“How can I learn English by myself?”
“What should I study in English?”
“How can I speak English fluently step by step?”
“What is your favorite way to practice English?”
“What is the most difficult thing about English?”
“Why are you learning English?”
Do you think English is a difficult language to learn? Have you ever spoken English on the phone? How do you use the Internet to learn English? How can English language help you advance in your career?
Which country is the best place to study English? How often do you practice your English? What do you think you will be able to do in English in the future? “Why are you learning English?”
Anyway, when you’re down on motivation, it’s a great idea to get some advice from an expert. We don’t always have experts on hand, though. If that’s the case and you need some advice to help you get motivated to learn English, turn to some of the greatest thinkers of the past with these 6 quotes.
If you want to be a fluent speaker of English in the future, you need to learn some…
6 quotes to help you get motivated to learn English
① You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream (C.S.Lewis)
Many people say it’s easier to learn a language when you are young but there are advantages to learn a language when you are older. You might not be sure you can realize your dream, but set a goal and try hard to reach it.
② Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever (Gandhi)
Enjoy living in the moment but remember that learning English will prepare you for the future. In a world where everyone else is learning, if you don’t take your learning seriously you will fall behind.
③ There is no substitute for hard work (Thomas Edison)
Learning is not a spectator sport. Learning any language is hard work so prepare well, put in the hours and you will achieve your goals. Reading is not just important for acquiring knowledge, it will help you build your vocabulary and range in English, too.
④ It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop (Confucius)
Learning a skill such as a new language can take a long time. If you feel like your progress is slow, bear in mind these wise words from someone. The important thing is to keep going and you will get there in the end.
⑤ Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better (Samuel Beckett)
Making mistakes is a natural part of the language learning process. The key is to learn from these mistakes. Don’t be afraid to try out new things in English but always remember to reflect on them and decide what was successful and what you need to keep working on.
⑥ To have another language is to possess a second soul (Charlemagne)
Learning a new language gives you the chance to be a different person if you want to. Make the most of that chance. And remember to slow down and enjoy the process. The language itself is often as enjoyable as the end goal.
Here are some things you can do to improve your English ①
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
- Surround yourself in English. Put yourself in an all English speaking environment where you can learn passively.
- Practise every day. Make yourself a study plan. Decide how much time a week you are going to spend studying and stick to it.
- Tell your family and friends about your study plan. Get them to push you to study and also don’t let them interrupt you.
- Practise the 4 core skills : reading, writing, speaking and listening. They all need to be worked on for you to improve.
- Keep a notebook of new words you learn. Use them in sentences and try to say them at least 3 times when you speak.
- Visit EC’s free learn English website at least once a day and complete a lesson.
- You will find words easier to remember if you try to remember an example sentence using that word rather the word on its own.
- Plan to take a test. You’ll find that you work harder when you need to study for something. However, it’s better not to study just to take a test.
- Give yourself a long term goal and short term goals. Focus on working towards it. And reward yourself when you achieve each one.
- Create an atmosphere in which you want to learn, not because you have to.
- Know what works best for you. Think about what methods have been successful for you in the past and stick with them.
- Get help. If you don’t understand something you’ve got to ask someone.
- Make sure that you take the time to review things you have studied in the past.
- Watch DVDs rather than TV. It’s better to use something that you can watch over again to catch information you might have missed the first time.
- Read graded readers. These books are especially written for your level. Read a whole novel. You can do it! You’ll feel great afterwards.
- Read for the general meaning first. Don’t worry about understanding every word, then go back and look up new words.
- For a word you don’t understand in a sentence, look at the other words around it. They will give you a hint. Try to guess the meaning from the context and learn root words. They’ll help you guess the meaning of words.
Here are some things you can do to improve your English ②
- Use English whenever you can.
- Don’t translate into English from your own language. Think in English to improve your fluency.
- You can’t learn English from a book. Like driving a car, you can only learn through doing it.
- The most natural way to learn grammar is through talking.
- Keep an English diary or journal. Start by writing a few sentences a day and then get into the habit of writing more.
- Why not start an online blog and share your writings with the world?
- Think about the structure. After that, write your piece using good grammar and spelling. Finally, read it through or give it to someone else to check for mistakes.
- Learn English songs and sing along with them to improve fluency and intonation.
- Shadow English CDs. Listen to a few sentences then repeat what you heard. Focus on the rhythm and intonation.
- Have English radio on in your house. Even if you are not actively listening to it, you will still be training your ears.
- Record your voice and listen to your pronunciation and intonation. It will help you to identify your problem areas.
- Use English dictionary as it will help you to keep thinking in English and not translating.
- Don’t become too reliant on your dictionary. Your dictionary should be an aid, not your main teacher. Try to guess the meaning of words rather than going straight for your dictionary.
- Don’t give up! Stay positive! Sometimes you will feel that you aren’t learning quickly enough. Everyone feels like this, don’t worry about it. You’ll get there in the end.
- Enjoy it! We learn more when we are having fun!
- Keep yourself motivated by looking back at the textbooks and CDs you used in the past. You’ll be surprised at how easy they seem to you now. Your level is improving.
- Use resources which match your level. Don’t use texts/listening exercises which are too difficult or too easy. Use materials which challenge you but don’t frustrate you.
- Gather your thoughts. Take a second to think about what you’re going to say. You know the grammar, but maybe you don’t use it correctly when you speak.
Here are some things you can do to improve your English ③
- Remember that as long as you have tried your hardest, you have succeeded.
- Learn English with friends. You’ll have someone you can practise with and you can motivate each other to study.
- Keep in mind that it takes longer to improve when our level is high. Usually the fastest progress is made when we are beginners.
- Make sure that your English matches the occasion. It’s OK to use slang with friends but not in a business meeting. Decide in which situation it’s appropriate to use the words and phrases you have learned.
- When you learn a new word, think of all its other forms: Beautiful (adjective), beauty (noun), beautifully (adverb).
- Learn prefixes (dis-, un-, re-) and suffixes (-ly, -ment, -ful), these will help you to figure out the meaning of words and build your vocabulary.
- Textbook English is often different from the way we casually speak. To learn casual ‘slang’ watch movies.
- Idioms can be difficult to memorise, but they are great fun to use and they’ll make your English more colourful.
- When talking we usually link words together so that two words can sound like one. Practise these to improve your listening and pronunciation.
- For fluency, try image training. Before you go to that restaurant think through what the waiter is likely to say to you. Think of what phrases you are going to use.
- Nobody can learn all of the English language. No need to worry about trying.
- Find a comfortable, peaceful place for quiet study. You need somewhere where you can focus 100%.
- Take an English course in an English speaking country. If you studying abroad, mix with people from other countries not only people from your own country.
- It’s not a good idea for you to live in a shared house with people from your own country. Enjoy a more cultural experience by spending time with other nationalities.
- Don’t be put off by a bad test score. Sometimes students have the ability to pass an English test, but can’t communicate well with English speakers. If you can speak freely in English, you should be proud of yourself.
- Meet new people. Make the effort to mix with English speakers in your town. You could join a club or go to bars where foreigners hang out. Buy one a drink, they love that.
- Verb tenses are used by English speakers to talk about the timing of actions. You might not have the same expressions in your own language. It’s important that you know these tenses and when to use them.
Conclusion
Remember, it is possible to communicate big ideas with relatively limited language. Don’t feel like you need perfect English before you can go out and have interesting conversations with other people. Using your English skills is fun. Make time just to enjoy speaking English.
If you get nervous when speaking, take two deep breaths before you say something. You’ll speak better when you feel relaxed. If you haven’t gotten the results you wanted yet, it’s not because you’re bad at languages, it’s because you haven’t found your own special way of learning yet.
There are many types of English : British, American, South African and so on. None of these are wrong or not as important. English is English. Instead, be aware of the differences in American and British English and use your words accordingly. For example: Elevator (US) / Lift (British).
You can’t ignore phrasal verbs (two words verbs), there are hundreds of them in English and they’re widely used. The more you focus on their meaning, the more you’ll be able to guess the meaning of new ones. You’ll start to recognise their patterns.
Finally,
Debate. Discuss topics in a group. Each person should choose a viewpoint (even if you don’t agree with it) and debate it within the group. Make sure you get your point across. Learn to listen actively. Active listening will help in the classroom and it will help you get more out of, and contribute more to, group study sessions.
Focus on the person who is talking. Don’t fidget or become distracted by other people or events. Concentrate on the speaker with your ears and eyes. Follow the movements the speaker makes in an effort to hear more. It may help to repeat what you hear others say in an effort to understand their thoughts.