The meaning of intensive learning is to read and learn with full concentration and focus. It’s not about reading book after book or 10 articles a day. Even if you are reading a single line, you should try to understand what the words are expressing.
Intensive learning is one of the most critical skills you can develop to gain better understanding of knowledge. When you have to read a work report, for example, you can’t just read it and call it a day. You need to gain deeper understanding of what is written, explore the purpose and evaluate the results in order to be heard. Intensive reading will help you to deal with complex texts. You will be able to strengthen your reading comprehension, vocabulary and language skills.
How to Develop Intensive Reading Habit
Here are some ways to develop the habit of intensive reading.
1. Taking Notes
Try to taking notes for better understanding the reasons behind as you read. Perhaps you have a question related to the text or an idea that you want to convey. Taking notes is easy when reading a text and can be very helpful when reading a long report. Include sticky notes with questions, ideas and opinions so it can be shared. Not only will you be able to keep track but it will also give you something to focus on while reading.
2. Break Down the Reading Process
An effective in-depth reading strategy is to divide into three steps – before reading, studying and after reading. The first step is to prepare: use your existing knowledge to understand the purpose of the text. The second is a real learning process based on note writing. The final step is what comes after you have finished reading. This is where you summarize all the information, ask questions and put your thoughts in order.
3. Apply What You’ve Learnt
It is not enough to just keep your details and forget about it the next day. If you can find ways to use that information, you will be able to keep it for a long time. For example, if you are reading a report on achieving marketing goals, you can create notes to share later with your team. This may include points you should look for, marketing strategies, and other ideas that come up as you read.
Examples of Intensive Reading:
- Articles or editorials in magazines like The Economic and Political Weekly
- Blog posts on various topics ranging from science and technology to art and culture
- Short stories or poetry with layers of meaning
- Business reports packed with important information, numbers and data
- Analyzing statistical data like diagrams, images and tables
What is Extensive Reading ?
Extensive reading is a type of reading where you engage yourself with different types of reading material. It can be fiction, non-fiction, work-related documents, newspaper articles or even statistical data.
At work, there are complex business reports to read, numbers to make sense of and emails to write. With extensive reading, you can skim large amounts of text and get a general idea of what it’s trying to convey.
The meaning of extensive reading is reading widely but not necessarily focusing on only one text. You can read from different sources to develop your reading skills. It’s not about finding layers of meaning, grammar rules or other critical aspects of a text.
Extensive reading has been used for beginner-level language learners. It helps to familiarize them with reading material and build the cognitive ability to understand new words, frame sentences and make sense of the text as a complete unit. You’ll get a general understanding of the text and improve your language skills.
Whether you’re a beginner or a proficient reader, extensive reading will help you polish your reading ability. You can try to read as much and as widely as possible. It’s better not to restrict yourself to the same type of sources.
Few examples of extensive reading are newspapers, blogs and e-magazines.
Advantages of Extensive Reading
There are many advantages of extensive reading
1. Develop an Interest in Reading
Many of us find reading to be a chore; an activity that can put us to sleep for a second. But it may be impossible to avoid learning completely. If not for fun, we still have to learn work-related things like reports, minutes of meetings and emails. Learning more will help you to develop an interest in reading. You will be able to approach texts with more enthusiasm and attention.
2. Improve Reading Comprehension
You will find your reading comprehension greatly improved with practice. You will be able to make sense of the text right from the start. Sometimes it is difficult to focus on a sentence if it is too complicated. Learning more will help you to become familiar with the various types of text. In this way you can learn to focus on the text itself without compromising on its structure.
3. Read Widely
Start small and choose short articles and online blogs to improve the practice. Read a little every day, but make sure you read in all kinds. You can improve your learning speed, save time at work.
4. Improve Vocabulary
The more you learn from multiple sources, the better your chances of finding new words. In terms of vocabulary, the most important thing is the context – the place where each word is used. As you continue to read, you will be able to understand the meaning of various words and relate them to a common idea presented in the text.