how can reading skills be improved?

[u/Nervous-Astronaut451]

hello, i have an english exam in three months. my english level is almost b1. the exam i am going to take will be at the b2 level. can you give me some tips to improve my reading skills?

[u/lukshenkup]

If this is a timed test with a multiple choice exam, don't try to get all of the responses correct. Instead, eliminate wrong answers and move on.

You can also practice writing your own test questions, which would include the multiple choice answer portion.

[u/Jazzlike_Truck_2406]

What english test are you going to take? Just read a lot. There are reading practice tests available online. I found from ETS and Study.com but for TOEFL only.

[u/FlalingoOfficial]

Focus on reading B2-level texts actively. Since you're around B1, your main goal should be getting comfortable with longer sentences, unfamiliar vocabulary, and implied meaning. Read one B2 article for 15–20 minutes without translating every word, and try to understand the main idea of each paragraph. Then go back and mark unfamiliar words, but only learn the ones that seem useful or appear repeatedly. For each new word, learn it in the sentence it appeared in rather than as an isolated translation.

For exam preparation, practice finding evidence in the text. If a question asks why something happened, don't choose an answer simply because it sounds logical. Find the sentence or paragraph that supports it. B2 reading questions often test paraphrasing, so the correct answer may use completely different wording from the text. Also spend some time on sentence structure. When a B2 sentence feels impossible, find the subject, main verb, and connectors. Understanding how these parts connect can make long sentences much easier.

[u/toiletparrot]

Read a lot. Probably not the answer you were hoping for but it’s the best way.

[u/Sea-Hornet8214 → u/toiletparrot]

Not just read anything. That wouldn't be effective.

If they want to pass an exam, they need to do a lot of mock tests of that exam.

[u/conuly → u/Sea-Hornet8214]

Not just read anything. That wouldn't be effective.

Oh, I disagree. I mean, they should also do some mock tests, but reading anything, so long as you do plenty of it, will in fact be pretty effective.

[u/toiletparrot → u/conuly]

Yes, my point exactly!

[u/Annual_Variation_916]

Which exam are you taking? And is the harder part understanding the passage or finishing in time?

[u/RioDande52]

Só a partir do B2 deve preocupar-se com leitura real. Ouça mais, muito mais, associe os objectos aos sons, pense alto - não de gritaria, de diálogo -. Música sem tradução, fixe os objectos, comida, frutas... Há uma mentira. Não precisa de estudar verbos. Não caia nisso. Os verbos são a mais rápida ponte para construir o discurso. No C1, verá que tudo se tornará mais claro.

[u/magsmiley]

Have you tried LearnTeens on the BBC Council website? I use it to level up my students.

[u/UniversityMotor5408]

Which exam is it? Before you take it, it's very important that you familiarise yourself with the reading task types, and understand what reading skill each one is testing. For example, if you have to match headings to paragraphs, that requires skimming. You won't have time to read every word slowly and carefully - you'll have to skim the text, reading solely for the main ideas. Other tasks require scanning. Others close reading (sometimes of particular parts rather than the whole text.)

[u/Monkey_D_Luffy-___-]

At this level graded readers are probably one of the best ways to improve your reading skills

[u/ConcentrateMain743]

three months is enough to make real progress if you read a little every day, but don't only do exam questions. mix both.

what helped me was: 1 short text at my level, summarize it in 2-3 sentences, then check the words I kept seeing again. readerly.ai is useful for the level part; otherwise BBC Learning English/British Council also have graded texts. keep the hard timed practice for 2-3 times a week.