1.
Start your own English
language blog. Even for people who don't have to write in
English, writing can be a great way of properly learning the kind of vocabulary
you need to describe your own life and interests, and of thinking about how to
stop making grammar mistakes. The problem most people have is that they don't
know what to write about. One traditional way to make sure you write every day
in English is to write an English diary (journal), and a more up to date way of
doing this is to write a blog. Popular topics include your language learning
experience, your experience studying abroad, your local area, your language, or
translations of your local news into English.
2.
Write a news diary.
Another daily writing task that can work for people who would be bored by
writing about their own routines in a diary is to write about the news that you
read and listen to everyday. If you include your predictions for how you think
the story will develop (e.g. "I think Hillary will become
president"), this can give you a good reason to read old entries another
time, at which time you can also correct and mistakes you have made and
generally improve what you have written.
3.
Sign up for a regular
English tip. Some websites offer a weekly or even daily short
English lesson sent to your email account. If your mobile phone has an e-mail
address, it is also possible to have the tips sent to your phone to read on the
way to work or school. Please note, however, that such services are not usually
graded very well to the levels of different students, and they should be used
as a little added extra or revision in your English studies rather than as a
replacement for something you or your teacher have chosen more carefully as what
you need to learn.
4.
Listen to MP3s.
Although buying music on the internet is becoming more popular in many
countries, not so many people know that you can download speech radio such as
audio books (an actor reading out a novel) and speech radio. Not only is this
better practice for your English than listening to English music, from sources
like Scientific American, BBC and Australia's ABC Radio it is also free.
5.
Listen to English
music. Even listening to music while doing something else can help
a little for things like getting used to the natural rhythm and tone of English
speech, although the more time and attention you give to a song the more you
will learn from listening to it again in the future.
6.
Read the lyrics to a
song. Although just listening to a song in English can be a
good way of really learning the words of the chorus in an easily memorable way,
if you want to really get something out of listening to English music you will
need to take some time to read the lyrics of the song with a dictionary. If the
lyrics are not given in the CD booklet, you may be able to find them on the
internet, but please note that some lyrics sites deliberately put a few errors
into their lyrics for copyright reasons. Once you have read and understood the
lyrics, if you then listen and read at the same time, this can be a good
way of understanding how sounds change in fast, natural, informal speech.
7.
Sing karaoke in
English. The next stage after understanding and memorising a
song is obviously to sing it. Although some words have their pronunciation
changed completely to fit in with a song, most of the words have the same
sounds and stressed syllables as in normal speech. Remembering which words
rhyme at the end of each line can also be a good way of starting to learn
English pronunciation.
8.
Write a film, music,
hotel or book review. Another motivating and easy way to make
yourself write in English is to write a review for a site such as Amazon or
Internet Movie Database. Many non-native speakers write reviews on sites like
this, and if you have some special understanding of the book, music or film due
to your first language or knowing the artist personally, that would be very
interesting for the English speakers who read and write reviews on the site.
9.
Only search in English.
Switching your search engine to the English language version of msn, yahoo,
Google etc. can not only be a good way of practising fast reading for specific
information in English, but could also give you a wider choice of sites to
choose from and give you an idea of what foreigners are writing about your
country and area.
10. Read a book you've already read or
seen the movie of in your own language. Although most language
learners under Advanced level would probably learn more from reading a graded
reader or something from the internet than they would from reading an original
book written for English speakers, for some people reading something like Harry
Potter in the original can be a great motivator to improve their English. To
make this easier for you and make sure that it motivates you rather than just
making your tired, try reading a book that you already know the story of. This
not only makes it easier to understand and guess vocabulary, but you are also
more likely to remember the language in it. If you have not read the book
before, reading a plot summary from the internet can also help in the same way.
11. Read a translation into English.
Another way of making sure books are easier to understand is to choose a book
that was originally translated into English, preferably from your own language.
Even if you haven't read the book in your own language, you will find the
English is written in a slightly simplified way that is more similar to how
your own language is written than a book originally written in English would
be.
12. Skip the first ten pages.
If you have given up with a book in English or are reading it very slowly, try
skimming through the first ten pages or skipping them completely. The start of
most books tend to be mainly description and are therefore full of difficult
vocabulary and don't have a clear story line yet to help you understand what is
happening and to motivate you to turn the next page. If the book is still too
difficult even after the introductionary part is finished, it is probably time
to give that book up for now and try it again after you have read some easier
things.
13. Read a book with lots of dialogue.
Opening up books before you buy one and flicking through them to find one with
lots of direct dialogue in it has several advantages. If there is less text on
the page due to all the speech marks etc, this can make it easier to read and
easier to write translations on. Dialogue is also much easier to understand
than descriptive parts of a book, and is much more like the language you will
want to learn in order to be able to speak English.
14. Read English language comics.
Even more than books with lots of dialogue, comics can be easy to understand
and full of idiomatic language as it is actually spoken. There can be
difficulties with slang, difficult to understand jokes and/ or dialogue written
how people speak rather than with normal spellings, so try to choose which
comic carefully. Usually, serious or adventure comics are easier to understand
than funny ones.
15. Read English language entertainment
guides. Nowadays most big cities in the world have an English
language magazine and/ or online guide to the movies, plays, exhibitions that
are on in the city that week. Reading this in English is not only good value,
but it could also guide you to places that English speakers are interested in
and where you might hear some English spoken around you.
16. Read English language magazines.
Like books, if you can read two versions of the same magazine (Newsweek in your
language and in English, for example), that could make understanding it much
easier.
17. Take a one week intensive course.
Although you cannot expect to come out of a very short course speaking much
better English than when you started it, if you continue studying a little over
the following weeks and months, the knowledge you gained then will gradually
come out and mean that your level of speaking, listening etc. are better than
they would have been if you hadn't taken that course. This positive effect can
still be true up to a year later.
18. Follow your intensive course up with
an extensive course. The more time you can spend studying
English the better, but studying periodic intensive courses with a few hours of
study a week in between is probably better value for money than any other
system as it gives your brain time to subconsciously learn and start using the
new language you have learnt before you introduce the next new
"chunk" of language.
19. Supplement your group class with a
one to one class. Another good way to combine two different
kinds of classes is to study both in a group class and one to one. Having a one
to one teacher, even if just a couple of times a month, will mean that you can
be taught exactly the language that you need, that you will have more time to
speak, and that you can have as much error correction as you like.
20. Supplement your one to one class
with a group class. The benefits of having a group class are
often less clear to students, but they include the fact that you will learn to
deal with several people speaking at once, have a chance to practice skills
such as interrupting people, and will hear a range of different viewpoints and
topics.
21. Teach your children or friends some
English. Recent research has shown that elder children tend to
be a couple of IQ points above their younger siblings, and the most likely
reason is that explaining things to their little brothers and sisters gives
them an intellectual boost. In the same way, teaching someone lower level than
you the English you already know is a great way of permanently fixing that
knowledge in your own brain.
22. Ask your company to start English
lessons. Even if you don't need to speak English at work,
English lessons can be a fun and reasonably priced way for your company to
spend their training budget in a popular way.
23. Have English radio on in the
background while you are doing your housework. Even if you are
not listening carefully, it will help you get a feel for natural English rhythm
and intonation.
24. Play English language learning games
on your Nintendo DS. Although such games can have quite random
language and are unlikely to improve your ability to speak English on their
own, the next time you hear or read the same language elsewhere it will be
really fixed in your brain by the fact you have played a game with it in
already. It is also a nice way of taking a break from your other English
studies while also doing some English. To make sure it really is a break and to
avoid wasting time learning language from the game that is not much used in
daily life, don't bother writing down any new language you see in the game, but
just try to learn it from playing the game again.
25. Say or think what you are doing in
English as you do your daily tasks. As you are doing your
chores, try creating sentences describing what you are doing, e.g. ‘I am
unscrewing the ketchup bottle cap'. This gets you used to thinking in English
without translating, and can be a good way of seeing what simple vocabulary
that is around you everyday you don't know. yet
26. Watch English language films with
English subtitles. For people who can't understand a film
without subtitles but find themselves not listening at all when reading subtitles
in their own language, this should be the way of watching a film that you
should aim for. If it is too difficult to watch the whole film this way, try
watching the (usually important) first 10 or 15 minutes of the film with
subtitles in your own language, switch to English subtitles after that, and
only switch back to subtitles in your own language if you get totally lost
following the story of the film.
27. Watch films in your language with
English subtitles. If you are finding English films with English
subtitles too difficult or you can't find English films with English subtitles
in your local video shop, this is a good second best option. Looking for local
films with English subtitles can also sometimes be a good sign of quality, as
it means the producers of the film are expecting it to be popular
internationally as well.
28. Watch English films with subtitles
in your language. Again, this is not as good practice as
English language films with English subtitles, but is more relaxing, can be
easier to find suitable DVDs for, and is also possible with VHS.
29. Watch the same film or TV episode
over and over again. This can not only save you money on DVDs,
but will mean that you can really learn the language without having to study
it. Some comedies can also get funnier the more you watch them, especially if
you watch them with no subtitles and so understand a little more each time you
watch it.
30. Be realistic about your level.
One thing that holds many language learners back is actually trying too hard
and tackling something that their brain is not ready for yet. Checking your
level with a level check test on the internet, by taking an English language
test (FCE, CAE, IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL etc.), or by taking a free trial level
check and/ or lesson in a language school will help you find out what your
level is and so choose suitable self-study materials.
31. Be realistic about your reading
level. Most researchers agree that people learn most when
reading something they understand almost all of. If there are one or two words
per page that you have never seen before, that is about the right level. If
there are three or more on every page, you should switch to something easier
and come back later.
32. Read graded readers (= easy
readers). These are books that are especially written for
language learners like you, e.g. Penguin Readers. Although it can be difficult
to find something as interesting as things written in newspapers or on the
internet, in terms of learning the language only people who need to read for
their work or an exam usually gain more from reading things written for graded
readers. Graded readers of classic books like Charles Dickens also have the
benefit of giving you a lot of knowledge about the literature, and culture more
generally, of English speaking countries in a short time.
33. Read the whole thing with no help.
Although using a dictionary has been shown to help with both short term and
long term learning of vocabulary, the fact that using it slows reading down can
stop some people reading in English at all. Reading a whole book quickly
through just for pleasure from time to time will help you remember how fun
reading in another language can be.
34. Read and learn everything.
At the opposite extreme, it can be hard work but very satisfying to get to the
end of a book knowing that you have learnt every word in it. See other tips on
this page to make sure it is a book that is easy enough to do this with and to
ensure that the vocabulary you learn is useful.
35. Watching English children's films or
TV programmes. Although some of the vocabulary you can learn
from things made for children can be a bit strange (lots of animal names and
maybe animal noises, including baby names for things), the fact that not only
the language but the structure of the story is simplified can make it an easy
and motivating thing to watch. Like good language learning materials, the same
language is also often repeated to make it memorable, and the use of catchy
songs etc. can increase this positive effect on your memory.
36. Read English children's books.
This is very similar to watching English children's movies, but with the added
advantage of there being more illustrations than adult books, which both helps
you to understand the story and makes the page brighter and more motivating to
read.
37. Keep a list of language to learn,
e.g. a vocab list. Even if you don't often find time to go
though your vocab list and it keeps on building up, just the act of choosing
which words you need to learn and writing them down on a special list can help
you learn them.
38. Go through your vocab list several
times every day. If ticking off words on a vocabulary list on
the train to work is inconvenient or embarrassing for you, you can keep your
list of words to learn as an entry in your electronic dictionary, as a mobile
phone to do list or as a text file in your MP3 player (e.g. iPod). Although the
time spent transferring the information between different formats like these
may seem wasted, in fact any time you spend using the vocabulary like this will
help you learn it.
39. Convert your vocab list to English
only. One way to stop yourself translating and therefore
increase your speed of comprehension and production is to learn all your
vocabulary without the use of your own first language. Ways you can write a
vocab list in only English include with synonyms (words with the same meaning,
e.g. "tall" and "high"); with opposites ("high"
and "low"); with pronunciation factors such as number of syllables
(the number of beats, e.g. three for "de- ci- sion") and the word
stress (the syllable that is pronounced louder and longer, e.g. the second
syllable in "baNAna"); and gapped sentences (e.g. "I am not
_________________ in science fiction" for the word
"interested").
40. Cross out and delete.
Crossing out or deleting words, sentences or whole pages that you have learnt
can be a great motivator, and save your list of things to learn becoming too
big to handle.
41. Throw everything away and start
again. One of the things that can put most people off learning
is a stack of half finished books or a huge list vocabulary waiting to be
learnt. Simply getting rid of all that and starting again with something new
from zero can be a great motivator and get your studies underway again.
42. Label things in your house or office
with post-its. The easiest vocabulary to learn is the
vocabulary of things you see and use everyday. If you can write the names of
things around you on slips of paper and stick them on the real thing, this is a
great way of learning useful vocabulary. If you can leave them there over the
following days and weeks, this is a very easy way of revising the vocabulary
until it is properly learnt.
43. Label a drawing. For
people who can't put labels on real things, the next best option is to take a
photo of a real place in your life like your office, print it out, and then
draw lines to all of the things you can see in the picture and label them in
English with the help of a dictionary. You can do the same thing with places
you pass through everyday like the station. Because you will see the same thing
again and again, it should be easy to really learn the words for those things.
44. Keep a diary in English.
This is a popular method of making sure you use English everyday for people who
don't often speak English and can't think of things to write about. The fact
that you are writing about real things that have happened to you means that any
words you look up in the dictionary will be vocabulary that is useful for you and
easy to learn.
45. Online chat. The
closest thing to speaking for people who don't have the chance to speak English
is online chat, as you have to think and respond quickly, and the language is
short and informal just like speech.
46. Listen to the radio news in English.
You can make this easier by reading the news in English first, or even just by
reading or listening to the news in your own language.
47. Read an English language newspaper.
Freebie newspapers like "Metro" in London are usually the easiest to understand,
followed by mid-brow titles like "The Daily Express" or "The
Daily Mail" in English. Popular newspapers like "The Sun" are
more difficult because of the idiomatic, slangy use of language and the number
of jokes in the headlines and articles.
48. Write fiction in English, e.g. short
stories. For people who find writing a diary about things that
happen to them everyday boring, the best thing is to let your imagination go
and write about whatever comes into your head. The advantage of this is that if
you can't think of how to say something in English, you can just change the
story to something that is easier to explain. Perhaps the easiest way to start
writing fiction in English is with a diary, changing any details you like to
make it more interesting and adding more and more fantasy as the weeks go on.
49. English language exercise videos.
This is quite similar to how babies learn, by listening, watching and copying.
It is also good for your health!
50. Learn a famous speech or poem in English
by heart. Although you may never hear or get the chance to say
exactly that line, having one memorable example of an English grammatical form
in your head can make it much easier to learn other examples of the same
grammar as you hear them. It is also something you can practice over and over
without being as boring as grammatical drills.
51. Get tipsy (= a little drunk) before
speaking English. This can not only improve your fluency while
you are drinking, but can also improve your confidence in future days and weeks
by showing you that you can communicate what you want to say.
52. Use a dictionary while you are
watching a movie. Films often have the same words many times,
so if you look up important words the first or second time you hear them, you
should have learnt them by the end of the film. It is easier to use a
dictionary if you watch with English subtitles.
53. Learn and use the phonemic script.
Although there are many sounds in English, there are even more spellings. By
learning the phonemic script and writing vocabulary down with it, you can both
add another stage to your vocabulary learning that should help you learn it
more thoroughly, and improve your pronunciation. It can also make things easier
for you by stopping you trying to pronounce different spellings of the same
pronunciation different ways.
54. Learn some spelling rules.
Many people think that English spelling is random, but in fact most words
follow some kind of rule, e.g. the "magic E" that changes the
pronunciation of "mad" and "made".
55. Record your own voice.
For people who don't have much or any correction of pronunciation from a
teacher, recording yourself and listening back makes it easier to hear whether
you are really making the English sounds that you are trying to or not.
56. Use computer pronunciation analysis.
Although most programmes that claim to tell you when you are pronouncing
correctly or not don't actually do that, listening many times and seeing how
your voice changes as you try to match the sounds and waveform given by a
pronunciation CD ROM can be good practice and more motivating than just
recording your own voice.
57. Learn as many words as you can of
one category, e.g. animal words. Learning similar words
together can both expand your overall vocabulary and make them easier to learn
by forming links between the words in your brain.
58. Take holidays abroad.
This is not only a good opportunity to speak English in situations where you
really have to make yourself understood in order to live, but it is also a good
motivator to study English seriously in the weeks and months before your trip.
If possible, also try to use English even when you could use your own language,
e.g. when you pick a guided tour of a museum or historic place or when you book
a flight on the internet, and try to avoid package tours.
59. Draw pictures of the words you want
to learn. Especially if you are artistic, this can be a better
way of learning vocabulary than writing translations or example sentences.
60. Find a foreign boyfriend or
girlfriend. No tips on how to do this here, but everyone agrees
that getting or even just looking for a date in English can be a great
motivator to improve your language skills.
61. Arrange a conversation exchange.
Swapping lessons and conversation with someone who wants to learn your language
can be a good alternative for those who aren't looking for romance, or can
sometimes lead onto dating for those who are!
62. Sign up for an English language exam.
Even if you don't need to take an exam and don't want to or can't take a
special course to study for it, paying to take an exam like TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS
or FCE can really motivate you take your English studies seriously.
63. Model your accent on one particular
actor. e.g. try to speak like Robert De Niro. Students who say
they want to sound more like a native speaker have the problem that native
speakers don't sound all that much like each other. Choosing one model can make
the task of improving your pronunciation more clear, and is quite fun. Doing an
impression of that person also makes a good party trick.
64. Use an English-English dictionary.
Trying to use a bilingual dictionary less and switching to a monolingual one
can help you to stop translating in you head when you are speaking or listening,
and other useful English vocabulary can come up while you are using the
dictionary.
65. Occasionally talk to or e-mail your
friends in English. Many people find this a bit false or
embarrassing, but if you think of it as a study club and set a particular time
and/ or place, it is no different from studying maths together.
66. Go to an English or Irish pub.
As well as having a menu in English and being a good way of finding out
something about the culture of English speaking countries, you might also find
there are free English language listings magazines, English language sports on
the TV and/ or foreign people you can speak to.
67. Buy a speaking electronic dictionary.
Although most electronic dictionaries are not as good as paper ones for the amount
of information they give you about each word, some of them have the very useful
function of saying the word with the correct pronunciation.
68. Learn your electronic dictionary
vocabulary list. Most electronic dictionaries also have a
button which you can push to see the last 30 or more words you looked up. By
deleting words you decide are useless or you have already learnt from this
list, you can use it as a "to do list" of words to learn that you can
look at several times a day in the train etc.
69. Switch operating system to English.
Changing the operating language of your mobile phone, video recorder etc. to
English can be an easy way of making sure you use the language everyday.
70. Set goals. Deciding
how many hours you want to study, how many words you want to learn or what
score you want to get in a test are all good ways of making sure you do extra
study.
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