Seven Ways to Improve Your English by
Darcia Clarke
Darcia Clarke es profesora de la Academia de Inglés en Getafe CUM. Es especialista en el mejoramiento del Speaking & Listening y creadora de un método efectivo para aprender inglés de manera rápida, sencilla y sobre todo dinámica.
Darcia nos da siete pautas para mejorar nuestro inglés fuera de las aulas y convertirnos poco a poco en el angloparlante que queremos llegar a ser.
- Find a friend.
By far, the most effective method of improving your English skills is to practice speaking it. To do so, you need to find someone to practice with. How do you find a friend? You can do an internet search to find group language exchanges happening in your area. You can also find websites for persons looking for conversation partners. In both cases, you will spend some time speaking English and speaking your native language. If you do not live in an English-speaking country, you can try to involve yourself in the expatriate community which is sure to be filled with English speakers. Many of them want to learn about the local culture and would love to have a local friend.
- Talk to yourself.
Take some time to practice speaking when you are alone. Try out vocabulary and phrases that you recently learned. Practice those words that you find difficult to pronounce. Say out loud what you did during the week or what you hope to do next week. The more you speak, the more you improve. You can even record yourself and play it back to identify weaknesses in pronunciation, grammar or fluency.
- Think in English.
To take your English to the next level, you have to train your brain to think in English. When doing everyday activities, you can try to think of the English equivalent. At the supermarket or at the shopping centre, think of the prices of goods in English. When making plans, switch to English in your brain. Just try to think in English as much as you can. Because your brain will become accustomed to using English on a regular basis, your speech will become more natural.
- Do activities in English.
Try to find activities that you think are fun and interesting that you can do in English. Whether it is reading a book, playing a video game or watching a TV show, ensure that it is something that you like doing in your native language as well. If you are a more social person, you can join groups that have English speakers who share your interests . A very popular website is meetup.com which is an international network of local groups. You can find groups in your area and if you don’t see a group you like, you can start your own.
- Work on vocabulary and phrases.
Learn individual vocabulary words and make phrases with them to practice. Use the new vocabulary words in different ways. Make a sentence with it, ask a question and use various grammar rules and structures to practice it. This will improve your memory, increase fluency and widen your vocabulary. Want to speak English like a native-speaker? Learn English idioms and be sure to practice them in your conversations.
- Balance it out.
The most important part of improving your English is speaking the language but do not neglect the other essential skills: reading, writing and listening. Make sure that you are exercising these skills as much as possible. Read something. Many people suggest reading the newspaper but perhaps you are uninterested in the news. Find other reading material, it could be a magazine, a website, a blog, or a gossip site, anything that interests you. Highlight and write down any new words and phrases. Try to make example sentences and review your notes . Listen to music or radio broadcasts while you are on the go or relaxing at home. You can watch movies in English with subtitles which combines two skills. Animated-movies are highly recommended because voice actors have to be very articulate and clear.
- Face your fear.
Many times it is fear that impedes language learning. Know that you will make mistakes. It is all a part of the learning process. So, don’t be afraid. Face your fear and start improving now!
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