Improving Our English Skills

How to Improve Your English Skills Very Quickly: Fast Tips to Help You Speak English like a Native

Many students of EFL/ESL (English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language) who have fairly good English skills still want to improve their English skills but they don't know how. There are however tried and true ways to improve your English skills. Whenever a student asks me how they can improve, I give them a few suggestions and always notice, within a few months, if they follow what I tell them their English skills improve dramatically. So, if you too want to improve your English skills, follow these few tips and you'll be surprised at how fast you can learn more English.

Watch Television in English - Most of my students in Thailand don't watch any English language television. It's not that it's difficult to find (we have cable TV with more than 60 English channels), it's just that they're lazy. When they do have some free time, instead of watching a show in English to improve their English listening skills and vocabulary, they'll watch a Thai soap opera instead. I tell all my students, both children and adults, just 15 minutes every day watching a television show in English will very quickly teach you new vocabulary, new slang and better listening skills.

Watch English Movies With English Soundtrack and English Subtitles - Most of my Thai students watch a lot of American and British movies. However, instead of watching them with English audio and English subtitles, they watch them with Thai audio and sometimes even Thai subtitles. Doing this causes them to miss out on an easy and fun way to improve their English.

If you watch an American movie with English audio and English subtitles your English skills will improve very quickly. When you listen to English and read English at the same time it re-enforces the English vocabulary, grammar and even slang in your brain. If you do this for only 15 minutes every day, within a month you will already notice you can understand a lot more English than before.

My best students even watch the movie in Thai first, then they watch it again with English audio and soundtrack so they can be sure they understand what's going on. The students who do this improve their English skills very quickly. If you do the same, you can too.

Read English Books - One of my best Thai adult students reads at least one book a month in English. She usually sticks to books that are fun, about pop culture and easy to read (a teenage level is very good for many EFL/ESL students). So books like the Gossip Girl series, Harry Potter or The Twilight Saga series are great for learning new English vocabulary. The language they use is quite simple, but they also use a lot of slang terms. My student writes down every word or phrase she doesn't understand while she's reading the book then, every time I see her, she asks me what they mean and writes down the meaning in a notebook she keeps for this purpose. In the nine months I have been teaching her, her grasp of the English language and especially slang has improved so fast it's almost like speaking to a Westerner when I speak to her now.

So buy an English book from your local English language bookstore. If you're not sure what books are good, ask one of the store assistants and tell them you're looking for a book for teenagers.

Read an English Language Newspaper - If you live in a country that doesn't speak English as its first language, it's still possible to get English language newspapers and, in most places now, they're pretty cheap. Buy an English language newspaper at least once a week and read a few of the articles. I always suggest to my EFL students that they read the first page, scan the business section and then look at the lifestyles section. This will give them a quick overview of what's going on in the world while giving them exposure to language about important national and international news, business, and pop culture. Again, write down the vocabulary and phrases you don't understand and either ask your teacher, look them up in a dictionary or on the internet, or ask a friend. The only way you will improve your English vocabulary is to be constantly exposed to new vocabulary. Reading an English newspaper now and again is a great way to do it.

Besides, you can do these tips to improve your learning skills.

Learning is a skill and it can be improved. Your path to learning effectively is through knowing:

• yourself
• your capacity to learn
• processes you have successfully used in the past
• your interest, and knowledge of what you wish to learn

Motivate yourself

If you are not motivated to learn English you will become frustrated and give up. Ask yourself the following questions, and be honest.

• Why do you need to learn/improve English?
• Where will you need to use English?
• What skills do you need to learn/improve? (Reading/Writing/Listening/Speaking)
• How soon do you need to see results?
• How much time can you afford to devote to learning English.
• How much money can you afford to devote to learning English.
• Do you have a plan or learning strategy?

Set yourself achievable goals

You know how much time you can dedicate to learning English, but a short time each day will produce better, longer-term results than a full day on the weekend and then nothing for two weeks.

Joining a short intensive course could produce better results than joining a course that takes place once a week for six months.

Here are some goals you could set yourself:

• Join an English course - a virtual one or a real one (and attend regularly).
• Do your homework.
• Read a book or a comic every month.
• Learn a new word every day.
• Visit an English speaking forum every day.
• Read a news article on the net every day.
• Do 10 minutes listening practice every day.
• Watch an English film at least once a month.
• Follow a soap, comedy or radio or TV drama.

A good way to meet your goals is to establish a system of rewards and punishments. Decide on a reward you will give yourself for fulfilling your goals for a month.

• A bottle of your favourite drink
• A meal out / or a nice meal at home
• A new outfit
• A manicure or massage

Understanding how you learn best may also help you. There are different ways to learn. Find out what kind of learner you are in order to better understand how to learn more effectively..

The visual Learner

Do you need to see your teacher during lessons in order to fully understand the content of a lesson?

Do you prefer to sit at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people's heads)?

Do you think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs? 

During a lecture or classroom discussion, do you prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information?

*)Learning Tip - you may benefit from taking part in traditional English lessons, but maybe private lessons would be better.

The Auditory Learner

Do you learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say?

Do you interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances?

Does written information have little meaning until you hear it?

*)Learning Tip - you may benefit from listening to the radio or listening to text as you read it. You could try reading text aloud and using a tape recorder to play it back to yourself.

The Tactile / Kinesthetic Learner

Do you learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around you?

Do you find it hard to sit still for long periods?

Do you become distracted easily?

*)Learning Tip - you may benefit from taking an active part in role plays or drama activities.

Other English Learning Tips

Travel to an English speaking country:

• England, America, Australia, Canada, South Africa, one of them is only a few hours away from you.
• Specialist holidays are available to improve your English.
• Take an English speaking tour or activity holiday.

Spend your time on things that interest you. If you like cooking then buy an English-language cookbook or find recipes on the net and practise following the recipes. You'll soon know if you have made a mistake!

Keep something English on you (book, newspaper or magazine, cd or cassette, set of flashcards) all day and every day, you never know when you might have 5 spare minutes.

If you are too tired to actively practice just relax and listen to an English pop song or talk radio station.

Get onto Skype and Second Life. Start networking with other learners / native speakers / teachers (don't just restrict yourself to seeking out native speakers.

These are just some ways to improve your English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. There are many more. None of these suggestions takes very long and can actually be done in just 15 minutes every day. But those 15 minutes you spend every day will go a long way to making sure your English language skills improve and your self-confidence about new vocabulary and grammar also improves. Learning a new language isn't easy but those who are consistent with their approach to learning will find it becomes easier every day.

"Do something (anything). If you don't do anything, you won't get anywhere. Make it your hobby, not a chore, but above all have fun!"

Don't be in too much of a hurry. You're setting off on a long journey and there'll be delays and frustrations along the way. Sometimes you'll be in the fast lane and other times you'll be stuck in traffic, but there will also be lots of interesting things and interesting people along the way. Take your time to really enjoy the experience.

WARNING! :D

Play Games Can Also Help Us To Improve Our English Skills 

To Learn English, We Should Do It in Fun Ways ;)

Source: How%20to%20improve%20your%20English%20skills%20-%20Learn%20English%20Free_www.learnenglish.de.htm

How to Improve Your English Skills Very Quickly  Fast Tips to Help You Speak English like a Native - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com.htm