Friday, January 21, 2011

Quickest Way To Learn English

The quickest way to learn a language is by placing yourself in situations in which you are forced to speak it in order to carry out even the most simple tasks, such as buying groceries, asking for directions or answering the telephone. Regardless of how many courses you take, you will never be able to improve your language skills if you don't apply them. Total immersion means forcing yourself to utilize your skills in the real world and learning by interacting with native speakers.

If you live where most people don't speak English, find people who do. Make friends with native speakers and try to attend clubs or social events at which English is spoken. If you live in an English-speaking country, but most people in your neighborhood communicate in another language, spend as much time as you can outside of your local community.

Immigrants typically spend most of their time with people whose background is similar to theirs, especially if they have recently relocated. While this can be useful for establishing social ties in an unfamiliar place, it is a lousy way to learn a new language. If you are trying to learn English, make friends who are native speakers and expose yourself to situations that require that you communicate in English.

Try to introduce yourself to English speakers and ask them if you can practice with them, frequent a supermarket or a store where the clerk speaks only English, make English-speaking friends online and use internet services like Skype or MSN to speak or chat with them. Chances are native speakers will help you improve your language skills by correcting you when you make a mistake.

One easy way to improve your English and increase your vocabulary is by listening to radio stations and watching television channels that broadcast in English. Films and music are also powerful tools, but they may be difficult to understand because they often contain language fraught with grammatical errors, regionalisms and colloquialisms. These can be confusing for someone who is trying to learn a language. Listening to the news on the radio or watching it on television and looking up words that you don't understand in the dictionary can be much more effective.

Don't forget to read English-language newspapers and magazines. Take advantage of the wide variety of learning tools available on the web, such as the BBC's free online courses. Other helpful tools include reading ESL books, looking at free brochures and pamphlets, and watching films in English. Make sure to look up words you do not understand or ask an English-speaking friend to explain them to you.


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