How to learn English: 3 best ways to learn English proven by science
If you are wondering how to learn English, check out these three best ways to learn English as proven by science.
In this globalised time, learning English is quite important as it can help improve communication both inside and outside India. Even though India boasts the second highest number of English speakers in the world, studies have shown that a large section of young kids are not good at English.
This is why even when these kids become adults, many wonder how to learn English properly to overcome the problems that come up when they aren’t fluent enough. Learning any language is usually not easy and can take months, if not years. But if you keep at it and regularly practice, you will discover the best ways to learn English.
There are three ways to learn English that have been proven to show results as per science. If you already know basic English, check out these three ways on how to learn English:
1. Immersion Method
As the name suggests, the immersion method immerses you in English and this helps you speak and understand English like a native speaker. Studying English for an hour a day can make you pretty good in English but speaking like a native speaker would need something more.
The immersion is the best way to learn English like a native. We speak fluently in our mother tongue because we pick up the language bit by bit as babies from listening to others. We don’t learn it after knowing and implementing the grammar rules.
If you stay in a non-English-speaking area, this is not an easy way to learn English but it is still doable. You will need to increase your exposure to English so that gradually you start to even think in English and translate from your native language.
The best ways to do this are:
- Change all your social media account languages to English and change your browser settings so that all the websites you visit will be automatically changed to English from some other regional language.
- Watch English movies and TV shows even if you cannot understand fully. You can switch on your subtitles as it will also increase your English-reading speed.
- Listen to the news or radio in English.
- Speak in English to your family and friends as much as possible as it is one of the best ways to learn English.
- Join groups online or offline where there are other people sharing your interests who speak in English. This will allow you to converse more in English.
The Immersion Method is a great way to learn English if you want to be more fluent and converse in English better instead of studying grammar first.
2. Classroom Method
The Classroom Method is kind of opposite to the last method. Here, you learn English like a scholar rather than like a native. You learn all the grammar and vocabulary and sentence structuring rules first and gradually build your English knowledge.
According to science, learning a language is a complex process that rewires your brain. You can build your knowledge gradually after learning the foundation rules of a language.
As the name suggests, the Classroom Method is best implemented in a classroom setup whether at home or outside or online.
How to learn English by this method:
- Sign up for an English class.
- Find an English speaker (preferably someone who speaks native English) to tutor you.
- Find websites and apps that will test your English language skills with quizzes and exercises.
- Study English every day regular practice is very important to learn a new language.
- Revise what you learned before every day or every few days
- Get a couple of good grammar books to solve exercises and clear your doubts the Wren and Martin book has been the go-to book for English learners for decades now.
The Classroom Method is one of the best ways to learn English if you want more structure in your learning process, and don’t want to be surrounded by English all day and instead allot yourself some time for it each day. It is best for a classroom setting or if you are a complete beginner.
3. Dual Method
The Dual Method takes the above two methods on how to learn English and turns it into immersive, classroom method to learn the language fluently. So, if you want some structure in your studies but also want to learn spontaneous conversation, this is the English-learning method for you.
As per research, starting off learning a language by understanding the structure and then moving on to immersion is a great way to learn. There is no final statement about when this switch should take place though.
How to learn English by this method:
- Combine the tips for the two methods listed above.
- Find a balance between the two you can learn something new by following the Classroom Method in the morning and then use Immersion Method to use that aspect throughout the day.
- Don’t end up overworking yourself! Take breaks as studying at a stretch can harm your learning speed.
- You can meet a learning partner weekly to exchange notes and guide each other on your English-learning journey.
The Dual Method is a great way to learn English if you are do well in a classroom setup but want to speed up your progress. This is perfect for you if you live in an English-speaking region, or take other classes in English, or if you are already at an intermediate or advanced level in English.
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We hope these three best ways to learn English as proven by science will help you. Select the one that works best for you and happy learning!
If you are wondering how to improve your English speaking skills, using the Covid-19 lockdown to learn better English is a great idea. With various countries around the world now in lockdown because of the Coronavirus pandemic, schools, colleges and offices are temporarily closed.
Most people are working from home or continuing their studies from home itself. This leaves everyone with a lot of time to spare because the commute time to work or school has been cut down from our daily schedules.
When you are at home all day, you can use the time to improve various skills and become more productive so that once the Coronavirus lockdown is over, you can hit the ground running!
Learning how to improve your English speaking skills at home can be very enjoyable as you don’t have to go to any spoken English class or appear for any test.
You can dedicate some time everyday and progress at your own pace. Make it pressure-free and convenient for yourself.
So here are a few fun and easy ways to improve your English speaking skills at home:
1. Read aloud
One of the best ways to improve your English speaking at home is to read aloud from your favourite book.
When you read aloud instead of reading in your mind, you can hear what you are saying and take note of which words are tripping you up or simply sound wrong.
Download mobile apps from good companies such as British Council and Macmillan Education such as Sound Pronunciation App and Learn English Sounds Right and type in the words that you aren’t sure how to pronounce. Listen to the pronunciation on the app and try to replicate it when you are speaking them aloud.
You can also keep a notebook at hand and note down the words that are problematic for you to pronounce. Keep adding to the list every day.
So, pick up your favourite Harry Potter or any other good English book and read it aloud every day for just half an hour to improve your English speaking skills.
2. Listen to podcasts
Many good media websites now also host podcasts where they hold interviews or talk about various things happening around the world. You can check out the top podcasts available around the world.
You can go for BBC podcasts and listen to them for half-an-hour every day to get a good idea of what good spoken English sounds like.
Not only will you get to know about what all is going on around the world during the Covid-19 lockdown but also better your English speaking sitting at home.
3. Play games with English instructions
Since you are spending so much time at home with your family during the Covid-19 lockdown, you can pick up your old board games with English instructions and play them with your family to improve your English speaking skills.
In games like Monopoly, the instructions are written in English. While playing, you can read them aloud to practice English speaking at home.
You can also go for computer games or mobile games that you play alone which are text-based. You can read out the stories written in English as the game progresses, but this is sure to be more fun if you are playing something in a group.
4. Indulge in some karaoke
You don’t only need to stock to books and podcasts to learn English at home. You can even improve your English speaking while having fun singing karaoke at home!
Download any of the karaoke apps on your phone such as Karaoke, Smule, and WeSing and sing away! The lyrics of the song will come on your phone and you can sing aloud your favourite English music titles.
Record yourself while you are at it so you can play it back and listen to yourself to identify which words you are pronouncing wrong.
Note down the difficult words in your notebook so you can check out how to speak them correctly using the pronunciation apps.
5. Call a customer support hotline
While we do not support unnecessarily disturbing customer service personnel to improve your English speaking skills at home, this is a good idea to note what you are pronouncing wrong.
If you have anything to know about some home appliance or beauty product or even new services being provided by your mobile network provider during this CCovid-19 lockdown, call up their hotline and have a chat with a customer service representative.
Since customer service personnel receive training classes in English speaking, their pronunciation would usually be flawless and you can learn a lot by conversing with someone like that in English.
6. Listen to audiobooks and audio drama
One of the most exciting ways to learn English speaking at home is to listen to great audiobooks and audio drama.
You can download free audiobooks from torrent websites or look up the many audiobook websites where you can find some of their collections for free.
Some famous audiobooks like the Harry Potter series and the Lord of the Rings series are very popular and are narrated by famous actors or spoken-voice artists.
You can pop in your headphones and lose yourself in a virtual world of fiction with these audiobooks during the Covid-19 lockdown! Listen closely to how the narrators are speaking to improve your own English speaking skills.
BBC also hosts radio drama series that are highly engaging. You can find some amazing collections online to download or stream on YouTube or other websites. Save them all on your phone to create your own collection and enjoy!
7. Check out British movies and TV series and memorise lines
This is the time when most people are watching a lot of TV series and movies at home because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
So choose your favourite British TV series or movies and watch them closely with the subtitles on.
Read aloud the lines in the same way the actors are speaking them onscreen to improve your English speaking skills while also enjoying a good show.
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