It is important to
know that although this post talks about improving your English, you can use
the suggestions given below to learn and improve any foreign language.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Listen
to MP3s. Not 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.
4. 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
5. Watch
English language films with English subtitles. 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.
6. Watch
the same film or TV episode over and over again. This 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.
7. 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.
8. 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 difficult words on every page, you should
switch to reading something easier and come back later.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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!
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
(This is a shortened version of 70 ways to improve your English.)
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