HOW TO LEARN ENGLISH FASTER: 10 TIPS
English is a fun and relatively easy language to learn, although many learners may be easily turned off by its plentiful vocabulary items and their spelling. Sometimes learning English may even seem impossible for some learners! But I assure you it doesn't have to be like that. Read these 10 tips on how to learn English faster and you'll master this wonderful language in no time!
Tip 1: Start with what you really need it for! Learning English will be a lot easier if you keep reminding yourself of your motives for learning it...
Tip 2: Start with what you really need it for! Be sure what your learning goals are - why you want to speak English, how you are going to learn it, how long you are going to study it... It will make your learning easier!
Tip 3: Read everything that you find! Read everything that you can find in English - this activity will help you revise the words that you already know and learn the new ones. Read classics, paperbacks, newspapers, websites, e-mails, advertisements, milk cartons, cereal boxes... They are full both of new vocabulary items and the ones that you already know, only used in a different context, which can also help you improve your English.
Tip 4: Write new vocabulary! When you read or hear a new word or expression, write it down. You should carry a little notebook for all the new vocabulary items that you come across, so that you can write them down, look them up, or revise them.
Tip 5: Listen and understand! You need to focus on listening. Listen to the movies, songs, TV programme, people speaking everywhere... You should listen to the way words and phrases are ordered in a sentence. Training yourself to listen will help you focus on a conversation, and that will help you understand better when people speak English. Speaking English is not just pronouncing words, but putting them together in a meaningful sentence.
Tip 6: Don't translate! Try to understand the meaning without translating every single word. Do so by focusing on the words you DO understand. Also, follow the body language signs of the people you are talking to, their facial expressions, and put them together with the familiar words that you hear. Thus, you can grasp the contextual meaning of the words and phrases you haven't been familiar with.
Tip 7: Talk in English! Speak English whenever you can - practice informal conversations with native speakers, enroll in an English language course and talk to other students , take online English classes talk to your teachers... Use all the opportunities to practice speaking English.
Tip 8: Do not be afraid of making mistakes! Fear of getting embarrassed can prevent you from learning English successfully. Try to speak English without worrying about mistakes. If you are talking to a native speaker or somebody else who knows English better than you do, don't be afraid. They will understand what you are talking even if your grammar is not perfect. What is important is to get engaged in a conversation and not to worry about making mistakes. Keep in mind that nobody is perfect and that everybody makes mistakes.
Tip 9: Be immersed in English! Try to travel to an English speaking country to study or to work. Or at least, try to travel there on a holiday. That way you will have the opportunity to 'live' English - the language, the culture... You will be a part of it all, and the best way to learn English is to be immersed in it. Remember the proverb "When in Rome, do as Romans do"!
Tip 10: Do not give up! Carry on practicing. You mustn't stop because you are making a lot of mistakes. The more you practice, the better you will become. You have to know that learning English is a never-ending process, so keep on trying. Even you yourself might get surprised one day with how far you've gone without even noticing it. And even then you must know that you should never stop learning because there is still a lot to learn, and there will always be.... Why do you think teachers attend various seminars?!