO

15.Sit / here
VA

16.My grandfather/ told/ me/ a story

SV IO DO

17.Mary/ cooks /deliciously

SVA

18.I /gave/ her /a doll

SV IO DO

Flow chart : Symbols and their meaning

1. Oval/Pill (Terminal symbol)- Its function is to provide a visual reference of the start or
end of a flowchart.
 To make sure readers understand the start and endpoint correctly, you should verbally
communicate “Start” and “End”.

2. Rectangle (Process symbol)

● A rectangle is used to highlight each specific task or action within a process.

● Also known as the process symbol, the rectangle is fundamental to mapping out the sequence
of actions or operations that take place from the start to the end of a process.

3. Diamond (Decision symbol)

● A diamond or a rhombus highlights a decision point in a flowchart and hence is also known as
the decision symbol.
● Diamonds are usually present when there is a conditional statement such as a “Yes” or “No” or
“True” or “False” question.
4. Parallelogram (Input/output symbol)
A parallelogram in flowchart represents both input and output processes within a system.
This means it marks the point in a process where a user has to enter data into a system, such as
an online shopper entering their name, address, and payment details, into the system.
5. Arrow - An arrow usually connects two rectangles, parallelograms or diamond symbols to
highlight a sequence flow between the two.
The sole purpose of arrows is to provide visual direction to your flowchart.
6. Document symbol
The document symbol looks like a rectangle with a wavy line below it.
Its design is intended to resemble a piece of paper which is also a hint of its function to indicate
a point in the workflow where documentation is integral to the process.
The document symbol is particularly useful for administrative procedures, quality assurance
protocols, or any process where record-keeping and documentation is key.
7. Preparation Symbol –
The preparation symbol is a six point polygon shape (some also refer to it as a rectangle with
pointy bits).
The symbol is used to indicate a step where you need to gather resources or engage in specific
tasks to ensure a smooth transition into a workflow.
The preparation symbol alerts users to the fact that certain conditions must be met before they
can move forward.

8. Merge symbol –
The merge symbol is represented by a triangle and is used to combine two or more lists into a
single flow.
The merge symbol is a way to communicate the coming together of multiple inputs or
sequences.
9. Delay symbol –
The delay symbol has the appearance of an elongated semi-circle.
It’s used to mark points where delays or waiting periods are expected within a process
For example, in a manufacturing workflow, this symbol might indicate a cooling period
required after a product has been heated.
10. Data storage or stored data symbol –
The stored data symbol appears as a curved piece of paper and is used in programming
flowcharts.
It’s used to denote where data is stored outside of the immediate processing environment.
This symbol illustrates the interaction between the process and external data storage facilities,
such as databases, file systems, or cloud storage services.
11. Database symbol- The database symbol resembles a stack of cylinders and indicates the
involvement of a database in the process.
This symbol in flowcharts showing data-intensive processes, such as querying information,
updating records, or performing transactions within a database.