<p>When I read literary works and come across words I don’t know, I first try to guess the meaning of words by looking at the context. But most of the time, especially when reading very high-level, abstruse novels like Moby Dick and Decameron, this method fails and leaves me with an uncomfortable and irritable feeling, forcing me to look up all those words in the dictionary. But then, as I flip through the dictionary to learn new words, an hour goes by in a second; I end up reading only one or three pages in an hour, not covering the novel as much as I wanted to. What could be the solution to this? </p>
<p>I’ve sometimes seen annotated versions of literary classics that will note significant plot changes, phrases that may be unknown to modern readers, vocab, etc. You may be able to find these for the books you mentioned. They are more pricey, but could reduce your dictionary use. Also, using an online or handheld electronic dictionary is quicker than a bound one. It should get better in time as your vocabulary grows!</p>
<p>If you read near a computer, it’s a lot faster to type things into dictionary.com (or oed.com if your school has a subscription) than to physically look them up. I feel your pain - my English vocabulary is pretty good, but it takes me ages to get through readings for my French class because I have to look up every third word.</p>
<p>I don’t use the paper dictionary because of the same problem - I just use google, type define: and then the word. I have to do this almost every time Xiggi writes a post, or Dorothy Parker - there’s usually a word I don’t know. But it’s maddening when reading a book for relaxation - either at the beach, or before falling asleep, and there is no convenient computer nearby…</p>
<p>I have to admit I almost never look up words. I’ve just learn them from context. My mother writes the word down, or puts a paperclip next to the word and then looks it up later so her reading is less interrupted.</p>
<p>It’s true that it’s annoying to stop reading to look up a word. But generally, that’s what it takes to learn new vocabulary. And in this less-and-less literate day and age, it can be really fun to stop a room full of people with one word - a word they happen not to know. I used the word ‘emetic’ today to describe a particular advertisment we were discussing at work. Impressed my boss (and didn’t tell him, I just happened to have looked it up/learned it yesterday.)</p>
<p>I use dictionary.com or the “smarterchild” bot on AIM. I only do this for words I actually don’t know, which is pretty rare, or words I’m iffy about if it feels important in the story or context, which is more common. I do not look up words I’m iffy about as a rule, though–only when the word is important or I find myself wondering about it.</p>
<p>If your goal is to improve your grasp of English, then I would recommend (for now) reading less complex writing.</p>
<p>Think of a musical instrument. If I jump up many levels of difficulty in the music I choose to play, then I am going to have a problem. I might be able to get through the piece, but the process will be very slow and painful. I might be able, eventually, to get fairly decent at that particular piece, but the effort will be far out of proportion to the results obtained. And I won’t be able to play another, similar, piece, without another extraordinary effort–unless my general ability gets to a higher level.</p>
<p>For your purposes–day to day life in an English speaking country–imo first work on your conversational skills and knowledge of basic and medium-level English. Work at just slightly above whatever level you are at now. Then, gradually, move up to more complicated writing. </p>
<p>If you can only read two pages in an hour, when native speakers might read that same material in, say, five minutes or less, then imo whatever you are reading is too advanced for you at this time. Aim to get there gradually, imo, not instantly.</p>
<p>If you wish to read scientific articles and textbooks, as you mentioned in another thread, you could take a special effort to figure out what slows you down in that particular form of writing. Then, address those specific problems. If, for example, vocabulary is a problem, then make flash cards.</p>
<p>Any large bookstore should have a collection of handheld ‘thesaurus/dictionary’ machines. They are about the size of a calculator. My D has one (which she’s taken to school or I’d tell you the brand) which is just about as flat as a sheet of paper and as big as your palm, to double as a bookmark.</p>
<p>I feel for you…I have gotten time-lost in the jungle of words many times. Don’t forget to pack a lunch!</p>
<p>Two possible methods: First, write down the words and read for plot, not words. Then look up the words in one fell swoop afterwards. Second, go through in advance and underline the words you don’t know. Look them up. Learn them. Then read.</p>
<p>I use w-m.com–because you can press a button and hear the word besides read a definition of it. Knowing the meaning of a word is a great thing–but if you mispronounce it terribly in conversation…you bring the wrong kind of attention to yourself.</p>
<p>Actually, my D has a great system–she yells from the other room, “What does xxx mean?” And we’ll yell back, “I think it means yyyy. Does that work in your context?”</p>
<p>Keep up the looking up words in the dictionary, even if it takes longer to get through the material. It’s better to understand it than spend lots of time reading just to get to the end and have no idea what you just read.</p>
<p>Looking up words you don’t know is the only way to understand the material you are reading. Sorry no shortcuts!</p>
<p>I like the idea of highlighting the words you don’t know and then looking them up. Of course then you have to use them to keep them in your head.</p>