Knowledge of English means a better job, freedom to travel, unlimited access to knowledge and even better health. However, not everyone has the time and money for courses and lessons. So the question for a hundred points is: How quickly and effectively can you learn English on your own?
English is everywhere!
We live in a global village where English is spoken. Most of the Internet is in English, when traveling we order a cab in English, at work we talk to foreign partners in English. In addition, learning English turns out to be even good for your health! It can also be enjoyable even for beginners!
Learning English today is a necessity rather than a luxury.
Therefore, we would like to know English already, yesterday. We want to:
In this text, we will discuss each of these topics separately and in turn.
1. How to learn English quickly?
Of course, everyone has their own individual pace of learning. It is not worth comparing yourself to others. However, the speed of learning is not the number of words memorized per minute, but the progress we are able to make in a year.
People say, for example, that children learn English “quickly.” Not true. Children learn much more slowly than adults. It’s just that they have a lot of time – all day long they can watch English cartoons or play with English-speaking peers and then such learning yields results!
If we devote enough time per week to something, we will undoubtedly see results after a year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t use a few tricks to make our English learning a little faster!
Learn the most popular words and constructions
How many times have you used the word “crimson” in the past week? And how many times the word “have”? Undoubtedly, some words we use more often than others, and these are the most important words.
Did you know that by knowing the 2000 most popular English words, you can understand 90% of all conversations in the language? Even 500 should already be enough to get along. The whole trick, however, is to learn the most popular ones!
However, how can one know which words these are?
Numerous lists of the most popular English words have been created. They are compiled according to their frequency on the Internet, in the press, sometimes according to the researcher’s whim. Based on several such lists, I compiled a list of Speakingo’s 2,000 most popular words, which you can download for free after registering with the site for a test week of English learning!
Just remember to choose your native language from the drop-down list:
Sign up for fast English language learning with Speakingo!
Just remember to choose your native language from the drop-down list!
Don’t learn vocabulary words but whole phrases
However, don’t be fooled into learning vocabulary words alone. It’s not like words are bricks and grammar is mortar, and to brick a sentence you only need to know grammar and words. It turns out that we speak using newer construction technologies – we speak using ready-made components, whole phrases, or even sentences!
Therefore, focus on learning vocabulary words in their context – whole sentences, expressions, collocations. This is also what learning English at the Speakingo course is all about. Like a child, we talk in full sentences, and all the grammar and vocabulary subconsciously enters our heads. It’s not only effective, but also a fun way to learn!
Practice not theory
Don’t worry about the grammar! The rules are for those who want to pass grammar exams. If you want to learn to jump on a skipping rope – you jump: you don’t study the laws of aerodynamics! The same is true for learning English quickly. If you want to speak English – then just start speaking English!
Surround yourself with English, listen to songs, use every opportunity to learn. Grammar isn’t bad, sometimes it’s even interesting, but I don’t recommend wasting too much time or energy on it.
2. How to learn English effectively?
Effective English language learning will also make use of scientific knowledge about language acquisition. The idea is to get the best results with the least amount of time and effort!
And while revelations such as learning English in your sleep or phenomenal methods of learning English in two weeks can be put between fairy tales, science has made some progress in studying how our brains assimilate knowledge.
Although I write more on this topic in a separate text, it is always worth remembering the following points:
Repeat wisely
Psychologists have discovered something like the forgetting curve. It is known that immediately after the lesson we remember everything, a day later less, and a year later almost nothing. That’s why repetition is so important. Unfortunately, effective English learning is not about graying through more lessons, but about repetition specifically. Preferably daily, and not necessarily long.
Suitable for this are, for example, lessons of a few minutes on Speakingo’s online English course. They take a few minutes or so and can be done almost anytime, anywhere. What’s more, Speakingo’s intelligent memorization module remembers your correct (and incorrect) answers, so it saves you time by debriefing you only on those things that need polishing.
Don’t worry about “mistakes”!
The biggest mistake in learning English is worrying about mistakes!
Native speakers are used to everyone crippling the English language, they want to get along. Interlocutors from other countries even more so. So send your “School Teacher In Yourself” on vacation!
You do what you can and move forward. Really no one but you cares about your mistakes! You learn regularly and that’s all that matters!
Attack ignorance from all possible sides!
Don’t limit yourself to one method. Even the most expensive hour of tutoring with a native speaker once a week is not enough.
English is a world language, so you have almost unlimited room for improvement! Listen to English radio, watch American movies with subtitles, study song lyrics, play English games – you can weave English learning into any activity.
If you surround yourself with English, your brain will understand that it is important to you and will begin to assimilate faster. You don’t even have to understand everything (and you won’t for a long time) – that’s not the point. It’s all about getting used to it, and in time you’ll be surprised how much material “entered” your head on its own.
Of course, it is best if your listening is not only passive, but you also try to say something. Therefore, if on Speakingo’s online English course you forget to translate this or that word – don’t worry. Repeating it even without understanding it still enters your brain.
This is how it works, by the way, you will see for yourself/yourself.
3. How to learn English by yourself?
I won’t hide the fact that lessons with a good English teacher, preferably with other students in a language school, are a good way to learn English quickly and effectively. However, not all of us have the time to do this, as well as the money.
Fortunately, in the 21st century, you can save both with a variety of self-study materials and methods. This is also a broad topic, but I would focus here on three main points:
Plan to learn English
In my opinion, the biggest advantage of English courses is that we have already paid, arranged for lessons, so we have to go. We put English lessons in the schedule of the week and that’s it. With self-study, the matter is more difficult because it requires more self-discipline.
That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare for it seriously.
I recommend scheduling a specific time to learn English yourself. Every morning over morning coffee. On the bus to work. Or perhaps on certain days of the week. Either way, forget about learning English “on the fly.” If you really want to learn English yourself you have to decide for yourself when you want to learn and stick to your plan.
Enjoy learning!
This does not mean at all that learning has to be a road through torment. Choose such a textbook or course for self-study of English that is interesting and nice. Keep in mind that you will spend a lot of time on it, so it may sometimes even be worth spending those few zlotys more, but actually learn something.
Moreover, I recommend learning from what makes you happy. Movies, comedies or horror movies, songs in your favorite musical style, information on a topic you are passionate about on Simple Wikipedia (a written in simple language version of this online encyclopedia for people learning English) – all of this can be your English language learning!
Funny English learning materials, jokes and interesting texts, you will certainly never run out of them on the Speakingo blog either!
Follow a proven online learning path
Learning new things has the disadvantage … that we don’t know what we are supposed to learn.
Therefore, it is a good idea to follow an English course prepared by a specialist. Ideally, the course author should also have experience in language teaching – just being a native speaker or an IT specialist is not enough to fashion an effective online English course.
It’s important that your educational path is embedded in a specific teaching method. This ensures that you don’t overlook an important area of the language and that your learning will have arms and legs.
So how can you learn English quickly and effectively on your own?
In order to answer this question, it would be useful to somehow compile the above comments into a single whole. But how not to forget so much good advice in the flow of everyday life?
An online English course from Speakingo can come to our aid!
- The course contains 2000 of the most popular English words
- Learning involves learning whole sentences and constructions.
- The course is 100% about talking, theory is optional for those interested.
- Intelligent repetition module uses knowledge of the forgetting curve.
- The learner decides for himself how meticulous the error detection should be.
- Speakingo works great both as a stand-alone method and as a complement to other approaches.
- Speakingo is an online English course which means you can learn when and where you want to.
- The sentences are interesting, the pictures are nice and the course includes many funny jokes and wise sayings.
- The author of the course methodology is an experienced teacher, doctor of English.
That’s why I recommend Speakingo’s online English course!
Anyway, try it out for yourself for free and without any obligation. See on it how quickly and effectively you can learn English by yourself!
And what are your ideas on how to learn English quickly and effectively on your own?
Share your experiences in the comments!
