Subject File ENGLISH AROUND THE WORLD: How to learn English

To learn English, the most effective strategy is to immerse yourself in the language and practice consistently across all four core skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.

"Learning a language is very much like building a house." 

You may have heard this metaphor before. 

It suggests a step-by-step, foundational process of language acquisition. Like constructing a sturdy home, mastering a language requires a solid base, structural components, and constant maintenance to achieve true proficiency.

1. The first and most critical phase of building is creating a strong foundation. For language, this means learning the basic building blocks, such as core vocabulary, pronunciation, and the most fundamental grammatical rules. 
2. Once the foundation is set, you add the structural framework and then the other essentials such as walls. In language learning, this corresponds to the practice phase. You take the concepts and structures you've learned and apply them by having actual conversations, reading books, and writing to make your knowledge functional.
3. A house is never truly "finished"; it requires constant upkeep and renovation. In the same way, language learning is never complete. You can always add to your vocabulary, refine your pronunciation, or learn new slang and idioms, adding "extensions" and "renovations" to your skills.

How to learn English: useful advice for your exam preparation

Integrating English into your daily life

1. Surround yourself with English. Make living a bilingual life a matter of routine rather than an exception.
2. Place sticky notes with useful or topic vocab around you. Use flashcards with content to revise what you have learnt. Have them with you wherever you have time to go over them. 
3. Change your device settings. Switch the language on your phone, computer, and social media accounts to English for constant exposure.
4. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Learning a language involves making errors. Focus on communication rather than perfection.
5. Practice makes perfect. Make using English a daily habit!

Reading

1. Reading is crucial for language learning because it expands vocabulary, improves grammar comprehension, and strengthens overall fluency and writing skills. It allows learners to absorb the natural rhythm of a language, encounter words in context, and build a broader knowledge base in an engaging way. 
2. For exam preparation, read around the exam topics. Start with the texts in your textbook and in the additional resources provided to you. Read aloud. This helps you practice pronunciation and intonation, and it trains your brain to process spoken English. 

Listening

1. Listen actively. Don't just hear the words; try to understand the message and the context. After listening, summarize what you have heard using the vocabulary from the listening comprehension exercise, or try to rephrase the content in your own words.
2. For exam preparation, watch documentaries and news shows in English. Start with subtitles in your own language, or in English, and later switch off the subtitles to practice your listening comprehension. The best source of informative programmes is youtube.
3. Listen to podcasts. Find podcasts on exam topics and listen to them while doing other things such as going for a walk. Listen to English music and look up the lyrics to help you understand what is being sung.

Speaking

1. Practice, practice, practice. The best way to improve your speaking is to do it often with as many different people as possible. Team up with classmates to form learners' groups.
2. Talk to yourself. Consistently revise class content, practising conversations or presentations. Also, use a mirror to correct body language issues. 
3. Record your voice. Listen to yourself to identify things you might not notice otherwise, such as speaking too quickly or mumbling. 
4. Shadow videos and shows on youtube. Watch the programme, then mute it and switch on the subtitles. While watching it again, read or speak along. This is a great method of improving pronunciation and learning new and difficult vocabulary.
5. If you have the opportunity, go abroad. Travel to a country where English is the language of everyday communication. This will help you to switch to an English-speaking mode, and speaking English will then feel more natural.