WewilllookathoweasylearningEnglishcanbe,whatthechallengesare,howfastyoucanlearnandwheretobegin.
Then,wewilldiveintoour9toptipsforlearningEnglishfast.Thesetipswillincorporateelementsoftraditionalclassroomlearningwithmoreimmersive,engagingandfunmethodsoflanguageacquisition.
Usingdifferentlearningmethodsinconjunctionisyourfast-tracktickettospeakingEnglishwithconfidence.Let'slookatthesemethodsinmoredetail.
Englishisoneoftheeasierlanguagesintheworldtolearn.ThisispartlyduetothehugevolumeofcontentavailableinEnglish,suchasgreatmovies,TVshowsandmusic.Moreover,Englishfunctionsasanunofficialuniversallanguageinmanypartsoftheworld.
TherearealsomanycognateswithotherGermanicandLatinlanguages.Forexample,theGermanwordfor"baby"isbaby,whiletheSpanishisbebé.IfyouspeakandreadalanguagethatusestheLatinalphabet,you'llfindlearningEnglishmucheasierthanthosewhodonot.
Moreover,Englishdoesn'thavegenderorwordagreement.Onlypeopleandanimalshaveasexclassification(man/woman,waiter/waitress,bull/cow,etc.),buttheadjectiveyouusetodescribeanyofthesenounswouldhavethesameform.
IfyouspeakGerman,Russianoranyotherlanguagewithacasesystem,youwillbepleasedtoknowthatEnglishdoesnotreallyhavecases.Beyondknowingwhentoaddapossessiveapostrophe's'toanoun,youdon'thavetoconjugateormakenounsagree.
Finally,regularverbconjugationinthepresenttensecouldnotbemuchsimpler.Forthethirdpersonsingular,"he","she"and"it",youaddan"s".That'sit!
Thisallsoundsgreatsofar,rightHowever,thereare,ofcourse,somechallengesforEnglishlearnerstoovercome.
Englishspellingandpronunciationcanbeanomalousandconfusingattimes.Thespellingandpronunciationrulesareinconsistentduetothelanguage'sdifferentrootsandborrowedwordsfromvariousotherlanguages.
WhenyouarelearningEnglish,youwillcomeacrossseveralwordsspelledsimilarlyandpronouncedverydifferently.Unfortunately,thesejustneedtobelearnedthroughexposure.
Anexampleofsuchasetofwordsis:
Theoughineachwordhasadifferentpronunciation.
In"trough",itispronouncedlike"off",whilein"bough",itispronounced"ow".In"through",theoughissaidlike"oo",in"though"itis"oh",andin"tough",itispronouncedlike"uff".
Asthespellingofthesewordsisnomoreinstinctivethanthepronunciation,youcouldlearnthemthroughlisteningandspeakingEnglishbutnotrecognizethemasfamiliarwordswhenyouseethemwrittendown.
Thisallbeingsaid,youareprobablywonderinghowlongitwilltakeyoutostartspeakingEnglish.Well,learningalanguageisaprocessthatisuniqueanddifferentforeverylearner.
Yourpaceoflanguageacquisitionwilldependonseveralfactors,includinghowmuchtimeyoudevotetostudyingEnglish,howthoroughlyyouimmerseyourselfinthelanguage,whatotherlanguagesandalphabetsyouknow,andyourcommitmenttocontinuedlearning.
IfyouwanttolearnEnglishfast,considercommittingtoatleast30minutesadayoflanguagestudy.ThiscouldbeanEnglishclass,watchinganepisodeofanEnglishsitcom,orusingalanguagestudyapp.
Duetothesimilarities,youwilllearnEnglishfasterifyoualreadyknowaLatinorGermaniclanguage.ThereisnoformulaforhowlongitshouldtaketolearnEnglish.However,thereareseveralstepsyoucantaketospeeduptheprocess.
Theimmersionmethodisthetechniqueofimmersingyourselfinthevernacularasmuchaspossible.YoucandothisbyvisitinganEnglish-speakingcountry,watchingEnglishTV,listeningtoEnglishmusic,andspeakingtonativesinalanguageexchange.
Theclassroommethod,bycontrast,islessaboutnaturalexposureandmoreaboutmethodicallystudyingtherulesofEnglish.Thismethodissupportedbylanguageapps,textbooks,flashcards,onlinecourses,andin-personEnglishclasses.
Now,let'sexplorethesemethodsinmoredetailbylookingatindividualthingsyoucandotospeedupyourEnglishlanguageacquisition.
WhenyouspeakEnglishwithnatives,youbegintoincorporatethestudyofbodylanguageandmannerismsintoyourspeakingpractice.Youcanlearnthenuancesofthevernacularinthiswaybetterthanstudyingfromabookoranonlineclass.
WhenchoosingwhichEnglish-speakingcountriestovisit,considerwhetheryouwanttolearnBritishEnglishorAmericanEnglish.Thereisn'tahugedifferencebetweenthesevariations,andregardlessofwhereyoulearn,youwillbeunderstoodanywhere.However,therewillbesomewordsandsayingsuniquetothecountryyouvisit.
Thisisanotherclassictechniqueintheimmersionmethodoflanguagelearning.ByengagingwithEnglishradio,podcasts,music,TV,andmoviesyoucannaturallyabsorbnewwordsandgrammar.
Thisisafun,engaging,andauthenticwaytodevelopyourEnglishknowledge,aswellasbuildyourculturalawareness.
YoucanalsofollowEnglish-speakingsocialmediaaccountsorwatchvideosonYouTubefeaturingnativeEnglishspeakers.ThiswillexposeyoutoslangandcolloquialismsandkeepyouuptodatewithinternettrendsinEnglish-speakingcircles.
KeepreadingforEnglishmusic,TV,movie,andliteraturerecommendations!
SpeakingEnglishwithanativeEnglishspeakerisoneofthebestwaystoabsorbanewlanguage.Youcanusealanguageexchangeapporattendin-personexchangeeventstogetthisvitalspeakingpractice.
Generally,you'llfindanexchangepartnerwhosenativelanguageisEnglish.Theywillwanttolearnyourfirstlanguage,andyouwillwanttopracticeEnglish,soyou'lltakethetimetopracticespeakinginbothlanguages.Thisway,theexperienceismutuallybeneficial.
Usedinconjunctionwiththeseotherlearningmethods,languageappsareanexcellentresourceforlearningasecondlanguage.ThemostfamouslanguagelearningappisDuolingo,buttherearemanygreatappstochoosefrom.
Appsuseinteractivefeatureslikequizzes,games,andcompetitionstokeepyouengagedinyourlearning.Often,makingmistakesresultsinlosingpoints,whilelearninganewwordcanearnyouanaward.
Aswellasimmersingyourselfinthelanguage,culture,andentertainmentproducedbyEnglish-speakingcountries,youcansupplementthislearningwiththetraditionalclassroommethod.
ThereisaplaceforEnglishtextbooksinyourlearningjourney.Sometimes,thedisciplineandclearinstructionsprovidedbytextbookscanbeinvaluable.Moreover,youcancreateyourownflashcardsandvocabularylistswiththenewwordsorphrasesyoulearnasyouworkthroughyourbooks.
AlthoughlearninggrammarnaturallyfromTVandmoviesisavalidandeffectivemethod,therewillbesomegrammarpointsthatyouneedtospecificallystudyfromabook.Whentherulesarenotobvious,youcanlearngrammartheold-fashionedwaywithworksheets.
Beginnerscanbenefitfromthedualmethodofusingclassroommaterialsandbuildingimmersiveelementsintostudies.Thedualmethodprovidesasolidbaseofgrammarandvocabularyfromwhichlearnerscanbuildastheyimmersethemselvesinthelanguage.
Languagecoursesandclassesofferstructureanddisciplineinthelearningprocess.Youwillbeprovidedwithtriedandtestedmaterials,exercises,andassignmentsspecificallydesignedtoimpartnewlanguageskills.
Moreover,youcanpracticespeakingEnglishwithfellowstudents,shareresources,andmakefriendsforlife.Evenyourlanguageteachercanbecomeahugepartofyourexperienceandmakeallthedifferencetoyourlearningjourney.
AnonlineEnglishcourseisagreatoptionifyoudonothavethetimeorresourcestotraveltoanin-personEnglishclass.Evenonavideocall,youcanspeakEnglishwithpeers,developyourEnglishlanguageskillsandmeetfellowlanguagelearnerswithwhomyoucanshareexperiences.
Anin-personclassroomsettingisalsoanexcellentoptionifyouhaveaccesstothisresource.Inaclassroom,youcangetcomfortablewithmakingmistakesandworkonyourEnglishskillswithotherlearnersinasafeenvironment.
ImproveyourreadingskillsandstudyEnglishsentencestructurewithbooks,magazines,andnewspapers,orchangethelanguageonyourphonetoEnglishfornear-constantexposure.
ContentwrittenbyanativeEnglishspeakerwilldemonstrateauthentic,honest,andsometimespoeticuseofthelanguage.
TrytolearnanewwordadaybydoingatleasttenminutesofreadinginEnglish.Ifyoureadbeforebed,yourbrainhasabetterchanceofretainingtheinformation.
AsyouengagewithEnglishcontentandspeakwithnatives,youwillcomeacrosslotsofnewEnglishwords.Everytimeyouencounterusefulnewvocabulary,youshouldnoteitdownandtrytouseitregularlyuntilitsticksinyourmind.
Whenyouhearanativespeakeruseaslangexpressionoridiomaticphrase,itisagoodideatonotedownthesayingaswellasthecontextinwhichitwasusedsoyourememberhowtouseitproperly.
ThisisanactivitythatisoftenrecommendedinEnglishclassesandusedasahomeworktask.Keepingadiaryisgreatforyourwritingskillsandretentionofnewwords.
Trytoincorporatecertainwordsthatyouhavelearnedintheweekinyourwritings,soyouhaveexamplesoftheirusageincontext.
Lookingbackoveryourdiaryisalsoawonderfulwaytoseehowfaryouhavecomeinyourlearningjourney.
Above,wehaveprovidedalistof9ofthebestmethodsforlearningEnglishquicklyandefficiently.However,someofthesemethods,suchastravelingtoanEnglish-speakingcountryortakingclasses,canbeveryexpensiveandinaccessibletolearners.
So,let'slookatoptionsforlearninganewlanguageathome,forfree,oronabudget.Theseincludelisteningtomusic,watchingTVandmovies,anddelvingintoEnglishliterature.
Theseoptionsarevalidandeffectiveapproachestolanguagelearning,andtheyarelotsoffun!
WhenchoosingwhichEnglishsongstolistento,considertheaccents,slanganddialectsfeatured.ExamplesofeasylisteningincludeanyoftheclassicsongsbyTheBeatles,BobDylan,orABBA.
Ifyouareupforthechallenge,checkoutfaster-pacedsongs,orsingerswithdistinctiveaccents,suchasStormzyorNickiMinaj.Singalongtopracticeyourfluencyandnoteanyfunnewvocabulary.
YoucanalsolistentopodcastsbynativeEnglishspeakersifyouarestudyingatanintermediateoradvancedlevel.Ifyoulovecelebrityinterviews,checkoutArmchairExpert,hostedbyAmericanactorsDaxShepardandMonicaPadman.
EnglishlearnerscanbenefithugelyfromengagingwithEnglishliterature.Fromworld-renownednovelsandpoetrytosimplechildren'sbooksormagazines,thereisnorightorwrongwaytodiveintotherichworldofEnglishliterature.
CheckoutCharlotte'sWebbyE.B.WhiteandTheHobbitbyJ.R.R.Tolkienforsomeclassicchildren'sstoriesinEnglish.OrtryAnimalFarmbyGeorgeOrwellandOfMiceandMenbyJohnSteinbeckifyouwouldliketoexploresomeEnglishliterarygiants.
Youcanalsolistentoaudiobookstoworkonyourlisteningskills.Startwithafamiliarstory,suchastheHarryPotterseries,readbyStephenfry,ifyouareabeginner.
Yes,dependingonyourmothertongue,youwillfindlearningEnglisheasierormorechallenging.Ifyoualreadyknowthealphabetandarefamiliarwithmanycognates,youwillhaveanaturaladvantageoverthosewhodonot.
ImmersioninEnglishisthebestwaytodevelopyourvocabulary.Thisisamorenaturalandengagingapproachthanstudyingvocabularylistsforhoursonend.Listentomusic,watchmovies,speaktonatives,readandtravelwhenyoucan.
Englishgrammarrulesarelargelyconsistentandlogical.Asyouhaveseen,thespellingandpronunciationcanbeanomalous,butthegrammaritselfisfairlystraightforwardwhenyouhavelearnedtherules.
TheproblemisthatmanynativespeakersdonotactuallyknowthegrammarrulesinEnglishandusetheirnativelanguageincorrectly.Forinstance,splittinginfinitivesandmisusingpastparticiplesarecommonnativemistakes.
Englishclassesareveryvaluableandstructuredresourcesforlearning.Theyarecertainlybeneficialand,whenusedinconjunctionwithothermethods,cansignificantlyincreaseyourfluencyandconfidence.
Wehaveprovidedalistof9greatwaystodevelopyourEnglishlanguageskills,includingvisitingacountrywhereEnglishisnativelyspoken,engagingwithEnglishcontent,andtakingpartinlanguageexchangeevents.
Learningalanguagecanbefun,social,andculturallyenrichingwhenyouincorporateliterature,music,TV,andmoviesintotheprocess.
Ifyoulikethesoundoflearninglanguagesbybinge-watchingTVandmovies,checkoutLingopie.Thisstreamingserviceishometogreatcontentin8popularlanguagesandoffersablogandcommunitywherelanguagelearnerscanshareideas.