Tips to improve your English.
Hi, in today's video, I'm going to give you some practical tips on how to improve your English.
First up I am not here to say that there is a miracle tip or trick to help you learn English.
All the videos that say they can, are just clickbait. There is no miracle cure. The only way you
will learn English is to work, work and work some more. It doesn’t happen without work
and commitment from you.
Having said that I do have 10 practical tips to help you learn more efficiently.
So firstly use technology -
My number 1 tip is to use YOUTUBE. Of course, I would recommend you subscribe to my channel
and check out my videos. I have videos on grammar, vocabulary, speaking and pronunciation
as well as exam tips for the Cambridge exams.
And there are many other excellent channels to learn English. Find a style that suits
you and check that the channel is still active. Many channels haven’t produced content for
a long time and therefore I wouldn’t recommend you subscribe as it is important you feel
engaged with the channel, or the teacher and that they respond to your questions.
Tip 2 websites
The British Council have a fantastic website with resources for you to learn English.
Also, they have lots of apps you can download to continue to learn English while you are
out and about. One of their apps is Johnny Grammar Word Challenge, where you can test
yourself on vocabulary and grammar for free at 3 different levels.
There is also the fantastic Cambridge university website.
And of course the BBC.
Which will help you with your pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary knowledge.
If you are studying for Cambridge exams I would thoroughly recommend Floe-Joe at:
Great content and advice on how to pass Cambridge exams.
Then there is Anki: it is a free website which is well worth checking out.
It is a flashcard-based learning site and displays words and phrases for you to memorise.
But the clever thing about anki is that it only tests you on words or phrases you are
about to forget. So if you know a word or phrase on a flashcard it won’t test you
on that flashcard for 2 weeks. If you don’t know the answer it will ask you again the
following day. So this way you are really efficient with your learning. And let’s
face it to learn a language you need to learn vocabulary and phrases too. The aim is to
learn little and often to build up your knowledge of English.
Lastly, you’ve checked out the websites and that’s all very well but you actually
need someone to talk to. Well, technology can help here too. Check out italki
The main aim of the website is to put you together with a teacher and sell you classes.
Which is fine if this is what you are looking for. But if you want to practise speaking
English for free, you can scroll down the screen, you have a section called “Language
Exchange” and here you can find a partner who wants to learn your language who speaks
the language you want to learn, here English. So you might be from Spain and you link up
with a native English speaker who wants to learn Spanish. So together you help each other
actually practise the language. A great idea for free. So do try this out.
Now apps – there are many great apps out there but I have to mention 2
Well there is the fantastic
Duolingo is a wonderful app that has just won the 'Best education start-up award'. It's
designed like a game and is pretty addictive. It's free, contains no adverts and is very
effective. Definitely worth checking out.
And babbel.com which is similar to Duolingo. Again a fun but effective app to try out.
OK so what else can you do to learn English quickly and efficiently.
Well, I would recommend watching the news. Research shows that it is a surefire way to
learn effectively. The BBC has a great website called lingohack.
It is an excellent site. You choose your level
from beginners to advanced and watch a news story. You are given all the challenging vocabulary
and the meaning, stopping and repeating the video at the point of new vocabulary. Afterwards
there is an activity to check your understanding of what you have learned.
And for American English CNN.
Here you can watch 10-minute summaries of the news with subtitles.
British or American, you choose. Both great resources.
Also, adverts are great for learning English – from national television advertisements
to personal ads in local papers. They tend to be easy to follow and are a satisfying
way of using very basic vocabulary and grammar that you have already learned.
Leading on from this is music
Listen to songs and learn the lyrics is a great fun way to learn English.
Next is films and TV shows.
Students have told me that they learned English by watching Friends, first with subtitles
in your language then subtitles in English and then no subtitles. This isn’t such a
bad idea. Find a box set or film you like and watch it in English.... it is a fun way
to learn and you don’t feel like you are working but you are still learning loads.
Sign up to Word of the Day
There are now various organisations that offer a word of the day. This is a great way to
build up your vocabulary one word at a time.
I would recommend Oxford dictionaries website.
Or my Facebook page where I regularly post “idiom of the day” and phrasal verb of
the day.
Another tip I give my students is to learn chunks of language, not simply words... It’s
great to learn new words but words are not spoken in isolation so learn the phrase or
collocation. Learn that it is a faint smell and not a weak smell. That it is a deep voice
and not a low voice and that when we understand what someone is saying we say. I know what
you mean...rather than just “I agree.” This will help you sound more authentic and
raise your level of English as it is these small details that make the difference.
Change the language on your phone and computer to English. This means that every day you
get used to using English and it becomes normal for you to use English.
Read children’s book and children’s cartoons. These are written in simple English and a
good way to start out learning a language.
Write a journal in English every day, why not and again it helps you use English every
day.
Follow recipes and instructions in English- this can increase your understanding of English
in a natural and authentic way.
Play games in English. I would recommend powowbox. It is a multi-level game. Once downloaded,
it appears as English tracker. The first three levels are free. You have to spot the mistake
- if you get it wrong, you receive a clear explanation. It's fun and easy to play.
The next tip is kind of obvious but visit the country or mix with native speakers as
often as possible
This is better if you already have some knowledge of the language but it forces you to use your
English intensively and puts you into an environment in which you will hear and use real English
not just English from the classroom.
And my final tip is to make English part of your daily routine. Finding time for English,
whether it be on the bus on the way to work, cooking dinner for the family, watching a
movie or studying for an exam. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes as they are just opportunities
to learn. just have fun with the language and enjoy learning it. You will have fun and
be fluent before you know it.
Thank you for watching, I hope you are now going to go away an explore some of my tips
and commit to learning English every day. Like and share this video with your friends
and colleagues learning English and don’t forget to subscribe to my channel so as not
to miss out on any new free English language videos.
Bye for now and see you very soon.
Tips to improve your English