Learning English language is an exciting and enjoyable experience at any age. It is also especially important as it a global language and the language of science, computer, politics, media industry and internet.
Without having a good command on the English language we may lose many opportunities of work, entertainment and education. Here is an overview of five best English language learning resources or strategies. Let’s take a look at them.
Learn English with Podcasts
At the top of my list, I have podcasts. Podcasts are a great learning resource to learn English that you should not miss. Since all of us have access to online learning resources, I would strongly encourage you all to listen to podcasts.
If you’re not listening to the podcast already, you’re missing out a great learning resource. We can all access podcasts through our computers or our cell phones and the podcasts have a great variety of topics.
For example, you can listen to English conversations. You can listen to news, stories, comics, drama even scientific and research based stuff or updates on sports. You name a topic and you’ll find a podcast for it. So what are you going to get by listening to the podcasts?
With podcasts you will learn new English vocabulary and expression. It will teach you correct pronunciation and it will boost your English listening and speaking proficiency skills within days and on top of that you will get a lot of knowledge and information about a variety of topics, and the topics can be from your everyday life, like shopping, outing, spending habits, studying vacationing as well as topics related to social problems and political issues, etc.
Here you all would agree that you’re looking for this type of information for your test because in the Duolingo English Test or in any other English proficiency test like IELTS or TOEFL you need to have a knowledge of a variety of topics before you go to write your exam.
Read Newspaper to Learn English
The next important resource to enhance your knowledge of English language and attain language proficiency is the newspaper. The newspapers always have above average writing style because they are written by professional writers or journalists. You do not learn just English from the newspapers; you can keep yourself updated about current affairs, politics, science and technology, sports and fashion etc.
If you are going for an English proficiency test like Duolingo English Test, IELTS or TOEFL, reading a newspaper is the best practice for you before you take your exam. But in order to gain insightful information about various topics from the newspaper or learn the language, you have to be very consistent which mean being a regular reader.
How to read a newspaper
Now coming to the next point… how should we read a newspaper? So here are some tips
- Pick and choose news item of your interest.
- Don’t push yourself to read something that is too hard to read.(Sometimes you pick a news item which is really hard to read with difficult vocabulary or expression and you don’t really like reading it, but you still push yourself.)
- If you think something is too difficult for you or you get bored by reading it just quit that find something that is really interesting.
- There are a lot of articles and other news items that will definitely be interesting for you so look for those.
- Another important thing is to underline new words or expressions and look for their meaning in the dictionary.
- Sometimes we know the meaning of a word but we do not know how to use it in a sentence. One good practice is to look for the word on Google and see how it is used in sentences. For example, if you have learned a new word “abundance” or “ameliorate” you should type in the google search box, “sentences with ameliorate” or “sentences with abundance” and you will find a list of sentences that way you will be able to remember and use that word correctly.
Online Newspapers
Another good use of your time is to read online newspapers and I believe it is quite easy to do because we are all used to scrolling our cell phone screen, so if you download a news app you can just select a couple of news items everyday and within few days you will find out that your English language skills have significantly improved. So don’t take this language resource for granted.
Write a diary/ journal to Practice Writing English
One good way of staying in touch with English language is to write a diary. Does it sound too much?? But believe me it’s a really interesting practice. You can write about anything you like, anything, because it’s your diary. Right? You can write about your daily routine, your plans, your thoughts on a certain topic, an interesting incident you want to talk about. Actually just anything!
You don’t need to write too much. You can only write a paragraph. Because, consistency is all we need to be successful at anything so be regular and consistent in all your efforts of learning the English language.
By being consistent in writing a journal or a diary you will be able track your performance as a writer. You will know how well you can write and you will be able to use the new words and expressions you have been learning by reading the newspapers and by listening to podcasts and other stuff.
“Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.”
Roger Bacon
Watch English Movies, Plays and Documentaries
I cannot emphasize enough the value of watching English movies, plays or documentaries to learn English. You might have seen that even the small kids learn a lot of English language only by watching cartoons. They even start using the same accent which is very interesting.
So we can do the same as an adult. We can watch English movies or plays or shows that are really interesting. Once again you don’t have to push yourself to watch very dry or boring academic discussions. There is a great variety of interesting stuff on the television and on the internet itself that you can choose and watch but focus on the accent and pronunciation of the speaker.Thus, entertainment provided in English language can be a great learning resource.
The main point is that the more you immerse yourself in English, the quicker you will stop learning and start living it. Which means that you will start using the language in your writing and conversations effortlessly.
Maintain a Word bank to Enhance English Vocabulary
One last tip to enhance your English proficiency skills is to maintain a word bank. This means that you should be keeping a record of the words, expressions or idioms that you have learned. The easiest way to do that is to keep a notebook to record the meaning and the use of the words, idioms and expressions Where will you learn all this vocabulary? You will learn it from the newspapers, tv shows and podcasts.
One great way of keeping all those words and expressions in your memory forever is to revise them go through what you have recorded in your notebook at least once a week. Don’t just write and forget about it.
Now all these English language learning resources and tips are a great idea to be proficient in English language.Proficiency will come naturally to you when you’re consistent and regular in your efforts of learning the English language.
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