How to improve your English skills
- Learning Skills
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading
- Writing
- Other tips
My most important piece of advice is: "Do something (anything). If you don't do anything, you won't get anywhere. Make it your hobby, not a chore, but above all have fun!"
Don't be in too much of a hurry. You're setting off on a long journey and there'll be delays and frustrations along the way. Sometimes you'll be in the fast lane and other times you'll be stuck in traffic, but there will also be lots of interesting things and interesting people along the way. Take your time to really enjoy the experience.
There are many ways to improve your level of English, but only you can find the right way for you. Here are a few tips that might help:-
Improve your Learning Skills
Learning is a skill and it can be improved.Your path to learning effectively is through knowing
- yourself
- your capacity to learn
- processes you have successfully used in the past
- your interest, and knowledge of what you wish to learn
If you are not motivated to learn English you will become frustrated and give up. Ask yourself the following questions, and be honest:-
- Why do you need to learn/improve English?
- Where will you need to use English?
- What skills do you need to learn/improve? (Reading/Writing/Listening/Speaking)
- How soon do you need to see results?
- How much time can you afford to devote to learning English.
- How much money can you afford to devote to learning English.
- Do you have a plan or learning strategy?
You know how much time you can dedicate to learning English, but a short time each day will produce better, longer-term results than a full day on the weekend and then nothing for two weeks.
Joining a short intensive course could produce better results than joining a course that takes place once a week for six months.
Here are some goals you could set yourself:-
- Join an English course (and attend regularly).
- Do your homework.
- Read a book a month.
- Learn a new word every day.
- Visit an English speaking forum every day.
- Read a news article on the net every day.
- Do 10 minutes listening practice every day.
- Watch an English film at least once a month.
- Follow a soap, comedy or radio or TV drama.
Decide on a reward you will give yourself for fulfilling your goals for a month.
- A bottle of your favourite drink
- A meal out / or a nice meal at home
- A new outfit
- A manicure or massage
The visual learner
Do you need to see your teacher during lessons in order to fully understand the content of a lesson?
Do you prefer to sit at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people's heads)?
Do you think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs?
During a lecture or classroom discussion, do you prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information?
!Learning Tip - you may benefit from taking part in traditional English lessons, but maybe private lessons would be better.
The auditory learner
Do you learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say?
Do you interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances?
Does written information have little meaning until you hear it?
!Learning Tip - you may benefit from listening to the radio or listening to text as you read it. You could try reading text aloud and using a tape recorder to play it back to yourself.
The Tactile/Kinesthetic learner
Do you learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around you?
Do you find it hard to sit still for long periods?
Do you become distracted easily?
!Learning Tip - you may benefit from taking an active part in role plays or drama activities.
Other English Learning Tips
Travel to an English speaking country:-
- England is only a few hours flight away.
- Specialist holidays are available to improve your English.
- Take an English speaking tour or activity holiday.
Spend your time on things that interest you. If you like cooking then buy an English-language cookbook or find recipes on the net and practice following the recipes. You'll soon know if you have made a mistake!
Keep something English on you (book, newspaper or magazine, cd or cassette, set of flashcards) all day and every day, you never know when you might have 5 spare minutes.
If you are too tired to actively practice just relax and listen to an English pop song or talk radio station.
Improve Your English Grammar
Use self-study grammar books.Practice forming meaningful sentences. Make positive statements negative, turn statements into questions, make active statements passive. Turn past tense sentences into present tense sentences etc. etc.
Learn the different tenses. Learn by heart a simple example sentence using each tense.
Do online exercises. Keep a note of how you did and go back in a few weeks to see how you have improved.
!On this site:- Use the grammar pages to learn new grammar and then test yourself.
Most importantly, try to develop a feeling for English.
Improve Your English Listening Skills
Make sure you have the right software to take advantage of what is available on the www. You can download players and find links to online radio stations at real.com , windowsmedia.com and winamp.com . You can try some of the English radio stations I recommend on my broadcasts page. You can subscribe to podcasts and radio stations on iTunes too.Films in English are an excellent language resource. Follow my tips on how to use films to improve your English. If you're not sure what films to watch, look at my recommended films pages.
Listening whilst reading is a good idea, there are lots of audio books on the market, I mention some on my recommended books pages, there are also some fun podcasts on the Have Fun with English site and two weekly podcasts on the Interesting Facts site.
Keep up to date with current events and watch an English-language news station, such as BBC World. Watch news reports on events you are already aware of.
Find out how to switch languages on your TV. If you have digital or satellite TV there are several channels that broadcast in multiple languages. Eurosport is one and Euronews is another, you should be able to set these to the English language.
!On this site:- Use the vocabulary pages to listen to simple vocabulary.
!On this site:- Use the dictation pages to test your understanding.
!On the Network:- Every Wednesday I run a listening session on iVisit. There are no more excuses.
!On the Network:- Little and often is a good idea, so try my Interesting Facts pages. Every week I write some interesting facts and there are accompanying sound files for the most interesting facts.
!On the Network:- Use my English magazine Ezine pages to find some interesting articles, poems or stories to listen to.
!On the Network:- Listen to the poem of the month or joke of the month.
!On the Network:- A bit of light-hearted fun on the Have Fun with English page. There are new videos or listening files every month.
! On the forum:- Join the forum and ask me to read a short piece of text out loud.
! On the web:- Go to some TTS (text to speech) web sites and use their free services. Some of the results are surprisingly good. I particularly like Acapela TV for their talking fluffy bunnies.
Improve Your Reading Skills
Make a habit of reading regularly. Read as many English books, newspapers and magazines as you can get your hands on.Reading should be fun, so make sure the texts you choose are not too too difficult for you. If the book or article you are reading is a chore, then find something easier. Try reading graded books written especially for ESL learners. I've written a guide on how to choose a book here.
Find an author you like and read all their books. By doing this you will get used to the style of a particular author and the typical vocabulary and grammar they use. As you read more of his/her books you will find it easier and easier.
If you have a local library find out if they stock English books or if they have bilingual editions of English classics. Or ask them to stock English translations of books you are already familiar with.
Try reading things more than once. Read something and then read it again a few weeks/months later. You should find your understanding has improved.
Try to discuss a book you've enjoyed with other people. You can even discuss books with me on the forum, or there are lots of online book clubs and you can even write reviews on book selling sites.
Don't try to read "the classics". Save them for later, start with contemporary short stories. And don't forget, there are loads of excellent comics out there too. I actually started learning German by reading Winnie the Pooh!
!Learning Tip - don't try to understand every word. Try to understand the overall meaning of a sentence or passage.
!Learning Tip - don't translate - only use a dictionary if a word keeps appearing in a text and you still don't understand it.
!Learning Tip - don't just read a book and then forget about it - try to analyse it. You can use this reading log to help you.
!On this site:- Use the English Magazine to find some interesting articles, poems and jokes to read. If there's a word you don't understand double click it with your mouse and the definition will pop up. There are no more excuses.
!On this site:- Check out my recommended books.
!On this site:- Try some Speed Reading tips to increase your reading speed.
!On this site:- Every Monday I run a reading session on iVisit. There are no more excuses.
Improve Your English Speaking
and English Pronunciation Skills
The first rule of speaking English is to speak clearly, concisely and use simple vocabulary. KISS - keep it short and simple.Remember you probably won't just speak to native speakers. There are roughly 380 million native speakers, but as many as a billion people speak it as a second language. So it's a good idea to avoid idioms and slang (I always say learn it, but don't use it). It might sound clever to say "You're barking up the wrong tree," but if you misuse it or if the other person doesn't understand you, you'll only look silly when you try to explain what you meant to say, or what it actually means.
There's also a saying in English "Have you swallowed a dictionary?" It is applicable to anyone who uses long, complicated words when a shorter word will do. Short sentences are just as good (if not better) than long explanations. The value in what you have to say is what you say, not how clever you look or sound when you say it.
English speaking tips
Get over any fear you might have of making mistakes. You will make mistakes.Be patient with yourself. Learning any language can be frustrating, but frustration won't help you, so let it go.
Grasp every opportunity you have to speak with people in English.
Talk to friends who are also learning English. Go out together for coffee and only speak English to each other!
Read short stories out loud and try to see, say and hear the words to reinforce your memory. Record yourself and play it back later, how does it sound?
Find native English speaking friends:-
- You might not be able to find any friendly native speakers where you live, butYou can find English speaking people on the Internet! If you can't find anyone who'll actually help you, don't worry, you'll still be able to figure out if they can understand you.
- Look for people with the same interests as you. It's no good asking everyone you meet to help you with your English, rather develop natural friendships based on your hobbies etc. Eventually you will make friends and they will be much more likely to give you correction / guidance.
- Join an English club or conversation group. Around the world there are many English speaking clubs, these clubs aren't just for expats but for people interested in the English way of life. They can be friendly and fun. For a list of English clubs click here. Check magazines as well as your phone book, your local newspaper and your local university. Or if there isn't one in your area - start one! Place an advertisement in your newspaper for people interested in starting a group or go to Meetup.
- Visit an Irish/English/Australian theme pub or British food shop, you can usually find one in the larger cities. Often, the waiters and waitresses come from English-speaking countries, the menu is often in English too!
- Once your English is good enough, go shopping in some tourist areas. You'll find lots of shop assistants speak very good English.
- If you can travel to an English speaking country, do it.
- There are several internet based voice chat programmes out there: iVisit | Pal Talk | MSN Web Messenger | Yahoo! Messenger | Google Talk | Skype and lots more.
Singing
Try singing along to English songs. With friends or in the privacy of your own bathroom. Lots of the major games consoles have karaoke games nowadays, like Sing Star on the Playstation.
!On the internet :- You can speak to me on iVisit (see the forum calendar for times and dates) - you can also listen to or chat with other learners and native speakers there. There are no more excuses. !On the network:- Use the pronunciation pages to improve your understanding.
!On this site:- You can find some karaoke resources and ideas on the learn English through songs page.
Pronunciation skills
Don't get too hung up on trying to sound like a native speaker. Would you start learning the piano in an attempt to sound like Mozart? Probably not. Accents don't matter, as long as people can understand you, but pronunciation is important.Learn the phonetic alphabet.
List words that have the same sound add to the lists as you learn more words.For example words that rhyme with me:-
Don't worry about sounding like a native, it is more important to speak clearly and pleasantly than it is to sound like the Queen of England.
The most important thing to think about is can people understand you? If you have a problem being understood then find someone who speaks English clearly and try to copy the way they speak. Pay particular attention to speed and diction.
Improve Your English Vocabulary
Use self-study vocabulary books, these should include a good dictionary, and a thesaurus.Expose yourself to as much English as possible by reading, watching the TV, films or the news and listening to the radio or music.
Read an English magazine. If you can afford it take out a subscription to a magazine or newspaper.
Do online exercises. Keep a note of how you did and go back in a few weeks to see how you have improved.
Use stick it notes and label things around your home.
Try to memorize whole sentences, not just individual words.
Create or play word games. Scrabble, Crossword Puzzles, Hangman, and Dingbats are all great was to play with words.
Notebooks
Keep a notebook to help you remember what you've learnt.Here's a guide to keeping an English notebook.
Vocabulary webs
Build a vocabulary web to organise your vocabulary about certain subjects.For example your personal life:-
and then extend it further...
Try this little gadget too.
| Vocabulary Grapher Thesaurus | |
 | Gadgets powered by Google |
Flash cards
Start a flash cards box.
Buy or cut out some cards all the same size.
Draw or cut out some pictures.
Paste the pictures onto one side of the card and write the correct word on the other side.
Put new words in the front of the box.
Test yourself using either the pictures, the words or both.
If you have forgotten a word bring it to the front of the box.
!On this site:- Use the vocabulary pages to learn new vocabulary thematically and in context.
!On this site:- You can use my on-line flash cards to practise your vocabulary.
Singing
Try learning the words to English songs, and even sing along with them. With friends or in the privacy of your own bathroom.
!On this site:- You can find some karaoke resources and ideas on the learn English through songs page.
Improve Your Written English
Write frequently, in a wide range of formal and informal situations.Get the most out of your dictionary by understanding how to use it correctly . You can use a good English dictionary to find words, for meaning, for pronunciation, to check your spelling and to understand explanations.
Copy out short passages of English text from newspapers, magazines or books.
Try dictation exercises. You can do this online or get friends to read out text for you to write and then check your writing - concentrate on spelling and punctuation.
There are many forums on the net, find one about your interests or hobbies. Observe the niceties of forum use , and apologise if you think you have made any mistakes.
Use a blog to create a diary about your life. Write it in English and if you have a thick skin, ask for feedback. Remember blogs are not private, so do not write anything there which you do not want the whole world to read. I recommend http://www.blogger.com , it is free and very easy to use.
Be careful about using abbreviations when writing on forums and in chatrooms, they are fun and quick, but can cause bad habits to form.
If you are using a computer, use an English spell checker (but don't rely on it). There are spell checkers built in for Google and Firefox browsers.
Check what you've written. Even better, get someone else to proofread what you've written. Check for spelling, capitalisation and punctuation.
Try to find English speaking pen friends and write to them or, use a messenger service like MSN, Yahoo, Google or find a chatroom. If you can't get in touch with native speakers then contact other learners:-
- You can find ePals on the Internet!
! Note - If you are going to use forums and chat services, it's as well to brush up on the niceties - otherwise known as Netiquette.
