How to learn English faster and more effectively?
With more than a quarter of the world’s population speaking English, you don’t have to look far for a reason to learn English, or the resources and opportunities to practise it. Thanks to technology, the availability of language learning tools and the abundance of English language courses on offer, there’s no better time to start learning or improving your English than now.
However, the sheer amount of roughly 750 000 words of English and the spelling and grammar rules, which are not easy to understand at first and can be confusing even for native English speakers, can dampen one’s enthusiasm to speak English for the first time, so in this article, we have put together a variety of tips for learning English faster and more efficiently.
Live with English
It is no secret that there’s no better way to learn a new language than by spending time or living in a country where it’s spoken. That’s why Skrivanek organises English language courses in Malta, creating something like a studycation in an English-speaking environment.
But if travelling to such countries is not on your schedule, you can still spend time practising English by following the “two ways every day” method. How can you practise English differently every day? Find TV shows, songs, books, films, videos, audiobooks, apps, recipes, magazines – anything in English will do – and regularly change how you learn English in your daily life and how to expand your vocabulary.
Listening to podcasts is a very good way of learning a language, as listening to a language greatly enhances your understanding of it. As it may be difficult at first to understand what native English speakers are saying, you can slow the playback down, read a transcript of the episode if available, and repeat sentences and words out loud. This can help you expand your vocabulary and improve your grammar more quickly. Not only will you learn something new about English but you’ll also discover new things about other topics that you find interesting.
Find an interlocutor
To learn English faster, it is important to speak as much English as possible. If you only do the theory exercises and tests on the language learning app, it’s definitely not going to be fun when you finally meet an English speaker. Not communicating means not practising your ability to express yourself and formulate your thoughts in English. Finding a conversation or even a study partner will give your language learning real, live, face-to-face practice and allow you to test your skills. Many people find that speaking English regularly helps them learn the language more organically than learning by reading or writing. After all, what’s the point of learning a new language if not to communicate?Make the most of technology
Where better to find an English-speaking interlocutor than online? There is such a wide range of online apps and programmes to help users learn English. For example, Fluenz is a popular app where you can watch videos made by teachers, while Duolingo offers easy daily practice on your smartphone, filling your free time with an English learning task. If you already have a good level of English and want to practice your writing skills, Grammarly can be useful. The app not only corrects grammatical errors but also gives very good tips on how to reformulate your text as well as write clearly and concisely, and suggests idioms specific to the English language. When reading English books and websites, you can always use an online dictionary to easily look up words or phrases you don’t know.
Read, read, read
Fiction, brochures, newspapers, websites, emails, your social media feed, food packaging, menus: if it’s available in English, then read it in English. All this varied content is necessary to learn new words and phrases in context, especially in a language like English, where there are so many words to learn…Make your own English dictionary
When learning a new language, we come across so many new words, but believe us, you can’t catch everything at the first attempt. Here, the good old school exercise of building your own English dictionary is THE tool for the job. Whenever you hear or read a new word or expression, write it down in context – either in a sentence or giving more detail about its meaning. You can either take notes the traditional, pen-and-paper way, or do it digitally.Create an English learning routine
If you want to continuously develop your English language skills, it’s best to establish an English learning routine – a set of learning activities that you do regularly. The initial inspiration and motivation to learn English fades with time, the lessons are dropped and then picked up again a few months later, and what has already been learnt is forgotten in the meantime. It is important to stick to your own curriculum to consolidate your knowledge and learn more, even if it’s just a little. If you want to have a good command of English, you need to do something every day to improve it. Some ideas for creating a successful learning routine that fits into your daily life: practise speaking English in the morning before work (10–30 minutes), listen to audio content in English at the gym or in the car, read something in English on public transport or during your lunch break. Gradually, these habits will become the norm and will not even require any effort, improving your English without you noticing.Start with the most important things
And finally, your English language studies are more likely to go much faster if you keep reminding yourself of your learning motives. Going on a study exchange? Focus on study-related vocabulary. Have an important conference at work? Read articles by other participants and other research in the field in English. Want to travel more? Then the Tourism Vocabulary will be your first guide to learning English. If you start learning English, expecting to magically learn anything and everything all at once, you may get confused and lose enthusiasm quickly. Focus on what’s relevant and interesting in your life at the moment, and then gradually add ways and areas to develop your English skills.
Learn English at Skrivanek
Various English language courses
Skrivanek offers English language courses for adults in a variety of formats, based on your individual preferences and interests, your background knowledge, your daily schedule and your location. You can learn English in a group or one-to-one, in person or remotely, at any language level (A1–C1), no matter if you are a beginner and want to learn English from scratch, want to brush up on your English at school, or want to improve your English for a specific purpose, such as a job in a specific industry.
Finding the right English teacher is the key to successful language learning, as a strong and solid foundation in the language is best laid with an experienced teacher. In our courses, our teachers will help you develop various skills so that students effectively acquire and consolidate both English grammar and vocabulary, learning to use it immediately in practice, and communication skills – from the very first lesson, students talk a lot. The lessons also include listening, writing and reading tasks – all in a relaxed, interactive and creative learning environment. You can find the full range of Skrivanek English courses and programmes for individuals in our language course schedule.
Join an English conversation club
We also recommend an online English conversation club. Accompanied by a foreign teacher, learning English is interactive and fun, with conversations touching upon a wide variety of topics to develop speaking and listening skills. The trainer engages participants in role-plays and discussions, practises presentation skills, organises questionnaires and quizzes, plays board games, monologues and dialogues, thus helping attendees to acquire a wider vocabulary, idioms and sentence structures and practise their active use in both casual and formal situations, giving them a chance to learn English and make new friends.
English camps for children and youth
Modern experts believe that learning several languages at an early age makes learning languages easier and more effective, which is why Skrivanek has been organising not only language courses but also camps for children and young people from the age of 4 for more than 15 years, using specially designed learning strategies that help them learn languages intensively without losing the fun and playfulness.
Today, children and young people learn English at primary school and spend a lot of time consuming content, entertainment and culture in English – watching films, reading books, comics, following music they like, surfing YouTube and social networks; however, a Skrivanek camp is a great way to develop active and practical language skills.
Our special teaching method
We work with EFFECTO – a unique method for improved language learning, which is used in Skrivanek Holding SE Group language schools worldwide, and it will help you learn English quickly and effectively as well. The method is based on developing active language skills – speaking and writing, listening and reading – through interactive, creative tasks, practising the ability to use language spontaneously and in a variety of real-life situations.
To make learning English not feel like a chore, the course programme and topics will be tailored to the interests and needs of each group of participants. The teacher will look for common ground on how to design the course content to make learning fun and inspiring with your group members, or with you individually should you choose private English lessons.
Find out your level of background knowledge for free
If you have previously studied English at school or through self-study, and want to improve your English skills by attending courses, you are welcome to take the free 45-minute English test on our website beforehand. You will receive your results in an email shortly afterwards.
For those who want to learn English without prior knowledge, please send us an application for the beginner (A1 level) course right now.