English is Best Learned When Used
for Meaningful Communication
Tips on How to Learn English Fast and Easy
Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows how difficult it is to become really fluent. The way a language is spoken in a classroom is often different than the more informal style of speaking used in everyday life. There are many idioms and slang terms to become familiar with. Seeking opportunities to actively use language is very important to reach the goal of fluency. Here are some suggestions to help you practice your language skills.
Following these suggestions, you'll become an active user of your second (or third) language. Making consistent efforts to speak, listen and interact with others is the way to gain valuable practical knowledge and experience.
Josef Essberger
When you are learning English, it is very important to use and practise your English as often as possible. If you are studying in a school, you have some good opportunities to practise. But what can you do after school, or if you are studying alone, to continue practising?
In fact there are many things that you can do outside school to improve your English. Let us consider the 4 skills that you need to develop to use a langage well:
Here are some of the ways you can improve these skills outside school:
| LISTENING |  |
Listening to English is one of the most important things you can do to improve your English. Do not try too hard to understand everything. Just listen and you will soon understand. You have several possibilities:
Listening to songs (on cassette or compact disc) can be useful in helping you to ‘feel’ the language. It does not matter if you do not understand everything.
On television, you have a big choice of programmes: films, chat shows, documentaries, news. In many parts of the world you can watch English-language television, for example:
Many television stations have Internet sites which give details of frequencies.
This is another excellent way to practise your English. Here are 2 stations that you can listen to world-wide:
You can watch films in English on video at home. In some countries, you can watch films in English at the cinema. Watching with video is a very good method because you can replay parts that you do not understand. If you watch a video with English sub-titles, you can cover the sub-titles with paper. Then, if there are some words that you really do not understand, you can remove the paper and look at the sub-title. But be careful! The sub-titles are not always an exact translation.
Speaking English is one thing that you cannot do alone!
You can listen to English alone.
You can read English alone.
You can write English alone.
But, you run a serious risk if you speak to yourself in English! That is why you should speak as much as possible at school where there are people to speak to.
How can you speak English outside school?
That depends on where you are. But you should make a big effort to find somebody for conversation practice. In a large city, it should not be difficult to find people who speak good English. You can put an advertisement in a local newspaper. There may even be some English or American pubs or clubs where people speak English. You may find an English person, for example, who wants to practise your language. Then you can do a conversation exchange. Outside the big cities, you need to be more imaginative. Perhaps you can use the telephone. Or even the Internet, if you are equipped with an Internet phone.
Reading is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary. But you need to read the right level of English. If it is too difficult, you may become discouraged. If it is too easy, you will make no progress. Try to read something that is slightly above your level. Try to understand the meaning of a new word from the context. If you really cannot understand, use a dictionary and record the word.
What can you read? Well, there is no shortage of reading material: books, poetry, newspapers, magazines, Internet.
There are so many books - fact or fiction - that it should not be difficult to find something suitable. Perhaps you already have some books in English. Or take a look in a library or bookshop. In many cities you can use the library of the British Council.
Some publishers produce 'simple' books for beginners. They are short, simplified stories. Usually they have notes and explanations.
We also have some short stories and classic texts in EnglishClub.com English Reading with notes to help you.
You can learn a lot of new vocabulary from a newspaper. You can find British or American newspapers in all the big cities of the world. Some countries publish special English-language papers: the 'Bangkok Post' in Thailand or the 'Straits Times' in Singapore, for example.
Here are some British and American newspapers. They are available at news-stands in big cities and at airports and main railway stations.
British:
American:
Try reading a magazine regularly. You can subscribe to a magazine and have it delivered anywhere in the world.
Practise your English by writing letters to a pen friend. Today, with the Internet, this is very easy. You can exchange letters by email. To find a pen friend from anywhere in the world, leave your name and email address at EnglishClub.com ESL Penpals.
Strategies to Learn English
1- Exposure
a- watch a movie in English at least once a week, with subtitle or without.
b- try to collect some nice songs with clear pronounciation
2- Use English language now
1-Vocabulary:
The building blocks of learning a languages are the words, expressions, idioms, slangs and proverbs
1- Try to learn the basic words of English first and fast. These are words used in a starter books of an English language course book such as True to Life.
2- Use the words that you already know! Try to become familiar with English, French and Latin words that are used in day-to-day Persian language such as Idea, List and so on. You can find a partial listing of these words on this site.
2- Idioms;
An idiom is a sequence of words which has a different meaning as a group from the meaning it would have if you understood each word separately. Examples include: 'cost an arm and a leg', 'watch your bag', etc. A lot of Idioms are not included in a dictionary but you can find them in a dictionary of idioms or on this site.
3- Expressions
Expressions are similar to idioms except that they usually consist of only two or three words such as 'as usual', 'make a point' and 'break down'. Expressions are usually listed in a dictionary.
4- Slangs
Slangs are informal words and expressions used in the day to day language. A lot of them are included in dictionaries and a lot of them are vulgar (not polite). Examples include: ‘cop’ meaning police, ‘mate’ meaning friend in British English , ‘pal’ and ‘buddy’ meaning friend in American English.
5- Proverbs
Proverbs or sayings are not just a few words or phrases but full sentences expressing some facts of experience. Examples include “The faintest ink is stronger than the strongest memory” or, “In the land of the blinds the one-eyed man is the king”. A collection of popular proverbs are included in this site.
6-Terminology:
Terminology is a collection of words and expressions used in a field. For example in the field of photography there are words such as ‘zoom’, shutter, ‘exposure’. What is important about terminologies for new learners of English is that the terminology of every field is usually very limited. Once you collect and learn the terminology of a field you can understand most of the language of that field. For example, if you are interested in following the BBC international news but find it difficult to understand try to collect and learn the key words used frequently in the news and then try to understand the news. For example, correspondence, reporters, ...
7-Concept:
Concept is an abstract idea or mental picture. It is opposite Concrete. “Apple” or ‘tree’, for example, are concrete nouns but ‘happiness’ or ‘beauty’ are abstract nouns.
Here are some tips which may help you to master the English Language!
