Students often ask us what they can do to improve their English quickly. Try the tips below and you will be surprised just how quickly your English improves:
- Study regularly – it’s better to spend 30 minutes every day than 2 hours once a week!
- Listen to the radio and watch some English TV channels every day.
- Read English newspapers and magazines – you will learn lots of new vocabulary and common expressions.
- Speak English outside the home or classroom as much as possible. If you live with friends who speak the same language as you, try and make ‘an arrangement’ to speak English only.
- Buy a good dictionary such as Oxford English, Collins English Dictionary, Apple Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary etc.
- Keep a diary or notebook so you can write a little English every day. This will help you practise all the tenses in writing – you can do this slowly and use your grammar books and dictionaries to help.
- Start a vocabulary notebook and write down all the new words you learn each day. If you see an interesting word or expression, show it to your teacher or friend who will be happy to explain and your classmates/friends will enjoy learning something new too.
- Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand something or need help with English pronunciation.
- Find English language exercises and games online.
- Book a course on some online learning websites. Learn English in a structured way and practise speaking with other English language students.
- Check our Idiom of the Week every Tuesday to help broaden your knowledge of English expressions.
- Read some weekly blogs online which includes study tips and interesting aspects of the English language.
- Learn the IPA and the sounds of English by using the chart in your progress form. It will help you with pronunciation when you don’t have a teacher to ask.
- Put your hand on your throat to feel the difference between a voiced sound, such as /b/, and an unvoiced sound, /p/.
- Record yourself on your smartphone or tablet to hear what you sound like, so you know what areas of pronunciation and intonation you need to work on.
- Make a list of any words that someone has corrected on your written work or that you were not sure of and checked in a dictionary or spell checker. Remember to look at this list regularly.
- Download a word game like Scrabble or Puzzler to your mobile phone or tablet (or play an online game on your computer).
- Choose 5-6 words you want to memorize, and put them into a context by creating a story. This is particularly useful for words which are unconnected.
- Label objects with stickers. You can start by labelling all your stationary.
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