Tips to learn English without money and without a teacher
Hello dear reader and English learner. I sincerely that you are not allowing your language learning to stop when you exit the classroom. Over the years, I have had several students who said that learning a language in the classroom is enough. They thought that if they only studied English while in class, they would achieve success. Although this is not a lie, and you can indeed learn English if you only learn it in the classroom, your results can be much better if you expose yourself to the English language as much as you can. So, how can you learn English outside of the classroom?
1. Watch movies in English
Am I kidding? No, I definitely am not. Watching movies or TV series in English help to expose yourself to the English language, increase your comprehension, get used to listening different accents, and increase your English vocabulary. We can learn a lot by listening. If you’re just beginning to work on your English in this way, you can use the subtitles- but Focus more on listening to the language. However if you are an intermediate, upper intermediate, or advanced learner of the English language, make sure to avoid looking at the subtitles, and allow yourself a higher chance of paying more attention to the English language. After a while, you will realize that you don’t even need subtitles anymore, and that you can watch movies in English without any trouble. When it comes to the words that you don’t know, you can use context clues and read between the lines to figure out what they mean in context. Although many people consider watching movies and TV shows a waste of time, this can be a very valuable tool for your language learning process.
2. Set English as your default language on your smart devices
Although at the beginning, you might find it hard navigating your smart devices using a language that you don’t understand so well, setting English as your default language on your smart phone, tablet, TV, etc. will help you significantly when it comes to improving your vocabulary and it will help you understand many of the technical terms in English. Many of my students have reported that doing this help them a lot in their learning process, not only because they learnt more vocabulary, but because they were forced to rely only on their knowledge and understanding of the English language. Try it, and you will soon experience the benefits as well.
3. Listen to music in English
Do you like music? If you do, find some good music in the English language and listen to it. But don’t listen just to the melody. Listen to the words and try to sing along. Try to understand what the songs are about. This is an easy, but a very effective way of learning the English language, especially in terms of vocabulary and sentence patterns. However, be careful when choosing in the kind of music, as Rap and RnB often used incorrect grammar forms which could lead you to learning the wrong way. Older pop and rock music are a safer choice. If you are embarrassed of singing outdoors, there is always your shower and your car while you’re driving to work.
4. Find the foreign friend and write to him or her
In the earlier time, people used letters written on paper to communicate with friends who live too far away from them. Nowadays, people use the internet to communicate with each other regardless of the distance between them red. Choose whichever method you prefer, find a friend who speaks English and a good level, and write letters or emails to him or her. This will help you think in English more, it will help you improve your English writing skills and you will have fun in the process as well.
5. Speak English on the phone
If you already have a foreign friend who speaks English well, have a video chat or a phone call with that friend, and enjoy discussing your hobbies and your daily activities in English. Speaking in English and this way will help you think in English faster, and of course you will become more confident using the English language in your speech.
There are, of course, more ways to work on your English skills outside of the Classroom. All of these ways are free and almost effortless. Although, learning outside of the Classroom is very important and it helps you improve your skills significantly, remember that learning with an English teacher will help you learn the proper grammar, pronunciation, and language use.
If you are looking to improve your English skills and level online, feel free to contact me via email and I will be more than happy to provide you with a free trial class. In the meantime, don’t forget to work on your English – anytime and anywhere- using the methods listed in this article.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to contact me via contact form.
