Are you currently enrolled in an English course and feeling overwhelmed by the complexities of the language? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Learning English can be a challenging task, but with the right approach and mindset, it can also be an incredibly rewarding experience. Whether you’re a beginner or have been studying for some time now, these essential tips will provide guidance and support to help you navigate through the intricacies of English grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and more. So let’s dive in and discover how to make the most out of your English learning journey!
English is one of the most spoken languages in the world with around 360 million people speaking English as their first language. With that statistic in mind, it is no surprise that many schools and individuals across the world want to learn how to speak the language. Here are six important elements to remember when learning English.
Pace, Rhythm And Flow All Play A Part
Learning English is not as simple as learning how to say and write words. It is how you pronounce these words, use them in sentences, and the pace at which you deliver them.
Flow comes from the rhythm and pace that native speakers talk at. A true natives’ pitch goes up and down when they are talking, and it is important to pay attention to this as a change of pitch indicates an emphasis on certain words. Additionally, English speakers will raise their voice and long out words if they are saying something important/ trying to get others to listen. Learning pace, rhythm, and flow are not simple, but once you immerse yourself in an English-speaking setting you will begin to mimic these elements without even realizing.
One way to track your progress is to try recording yourself imitating pace, rhythm, and flow and see how it sounds when you play it back. It might feel a bit embarrassing to do this, but listening to your voice recordings is a great way to know where you need to improve and what bits you are most comfortable with.
Confidence Is Key
Learning a language is difficult and it can be hard to be confident when we are unsure of ourselves and what we are saying. However, sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. Talk with confidence, you have nothing to be ashamed of because learning a language is an impressive task! What will help you to feel more confident is to get to grips with English slang. Examples of slang include ‘want to’ being turned into ‘wanna’ or ‘going to’ turning into ‘gonna’. The professionals behind Lets Learn Slang suggest increasing your vocabulary to help you understand what the latest slang words mean. Slang is used typically in informal contexts, and so you must remember this when practicing your slang. If you are in a professional or formal context then slang is not appropriate. Remember, when you are in the right settings and you want to incorporate slang into a sentence, just do it with confidence and even if you get it wrong it’s not going to be a big deal.
Confidence can be hard to summon, but remember, it is not just in your verbal language that confidence is portrayed, it is in your body language too. Try standing up tall, with your head held high when practicing your English so you can trick your brain into feeling more confident than it is.
Immerse Yourself
The best way to learn any language is to surround yourself with it. If you can’t physically immerse yourself in a culture, then don’t worry as there are other options. You should try and only watch English-speaking TV shows and movies. The more you do this, the easier the language will become to learn. You will absorb all the sounds, changes of pitches, slang words, and ways of conversing that could never be taught through a book or online. Even playing video games that have an English-speaking narrator is an effective way to keep hearing the language and familiarise yourself with the syntax and sentence structure. After some time all of these things will become second nature to you and your English speaking levels will significantly improve for not that much effort.
Don’t Let Idioms Catch You Out
The English language has a lot of strange idioms that can be confusing for learners. An idiom is a phrase that has a meaning not necessarily associated with the words that make up the phrase. For example, there is a saying that says “don’t beat around the bush’ – upon first glance, you would think perhaps it’s something to do with nature, however, what this phrase actually means is to stop purposely avoiding a topic. Another example is the phrase ‘you’re barking up the wrong tree’, this means you are accusing the wrong person or following a misguided thought. There are common idioms that have become part of English-speaking culture, and so if you can get to grips with these this will make your life a lot easier when it comes to having real-time conversations.
Set Yourself Realistic Learning Goals
When you first start learning a language you must begin this process with goals in mind and realistic expectations of those goals. Unless you have a ton of free time, you are unlikely to become fluent in a couple of months, so do not be disheartened if you are not speaking as fluently as you might have hoped. Things take time and people pick up languages at different rates. You have to find time to fit learning English into your daily routine and some people like to watch videos online, others use tutors, and some use mobile applications such as Babble.
Have Some Patience
The last thing you need to remember on your journey of learning English to have patience with yourself. You can’t rush the process or punish yourself if you forget how to say a word. Learning a language is an impressive feat, especially one as confusing as the English Language. The kinder you are to yourself the more motivated you will be to keep up your learning. If you have a friend or family member who also wants to learn English then you can work together, keep each other on track, and more importantly, remind each other to be patient.
