Set goals for your learning
Think about your most important skills, and choose a specific goal for each one in this course. For example, if vocabulary is an important skill for you, your goal might be to learn 100 new words outside of class. If reading is important for you, your goal might de to read and understand an article in an English sports magazine.
Think about your most important skills, and choose a specific goal for each one in this course. For example, if vocabulary is an important skill for you, your goal might be to learn 100 new words outside of class. If reading is important for you, your goal might de to read and understand an article in an English sports magazine.
Start a vocabulary notebook
A very affective way to build your vocabulary is with a vocabulary notebook. Keep a special notebook for the new words you learn. Use a different page for every topic, like “work” or “travel”. Write each new word together with a definition in English, a translation. Or an example sentence. Spend a few minutes every day studying the words you have written that day. Every week, go back and review old pages in your notebook.
Reading for fun
Reading magazines and websites is a great way to practice your English and build your reading skills. Chose a topic that you know a lot about, or one that you like to read about in tour own language, such as sports, cooking, celebrities, travel, music, or movies. The find an English-language website or magazine on your topic. Start with short, easy articles on subjects that you know something about. Don’t stop to look up every new word in the dictionary –try to understand it by using what you already know about the subject. Only look up a word if you see it several times, or if you can’t understand the article without it. You can expand your vocabulary while learning more about your favorite subjects.
Key pals
A great way to practice in English is by getting a keypal-an email in another country. You can go online and do a search for “keypal”, “key-pal”, and these websites list people of all ages around the world who want to practice their English. Some of the websites also have photos. Look for keypal about the same age as you, with similar hobbies and interests, and write a short email to introduce yourself. You can also post your own listing with information about yourself. In your emails to keypal, be sure to ask lots of questions to give your keypal ideas to write about.
Music in English
If you music, try listening to music in English and learning the words to the song. Many CDs have the words to the song (lyrics) printed inside. There are also websites (www.lyrics.com, www.azlyrics.com, www.metrolyrics.com) that have the lyrics for thousands of song. You can read the lyrics while listening, to help you practice comprehension. And singing along in English is a very good way to practice your pronunciation. You can also make your own quizzes. Download lyrics from a site and create a worksheet by deleting every tenth or fifth word leaving a space --- the more words you delete the more difficult the exercise! Ten listen to the song as you fill in the blanks.
Schedules for studying
Research has found that it’s better to study for several short periods than for one long period of time. (That’s why studying for many hours the night before an exam doesn’t work very well.) Make a schedule with daily study periods for English. After class, go over the new words and structures that you have learned. Then practice and review again later before your next class. By doing this. You will avoid stress before your next test, and you will learn more affectively.
Learning through movies and TV
Watching movies and TV programs in English is another good way to practice. Seeing the action while you listen will help you to understand new vocabulary. You can also try watching movies in your own language with English subtitles (word at the bottom of the screen) if they are available. Look at just a short section at a time (15 minutes) so that you can enjoy watching. You can look up new words in your dictionary after you finish.
Conversation partners
The best to improve your speaking is by talking with someone, and you don’t need a native speaker to practice. You can learn a lot speaking in English with a conversation partner-another student from your class, or a friend who wants to improve his or her English. Try meeting once or twice a week for lunch or coffee and practicing for a short time. Speak in English as much as you can but don’t worry if you need to use your native language sometimes, too. The important thing is to talk about things that you are interested in and to have fun expressing ideas in English.
Guessing meaning context
When you are reading in class or on your own you will often find words that you don’t look all of them up in the dictionary right away. Look at the sentence before and the sentence after the unknown word-the context of the word. Often you can guess the meaning, or you can skip over the word and continue reading. If you can’t understand the next sentence, or the word is in the reading several times, then you should look in your dictionary. Learning to guess meaning from context will help you to read faster and more fluently.
Communicated with your teacher
Teachers want to help their students succeed, but you have to help your teacher sometimes. If you don’t understand something, tell the teacher and be specific. Don’t just say, “ I don’t understand.” Say “Could you please explain again about phrasal verbs?” or “What does that word mean?” Ask the teacher to repeat more slowly or more loudly. If you are having a lot of trouble, see the teacher after class. Think about the questions you will ask before you talk to the teacher.
Extensive Reading
Reading is a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop. In this course your read many short passages on different topics. Another important way to develop your reading ability is by extensive reading-reading longer texts, such as magazine articles and books. Extensive reading helps you to read more fluently and builds your reading speed. You can start by choosing a shot book and a subject that you know a lot about. Or your might choose a novel that you’ve already read and enjoyed in your native language. Try to read several pages a day, and only look up new words in the dictionary if you can’t guess their meaning.
Assessing your progress
At the end of the course it’s good to think about what you have learned. Look at the goals that you made for yourself at the beginning of this course. Were you successful? What activities helped you the most? What will you do differently in your next English class? Talk to your teacher about the things you enjoyed the most in class and about things you would like to do in the next class.
