To learn English quickly, you have to work hard and smart. If you want to give yourself the best shot at high quality learning then you need to know the secrets of picking up the information at speed – and retaining it.

To kick-start the knowledge soaking process, here are few tips to help you maximize your learning experience.

1. Don’t hesitate, just speak!
Make sure that every time you come across the opportunity to speak English you do – note the number of times you’re contributing in your English classes and try to double it the next time you go. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes!

2. Use all of your Resources.
Even if you study English at a language school it doesn’t mean you can’t learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it’s perfect.

3. Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible.

Listen to English Music, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin “thinking in English.”

4. Try distance and internet learning
There are plenty of distance learning courses and internet study programmes available to help you learn English, which typically work out cheaper, but you risk remaining almost as isolated as you would be if you learned independently. If you do go for this option, try to find English speakers to talk to via Skype so that you still get the benefit of real conversation and interaction with others.

5. Don’t give up.
As with any new skill that you’re trying to learn there will be a period where it just feels like you’ll never get it. No one is born a natural English speaker when it’s not their first language but, like any skill, the more you practice and the longer you practice for, the better you will get. Think of yourself as an athlete in training – you need to put in the practice hours if you want to get over the line.

6. Set yourself targets and have clear goals.
To maintain perspective and stay motivated you need to bear in mind why you’re doing what you’re doing. What are your targets? I.e. being able to study in English, to learn a new language, do you want to travel to English speaking countries, are you going to work in an English speaking country? What are your goals? How long do you want to spend learning English, what learning methods do you want to use, how will you know when you’ve got to a point that you’re happy with?

7. Attend English classes.
This will give you a structured programme to follow and will force you to keep up with studying, and you’ll have the added motivation of learning with other people. Even on short courses you will learn to understand the English, improve your level, you will become confident in your English and learn a lot of new and interesting things.

You may also like…