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Episode 2: 15 Tips How to Learn English Quickly and Easily
How to Learn English
Have you seen “The Hack Quest”?
If so, you may remember the scene where the protagonist Neil goes through “training.” Instead of presenting other montages of jogging on the beach and getting stronger (scene editing), we present a program that is put directly into Neil’s brain.
After a few seconds, Neil opened his eyes and said, “I know kung fu.” For those who haven’t seen it, here’s a scene from the movie:
Now, since you’re learning a foreign language, you can probably understand why I’m mentioning this. When I saw this scene I thought to myself “I wish I could do this in German or Spanish”! If you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking the same thing, just about learning English.
Unfortunately, “hacking quests” are just a fantasy, and no computer programs, secret potions, or magic pills can help you learn English in no time. It will take a lot of effort and dedication. But because you’re reading this, you’ve taken the first step: you’re motivated to improve.
Today we are going to tell you 15 tips to help you improve your English, no matter what level of English you have. Each tip has examples and links to help you on your English learning journey.
15 Tips to Learn English Quickly and Easily:
1. Practice, practice and practice
As we have seen, there is no magic way to learn English right away. You have to put in some effort.
Obviously, if you’re in a class, you should be involved in the class, doing as much homework and learning as possible. Courses are great because they make you more responsible and motivate you to learn. But even if you’re not in class, it’s still possible to practice in your free time.
Fortunately, with the popularity of the Internet, it is easier than ever to practice.
You may want to learn on your own. If so, there are plenty of resources and tips for you. Or if you prefer more structure, you can consider many free online English courses as a supplement or main course of another course.
And, if you haven’t tried FluentU or the FluentU App, you should. It’s entertaining, educational, fun, and affordable. You can improve your English skills by watching videos, learning and practicing vocabulary, and taking comprehension tests.
2. The more you practice, the faster you will learn
Author Malcolm Gladwell suggests that in order to become an expert at something, you need 10,000 hours of practice.
If it sounds like a lot, it’s because it’s a lot! So, start investing those hours as soon as possible.
If you want to practice grammar, start with some practical tips for general grammar study, or a quick review of some common mistakes.
If you’re struggling to learn listening, start with an overview of listening resources available online, and 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 read books that have been adapted into movies. Even reading this blog counts!
If you don’t have a native speaker to talk to, pronunciation and speaking can be a little difficult to practice, but they are not impossible to improve. Start with general speaking practice strategies, some of which you don’t even need a partner, and then learn more about sites that offer speaking opportunities online. And read some articles about improving your pronunciation.
Last but not least are the words. 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 proverb words. Learn which words you think you can use but don’t!
Also, consider increasing your vocabulary on specific topics like colors, sports (specific sports like football), health and fitness, food or airports. This is just the beginning!
If it looks like this technique has a lot of connections, that’s the point. Then don’t forget that all the links in this area are from the same site – FluentU – and there are many more language learning sites here for you to learn more.
3. Find your motivation
Like any goal, learning a language can be easier and more fun if you have a reason. Make sure you focus on that reason, as it can help you through what may seem like a hard time studying.
For example, do you want to learn English and 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, don’t forget it.
You should also realize 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 tips above hint at this idea, but it’s important to say: it’s better if you make learning English more fun. You should try to make a game out of it, whether it means actually playing board games to learn English, or trying to gamify your English learning.
It’s certainly an odd example, but in the movie Billy Madison, Billy is studying with his girlfriend (don’t worry, this clip is safe). If his answer is correct, she will take off a piece of clothing. While I don’t recommend this “undress to learn” method, I do agree with the spirit of this activity because Billy has found a way to make learning more fun and fun!
5. For a better future, start working now
You must have noticed that in all your language classes, there is a time when you do a lot of listening and reading practice. This time will usually be before you start speaking and reading. It’s a natural way to learn something new. Before you start doing it yourself, you have to see and understand how it’s done.
There is also a proverb: “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”. This means that sometimes you have to do things in the right order. In this case, it means that you put as much effort as possible first, rather than worrying about your results (meaning speaking and writing), at least not at first.
6. Focus on communication skills first
The English vocabulary is huge, pronunciation is difficult, and spelling is intricate. Besides, you are not perfect, so you will make some mistakes while learning English. The sooner you accept this, the better.
Have you accepted it? very good!
Now you can talk to other people more easily and get your point of view. You can try to improve your English as much as you can during your later studies.
So how do you find a language partner to communicate with you? You can work with your classmates, if you have them, or try to find them using the first and second tips mentioned earlier.
You can also find English-learning buddies on Facebook or social networking sites, use the Internet to find other English-speakers and learners, and even sign up for a site like CouchSurfing.com, which will give you the opportunity to meet new people in person on the go !
7. Don’t forget the structure
In addition to everything I mentioned in tip 6, don’t forget to accept the “correct” way to speak English. 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 get to a more advanced level, things like grammar, spelling, and vocabulary choice are important.
Think of language as a building, and grammar as its structure. If you don’t have a good structure, eventually the building will collapse. To prevent collapse, use a website like Englisch-Hilfen.de, or browse the articles at FluentU, which can help you improve your English structure and avoid mistakes.
8. Realize that learning English is not a straight line
If you’re in a class, following a textbook or using any type of curriculum, you may find that these resources present topics and grammatical emphasis in a specific order.
In general, things 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 new and specific information that is not in the book. There will also be material you have to go back and look at that you didn’t quite understand the first time around. This is normal and fine.
You should also understand that one day when you feel like an invincible English superhero, there will also be times when you feel like you can’t complete a sentence to save your life. These ups and downs are normal. Just keep working hard and be patient and you will definitely improve.
9. Don’t translate everything
As a teacher, I have noticed that my students often have this problem.
It used to be hard to find all the words in a dictionary, but with the web and Google Translate, getting a “quick translation” is easier than ever.
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. It’s the same for every language. Word-for-word translations usually do not take into account changes in phrases, auxiliary words, and prepositions, so it becomes apparent when students translate each word.
On the other hand, if you’re reading English text and then trying to translate it into your native language, it probably won’t be so bad. But it might waste your time and confuse you, but at least it won’t confuse who you’re talking to.
10. Start a language journal
You can buy a laptop, or put your English learning experience into a profile on your phone or computer. Every time you learn a new, important word, add it to your journal, with definitions and examples if you can. You can also write about other experiences in English if you want to practice writing.
The good thing about journaling is that you can practice some writing, and of course it’s nice to strengthen new words. There is an opinion that in order to understand and retain a new word, you need to use it at least three times in the context. It helps to keep writing a log.
Plus, if you look back at your previous English diary, you’ll know how much you’ve improved, and you may be surprised and inspired 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 keep doing it and take some responsibility, you are more likely to succeed in reaching the goal and accomplishing it.
Like the fairy tale “The Tortoise and the Hare,” win the race slowly and steadily.
If you can only take fifteen minutes a day to learn English, but you spend those fifteen minutes every day, the result may be better than if you study three hours of lessons in one day. Or how does a 35-minute-a-day learning English plan sound like?
Also, if you have a study partner like a classmate or family member who knows what you’re doing, they can help nudge and motivate you to keep learning and stick to your plan.
12. Be realistic
Sure, it would be great if you practiced ten hours a day, but that’s not going to happen. You need to know your own limits, especially when it comes to time, and learn how to deal with them.
As mentioned in the previous point, if you can study for only fifteen minutes a day, it’s better to admit it and study that way than to make a plan to study for two hours a day, but that plan will never occur.
Also, be realistic about your motivation (see tip 3). If you just want to learn English for business meetings, 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 similar to tip 12, but in order to know your limits, you must first understand what they are.
Quizzes are never fun, but sometimes they need to see where you need to improve. Sites like Oxford and Cambridge have their own quizzes, and a simple search on the web can help you find more.
Once you know your actual level, it will be easier to work in the right direction.
14. Pay attention to pronunciation from the start
Basically, this combines tips 6 and 7 into one specific suggestion: focus on pronunciation at the beginning, as these problems will be more difficult to correct later.
If you correct mistakes in the first place, they are less likely to follow you (forever).
Use a site like ShipOrSheep.com to help identify common phonetic symbols and minimal pairings, then listen and imitate the correct pronunciation. While you’re learning pronunciation, also review rhymes to help you maintain pronunciation patterns.
15. Technology is your friend, take advantage of it
As you may have noticed these tips and the many links they contain, the internet is a great tool for language learning. I still love books, but actually, it’s more common these days for people to use the internet to practice English than to open a textbook.
I would say that there is no magic trick to learning English, but if we fantasize about one, the internet is probably the closest thing to a magic pill and a quick way to learn English.
So keep using Wikipedia (even the plain English version of Wikipedia), keep using Facebook or Snapchat, keep texting, 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 in this day and age!
If you follow this tip and the 14 mentioned earlier, you won’t speak English perfectly right away. But if you follow them, they will help you progress. Then, before you know it, you can open your eyes and say “I understand English” like Neil!
Source: fluent reprint
