Speaking of learning English, you ought to pay attention to Intensive and Extensive Reading, reaching a reasonable balance between them.
　　Intensive Reading
　　New Concept English is supposed to be used for intensive reading, no matter what you study: Book 1, 2, 3 or 4. In other words, you must understand anything and everything about the particular textbook you are studying. In terms of intensive reading, you should do the following:
　　a)Look up all the new words you do not know in a dictionary.
　　Normally, each word in English has multiple meanings which can only be defined in the context of a passage. In other words, there is only one meaning in a particular context of a paragraph. Please only try your very best to locate the very correct definition of a word that fits the article you are reading. Please do not put down all the definitions for a particular word from a dictionary, otherwise you will master none, just as an English saying goes Haste makes waste. Just learn one meaning of a word at a time. By doing so, you will grasp each meaning in a solid manner.
　　b)Fully understand the grammar.
　　You are supposed to understand all the grammar in each sentence in the passage no matter whether it is present/past tense, active/passive voice, third person singular/plural, etc., as well as why it is used that way.
　　c)Pay special attention to the phrases.
　　Phrases generally have special meanings. Word by word explanations do not shed light on the meanings of these phrases. Take One night, however, our vicar woke up with a start: the clock was striking the hours! in Lesson 2 of New Concept English Book 3 for example, the phrase woke up with a start means woke up in surprise .
　　d)Copy the words, phrases, sentence structures, etc.
　　Apply what you have learned in the text to your daily life to improve your English in terms of both speaking and writing. If you keep doing so, this usage will become second nature.
　　Intensive reading only is not enough in the same way that a main course should go with an appetizer. In this case, intensive reading is a main course and extensive reading is an appetizer. It will be perfect when they go together.
　　In regards to extensive reading, you ought to do the following:
　　a)Watch English movies/TV programs, read newspapers/magazines/novels, etc.
　　Talking about extensive reading, speed is essential. You try to cover as much as possible in as little time as possible. You simply scan the materials you read. You do not have to understand everything, just rough ideas. Keep in mind, while watching English movies and reading English materials, the 5 W and 1 H : Who, When, Where, What, Why, and How in order to absorb as much as possible.
　　b) Do not look up all the new words/phrases in a dictionary!
　　If you do so, you will never finish anything, and it will take forever for you to finish a novel. The best bet, therefore, is that you look up a word in a dictionary only after you have come across it three times without picking up the meaning of it.
　　Being a perfectionist, I used to look up all the new words in a dictionary during extensive reading, but I would wind up getting stuck half way through, unable to finish a novel. I have figured it out the hard way.
　　When you are a beginner, you will have more intensive reading than extensive reading, but with the passage of time when your English is getting more and more familiar, you will spend more time on extensive reading than intensive reading.
　　Intensive reading is focused on quality whereas extensive reading is concentrated on quantity. With the combination of both, your English skills will develop rapidly.
 
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