Mastering a language is not just about memorising details and repeating words you have studied. How you learn is also very important – and what you do with the information you learn can make all the difference in mastering English and forgetting everything! Here are 5 quick tips to help you learn English in a productive, long-term way:
-
Put communication before correction
It is better to talk and make mistakes than not to talk at all. You probably know more English than you realise, but if you are worried about getting it wrong, you will not use what you know. Just talk, and worry about the mistakes later – you learn quickest by applying the language, not by studying it.
-
Master the basics
You can do a lot more with an excellent understanding of a few basic words and principles than you can with a basic understanding of many increasingly complicated ideas. If you try to learn too much at once, or study complex structures before mastering the simple ones, the language will become difficult and frustrating. If you master the basics, before moving on to advanced language, you’ll find the advanced stuff becomes a lot simpler. Remember the English idiom, you have to learn to walk before you can run.
-
Question everything
The English language is always changing, and there are exceptions to most rules. When you study an area of English and discover an English speaker saying something that does not fit the rules, do not be afraid to question it. There are three main questions to ask when you discover ‘mistakes’, and understanding answers to all three of them will help you advance:
- Is your understanding of the language point was inaccurate or incomplete?
- Is the English speaker using an uncommon or flexible use language that may be new to you?
- Is the English speaker making a mistake themselves?
The third point is especially important: native English speakers make mistakes, too, so you should question their use, not simply copy it.
-
Never stop learning
Following on from questioning everything, remember that your learning is never complete, too. There is always something new to learn, no one knows everything about the English language. As a native speaker who has enjoyed writing all my life, I am still studying English to learn more about it. Look for opportunities to learn everywhere – read new books, watch TV shows and films, talk to strangers in the street. Let me repeat that first one – read books. Read as much as you can!
-
Use what you know
And for all of these points, tying back to always trying to communicate, you must put what you know to use. Anything you study needs to have a practical use to make it important and memorable to you. Without using what you learn, you will eventually forget it. The key here is to practice. Practise everything you learn, keep talking, keep writing, keep reading, keep listening. Learning a language is a life skill; you deserve to keep it for life.
