B2 Reading: Language Learning Techniques that Work (Upper-Intermediate English)
- Alex
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Download the three-page PDF for self-study or for ESL classroom use.
B2 Upper-Intermediate English Reading Practice: Language Learning Techniques that Work
Learning a new language is an up-and-down journey. Some days, you're on top of the world; other days, you're at the bottom of the ocean. On your worst days, you grow frustrated and wonder, "Am I actually making any progress?" On those days, you ask yourself, "What's the best way to learn this?" and reflect on what has failed before:
Downloading apps but not keeping up with them.
Watching movies but not understanding them.
Doing countless grammar exercises but still being shy to speak.
The truth is, not all language learning techniques are created equal. The good news? There are proven techniques that can get you where you want to be. However, before we zoom in on the details, let's keep the big picture in mind: Language learning requires consistent engagement. This means interacting with it on a regular basis, and activating your listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills, even without a speaking partner.
Now, let's look at some techniques to help activate and improve those skills.
Shadowing
Shadowing means repeating audio input as you hear it. It's a technique that can be done with videos, podcasts, and any other video or audio media. The benefits of shadowing are substantial, though hard-won. The truth is, while the positive effects of shadowing are great, the road to those effects is a humbling one. Notably, shadowing forces you to accept that perfecting your pronunciation and intonation is no easy feat, as you realize that you must learn new mouth and tongue positions, and speech patterns. Fortunately, with regular practice, your speaking and listening comprehension skills do improve, and shadowing becomes an indispensable technique in your tool kit, especially at lower levels.
Reading Out Loud
A 2017 University of Waterloo study found that reading out loud leads to stronger long-term information retention than silent reading. One of the co-authors of the study stated, "This study confirms that learning and memory benefit from active involvement." Called "the production effect," the engagement of multiple faculties—specifically speaking and hearing oneself speak—leads to a significant boost in memory. For language learners, the benefits go beyond this, as you also practice your pronunciation and build up your speaking confidence. Just like shadowing, you engage with the language proactively and more easily internalize its patterns.
Interleaving
Interleaving is a holistic learning technique that promotes activating multiple skills during a single study session. To illustrate, during a thirty-minute study session, a language learner would change activities every five to ten minutes—going from a gap-fill grammar exercise, to a listening exercise, to reading out loud, and then to writing. As you can imagine, just as reading out loud yields benefits by activating multiple faculties, interleaving helps learners make stronger connections and develop their skills more broadly by not just relying on one technique or practice type. The opposite of interleaving is blocking, which encourages a learner to study one skill during a study session. While this also has benefits, research consistently favours interleaving over blocking in terms of retention and overall language skills development.
Final Points
Knowing the effectiveness of techniques and applying them consistently are two different things. Above all, if you want to learn a language, you need consistent engagement with that language. This means receiving regular input and actively engaging with what you read and hear. It is also important to note that even with these techniques, learners should strive to receive comprehensible input. This means they should listen to and read language they can actually understand. Luckily for English learners in particular, there are innumerable websites that have graded reading and listening exercises for this purpose.
Finally, if you are learning a language, do your best to be consistent, but don't be overly critical of yourself if you don't study for thirty minutes every day. Remember, some days are going to be motivating. Other days are going to be frustrating. The most important thing is to keep getting up and doing something—anything—the next day.
References
Analyzing the effectiveness of shadowing techniques for improving pronunciation in English as a Foreign Language students
Study finds reading information aloud to yourself improves memory
The effects of interleaving and rest on L2 vocabulary learning
The underappreciated benefits of interleaving for category learning
Comprehension Questions
Are some language learning techniques more effective than others?
a) Yes.
b) No.
c) Not stated.
A synonym for consistent engagement is _______________.
a) frequent movement
b) regular involvement
c) habitual speaking
If something is hard-won, it requires a lot of _______________.
a) effort
b) losing
c) motivation
Based on the article, what is an example of a humbling language learning experience?
a) Giving a presentation.
b) Copying an actor's speech.
c) Listening to the radio.
If something is no easy feat, it is not easily _______________.
a) done
b) played
c) copied
What do shadowing and reading out loud have in common?
a) Proactive engagement.
b) Blocking.
c) Writing skills.
Focusing on one skill or activity type during a study session is called _______________.
a) interleaving
b) blocking
c) shadowing
What is more effective for global language skills development?
a) blocking
b) shadowing
c) interleaving
According to the conclusion, the internet makes it easier for English learners to find _______________.
a) techniques
b) shadowing materials
c) comprehensible input
To learn a language, you must _______________ with it regularly.
a) speak
b) engage
c) learn
Answers
a
b
a
b
a
a
b
c
c
b
This B2 English reading is ideal for upper-intermediate/pre-advanced learners who can talk easily about everyday topics, as well as a variety of social issues. They are independent learners who can use most tenses with consistent accuracy and have a high level of fluency with almost no hesitation when connecting ideas, but they need more exposure to authentic English materials to boost their knowledge of idioms and cultural references. This text in particular is longer than many B2 texts, and is rich with language that would be appropriate for an academic English course, or for a test preparation course.
Read the text and answer the comprehension questions. You can also listen to the audio to practice your listening and speaking skills.
For Teachers
You can follow up this reading by asking students these questions:
Which language learning techniques do you use?
Has one technique helped you more than others?
What has been your biggest language learning challenge?
Do you know anyone who started learning a language but stopped? What happened?
Extra Reading
Social Media and Mental Health: Are You Addicted to Social Media?
Teens and social media use: What's the impact?
English Reading Practice
Note: This text was written by Alex, a human. It was not generated by AI.
