With the world changing at an astounding rate, communication is more important than ever before. As English is the one language understood almost everywhere across the globe, knowing it, and being proficient in it, has become more important than ever before. This has led to an influx in English language classes everywhere. But for those who are impatient to learn the language and get started on their own at the soonest, here are a few tips and tricks to improve your command over the English language. Practice them, and see a marked upturn in your English fluency.
Read more books
This is the best way to learn any language. Submerge yourself in books written in that language. As long as you have an active imagination, you will enjoy the entire process and won’t even think of it as ‘studying’. Once you know the basic rules of grammar, and can understand simple sentences, start reading. Begin with easy books, and as your vocabulary develops, move on to books of a higher level. It is usually easier to begin with fiction, as they have a strong hook to grasp the reader.
Watch more Movies
Sounds fun, yeah? Listening, like reading and speaking makes the core part of learning any new language. It gives you a feel for the words. Once you hear them, you can try and pronounce them in the proper manner. To do this, the best way is to watch movies.
Of course, since you are new to it, it will take time for you to begin comprehending the language, especially if the dialogue is fast. In this case, watching movies with subtitles is the best way forward. Your brain will soon latch on to certain words which are repeated and connect them to the word’s translation in the subtitles, which will begin staying in your memory over time.
Once you become good at this, you can even start listening to radio shows, speeches, and YouTube videos in English to become even better at it.
But a word to the wise: Don’t jump into the deep end immediately. Go step by step. Learn the basics first and become good at them before moving on to the next level, otherwise your endeavours may only end in frustration, which could make you give up on the entire process. Baby steps and practice is key.
Speech-Shadowing
Speech-shadowing is a technique where you are watching a movie or a video, and are repeating the words which the character on screen is speaking. This is helpful for improving pronunciation, developing confidence, and getting a feel for the language.
Mix it up with subtitles if the speed becomes too much for you.
Speaking
The best way to learn English, is of course, by speaking it. Talk in English with your friends, teachers, peers and do not be afraid of making mistakes. If you do make a mistake, instead of being embarrassed, have them correct it so that you will learn from it and won’t repeat it in the future.
Employ a mixture of all 4 of these tactics to get the fastest results.
