How to learn and improve English?
Though English is a widely spoken language throughout the world, yet many people still find it difficult to understand and speak. This is pretty understandable, as neither everyone is born and brought up in an English speaking environment nor every parent can afford to send their children to English medium schools, which charge exorbitant fees. Thus it has become necessary to learn and improve English.
However, with the higher penetration of internet and its cheap accessibility, learning English has become very simpler and easier. So we will let you know the tricks to learn and improve English.
This article deals with those important things that you must do to improve your English, both in written as well-spoken form. Considering that you are a non-native speaker, and have to struggle in understanding, writing and speaking English with clarity, accuracy and fluency, I would like to help you begin this journey of yours from the scratch.
*Be thorough with the basics of grammar.*
Most of the people will advise you to just start speaking and writing without having gone through grammatical rules and other basic concepts of the English language. Well, this is a pretty effective way to learn any language, provided that you should have such environment wherein you can talk to others in the language you are learning, and somebody can rectify your mistakes whenever you make any mistake while writing.
But, the fact of the matter is that most of the people who struggle with English are exposed to English speaking environment neither at home nor at school. Hence, it becomes imperative to have the good grasp over the basic of English grammar so that you can improve your English assessing your own mistakes over the period of time without necessarily resorting to any coaching. You don’t have to be grammar Nazi, just the knowledge of few basics will suffice.
*Read*
When you start reading an article in English, subconsciously your mind develops an idea as to how the certain sentences are structured, how certain phrases and idioms are used, and, most importantly, how certain words are written in the specific context.
Therefore, the more you read, the better hold you will have over the language. Besides this, reading will make you more enriched and knowledgeable, which includes reading a newspaper, a novel or an article on the internet. So, make sure that you read for at least one hour every day no matter how much busy schedule you might have.
*Write*
Writing is a very integral part of the process of becoming good at any language. Initially, you may struggle to put your thoughts into the words, but once you start writing down anything you feel like, it helps you become more familiar with the language.
When you try to formulate sentences while writing, it takes a bit of time to process in your mind, as a result of which some sentences get deeply ingrained in your subconscious mind and you can use them while writing or speaking very instantly in future. Apart from this, writing something or other on an everyday basis makes you relaxed and more systematic.
That’s why many people keep a daily journal and write their heart out at the end of the day. This is one of the most effective ways to learn and improve English.
*Listen*, *Watch* *and* *observe*
Listening other people speak in English and observing their way of speaking and the use of certain words and phrases can help you a lot in improving the language at a rapid speed. Moreover, it helps you understand the correct pronunciation of the words and the apt modulation that has to be kept while speaking.
Next time whenever you watch any video on TV or on YouTube, make sure that it is English. It could be news, speech, vlog, or movie. All you have to do is observe and listen very keenly. This is one of the most effective ways to learn and improve English.
*Speak* *and* *Practise*
Many people are very good at writing in English, but when it comes to speaking a few lines about any topic they fumble a lot despite having the clear understanding of the basic nuances of the language. Hence, it is very evident that being good at the writing aspect of a language, doesn’t necessarily make you good at the speaking aspect of it, and vice versa. That’s why in order to become fluent in English, practice is very essential.
You can participate in debates, group discussions and other competitions wherein you get a chance to speak. It will not only help you improve your spoken English, but it will also make you confident and fearless person while dealing with the public. Apart from that, you can talk to your friends in English. And if you don’t have anyone to give you the company, you can talk to yourself in front of the mirror.
In today’s internet dominant age, the accessibility to resources or guide is no more a big obstacle in learning a language. You want to learn English, Spanish, French or any other language for that matter, just one search of google will flood you with humongous information.
If you want to have the feel of a classroom environment, you can watch the lectures on YouTube free of cost. And, to learn and improve English speaking, there are many apps in play store which help you improve your pronunciation and speaking ability.
Currently, I am pursuing B.A(H) Political science from Satyawati College, Delhi University.
I like public speaking, writing and reading in my leisure.
