Useful tips to learn English effectively, a post shared by Dr. M. Sakaguchi, a retired Educator

1. Make a commitment of time to practice English outside of classtime

Find time outside of class to practice English writing, reading or speaking---on a regular basis. “Hours of exposure” is key to learning  a language; setting aside an hour or two in the evening or early morning on a regular basis to practice is helpful.

2. Watch videos or movies (romance, musicals, action, mystery, nature) with closed captions

Watching films and videos is a great way to hone listening skills and vocabulary as it gives you a chance to practice English listening skills while reading what is being said in the captions shown. Have popcorn while watching.

3. Read, read read---in English

Find travel information, poetry, books on favorite topics, and read one book or a magazine or newspaper in English a month, then as time permits, maybe one a week. Your vocabulary will grow in leaps and bounds---painlessly. If your library does not have many books in English, try on line sources especially magazines, newspapers, and transcripts from TV new shows.

4. Don’t get hung up on Pronunciation

There are usually many ways to pronounce a word or phrase even if your teacher tells you there is only one good way. People from different English speaking  countries, or different regions in the USA have different accents and different ways of expressing something.  Learn standard English if you can, and if the word or phrase comes out with a Vietnamese twang when you use it, its OK.  Be bold and confident and speak in English as best as you can;  if your pronunciation doesn’t quite sound the same as a native English speaker, think that you have a Vietnamese accent---it might become fashionable and de rigueur.

5. Friend an English speaker, practice chatting in English with them—on line or face to face.

This is a painless way to build confidence and vocabulary and pronunciation skills at the same time. Who knows---the friend you meet as a conversation partner may become a serendipitous  friend for life! Join a campus English club or international club, volunteer to be a guide for visiting international students---to make new friends. If you chat on line with a new friend be sure to use spellcheck if you can---it will let you know about misspelled words.

6. Travel to an English speaking country if you can.

This is the best way to learn English and learn about the idiosyncracies and quirks of culture and living. If you cannot travel because you are broke and don’t have the money to do so yet; view travel videos and read travel books (the in flight magazine that airlines produce is a fun read.)

7. Be self confident and have a sense of humor when practicing English

The important thing when learning English is to use it all the time or as often as you can. You will make funny and egregious mistakes when you choose to use the wrong word for a situation; you will make very unEnglish sounds when pronouncing a difficult word and the friend you are chatting with responds with a cackle or guffaw---laugh along with them. Don’t  be embarrassed.

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Information from Language Learning Tips (Suzanne Macquade); additional tips from Dr. M. Sakaguchi, a retired educator.