1. Practice, practice and practice again
As we have seen, there is no magic way to learn English immediately. You have to put in some work.
Obviously, if you are in a class, you should participate in the course and do as much homework and study as possible. Classes are good because they make you more responsible and motivate you to learn. But even if you’re not in a class, it’s still possible to practice in your free time.
Fortunately, with the popularity of the Internet, it’s easier to practice than ever before.
2. The more you practice, the faster you’ll learn
Author Malcolm Gladwell suggests that in order to become an expert at something, you need to practice 10,000 hours.
If it sounds like a lot, it’s because it is! So, start putting in those hours as soon as possible.
If you want to practice grammar, start with some practical tips for learning grammar in general, or a quick review of some common mistakes.
If you’re struggling with listening, start with an overview of listening resources available online, then move on to podcasts or audiobooks. If you prefer to add the visual aspect, watch movies or TV shows that can help improve your listening comprehension.
Reading skills are also easy to practice, whether you want to find simple books or look at books that have been adapted into movies. Even reading this blog counts!
Pronunciation and diction can be a little difficult to work on if you don’t have a native speaker to talk to, but they are not impossible to improve. Start with general speaking practice strategies, some of which you don’t even need a partner for, and then learn more about websites that offer online speaking opportunities. And read some articles about improving your pronunciation.
Last but not least is the vocabulary. Maybe you want to learn more phrases or proverbs. Or maybe you’re tired of sounding like a robot and want to learn more English proverbs. Find out which words you think you can use but really can’t!
Also, consider increasing your vocabulary on specific topics such as colors, sports (specific sports like soccer), health and fitness, food, or airports. This is just a start!
3. Find your motivation
Like any goal, learning a language can be easier and more fun if you have a reason to do it. Make sure you focus on that reason because it will help you get through what seems like a hard time of learning.
For example, do you want to learn English to get a job? Travel? Want to impress the girls or boys in your class? Or do you want to learn it just because it’s not easy, because it’s a challenge? Whatever your motivation is, make sure you don’t forget it.
You should also recognize that you have many reasons for learning English and that these motivations will change or adapt over time.
4. Work hard and play hard
The above tips have hinted at this idea, but it is important to say that it is better if you make learning English more fun. You should try to make a game out of it, whether it means actually playing a board game to learn English, or trying to make your English learning game-like.
For a better future, start working on it now
You’ve noticed that in all your language courses, there is a time when you do a lot of listening and reading exercises. This time usually comes before you start speaking and reading. This is a very natural way to learn something new. You have to see and understand how it is done before you can start doing it yourself.
There is also a proverb: “Don’t put the cart before the horse. It means that sometimes you have to do things in the right order. In this case, it means you put in as much effort as you can first, rather than worrying about your results (referring to speaking and writing), at least not at the beginning.
6. Focus on communication skills first
English vocabulary is huge, pronunciation is difficult, and spelling is complicated. On top of that, you’re not perfect, so you’re going to make some mistakes when learning English. The sooner you accept this, the better.
Have you accepted it? Good!
Now you can talk to other people and understand your point of view more easily. You can try to improve your English as much as you can later on in your learning process.
So how do you find a language partner to communicate with? You can get together with your classmates, if you have any, or try to find them using the first and second tips mentioned above.
You can also find English learning partners on Facebook or social networking sites, use the Internet to find other English speakers and learners, or even sign up for sites like CouchSurfing.com, which will give you the opportunity to meet new people in person on the go!
7. Don’t forget structure
In addition to everything I mentioned in tip #6, don’t forget to embrace speaking English the “right” way. At the beginning of your language learning process, it’s usually best to focus on speaking and not worry about making any mistakes, but as you reach more advanced levels, things like grammar, spelling, and word choice become important.
Think of language as a building, and grammar is its structure. If you don’t have a good structure, eventually the building will collapse. To prevent collapse, using websites like Englisch-Hilfen.de or browsing articles at FluentU can help you improve your English structure and avoid making mistakes.
8. realize that learning English is not a constant line
If you are in a classroom, following a textbook or using any type of curriculum, you may find that these resources present topics and grammatical points in a particular order.
Generally speaking, things will get easier over time, but that doesn’t mean you always have to do what the book says.
You will get bored and want to find specific information that is not in the book and that is new. There will also be times when you have to go back and look at material you didn’t quite understand the first time around. This is normal and good.
You should also understand that there will come a time when you feel like an invincible English superhero and a time when you feel like you can’t finish a sentence to save your life. These ups and downs are normal. Just keep trying and stay patient, and you’ll get better.
9. Don’t translate everything
As a teacher, I’ve noticed that my students often have this problem.
It used to be hard to find all the words in a dictionary, but with the internet and Google Translate, it’s easier than ever to get a “quick translation”.
Please avoid doing this.
The reason is that if you translate every word in a sentence, it will probably sound worse than a native speaker. This is true for every language. Word-by-word translations usually do not take into account variations in phrases, auxiliaries, and prepositions, so it will be very obvious when students translate every word.
On the other hand, if you are reading English text and trying to translate it into your native language, it may not be so bad. But it may waste your time and confuse you, but at least it won’t confuse the person you are speaking to.
10. Start a language diary
You can buy a laptop, or put your English learning experience into a file on your phone or computer. Each time you learn a new, important word, add it to your journal, adding definitions and examples if you can. You can also write about other experiences in English if you want to practice writing.
The beauty of a journal is that you can practice some of your writing, and of course it’s good to reinforce new words. One way to look at it is that in order to understand and retain new words, you need to use them at least three times in context. Keeping a journal will help.
Also, if you look back at your previous English journals, you will see how much you have improved, and you may be surprised and motivated by this when you compare it to what you know now!
11. Be consistent and accountable
This technique is more like goal setting than a strict English learning technique.
In fact, if you stay on track and take some responsibility, you are more likely to succeed in reaching your goal and completing it.
It’s like the fairy tale “The Hare and the Tortoise” – slow and steady wins the race.
If you can only spend fifteen minutes a day learning English, but you spend those fifteen minutes every day, the results may be better than if you had a three-hour course in one day. Or how does a 35-minute English learning program sound?
Also, if you have a study partner like a classmate or family member who knows what you are doing, they can help motivate and encourage you to keep studying and stick to your plan.
12. Be realistic
Sure, it would be great if you practiced 10 hours a day, but that’s not going to happen. You need to know your own limits, especially in terms of time, and learn how to deal with those limits.
As mentioned before, if you can study for fifteen minutes a day, it’s better to acknowledge that and study that way, rather than making a plan to study for two hours a day that will never happen.
Also, be realistic about your motivation (see Tip #3). If you only want to learn English for business meetings, then buying English books that focus on travel and vacation words won’t help.
13. Know your English level and find ways to improve it
This is very similar to tip #12, but in order to know your limits, you must first understand what they are.
Tests are never fun, but sometimes they need to look at what you need to improve. Sites like Oxford and Cambridge have their own tests, and a simple search on the web can help you find out more.
Once you know where you actually stand, it’s easier to work in the right direction.
14. Pay attention to pronunciation from the beginning
Basically this combines tips 6 and 7 to form a specific recommendation: focus on pronunciation at the beginning, because these problems will be harder to correct later.
If you correct the mistakes at the beginning, they are less likely to follow you.
15. Technology is your friend, make use of it
As you may have noticed from these tips and the many links they contain, the Internet is a great tool for language learning. I still like books, but in fact, these days it is more common for people to use the Internet to practice English than to open a textbook.
I would say there is no magic trick to learning English, but if we imagined there was one, the internet would probably be the closest thing to a magic pill and a quick program to learn English.
So keep using Wikipedia (even the simple English version of Wikipedia), keep using Facebook or Snapchat, keep sending text messages, keep listening to music on YouTube, and keep writing! The truth is, any way you can practice your English has the potential to help you improve your skills, so take advantage of all the resources we have available to us in this day and age!
If you follow these 15 tips, you won’t speak English perfectly right away. If you follow these 15 tips, you won’t speak English perfectly right away, but if you follow them, they will help you improve.