Books to read for English Language learners
Sometimes you can’t beat a good book. English language learners can find it difficult to find a perfect book written in English. The ideal book for most of our students are books that are written for adults, with clear and not too difficult to understand , high quality and well-known.
With these criteria in mind, here’s a short list of novels to get you into authentic reading in English, all of which have been suggested by teachers here at ACET.
1. Animal Farm – George Orwell
This allegorical short novel from 1945 has vivid imagery and is very thought-provoking. It is a favourite among school curricula as it is short, easy to read but is extremely relevant to modern politics and the world we live in.
Sample:
“It was a bitter winter. The stormy weather was followed by sleet and snow, and then by a hard frost which did not break till well into February. The animals carried on as best they could with the rebuilding of the windmill, well knowing that the outside world was watching them and that the envious human beings would rejoice and triumph if the mill were not finished on time.”
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
A mystery story told through a 15-year-old autistic narrator. It’s a novel about difference, being on the outside and trying to understand a world of complicated emotions.
Sample:
“It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs Shears’ house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The points of the fork must have gone all the way through the dog and into the ground because the fork had not fallen over. I decided that the dog was probably killed with the fork because I could not see any other wounds in the dog and I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer for example, or a road accident. But I could not be certain about this.”
3. The Boy with the Striped Pyjamas
Irish author John Boyne succeeds in writing a highly emotive but fictional holocaust scenario. It has come under some criticism for historical inaccuracies but it is at its core a story about the darker side of our history and the price of innocence.
Sample:
“One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was surprised to find Maria, the family’s maid — who always kept her head bowed and never looked up from the carpet — standing in his bedroom, pulling all his belongings out of the wardrobe and packing them in four large wooden crates, even the things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business.”
4. The Pearl – John Steinbeck
This 1947 novel is based on an old Mexican folk-tale and it tells the story of a fisherman, Kino, who finds “The Pearl of the World”
Sample: “Kino heard the little splash of morning waves on the beach. It was very good- Kino closed his eyes again to listen to his music. Perhaps he alone did this and perhaps all of his people did it. His people had once been great makers of songs so that everything they saw or thought or did or heard became a song. That was very long ago. The songs remained; Kino knew them, but no new songs were added. That does not mean that there were no personal songs. In Kino’s head there was a song now, clear and soft, and if he had been able to speak of it, he would have called it the Song of the Family.”
5. And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
8 people alone on an isolated Island, and a murderer who seems to be killing them off one by one. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever played Cluedo or read/seen any murder mystery you will recognise that this is the classic tale that started it all.
Sample: “Armstrong held the glass while Philip poured the brandy into it, He said: “You’d better drink this, Miss Claythorne. You’ve had a nasty shock.” Vera drank a little of the spirit. The colour came back to her face. Philip Lombard said with a laugh:”Well, here’s one murder that hasn’t gone according to plan!”
Well, there we have just 5 quick reading suggestions for you. Check back with us as we gather more recommendations from teachers and fellow students. Have you any suggestions? Be sure to let us know!
ACET Cork