I recently came across a website that promised students that they would be able to speak English in just 6 weeks. The student, for a fee, would be able to speak English fluently in an incredibly short space of time. The website concerned promised to unlock the secrets of how to speak English easily.
This got me a bit interested, I too wanted to learn the secrets as it would make my life as a teacher incredibly successful! However, I didn’t want to part with my hard earned money because, unfortunately, this is alarm bells ringing to what looked like an obvious scam. There is no real way to learn English easily, but there are some things you can do to help you to learn more efficiently!
As with anything in life, you have to put the work in to see the results. As the saying goes, nothing in life is for free! The same applies when learning the English language or any other language for that matter.
Having said that, here are a few tips that will help you study English effectively and get the most out of your classes and the time that you put into studying the English language!
Study Every Day!
Put aside a realistic amount of time to study. Don’t say to yourself, “I’m going to study English for 4 hours a day for the next 6 months”, because the chances are that you won’t. Set yourself a realistic target. It’s much better to learn frequently in short periods than infrequently for longer periods of time.
Moreover, if you practice everyday, it will help to keep English fresh in your mind. Studying everyday, and ensuring that you do study everyday, is the best way to improve you English quickly. If you set a realistic target (even if it is only 15 minutes a day), you’ll find that your English will improve faster than if you try to study for a long period of time once a week.
Study Topics Than Interest You!
If you’re reading about something that you are not interested in, the chances are you’ll find it boring. Therefore, choose something that does interest you. I always ask my students what they like and don’t like so that I can try to focus my lessons around their interests. Interested students are always better students.
If you like fashion, read something about fashion. Similarly, if technology is your thing, read about that. You’ll find that you’ll enjoy studying a lot more if you do!
Prepare For Class!
Try to get your brain prepared for English before you get to class. Do some exercises to help you warm up before you study English. Spend some time practising some vocabulary, especially the vocabulary that you have recently been learning in class.
Alternatively, you can try to say the names of things around you in English to get your brain ready for English class! You can do the same with grammar.If you’re going to study about the past, try to think of things that you did last week, the places that you went and the people that you spoke to.
Just as football players do warm up exercises before a big game, you too can benefit from a few minutes of preparing your brain for English class!
Use Different Learning Methods!
If you use different methods for learning, you’ll activate different parts of your brain. Don’t just do the same old things, spice it up a bit! For example, you could listen to English music, or watch an English speaking TV channel.
You could even read a book, describe a picture by speaking aloud (to yourself if you want!), make a list of words, or type some words on a computer!
Study with Friends!
Spend some time with your friends and try to use English as much as possible. If you study with each other, try doing your homework together. Give each other advice, practice what you’ve studied in class, help each other with exercises and try to have a conversation in English!
Make learning as much fun as possible and it won’t even feel like learning!
Image “Teenagers Studying Together” by Ambro courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net