Learning any new language is tough, it’s normal to feel that fluency will never be achieved, but this feeling is incorrect. Even native speakers struggle with English, they too are constantly learning new words and phrases. Although speaking like a native does not happen overnight, there are several tips and tricks to undertake to speed up this process and this article lets you in on them!
1. Read everything you can!
You’ve chosen to learn English. This is really great news as being the principal international languages, there are a plethora of resources available to you, including written material.
Reading is an important part of advancing your learning as not only does it help to understand how a language is written, but you are also exposed to a broad range of vocabulary and through reading more articles, the same words will appear and become embedded in your memory.
One difficulty with English is its abundant use of idioms and reading will help you discover them!
Reading does not only help your English, but you can also learn about new concepts and ideas.
The great news with MyDialogue is that with every lesson, we provide you with a written article to help accustom you!
2. Buy a notebook
There are so many words in English (around 750,000 ) – how not to feel overwhelmed ?
Although it is impossible to learn all these words within a week (don’t forget, many English speakers are still discovering words) there are methods to facilitate learning.
One thing that you should do is when discovering new words in your reading, jot a couple down in a notebook and glance over them when you are bored. This will plant the words in your memory and overtime, you will accumulate a large vocabulary.
3. Speak to natives
The most important aspect of language learning is speaking. Although this tends to cause anxiety amongst learners, it’s necessary to bite the bullet (you see, idioms are really important!)
Learning through speaking is in fact the best way to memorise a language, and speaking with native speakers enables you to understand sentence structure (which you will subsequently repeat) , pick up words, master pronunciation and learn about a different culture!
We recognize the importance of speaking at MyDialogue and this is why we provide you with a personal native speaker tutor!
4. Ask questions
When speaking to a natve speaker, if there’s something you don’t understand, whether that be a structure, a grammar element, a saying, or if you want them to speak slower, don’t hesitate to ask! They are there to help you learn!
5. Learn by watching
One benefit to the modern era that we live in is the easy access to media in many languages, and this is especially true with English, you have an inexhaustible volume of ressources!
A subscription to Netflix will give you enough English material to last you for over a year, but if you don’t want to pay up, there is also Youtube which offers free content!
Why is watching people speak English so important ? The way a language is spoken is very different to how it is written. Other than speaking, watching is another great way to learn and understand spoken English. Although at first, it may seem that the speed is ununderstandable, with time you will grow accustomed to it. This will help you with your speaking as English speakers speak at a similar speed! If you find, at first, that it is too quick, you can always put on subtitles!
You will also be introduced to new words and phrases, which you will be able to in turn imitate when you speak!
Watching things that you enjoy also provides entertainment and learning is no longer a chore!
MyDialogue has integrated this aspect into our lessons as when you undertake a tutoring session, you start by watching a video with your tutor.
6. Learn through music
Music is one way to crank your learning up a notch! Music has the advantage of both being catchy, thus, easy to remember, and colloquial.
Take an English song that you know and like and look up the meaning of the lyrics! Every time you relisten to this song, you will be re-confronted with its lyrics and will remember their meaning and this will greatly reinforce your learning
7. Set objectives
When learning a language, many give up as it is easy to feel out of your depth and that you are not advancing.
One way to avoid this sentiment and to keep going is to set realistic objectives. For example, learn a tense one week, learn 10 words another week. Doing this will enable you to actually see your progress, help you to realise that you are advancing, and thus, reduce the likelihood that you give up.
