5 Tips to help improve your English
Learning a language can be one of the most rewarding things. Not only does it bring about a sense of accomplishment, but it also allows you to connect and communicate with individuals from different cultures and countries.
English, is the second most widely spoken language in the world, with approximately over 850 million people speaking it either as their native language or a second language. Learning English, like learning any language, is difficult for some. Here are some everyday tips to help improve your English language skills
1. Think in English
When we think in a foreign language (english in this case) we internalise the language. This is a fantastic aid in gaining fluency. Not only does thinking in english help improve your english language skill, studies have shows that if you have an important decision to make and you think about it in a foreign language, you are likely to make a better and more rational decision. Ways to practice thinking in english include talking to yourself (yes, in this case its okay and you aren't considered crazy) by doing things such as narrating your day and making up scenarios and conversations.
2. Listen and repeat
Are you fond of Tv series, youtube videos and movies? If you are, this is a great way to practice phrases and to practice your fluency. Choose a short segment from a video that you enjoy, be it from your favourite tv show or youtube channel, and practice the prose in the
video verbatim. Listen to each sentence and repeat it, listening to the pronunciation, the stresses and the tone.
3. Use post-its in your home/office
Write vocabulary and short phrases, idioms and reminders on post-its and stick in around your house. Post-its can help to label items for vocabulary practice, is useful for making word associations and it can help with sentence structure. It can also act as a reminder to use more english in your daily life. What's great about post-its is that it can be used on all levels, from beginner to advanced.
4. Incorporate your use of technology
You'd be lying if you said you had no interactions with technology, especially considering the fact that this article is on the internet :). That being said, technology plays a big role in our day to day lives, and it would be wise to use technology in our language learning. Some ideas to incorporate language learning through technology in your day-to-day life are to set the language on all your devices to english. You can do this on your social media accounts as well. If you read your news online, try reading your news in english. Better yet, listen to a podcast or an audiobook. Technology has brought about so many language learning enhancements, it would be foolish not to incorporate it into your language learning journey.
5. Find your timing
After reading the book When: the scientific secrets of perfect timing by Daniel H. Pink, I realised the importance in finding your body clock. We're all wired differently. Some of us are better at activities such as language learning in the morning whereas others thrive in the afternoon. Knowing your timing is key to improving your english skills. Through study-time optimisation, you can improve your language learning exponentially. Not only will you be more alert and aware when you are at your optimal focus time, you will be more motivated as well.
These are just a few tips that you can use to improve your language learning. Of course, there are many others that you can definitely explore, but what is important, is that you find what feels good and what works best for you in your english journey. Remember, we are our best when we are joyful, find joy in your learning process and it will begin to seem less like a journey and more like a way of life.
7 de Maio de 2018
