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Tips for improving your English #1

Luiza A


Learning English can be enjoyable and relaxing. There are a number of ways to improve your understanding of the language, many of which can actually be a lot of fun.

It’s also a well-known fact that different people respond to different learning methods.
Sometimes simply sitting in the classroom or reading a text book is not right for you. It can be beneficial to do some additional work. In fact, English language teachers, including myself, encourage students to do plenty of extra learning outside of school.

So if you’re keen to improve your English then consider some of these tips to get you on your way. Not everything will work for you but, if you add a few of these ideas to your day-to-day language learning, you’ll certainly see some improvement.

Five tips for today:

1. Watch television and films in English
You can learn English whilst watching them. If you find it a little hard to understand, then it's worth putting the English subtitles on so that you can read along and listen at the same time.
Another idea would be to put English subtitles on films or television programmes from your own country so that you can read along with them in English and make the translations as you go.

2. Read English books/newspapers
Reading is a great habit and a great way of practising your English in your own time. You can take one word at a time at your own pace. If you’re studying at a beginner to intermediate level, pick up a children’s book where the language will be easier than an adult book.

Newspapers are also worth reading. Not only can you improve your English but you’ll learn about local and national goings on, which can be handy when communicating with native speakers.

3. Label things in your house
This is a special one that my dad practiced with me when I was young to learn Portuguese. It is a quick way of improving your knowledge of the vocabulary of everyday items in your home. All you need to do is buy a pack of labels and then write the name of items in your home on them, such as phone, window, door, chair, mirror etc. Every time you use these objects you’ll read the word and embed it into your memory.

4. Make notes of new vocabulary
Whenever you learn a new word, whether in the classroom or when you’re out and about, make sure you make a note of it. Whenever you have some free time, you can practise what you’ve learned. You could even do this on your phone so you needn’t carry around a notebook with you.

5. Tell you teacher what you want to learn
If you’re learning English in private lessons, you might not always be learning what you want. However, it can be difficult for your teacher to know exactly what you want to learn unless you tell them. So if you think that they’re giving you too much writing and not enough pronunciation, for example, then you should tell them. They’ll be pleased with the feedback. In my case, it is just what I need to know. My lessons are tailor-made to students needs.
 
I hope these tips were helpful.
 
Would you like to know a little more about me and my teaching style?
You can visit my profile and check my lessons.
 
 
Thank you for reading ( ͡❛ ‿ ͡❛)
Would you like to read some more tips, then go to
Tips for improving your English #2

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This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

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