Reading helps you progress in a foreign language on two conditions: you read a lot, and you read texts you understand. Several methods can get you there, from novels in the original to bilingual books, and each one suits a different stage of learning.
Here is why reading works, what the main methods are and where each one falls short, followed by the layouts available in Polyglot Publishing's bilingual books.
Why reading works
A language sticks when you meet it in sentences whose meaning you can grasp. The linguist Stephen Krashen calls this “comprehensible input”: a text slightly above your current level, yet clear enough to follow. A word seen once is soon forgotten; met again in different sentences, it gradually takes on its meaning and eventually stays.
Reading can be used in two ways. Intensive reading takes a short passage apart word by word, grammar included. Extensive reading means reading a lot, without stopping, to follow the story. The second provides the volume: thousands of encounters with the same words and the same turns of phrase.
Everything hinges on the comprehension threshold. According to a study by Hu and Nation (2000), a story can be understood without help when you know about 98% of its words, or one unknown word in fifty. Below that, reading turns into decoding. The methods that follow are all ways of staying above that threshold: simplifying the text, explaining it, or keeping the translation within sight.
Reading methods for learning a language
None of them suits everyone or every stage; many readers move from one to another as the language comes.
The novel in the original, with a dictionary
How it works
You read the author's own text and look up the words you don't know.
Who it suits
Readers who already understand almost every word on a page.
Its limits
Below that level, every look-up breaks the thread, and the dictionary offers several meanings without saying which one fits.
Graded or adapted readers
How it works
Texts rewritten with a limited vocabulary and simplified grammar, in levels of increasing difficulty.
Who it suits
Beginners who want to start reading early, entirely in the language they are learning.
Its limits
The text is no longer the author's, the choice of titles is narrow, and you have to switch books at every level.
Parallel texts in two columns
How it works
The original and its translation side by side, in two columns or across a double-page spread, matched paragraph by paragraph.
Who it suits
Readers who mostly read in the language they are learning and check a passage now and then.
Its limits
Finding the matching sentence means searching the other column, all the more so as the two texts are not the same length.
Synced line-by-line text
How it works
The translation just below each line, like subtitles, synchronised.
Who it suits
Readers who want to read a real book while the language still resists them, or to compare the two texts closely.
Its limits
The page is denser, set in a typeface where every letter has the same width, and the eye may be tempted to read only the translation.
Word-for-word interlinear
How it works
Under each word of the original, its literal translation, sometimes with its grammatical function.
Who it suits
The study of ancient languages and the close analysis of a text.
Its limits
The string of translated words does not form a natural sentence: you analyse more than you read.
The audiobook with the text
How it works
You listen to a chapter while following the text with your eyes, then reread it on your own. Many public-domain classics are available as free recordings.
Who it suits
Learners who want to train their ear, their pronunciation and their sense of rhythm.
Its limits
The pace is set for you, and without a translation the meaning can slip away.
App-assisted reading
How it works
A text on screen where you tap a word to see its translation, often with a list of words to review.
Who it suits
People who read on screen and want to keep track of their vocabulary.
Its limits
Every tap interrupts your reading, and a word translated on its own can mislead once it is taken out of its sentence.
What a line-by-line page looks like
Read an excerpt
Display mode
Preview:
The translation follows the meaning of the line, not the order of the words: that is what sets line-by-line apart from interlinear. Under each line, you read a natural sentence in your own language.
The layouts of Polyglot Publishing's books
Every book in the catalogue can be ordered in any pair drawn from the 44 languages, in whichever order you choose, and in several layouts. You choose the layout on the book's page, before buying; the “Read an excerpt” button shows real pages.
Line-by-line and column-by-column align the letters on a grid: they are offered for Latin, Cyrillic and Greek scripts, as well as for Chinese, Japanese and Korean. For Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali, the book's page offers double column and paragraph by paragraph, among others.
Line-by-line synced
On the page
Each line in the language you are learning, with the translation just below in italics, like subtitles, synchronised segment by segment.
When to choose it
For reading a whole book while the language still resists you.
Formats
Digital (PDF) and print
Column-by-column synced
On the page
The same pairing, but the translation sits in the next column, level with its line.
When to choose it
For following the original closely without the translation slipping in between its lines.
Formats
Digital (PDF, pages at least 9 cm wide) and print
Double column
On the page
Two columns, the language you are learning on one side and yours on the other, matched paragraph by paragraph.
When to choose it
For reading mostly in the language you are learning and checking only the occasional passage.
Formats
Digital (PDF) and print
Double column with colour
On the page
The double column, with each paragraph in the same colour in both columns.
When to choose it
When the translation is noticeably longer than the original and the columns drift apart.
Formats
Digital (PDF) only
Paragraph by paragraph
On the page
A paragraph in the language you are learning, followed by the same paragraph in yours.
When to choose it
When the language is starting to come: you read the whole paragraph, then check.
Formats
Digital (PDF and EPUB) and print
Continuous alternation
On the page
A single continuous text, with no columns: each passage is followed by its translation in italics.
When to choose it
For a page close to an ordinary book, skipping the italics once you no longer need them.
Formats
Digital (PDF) and print
Progressive immersion
On the page
Each passage is printed only once, in a single language: one fifth of the text is in the language you are learning at the start, four fifths by the end.
When to choose it
For reading without a translation in front of you, gliding little by little from one language to the other.
Formats
Digital (PDF)
Trilingual line-by-line
On the page
Three languages aligned line by line.
When to choose it
For learning two languages at once, or for leaning on a language you already read.
Formats
Digital (PDF) on the website; a few titles in print on Amazon
The text alone, in the language you are learning; difficult words are underlined with dots or numbered, and their meaning is given in the margin, in your language.
When to choose it
When you understand almost everything and only want help with rare words.
Formats
Digital (PDF), depending on the book
Monolingual
On the page
The text in a single language, with no translation.
When to choose it
For rereading, without help, a book you have already read in bilingual form. It is the least expensive edition.
Formats
Digital (PDF and EPUB) and print
The PDF can be downloaded in eight page sizes, from phone to computer by way of e-readers; the EPUB, whose text reflows on any e-reader, is available in paragraph by paragraph and monolingual.
The print book is a square paperback, 21.6 × 21.6 cm, printed to order and shipped to your door.
How to read a bilingual book, step by step
Open the book's excerpt in two or three layouts and keep the one in which you read most naturally.
Read in the language you are learning first. Only turn to the translation when a passage stops you, then go straight back.
Don't look up every unknown word: if it matters, it will come back, and the context will make it clear.
A few pages every day are better than one long session a week.
Write little down: a few words or phrases per session, the ones that keep coming back.
Reread a chapter a few weeks later: you will look at the translation far less, and that is the truest measure of your progress.
When you hardly need the translation any more, change layouts: from line-by-line to paragraph by paragraph, then progressive immersion or monolingual.
To start, pick a short book: a tale, a short story, a brief novel. A story you already know, from a film or in your own language, leaves all your attention free for the language.
Each book's page shows the difficulty of the original text and the number of pages. Very old language takes more effort than a 19th-century narrative.
Above all, choose a book you want to read: that is what will make you open it again the next day.
Frequently asked questions
What is a line-by-line bilingual book?
A book in which the translation sits just below each line of the original, like subtitles, synchronised. You read in the language you are learning and drop down a line when a passage escapes you.
Double column or line-by-line?
Line-by-line helps more while the language still resists you, since the translation of each line is right below it. Double column gives the language you are learning more room and suits readers who only check the occasional passage; it is also the layout used for right-to-left scripts.
Can you learn a language just by reading?
Reading mainly builds comprehension and vocabulary. Speaking and writing also take practice, but a regular reader comes to them with far more words to draw on.
Do I need to know the language well already?
No. With a few basics, line-by-line lets you read a real book very early on; the more you progress, the less you look at the translation.
Can I read these books on an e-reader?
Yes: the PDF comes in three e-reader sizes, and paragraph by paragraph and monolingual are also available as EPUB.
Can any languages be combined?
Yes, any two of the 44 languages, in either direction. Only the layouts on offer depend on the scripts involved.
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