The most important part of learning a language is being committed to learning it and understanding that it is a process. It will take you time to learn a language so be patient with yourself while you learn. When we learn a language there are four areas we need to work on to develop, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Normally it is easier to read and listen because we are taking information and storing it in our brains. It is a bit like memorizing and being able to recogize something we saw or heard before. It is more difficult to speak and write because we are being asked to use the information stored in our brains and to create something with it. This is a higher level of learning. We need to build knowledge and practice using it before we are able to create things all on our own.
The best way to learn anything is to actively engage with it so you become the expert with whatever you are learning. You have heard the phrase "practice makes perfect", right? You won't be fluent in English if you only listen to English but never do anything with it. You won't be fluent in English if you do not try to speak or always depend on your native language. In order for you to grow, you need to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable. Let me say that again. You need to be comfortable and know it is ok when you are not comfortable using English. It is ok to not know how to say word, to ask questions, to make mistakes, to pronounce a word wrong or to not be confident using your new language. It is normal because it is new to you and you are learning how to use it. Be kind to yourself and patient. No one expects you to be perfect using English and we are proud of you for putting in the effort to learn it.
How can you actively engage with and practice your English? Below are some of the ways you can work to practice your English and build your fluency with reading, writing, listening and speaking.
1 Use Language Apps
Language apps are an awesome way for you to build your vocabulary, be introduced to new grammar and a fun way to get you using your English. There are many options out there and not all apps are created equally. I can share some of my favorites with you. I use them almost everyday to keep building my Korean and Chinese fluency because like many of you, I am a beginner, learning two new languages. My favorite language apps are Duolingo, Falou, and Beelinguapp. Duolingo is really fantastic with repetition, high frequency words, reminding you to practice and celebrating your successes. Falou is really cool because you can record yourself speaking and the app tells you how well you pronounced the word or sentences in the language you are trying to learn. Beelinguapp is an awesome way to start reading in a new language. It has short stories about topics you choose, it highlights vocabulary in the reading and then asks you some basic reading comprehension questions to make sure you understood what you read. I find time to use my apps every day whether it's reading while drinking coffee in the morning, waiting and entertaining myself with my language apps or just trying to remember my Chinese alphabet or the sound each Korean vowel makes.
2 Keep a Journal
When you keep a journal for English you can use it to measure your progress, see what went well this week and what was hard for you using English, write down new vocabulary words, write down questions you have about English for your teacher, and it helps you start writing in English regularly. Keeping a journal is a good way for you to think about your learning journey and see what you are doing well, what you have learned and where you can keep practicing. Your journal doesn't have to be very long but you should write in it every day.
Try using one of these sentence stems:
Today _______________ was hard for me because ___________________.
I did it! I ____________________ today and people understood me.
I don't know how to say this word ____________________.
I don't know what ________________ means.
I learned a new word. ____________________ means __________________ and I can say it in English in a sentence like this ________________________________________.
I need to ask my teacher about _________________________________ because I am confused.
Today I studied English (how did you study)___________________________ and I practiced (what did you study) _____________________.
I read __________________ today . It was about _______________________. My favorite part was _______________________.
3 Listen to Native English Speakers
You can listen to music, watch a TV show, get on Netflix, listen to a podcast or whatever you want so that you hear what English from native speakers should sound like. You can use closed captions to help you understand and as your English improves change the captions from your native language to English captions so you can follow along. You can write down the lyrics to a song based only on what you think you heard, and then, go back and find the lyrics to the song and see how close were your lyrics to what the song actually said. You can listen to someone on TV and then pause them and try to repeat what they said making sure to copy how they sounded. You can listen to audio books and change how fast or how slow the reader reads to build your listening fluency. So maybe at first you need them to speak slowly for you to understand but after hearing it a few times you can speed up how fast they say things. Listening and trying to copy what you heard and making sure you understood what you heard is a very important skill.
4 Speak in English Everyday
Speak English everyday even if you make mistakes, say things wrong or are not sure how to say it. The important part is that you try and eventually you will get it right. Speaking in English helps you use grammar, vocabulary and pronounce English all the time and it is essential for you to communicate with others. So you should practice this all the time.
You can always start a conversation by saying:
I am learning English, please speak slowly.
Can you repeat that? I am learning English.
What does ____________ mean? I am learning English.
People will be more patient with you when they know you are learning English and that you are making an effort to use it. You can be patient with yourself too and remind yourself that you are learning and will make mistakes, and this is ok. We learn from our mistakes, so keep up the good work and keep talking. Always speak using complete sentences. You can start by using simple sentences. Do not give one word answers.
For example, What is your name?
Do not say, "Natasha."
Instead, you want to say, "My name is Natasha." This is a complete, simple sentence. It has a subject and a verb.
As you build your fluency you can make your sentences longer and more complex.
"My name is Natasha Jobbagy and I am your ESL teacher this semester. You can call me Ms. Jobbagy."
5 Read in English Everyday
Reading is a great way for you to build your vocabulary and see how English grammar is used. You don't have to start reading hard materials. Read small things, and when you can, read for your level. Try and read for 30 minutes a day. You don't want to read a professional paper when you are just beginning English. This will only overwhelm you and make you want to quit learning before you even had a chance to start. Go slow and steady and remember, you got this! If the book you decided to read has more than 5-7 words that you don't recognize on one page, it might be too hard for you to read by yourself and it might be better to read it together in class with your teacher. When you read, highlight the words you don't know, make a word book where you define these words and learn synonyms, put question marks (?) when you have a question about something and then ask your teacher about it.
If you make practicing English everyday part of your daily routines, I promise, you will be speaking English in no time. Give yourself time to learn and be comfortable with being uncomfortable. You will learn it eventually and you will look back on all your experiences and say wow, look at how much I have learned this year. Keep up the great work!
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