You’re reading this because you want to learn English.
I imagine that you have limited time during the day to do this, right?
Well, the good news is that you’re about to learn the 10 most effective ways to learn so you can improve fast. And you can do this from anywhere in the world!
Watch the lesson, read the article, and start implementing these learning strategies today:
1: The English Fluency Reading Method
This method will help you get input AND will help you learn new words and phrases.
It solves the problem between intensive and extensive reading. Intensive reading is where you read with a focus on the language. Extensive reading is where you read to enjoy the book.
Here is the method that gives you the best of both worlds.
- Read a chapter at a time
- Highlight words that you don’t understand – but don’t stop reading
- Once you complete a chapter, go back and look up the highlighted words
- Enter the sentences that contain these new words into spaced-repetition software
- Go back and read the book again once you have done all this
Here is the video with the full reading method:
2: ABL: Always Be Listening
Just like reading, there are two ways to listen to English:
- Completely focus on what you’re listening to
- Listen while doing other things
While I recommend making time for focused listening, listening while doing other things is a fantastic way to do more in English.
Find your favorite podcasts, YouTube videos, and listen while walking the dog, commuting, working out etc.
You will learn subconsciously and have moments when you can focus on the language.
This will help you get used to the sounds of English and the way people talk.
Here’s more on how to improve your listening.
3: Copy How Native Speakers Speak
You’re told not to copy others in school.
But when it comes to learning English, I want you to copy English speakers. Here’s how:
- Find sentences of English with audio
- Listen to the audio
- Repeat after the speaker and record your own version
- Compare your version to the original and make change
This is how you’re going to dramatically improve your accuracy when speaking. You’re also going to improve your listening, your vocabulary, and your grammar.
This is the most powerful method that I know of.
To get the full method, a pronunciation tutorial, and over 1,000 flashcards with audio (so you can use this method easily) join the To Fluency Program.
4: Use Flashcards to Get the Repetition You Need
This is the next step in the To Fluency Method.
Once you have mastered a phrase, get repetition.
Repetition is key. This is how you’re going to internalize correct English. This is how you’re going to speak without thinking or translating.
Use Anki to use digital flashcards. Upload your own from books, TV shows, grammar books, anywhere really. Or join TFP to download over 1,000 with audio.
This is all based on the forgetting curve:
Repeat the sentence 2-3 times today. Then again tomorrow. Then 4 days, 8 days, 16 etc.
This is the most effective way to get the repetition you need.
5: Shadow English Speakers
The To Fluency Method works on accuracy and fluency. Shadowing has more of a focus on fluency.
Here is an example of someone shadowing:
Here, the learner is shadowing Chinese. It works like this:
- You find audio in English – like a podcast or a Ted Talk
- You repeat what you hear without pausing the audio
- Optional: you walk while doing this
It’s important to avoid mumbling. Find audio that is easy to follow so that you can work on your fluency.
Try this and let me know how it goes.
6: Write with This Amazing App to Improve Your Grammar
Learners don’t practice their writing enough.
Doing it right means that you are going to get some natural practice AND get feedback on the mistakes you make.
To do this, you’ll need to get Grammarly (free and paid version).
This tool works on computers and mobile devices and it shows mistakes you make with your grammar. Here is a quick video to highlight how it works:
7: Do What You Do Now… But in English!
This is how you can immerse yourself in English no matter where you live.
This is quite simple. Do what you do now but do it in English. If you are researching a new camera to buy, do that in English.
If you want to read about the history of America, do it in English.
Watch TV in English. Turn the language of your devices into English. Listen to English music.
This gives you the input you need.
8: Find Natural English Speaking Practice
This is where you put everything you have learned together and get speaking.
Do this by:
- Paying a teacher on a platform such as iTalki
- Find a language exchange partner
- Making English-speaking friends
Find time to do this at least once per week.
It makes learning English real and will help you improve your speaking and listening.
9: Focus on the type of English You Need to Learn
I had a student a few years ago who learned all his English from 19th century novels.
His English was, let’s say, very interesting 😂
It’s important to focus on two things here:
- Frequently used everyday English phrases
- Vocabulary that you are going to use
For example, if you are a server in Madrid at a restaurant where a lot of English speakers frequent, then learn the phrases you need to know for this job.
Or if you give presentations to English speakers on economic policy, learn phrases related to this.
People speak about what they’re interested in too. If you like football, learn phrases related to football. Here’s a video on that:
This ensures you’re learning in an effective way.
10: Set a Goal
If you say, “I want to learn English” say this instead:
Within 6 months, I will have a C1 level of English.
This is what having a C1 level of English means:
That’s a great level to have, right?
Having a goal means that you have something to aim for. It means that you can create a plan of action that will move you towards this goal.
Here is a video on my 5-Step Plan for English Fluency (get the book here):
Thank you for reading. I hope you found it useful!
