16 Tips on learning  English - where you are and with what you have

Ok….you had plans to travel to England, but maybe that’s not happening now.

Or you dream of studying in London, but don’t have any time nor funds to do it.  

Life can be a little frustrating at times, but there are still many things you can do at this moment to help you get closer to realizing your English language learning goals. 

Decide what you want to learn and set yourself a time to achieve this. 

Here are some tips to get you started.

1. Put a label on it  You can stick stickers or post-it notes on bits of furniture, food, colours, and even body parts if you are feeling brave! This is a simple way of learning words. Seeing the object also helps your brain to reinforce connections and helps you remember more easily. Also, seeing the stickers every day helps too - it’s all about repetition, repetition and more repetition!

2. Mix it up when studying - use audiobooks and paper or ebooks Try different combinations that use all the skills. Read an ebook or a paper book and at the same time listen to the audiobook version - this way you’ll have both audio and visual input, at the same time.  You can also read from the book out loud to practice your speaking skills. You can record this and then listen to your yourself and then you could compare your speech with the audiobook pronunciation.

3. Listen to podcasts - Shutting off one or more of your senses helps the other to be stronger. So, listening without reading will make your audible/listening skills sharper. Try one of the following:

• The English We Speak - BBC World Service 
• Elementary Podcasts - The British Council
• Luke’s English Podcast 

4. Change your phone/computer language settings to English - Change your mobile phone language to English - do the same with websites like Instagram, Facebook, and other apps you may use. Pick apps or technology that you use on a regular basis and this will encourage you interact in English on a daily basis.

5. Mind Map or Word Cloud  - Write down words that you need and use in groups that inter-connect and link to each other - like all words and phrases connected to eating out. Create a word cloud online or a table. Use pictures, colours, definitions or only words, structured or loosely connected.

6. Watch movies or tv programmes in English.  Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV for example, as well as Youtube.  There are so many to chose from. Start off watching with subtitles so that you can match the written words with the spoken words. As you progress, you can turn off the subtitles and just watch and listen. This is how I learnt Italian - watching an American soap opera called ‘The Bold and The Beautiful’ in Italian, with Italian subtitles underneath. By reading the words, it helped me recognise when they were spoken and how they were pronounced. Plus, it was really funny!

7. Look at entertainment news sites If you like to look at those in your native language, then try some in English. These are good to learn about popular culture. Some sites are:

• eonline.com/uk
• metro.co.uk 
• standard.co.uk 

8. Get a good dictionary - Have a paper one for home and an app on your phone for instant use on the move. Try:

• Cambridge Essential English Dictionary 
• Oxford Advance Learner’s Dictionary
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of Academic English

9. Where to study? - some people like to vary the method, place and time they spend learning English. Others prefer to set up a more permanent study area and surround themselves with anything they may need. This depends on your personality! I prefer to move around and change where I work to keep things fresh.

10. Read what you love in your language, but in English - be an English bookworm!

11. Check out useful websites. Be aware that not all English learning sites on the web or Facebook groups are trustworthy - I have seen many things being taught that aren’t correct or useful.  In general, you get what you pay for (Caveat Emptor!), but the very well known sites below are the exception, which are free and offer quality language learning:

• BBC Learning English -https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/
• British Council -https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org

12. Listen to English bands and sing along to the lyrics - it’s Karaoke time! You may possibly have to provide your neighbours with some earplugs (depending on how good you are of course!) You no doubt have your own favourite music site - I use Spotify but YouTube is also great for music videos with lyrics. 

13. Mobile language learning apps are great for when you are on the move. Use up any spare time you have travelling or in between classes or work. You want to keep productive! I like using DuoLingo for learning vocabulary and for short bursts of learning

14. Look for a language exchange partner or connect with other English learners online This could be in a forum for example. There are many English language conversation groups to join on sites like Facebook. Some online language learning courses offer forums or Facebook groups for their students to connect and ask questions. Alternatively, you can teach each other your own languages - It’s free and hopefully fun. There are many different sites, but here are some to look at:

• Italki
• Tandem Partners
• Speaky 

15. Get Texting! You can practice writing this way - sending texts or WhatsApp messages in English. You can use speech to text if you need some more help with spelling. You could also comment on posts on Instagram or Tim Tok or respond to Tweets.

16. Take an online course.  Learning online can be a solution for those who don’t have the time to dedicate to a regular lesson slot, or for those who want to learn on the move. When choosing an online course, some things to think about are - 

• Is the teacher is a native speaker or a non native English? It’s a personal choice for the student - both have their advantages. 

• What experience does the teacher have? Experience is useful but it’s also important to enjoy the style of teaching offered

• What do other students say about the course? Are they happy with the results that they achieved?

• What skills will the course help you with? What will you be able to do at the end of the course? Will it be useful?

• Who is the course aimed at? Is it for your age / level of experience and language level? 

I hope this helps and that you continue to enjoy your English language learning journey with 

World Language Explorers!