Oz Eigo    English Study, Travel & World Culture

How Do I Improve My English?

How Do I Improve My English?
どうやって英語を上達させる？

Learning a language takes a lot of work.
The best way to learn a language is to start at an early age.  If you are immersed in a language as a child then it will become second nature for you.
But most people don’t have that option.  The next best way is to go and live in a country where they speak the language you learn.  Put yourself in a situation where you’re forced to use the language every day.  You’ll learn more in a month doing a homestay than you will taking classes once a week for a year.

If you don’t have that option then you can take classes, do language exchanges, read books, watch movies, listen to podcasts, read websites, talk on chat programs, use flashcards and do grammar exercises.  The key is to practice all the time.   I think twenty minutes of study every day is much better than two hours once a week.

It’s important to work out why you want to speak English.  Is it for business?  For travel?  To talk to foreign friends?  So you can understand movies without subtitles?
Focus on the areas that are most important for that goal.

Speaking （話す)
The Japanese school system emphasises reading and grammar not speaking.  I’ve taught some students that had high TOIEC scores (700+) but couldn’t have a basic conversation.  The more you speak the faster you’ll learn.  Try a language exchange or a conversation class.  It’s hard to practice this by yourself, but during the day you should try thinking in English.  For example, if you’re on the train and see someone playing a Nintendo DS, think how would I say that in English?

Listening (聞く）
If I speak quickly even most of my high level students won’t understand what I’m saying.  Watching foreign movies and TV shows is a good way to improve your listening.  Find a TV show that you like (for example 24 or Friends or Lost) and get the DVD set.  If you can, try getting a DVD that has English subtitles as well as Japanese.  The first time watch an episode for enjoyment with Japanese subtitles.  Then try watching it with English subtitles – this will help you recognise the words as they’re spoken.  Then try watching the episode again without subtitles.  A half hour TV show works well for this.
There are also some English radio shows and podcasts that you can listen to, plus some websites that allow you to listen to a dialogue and read it as it’s being spoken.
ESL Cyber-Listening Lab

Vocabulary (語彙)
Reading is one of the best ways to improve your vocabulary.  Another way is to work out what words you are going to need.  I’m surprised at how few of my students make the effort to learn words related to their jobs or interests.  If you like talking about movies, then look up related words in the dictionary (director, screenplay, subtitles, dubbed, etc).
It’s easy to look up words, but then how do you remember them?  If you just read them once and don’t use them you won’t remember them.  Try and use new words you’ve learned.   Flashcard programs are a great way to remember lots of vocabulary.
Try some flashcard programs

Reading (読む)
Buying a graded reader (one that has translations of difficult words) is a good way to improve your reading. Another way is to read English websites.  Find a news web site and every day try reading an article in a section (entertainment, world news, travel, business, etc) that you’re interested in.  Install a popup dictionary tool on your computer to make it easier to look up new words.
BBC News Learning English

Pronunciation （発音）
This is one of the hardest things to do, but it’s one of the most important.  I’ve taught some older students who have very good grammar, but it’s difficult to have even a simple conversation with them, because their pronunciation is so bad.  This is one of the reasons that people who start learning a language when they’re young have a big advantage, their pronunciation should be much better.  English pronunciation is difficult for Japanese speakers because Japanese doesn’t have many of the sounds used in English.  When Japanese speakers rely on Katakana pronunciation of foreign words, it hurts their ability to speak English well.
There are some computer programs that analyse your speech and show you areas where your pronunciation isn’t accurate.  But many of these computer programs have problems – it’s very hard for a computer to get English pronunciation right.  Most programs can’t tell the difference between the pronunciation of read in these two sentences.

I read a book yesterday.
I’m going to read a book tomorrow.

To try and improve your pronunciation, try some pronunciation web sites and you can try talking to native speakers.

Grammar (文法)
This is the least fun area of learning a language.  The best way is to get a good grammar book and work through the exercises.  Have a look at websites that have grammar exercises.
There are certain areas of English that are very difficult to master (when to use a and the for example).  You will have to do lots of reading and practice.  Try writing a journal in English and have a native speaker correct it.
Grammar Quizzes

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Tags: English, English Study Tips