English, baby!

Easy Everyday English - Just Try It !

Date: Oct 06 2007

Topic: British English

Author: Newfyboy1

Lesson

IT IS EASY TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH EACH DAY

There are many ways to improve your level of English, here are some:

Input Learning:

READ IT

Read as many English books, newspapers and magazines as you can find.

LISTEN TO IT

Try some English speaking radio stations on the Internet. Listen to the BBC World Service in Britain http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/ -or- NPR in the United States http://www.npr.org/

Watching English speaking movies with the English subtitles turned on will help you accomplish both listening and reading.

Output Learning:

TALK IT

Talk to friends who are also learning English. When you go out together, try only speaking English to each other! Find places where native English-speaking people can give you conversation practice.

WRITE IT

Keep a journal (book of your writings) in English. This can be a mix of questions, new words and phrases you learned, words you do not know. It is also helpful to write a few sentences or a paragraph of you r experiences for the day or previous day were. This will allow you to think about the English you are learning and a chance to practice putting it on paper. In a few months, see just how much English you have learned.

Experiential Learning:

VISIT AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY

If you can travel to an English speaking country, do it. If not, find native English speakers in your country, make friends with them, you will be surprised how willing they will be to help you learn.

PRACTICE IT

Everyday you should practice your English reading, speaking, listening and writing. Even if it is only for 10 minutes. If you do it everyday, you will be thinking about it, if you are thinking about it, you will be learning and easily improving your English.

DO NOT GIVE UP – YOU WILL KEEP IMPROVING EVERYDAY

If you practice one new word or new phrase a day, in a week, month and year you will have learned a great amount and improved your English skills.

Some difficult parts of English Can Be:

The spelling of a word may not show what the pronunciation (way of saying) the word is. This is because English words came from many different languages, it is a mix. It is not a "pure" language.
Because English came from two main sources - old French, and old English, there is a very large vocabulary of words. Words with similar meanings may have come from both sources. For example, the words “start” (from old English) and “commence” (from old French). The meaning is similar, but not exactly the same.
Native English speakers use a lot of idioms, that is - words used in a way which is not their obvious meaning. An English speaker may say,

"I do not think much of oranges." This does not mean she does not often think about oranges. It means that she does not enjoy eating oranges very much!

She may also say: "I think nothing of going for a long walk after breakfast." What this really means is that she actually likes going for a long walk after breakfast, and that it is very enjoyable for her!

PRACTICE IT

Do not worry or give up. You will soon be able to understand and communicate even if you have not been learning or practicing English for very long!

Please let me know if this lesson has helped you, if you have any questions or need to know any of the words. I will look forward to hearing from you.