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General English Learning Tips
6 years ago I often have students coming to class with no clear reason why they want to learn English, and other times they come to class with lofty goals that would be impossible for most native speakers to obtain. So if you fall in either of these groups, consider the following:
Ask yourself weekly: What do I want to learn this week?
Asking yourself this question every week will help you stop and think for a moment about what is most important to you. It is easy to focus only on the current unit, grammar exercise, etc. If you take a moment to stop and set a goal for yourself every week, you will notice the progress you are making and, in turn, become more inspired by how quickly you are learning English! You will be surprised at how this feeling of success will motivate you to learn even more English.
Quickly review important new information shortly before going to bed.
Research has shown that our brains process information that is fresh in our brains while we sleep. By shortly (this means very quickly - just a glance at what you are working on at the moment) going over some exercise, reading, etc. before you go to sleep, your brain will work away on this information while you sleep!
While doing exercises and alone at home or in your room, speak English aloud.
Connect the muscles of your face to the information in your head. Just as understanding the basics of tennis does not make you a great tennis player, understanding grammar rules do not mean you can automatically speak English well. You need to practice the act of speaking often. Speaking of yourself at home and reading the exercises you are doing will help connect your brain to your facial muscles and improve pronunciation and make your knowledge active.
Do five to ten minutes of listening at least four times a week.
Consider if you decided you needed to get fit and went jogging - usually three or four miles. Well, after not having done anything for many months, those three or four miles really hurt! Needless to say, you would not go jogging for another few months!
Learning to understand spoken English well is very similar. If you decide that you going to work hard and listen for two hours, chances are that you will not do extra listening exercises any time soon. If on the other hand, you start off slowly and listen often, it will be easier to develop the habit of listening to English on a regular basis.
Look for situations in which you must speak/read/listen to English
This is probably the most important tip. You need to use English in a "real world" situation. Learning English in a classroom is important, but putting your English knowledge into practice in real situations will improve your fluency in speaking English. If you do not know of any "real life" situation, create new ones for yourself by using the Internet to listen to the news, write English responses in forums, exchange emails in English with email pals, etc.
I hope these tips helped you. If you want to practice more then sign up for a trial lesson, and we can discuss a learning plan.
Good luck!!
