Learning a new language can be difficult, but it's not impossible. The learning process can be divided into four parts: reading, writing, listening and dialogue. If you want to learn English quickly, start with the first step below.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Fun Techniques
Step 1. Read, read, read
One of the simplest things you can do to learn English quickly is to read as much as possible. Read continuously. This will help you enrich your vocabulary and learn grammar and idioms.
- Read comics. An easy solution, if you don't want to read children's books, is to read comics. You can buy tons of English comics in a bookstore or on the internet, or you can read comics online for free.
- Re-read books you've already read. You can also re-read books that you have previously read in your native language. If you already have an idea of what is happening, it will be easier for you to understand the words.
- Read the newspapers. Newspapers are a great way to learn the basics of a language because they are generally written in excellent grammar and are easy to understand. You can find online versions of many English-language newspapers, such as the New York Times or The Guardian.
Step 2. Watch the movies
Watching movies helps you improve your English because you can listen to the pronunciation of words and learn new ones. You can start watching them with subtitles, but you will learn more if you don't use them. Once you have a good basic vocabulary, try looking at them without subtitles trying to locate the words you know and guess the others based on the context.
Step 3. Play Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games
MMOs are video games that you play online with other people. You can choose to play with English-speaking players, thus having the opportunity to speak and learn from them. Games of this type are Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, and The Elder Scrolls Online.
Step 4. Find a pen pal online
Pen pals are people who want to learn your language and with whom you can exchange letters or emails. Write half of the letter in your native language, so that they can practice, and the other half in English, so that you can practice. You can talk about what you want! There are many websites that can help you find a pen pal.
Step 5. Make a friend
You can also become friends with English speakers, chat with them, exchange emails or hear them via Skype, so that you can practice the language. You can find friends online by joining fan communities or through language learning platforms like Fluentify.
Step 6. Sing songs
Learning songs and singing them is another way to improve your English. It will help you to learn the pronunciation, also helping you with the rhythm. Plus, you can enrich your vocabulary. Find a song you like, learn it and try to understand the meaning of the lyrics.
Part 2 of 3: Serious Studies
Step 1. Take a course
An English course will help you learn the most important words and grammar and will ensure that you learn everything correctly. There are two main ways to attend an English course:
- Take an online course. Some courses are free, others for a fee. Paid ones are usually better, but not always! Excellent examples of online courses are those of LiveMocha and Duolinguo.
- Take a course at a school. You can take classes at a local school or an English institution. It will be quite expensive, but the help of the teachers will allow you to learn English faster than studying it alone.
Step 2. Keep a journal
It will force you to practice writing and vocabulary. It will also force you to create new phrases instead of just using the ones you already know. You can report on your day. You can also keep a journal in which you write down any new words you hear or read.
Step 3. Visit an English speaking country
Visiting a place where everyone speaks English will help you learn it very quickly. Find a seasonal job or enroll in a course of study abroad. You can also take a short trip, but a full immersion of at least three months will be the best help.
Step 4. Educate yourself
Of course, you can also teach English to yourself. The secret is to make it the most important thing to you. Spend all your free time studying and practicing English as often as you can.
Step 5. Take advantage of the tools made available by the network
There are so many! They range from programs that use educational postcards to smartphone applications. Try ANKI (educational postcards), Memrise (educational postcards and more) or Forvo (pronunciation guide).
Step 6. Immerse yourself in the study
This is one of the best ways to learn a language. It means you have to study English every day for at least 3 hours. An hour once a week is not enough to learn. If you can spend at least 6 hours a day listening, writing and speaking English, it will help you tremendously.
Part 3 of 3: Do's and Don'ts
Step 1. Consider a few words at a time
When learning new words, don't work on a very long list of words. Learn a few words at a time and move on to others only when you are absolutely certain that you have mastered them.
Step 2. Fill the house with labels
Label each object in the house with the name in English in order to learn the words. This will help you think of an image when you see a word, and not just translate it in your head.
Step 3. Use Google Images
Searching for images via Google is a great way to learn names (and other types of words). Searching for new words with the image and photo search tool they show you will be of great help!
Step 4. Don't try to learn using educational cards
In general, you should not use educational postcards that contain only text (the English word on one side and the corresponding in your language on the other). It will teach you to translate everything in your head, slowing down the process of learning spoken English. Rather, try to learn the word through a sound or an image.
Step 5. Don't focus too much on grammar
Most people don't speak English using perfect grammar and very few do. If you spend most of your time trying to learn grammar, you will be making a futile effort. Even if you don't speak perfectly, that's okay! Someone will correct you and you will learn over time. Eventually it will come naturally to you, without you even thinking about it.
Step 6. Don't be afraid to try
The most important part of learning a language is speaking it. Use what you have learned as often as you can. Don't be afraid of making mistakes or saying something incorrectly. If you don't use what you know, you will learn much slower. Speak out! You can do it!
