Saturday 13 March 2010

Five Tips on Learning English as a Second Language



How to study English

Very many learners of ESL quit within their first term in class. What is the best solution to maintaining constant English study?

Confidence is the biggest obstacle to discovering the joy of language learning. If you are lacking in confidence this can be the number one threat to learning to speak any language. You will need to be responsible for your ESL studies and discover subject matter you find interesting and relax and enjoy simply learning. No one will expect you to speak English fluently immediately but use every opportunity to practice.

Five tips to learning
1) Fear and confidence, accept that you are going to make mistakes and sound foolish and just do it anyway. It’s the only way to learn. Remember that even native language speakers make mistakes, so why shouldn’t you.

2) Study the rules governing the English language, understand grammar, tenses, word endings, verb and adjectives. Word order may be different to your own language, peculiar phrases and usage may confuse you but as your knowledge of the grammar improves so too will your ability to speak the English language.

3) Develop your vocabulary; increase you flash cards daily, with greater words to draw upon the more simple you will discover speaking English is. Find between five and ten fresh words every day. Bracket them into groups, to make remembering them easier, food, landscape, colours or buildings all together are simpler to recall.

4) How you pronounce words makes a difference, pronouncing words correctly increases the likelihood you will be understood. Use listening exercises, English language movies, radio stations or music to prefect your pronunciation of words.

5) Like training you should regularly exercise, practice and repeat regularly, construct word groups and flash cards, read daily newspapers and articles on the Internet and use English as often as you can.


Learning English made fast and simple

While there are no short cuts, by using English on a regular basis, taking control of your own studies and developing techniques and exercises that you enjoy and have fun with you will begin to see progress. A little often is a good idea, it is better to remember five words perfectly than to study fifty and forget them.