6 easy ways to learn English

Steffanie Zazulak
Woman wearing headphones outside, smiling and looking hopeful

When you¡¯re learning English, it¡¯s important to keep your motivation up. As with any task, there may be times when it feels a bit more difficult, so switch up your methods and don¡¯t be afraid to make mistakes ¨C you¡¯ll reach the level you want to be at.

We¡¯ve already provided some unique ways to teach English that you may now have experienced with your teacher. Here, we suggest some easy ways to learn English that you can try any time ¨C at home, at work or on the move. Why not try them today? Surround yourself with English and you¡¯ll see improvements in your language confidence and skills, while having fun at the same time¡­

1. English words with friends

Scrabble is a classic board game in which players use random lettered tiles to create words in a crossword fashion. It¡¯s a fantastic way to strengthen your English vocabulary, and there¡¯s also a Scrabble Junior version for beginners. Playing Scrabble challenges you to really think in English as you try to come up with different words using your set of letters.

If you¡¯re taking an English class, buy the board game and invite your classmates to play with you. You can also play Scrabble online through websites like Facebook, where it is called Words With Friends.

2. Add some music

Not only will your favorite song wake up your mind and put you in a positive mood to learn English, but the lyrics can help you expand your skills. acquire grammar and vocabulary and improve spelling.

Songs almost always contain a lot of useful vocabulary, phrases and expressions. And since the intended audience is fluent English speakers, the latest tunes include up-to-date language and colloquialisms. The language used in songs is casual and usable, if you pick the right music. Music also has an uncanny ability to stick in our heads, which can help you remember your new English words.

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3. Try, try and try again

To commit new English words to memory, it¡¯s important to keep using them. Keep a notebook of new words you learn, and try to use them in three different sentences. Write your sentences down and say them out loud. The repetition will help you remember the word, and working out different uses of the word will help expand your vocabulary bank. Remember, taking small steps like these will still help you to reach your goal.

4. Join online English forums

The key here is to join forums for subjects you are interested in ¨C that way, your motivation will rub off on your English learning and you¡¯ll be more inclined to participate. So, whether it¡¯s photography, movies, traveling or cooking, discuss your passion with other like-minded people in English.

If you feel nervous about people identifying you, make an anonymous profile. Then read through the forum to see what people are discussing. Once you feel confident, actively participate in the forum by answering questions posed by other people ¨C or post your own questions and have a conversation with the other members who answer you.

5. Get with the language

One of the most effective and easy ways to learn English is to immerse yourself in the language fully. Find an English-speaking radio station to listen to, watch an English-speaking movie or TV show or surround yourself with people having conversations in English. Listen carefully to conversations in restaurants, on the bus or in shops and try to pick up the everyday use of the language.

Not only will this help your listening skills, but you can also try to pronounce the words yourself in context to improve your speaking skills. With modern technology and apps, this can be done practically anywhere.

6. Read to learn English

You could really give your reading skills a boost here ¨C but your speaking skills can benefit, too. The more you read English text to yourself or aloud, the more confidence you will have. If you feel nervous, start by practicing at home then move on to reading in front of an audience and asking for their feedback. Of course, it¡¯s also enjoyable to read some wonderful stories.

E-readers and tablets make learning English even easier because if you don¡¯t know a word, you can click on it to read its definition. On the Kindle, you can add new words you¡¯ve learnt to its Vocabulary Builder feature, which is stored on the device.

Others recommend listening to and reading text at the same time as an excellent way to enhance the learning process. Kindle¡¯s Whispersync for Voice is designed for just this purpose and includes audio with selected books, so you can listen and follow the text as you read.

Read our blog post How long does it take to learn English?

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  • A woman reading outside with a book

    Three ways English students can learn to read at home

    By Kate Fitzpatrick
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Read more at home if you want to learn English faster: three ways to get into the habit

    I can hear parents, ELT learners and teachers all over the world thinking to themselves: We know it helps if English students learn to read for pleasure at home, but how are we supposed to find the time? Who is buying these materials? What if a parent doesn¡¯t speak English themselves?

    That¡¯s the beauty of reading at home, also called extensive reading: it¡¯s completely autonomous and parents can be as involved as much or little as they like. There¡¯s more good news as it¡¯s never been cheaper to assemble a selection of extensive readers for your children or students, meaning that cost is no longer so much of a barrier to reading at home.

    Is extensive reading really that critical to learning English?

    Stephen D. Krashen¡¯s [1]??offers a marvellous summary and critique of extensive reading studies around the world, concluding that:

    "When [second language learners] read for pleasure, they can continue to improve in their second language without classes, without teachers, without study and even without people to converse with.¡¯"?(Krashen 1993 p. 84)

    Philip Prowse¡¯s excellent article, ¡°What is the secret of extensive reading?¡±[2]?agrees with Krashen¡¯s conclusion.

    Prowse goes into more detail about efficacy studies at primary, secondary and adult levels. This body of evidence finds that reading for pleasure improves results in grammar, writing, speaking and fluency, as well as comprehension and vocabulary ¨C both alongside and instead of traditional textbooks.

    So, we know it works. As with so many education-related things, the question is how to implement them. Christine Nuttall talks about the virtuous circle of reading ¨C once a learner begins to enjoy reading, they are more likely to read more and benefit more from it, so they learn to read more, and so on.

    The reverse is also true. The questions then follow: how do we motivate our Instakids to read at home in English, if they won¡¯t read in their first language? How do we carve out time between travel, work, school and homework? Here are three ways you can form the habit of reading at home:

    1. Learners need access to extensive reading material at home to use it

    Krashen establishes this common-sense fact based on five studies from 1983 to 2003.[2]?It can be a reading app, an online library subscription or a pile of readers in the corner ¨C whatever it is, it has to be the right level for the student and it has to be a topic they¡¯re interested in, or they¡¯ll never learn to read for pleasure.

    Negative reading habits can happen simply because there isn¡¯t much available to the learner: Worthy and McCool studied 11 sixth-graders in 1998 who "hated to read", and found a direct correlation between those students and the lack of reading material at home.[3] Thankfully, we now have more options than we used to:

    For extensive reading online, the Extensive Reading Foundation offers good-quality, free materials, in audio and print, at its .?These text resources and audiobooks tend to be quite basic and the stories are largely classics. You can choose by level and genre, and there is also a publisher directory.

    • You can purchase full ɫèAV English Readers and other publishers¡¯ Kindle editions on the Kindle store, iBookstore and Google Play, and read them on an e-reader, phone or tablet using the Kindle app. These are finely-graded, contemporary, relevant e-books with titles like , , , , , , and .
    • An e-book library subscription can be a cost-effective way to get access to a lot of e-books online through your browser. is a Japanese-run online library which offers hundreds of full-text graded readers, from reputable publishers, and charges about $19 per year.
    • For print readers, cost can be an issue. If you can't buy readers at your local bookshop from a publisher like ɫèAV, you can buy first- or second-hand readers cheaply from Amazon or the Book Depository, or you can ask your school to let you know when they¡¯re upgrading their readers library, as you may be able to take some of the older books home.

    2.?Make the most of the commute or the school run

    The key here is routine ¨C give it a try and see if it works for you. Reading doesn¡¯t just happen on a page. Today¡¯s English learners have multiple ways to read for pleasure on their various devices as well as in print, all of which are well-adapted for reading and listening on the train/on the bus/in the car/on foot.

    I listen to podcasts on my commute by train and, to this day, I know my times tables thanks to a tape my mother used to play in the car on the way to primary school.

    • Download a podcast or audiobook. Ideally, an English learner would both read and listen, but one or the other is better than nothing. Audible.com has plenty of English extensive readers in audiobook format, and a year¡¯s membership is $10 per month, or you can buy individual audiobooks. There are classic extensive reading podcasts available on iTunes for $4.99 each.
    • Never underestimate your public library.??is an online service that finds your local library for you, wherever you are in the world. You can also search by title and see which libraries carry that particular book. Just think: you could create an instant, extensive reading library at your home for free that changes every month.

    3. Consider the power of rewards

    You can reward your child or reward yourself for building a reading habit. Remember, we are talking about starting a virtuous circle: persuading a learner to begin a new habit of reading in English for pleasure. Reward mechanisms can be very effective.

    This idea should be explored on a case-by-case basis ¨C it depends on what you or your child responds to best. In my opinion, starting a reading habit is well worth a glass of wine, a chocolate treat, or an extra half-hour playing video games.

    References

    [1]?Krashen, Stephen D. (2004)?,?p57

    [2]? Prowse, Philip: ¡°¡±?

    [3] Worthy, J. and McKool, S. (1996): ¡°¡± in Ibid, p61