ENGLISH HACKS THE TOP TEN 10 ways to improve your fluency, for free W W W. E N G L I S H S T E P S. C O. U K
1. DO WHAT YOU LOVE Students often tell me that they hate learning English - They don't They hate the way they have been learning English --- Think of things that you enjoy doing. Can you bring English into them? If you like running - is there an English running magazine you can buy? Look on meetup.com for a running group near you - they might speak English together. Find blogs and podcasts with running tips in English. Follow English runners on instagram, join an online running forum - there are endless possibilities
2. AUTOMATE YOUR LEARNING There is an old English proverb: "Necessity is the mother of invention" It means that when the need for something becomes essential, you will always find ways of achieving it Put yourself in situations where you have to use your English, and you will automate the learning process Change the language settings of your phone to English - at first it will be difficult, but you will never forget the vocabulary you see every day Do the same with your computer, Facebook, your SatNav. Next time you cook, use an English recipe; write your to do list in English
3. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Phil Libin wanted to lose weight, but he didn't go on a diet or start exercising. Instead, he created a graph with his current weight on the left, and his goal weight on the right. He then recorded his weight on a spreadsheet every day. Phil lost 13kg in 6 months - the power of awareness If you are aware of your English progress, it will encourage you to continue on your path and also show you which methods work, and which don't Use our Recording Tools: englishsteps.co.uk/hacks Or make your own: record your speaking every week, keep spreadsheets of new vocabulary, use apps such as duolingo or take level tests every few months
4. MEET PEOPLE Confidently having a conversation with someone, face to face in English. For many students, this is their goal The only way to achieve this is by doing it! Speaking with other people in English will improve your level more quickly than anything else. Do not wait till you have a specific level of English or confidence - speaking in English with others will improve everyone's level, and it's fun! How do you find people speaking English in your area? Use our list of free resources: englishsteps.co.uk/hacks
5. SHADOWING Do you want people to think you are an English native speaker, but you can't get the perfect accent? Shadowing is a simple technique recommended by teaching professionals to improve your pronunciation 1. Choose some English audio with a transcript or subtitles 2. Listen 2+ times without shadowing 3. Listen again, and now try to imitate exactly the recording Tips: Do not just repeat the audio, try to duplicate it exactly - intonation, speed, everything! Record yourself and compare with the original. Exaggerate - try to become the character, this is great for your confidence too!
6. LANGUAGE EXCHANGES Help someone learn the language(s) you can speak, and get the chance to practise English in return Language Exchanges are a great way to be a student and a teacher at the same time Tips for language exchanges: 1. Use our resources list to find language exchanges near you, or online: englishsteps.co.uk/hacks 2. Group language exchanges are great, but try to do 1-1 language exchanges where possible 3. Try to set a time limit for each language practice - if you are meeting for 1 hour, do 30 minutes in English and 30 minutes in the other language
7. PODCASTS & RADIO Most students watch English speaking TV shows or movies - which I also recommend But using English podcasts or radio shows forces you to focus only on listening This is great practice, especially if you are going to be speaking English on the phone There are a lot of podcasts designed especially for learning English - check out our favourites: englishsteps.co.uk/hacks For intermediate+ students, try to find podcasts in English about things you are interested in. The BBC and NPR have a huge range of shows, but you can use a podcasts app to search for specific interests
8. TECH & APPS Convert all that wasted time you spend on Facebook into valuable learning The internet is an amazing learning tool when used correctly We keep an updated list of the 20 best online resources for learning English here: englishsteps.co.uk/hacks If, like me, you are easily distracted online or when using your phone, I recommend using StayFocusd or a similar app to keep you focused!
9. GET A PENPAL Start a writing relationship with a native English speaker, the perfect way to practise using new vocabulary or grammar, and also find out about someone's life Penpals might seem like something from the past, but you don't need to get out the ink and paper anymore There are a lot of organisations which can find you email penpals, as well as traditional penpals Our favourites: 1. mylanguageexchange.com penpal language exchange 2. penpalworld.com huge penpal database 3. writeaprisoner.com if you'd like to get in touch with US prisoners who would like penpals
10. (DON'T) FORGET IT There is one word I know I can always say to scare students on our courses: "Grammar" But please don't run away! Grammar is actually the traditional language hack - it's a set of useful rules (or shortcuts, or hacks!) which help you understand how a language works Forget it: when you speak to people, or listen to podcasts etc do not think about grammar; but Don't forget it: when you don't know a rule, look it up, and practise it. Try to think of each piece of grammar as one more English hack
WHAT NEXT? D o w n l o a d t h e f u l l b o o k h e r e, " 4 0 E n g l i s h h a c k s " e n g l i s h s t e p s. c o. u k / h a c k s D i s c o v e r t h e 2 0 m o s t u s e f u l w e b s i t e s f o r l e a r n i n g E n g l i s h, a n d o t h e r g r e a t r e s o u r c e s : e n g l i s h s t e p s. c o. u k / h a c k s C o m e a n d v i s i t u s i n E n g l a n d - w e r u n i m m e r s i o n c o u r s e s a l l y e a r : e n g l i s h s t e p s. c o. u k W W W. E N G L I S H S T E P S. C O. U K