Learn English Learn English
If you ask an English teacher, he/she would tell you that every English course should have four main aims:
- To improve your performance in speaking, listening, reading and writing;
- To increase your awareness of the language systems of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation;
- To increase your awareness of strategies for self-study during and after your course;
- To develop your ability to evaluate your own performance and progress.
With that in mind, you need to choose an English course in London suitable to your needs. You have different options:
- General English courses, which can be daytime English lessons, for students and adults studying English, afternoon/evening/part-time English lessons, for workers;
- Cambridge and IELTS Preparation courses;
- University Foundation courses;
- Professional English courses, for people interested in specific fields (such as Banking, Accounting, Finance, Law, Economics, etc.).
We have some suggestions for you:
Try to “live” in an English Environment
This doesn't mean that you need to move to England. It simply means that you ought to be surrounded by English, so that, on the one hand, you learn faster, on the other hand, you enjoy yourself. In fact, what really matters to improve your English is make your mind think in English!
Listening
People usually think listening is the most difficult skill to improve. They're wrong! You simply need to follow some techniques. You don't need to understand every single word to make sense of what you hear: what you really need is an overall understanding of what is being said, so try to identify 'key words'. Listen to Tv and radio. Use music to learn and enjoy yourself: Repeat the words following the singer. This exercise is good both for listening and speaking.
Speaking
Don't worry the way you speak! Speak as much as possible!!! What's the best way to learn English? The babies' way = Repetition. You need to practice: learning by doing here means by speaking. Don't be scared of telling what you think or feel. Don't be afraid of what people may think of what you're saying! The best way to practice speaking is, of course, to talk to native speakers of the language. Try to imitate their pronunciation and fluency: Every language has got a specific rhythm. To realise that, spend some time to hear different people from different countries, can you appreciate their different flows? To improve your English, repeat words, phrases and whole sentences, attempting to imitate exactly the pronunciation, intonation and speed of the native speakers. You can also test your improvements: record your voice and listen to it after a while, you'll be really impressed with the progress you've done!
Reading
Read as much as possible! Newspapers, magazines, books, leaflets, etc., anything is important to increase your level of understanding. Compare and contrast two articles about the same topic from 'The Sun' and 'The Times': Do they seem different languages to you? The former uses informal language, the latter formal language. When you read, a useful help comes from prediction: The titles should give you some clues about the content. In addition, first skim the text (fast reading), to get a rough idea what the text is about, then scan it (spend some time to get a more detailed idea).
Writing
To improve your writing skills it's very useful to read frequently by using authentic materials to see how language is used in a real context (newspapers, magazines, books, Internet, etc.). Learn how to avoid repetitions in your writing and develop a sense of style (thinking about the intended readers).
Grammar and Vocabulary
The way you can improve your grammar is very personal, but don't be afraid of your mistakes: Be prepared to learn from them. Study hard! Doing a lot of exercises, studying grammar, looking up words in a dictionary, allow you to improve your English. Repetition!!! Exercises are important to verify if and how much you're progressing.
Some tools to help you
Books
Newspapers and magazines
Leaflets and brochures
Cd-roms
BBC (Television and Radio)
The Internet
Skype