The other day I posted on the blog and on Facebook looking for English questions to answer. As a teacher, I'm always happy to provide some free help!
(Of course, if you want more focused help and English tutoring, you can always schedule one of my online English tutoring classes!)
You asked and I am here to answer! Here is my answer to the first question that was sent to me over my Facebook page!
Q: How can I get better at English when I don't have time to study?
A: My philosophy is that as long as learning is fun, it will be much more effective. A language is best learnt through immersion and experience, NOT through text book study. Text books and worksheets can only take you so far, but exposure to English is far more valuable.
I have several students who can earn perfect marks on an exam. They know all of the grammar inside and out, but when I ask them a question, they freeze and can't answer me.
What is the purpose of learning a language? It's not to get good marks on an exam. The purpose of a language is to communicate. It's better to be able to speak without perfect grammar than it is to have perfect grammar but not be able to speak. As long as you can use English to communicate, than you are a successful language learner.
So, to get back to the question:
If you want to improve your English rapidly, you must expose yourself to English as much as possible. You don't have to work hard. In fact, you should try to do things that you enjoy:
That's all for today! I hope that these answers are helpful for you as you all continue to reach your English goals.
If these Q&A posts get good results, I might consider writing them more often. After all, who wouldn't want a little extra free English help!
(Of course, if you want more focused help and English tutoring, you can always schedule one of my online English tutoring classes!)
You asked and I am here to answer! Here is my answer to the first question that was sent to me over my Facebook page!
***
Q: How can I get better at English when I don't have time to study?
A: My philosophy is that as long as learning is fun, it will be much more effective. A language is best learnt through immersion and experience, NOT through text book study. Text books and worksheets can only take you so far, but exposure to English is far more valuable.
I have several students who can earn perfect marks on an exam. They know all of the grammar inside and out, but when I ask them a question, they freeze and can't answer me.
What is the purpose of learning a language? It's not to get good marks on an exam. The purpose of a language is to communicate. It's better to be able to speak without perfect grammar than it is to have perfect grammar but not be able to speak. As long as you can use English to communicate, than you are a successful language learner.
So, to get back to the question:
If you want to improve your English rapidly, you must expose yourself to English as much as possible. You don't have to work hard. In fact, you should try to do things that you enjoy:
- Read English books. Fun novels like the Harry Potter series are great for increasing your vocabulary and introducing a variety of idioms, phrases, and even British cultural topics.
- Watch movies and television series. This is one of my favorite methods that I recommend to my students. Choose a series or film that you like. Watch it in English, but feel free to use the subtitles in your native language if you need to (even better, use English subtitles and read along). Films and television are an incredibly powerful way to improve your listening and speaking skills. You can expose yourself to the ways that real people speak, and get used to the inflection, flow, and sentence structures in the English language.
Even if you don't have time to sit down and study English, try to listen to it as much as you can. Even just watching a 30-minute episode of your favorite television series can lead to big improvements in your English skills.
***
That's all for today! I hope that these answers are helpful for you as you all continue to reach your English goals.
If these Q&A posts get good results, I might consider writing them more often. After all, who wouldn't want a little extra free English help!
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