Learning a new language is difficult, but not impossible. Learning any language can be grouped into four sections: reading, writing, listening and speaking. If you want to learn English faster, start with step 1 below.
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Part 1 of 3: Fun Techniques
Step 1. Read, read, read
One of the easiest things you can do to learn English faster is to read as much as possible. Read any posts all the time. Reading anything will improve your vocabulary and this will also help you learn grammar and everyday language.
- Read comics. One easy option, if you don't want to read children's books, is to read a comic book or comic reader. You can buy lots of English comic books in bookstores and online, or read free comic books online (also known as webcomics).
- Read a book you've read before. You can also read books that you have read before. If you already know a little about what happened, it will be easier for you to guess and understand the words.
- Read the newspaper. Newspapers are a good way to learn the basics of a language, as they usually have excellent grammar and are written in a way that is easy to understand. You can find online versions of many good quality English-language newspapers, such as the New York Times or The Guardian.
Step 2. Watch the movie
Watching movies will also help you improve your English, by helping you hear how it's pronounced as well as helping you learn new words. You can start watching by enabling subtitles below, but you'll learn even more if you turn off subtitles. Once you have basic vocabulary, try turning off subtitles and focusing on listening to the words you know and guessing the words you don't know from what's on the screen.
Step 3. Play an MMO game
MMOs are video games that are played online with other people. You can choose to play the game with people who live in English-speaking countries, which will give you the opportunity to chat with them and learn from them. Try playing Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, or The Elder Scrolls Online.
Step 4. Find a virtual world pen pal
A pen pal is a person trying to learn your language whom you can write to (or email) and reply to letters (or emails) from you. You write half of your letter in your native language so they can practice and the other half in English so you can practice. You can talk about whatever you want! There are many sites that can help you find a virtual world pen pal.
Step 5. Find friends
You can also make friends with English speakers online and chat, email, and chat via Skype to practice your English skills. You can find friends online by joining fan communities or through language learning communities like Fluentify.
Step 6. Sing a song
Learning and singing songs is another good way to improve your English. This will help you learn English sounds (rhymes will help with your pronunciation). It will also help improve vocabulary. Find a song you like, study it, and learn what the lyrics mean.
Part 2 of 3: Serious Study
Step 1. Take a course
An English course will help you learn the most important words and grammar and also help ensure that you learn everything correctly. There are two main ways to take an English course:
- Take online courses. You can take online courses. Some online courses cost money and some are free. Courses that cost money may be better than free ones but that's not always the case! Examples of good online English courses include LiveMocha and Duolingo.
- Take courses at school. You can take English classes from your local English school or college. The courses are paid, but help from a teacher will be very important and will help you learn faster than trying to learn on your own.
Step 2. Write in a note
This method will force you to practice your writing and vocabulary skills. It will also force you to practice making new sentences, instead of just repeating the ones you already know. You can keep a diary. It's also a good idea to keep a small note where you write down new words as you hear or see them.
Step 3. Travel to an English speaking country
Traveling to a place where everyone speaks English will help you learn a lot faster. Take a temporary job or study in an English-speaking country. You can also travel briefly, but if you stay in the language for at least 3 months it will be most helpful.
Step 4. Teach yourself
Of course, you can teach yourself English too. The trick to teaching yourself English quickly is to make the language the most important thing to you. Spend all your free time learning and using English as much as possible.
Step 5. Take advantage of cyber tools
There are many virtual world tools that can help you learn English quickly. Ranging from card-reading/reminder type programs to mobile phone applications. Try ANKI (reading cards), Memrise (reading cards and more), or Forvo (pronunciation guidelines).
Step 6. Dive into yourself
Immersing yourself in is one of the best ways to learn a language. That is, you need to study English every day, for at least 3 hours per day. One hour once a week is not enough to study. If you can spend at least 6 hours a day listening, writing, and speaking English, this method will be most helpful.
Part 3 of 3: Dos and Don'ts
Step 1. Learn with a small group of words
When you're trying to learn new words, don't do it with a large vocabulary list. Only learn a few words at a time and don't move on until you "really know" the words.
Step 2. Mark anything in your house
Put labels on anything in the house to help you learn the words. In this way, you will learn to think of pictures as you see the word, instead of translating everything in your brain.
Step 3. Take advantage of Google Images
Google image searches are an excellent way to learn nouns (and several other types of words) in a language. Search for new words in the image search tool and the pictures that appear later will help you learn!
Step 4. Don't study by card reading
In general, you shouldn't just use reading cards that only contain words (with the English word on one side and the meaning on the other). This method teaches you to translate everything in your mind, thus making you slow to understand the English you hear. Instead, try to learn English words with the help of sounds or pictures.
Step 5. Don't focus too much on grammar
One thing that is certain about English is that the majority of people do not speak perfect grammar and few can even speak good grammar. If you spend all your time trying to learn grammar, you will be wasting a lot of time. Speak incorrectly: it's okay! Others will correct what you say and, over time, you will learn. Eventually, your words will sound right and you won't even have to think about them anymore.
Step 6. Don't be afraid to try
The most important part of learning a language quickly is speaking the language. Just use your language skills as often as possible. Don't worry about mistakes or saying something wrong. If you don't use your skills, you will learn much slower. Just talk! You can do it!
Tips
- When you're writing something down, take a minute to pause and read it aloud. Edit obvious errors.
- The next time you come across words you don't know: look them up in the dictionary, and this will help increase your vocabulary.
