Learning English

There seems to be a lot of people coming to the site asking about how to learn and speak English fast and well.

As Mas Fred has said very simply 'Practice, Practice, Practice'

If you want to be a capable and confident user of English then you need to really try and the following things.

1. Read. Read books, magazines, websites all in English. Children's books, novels, anything that contains English.
As you read you will learn structures, discourse, grammar, sentence layout etc. The material does not have to be advanced or complicated but needs to be material you can understand.
However as you read, you will come across words you may not understand, so reach for a dictionary or better still a Thesaurus which will give you alternative words which mean the same. Bilingual dictionaries will help but not necessarily provide you with the right context. Don't worry too much about whether or not you understand all the words, but focus on the message and in time the understanding will come.
2. Listen. Listen to all things English; Radio stations, music, Podcasts, the choice is endless. The internet is full of choice and learn to find and search for things to help you with learning  English.
3. Write. Write in English everyday, not Google translate but write in your own words. If you are reading and using English then writing will come easier and more accurate as you practice. Remember if it does not sound right when you read your writing then it probably isn't.
4. Speaking. Everyone wants to speak as good as the Expat. Great. But before you do that, become comfortable in the English you know and confident to use. Then practice practice practice. Find people who speak English and talk to them. If you speak with Expats, don't worry if your English is not so great, we don't mind, we will understand you. Don't apologise for it either as we understand you are trying. But, the one thing you need to try and do is remove all the 'errrrrr' and 'apa' from your speaking when you do. Slow down as well and speak clearly. It all helps

Finally, if you can afford it join an English course. There are courses for all levels and ages in many places through the city. Yes some are more expensive than others and some are better than others but it is worth the investment if you can afford the time and money and want to feel better about your language.

A little tip for you, if you are searching for language support on the internet, then try adding esl at the end of what you are searching for. For example, typing into a search engine 'listening activities in English' will give you  different and more complicated activities than if you search for 'listening activities esl'