Here's how I learn to read languages:
I'm reading a detective novel in German on the ebook reader on my tablet. But I'm new to German. How to start?
First, I highlight a word or a block of text. For example...
„In anderen Worten, jemand hat Wertensen Betäubt, sein Ohr abgeschnitten und in den Baggersee geworfen“, fragte Katharina.
Then I tap on the highlighted text. The translate box pops up automatically and shows me the German to English translation, which is...
"In other words, someone drugged Wertensen, cut off his ear, and then threw him in the quarry pond?" asked Catherine.
This is already a language learner's dream. But it gets better. If I set the translator to "German to German," it shows me the original German text. But it also offers a little speaker icon. If I tap on it, it will say the passage aloud in surprisingly natural sounding German.
And here is where it gets really good: I set the translator to "German to Spanish," hit the speaker icon, and read this while it's simultaneously being spoken in perfectly pronounced Mexican Spanish:
"En otras palabras, alguien ha drogado Wertensen, cortó oreja y lanzado en el lago", le preguntó a Catherine.
This translation is not perfect, but pretty darn close, and easily close enough to get the sense of what's going on.
Next, I set the translator to "German to French" and read and hear this in beautifully spoken Parisian French:
« En d'autres termes, une personne a drogué Wertensen, coupé son oreille et jeté dans le lac », a demandé à Catherine.
I do the same for Portuguese, Italian, and Russian. There are nine other languages available on the translator including Chinese, Japanese, and Hindi along with several European languages, but I'm not studying them yet.
I believe this ability to listen to a new language being pronounced while you are learning to read it is hugely important because we will always hear something inside our heads as we are learning to read, and if we get in the habit of subvocalizing the words wrong (usually attempting to use the sounds of our native language), we will be unable to speak or understand native speakers should we ever decide to learn those skills in the future. And even though my interest is by far tilted towards reading rather than speaking or listening or writing second languages, I still need to hear it as I'm reading in order to get the feel of it.
Some of the languages I'm interested in, e.g., Latin, Pali, Romanian, and Sanskrit, aren't yet available on my ebook reader translator, but I won't be surprised if they show up soon. Meanwhile, it's already an embarrassment of riches.