Tips to Learn English Quickly

English is a fun language to learn (here are 9 reasons why), and even though it’s thought to be a fairly easy language to pick up, it can seem impossible to learn English quickly with its 750,000 words and spelling rules that can throw off even the best student. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not, as long as you know what to do.

Here are our best tips for quickly learning English:

1. Read everything you can.

Read anything written in English, whether it’s a classic book, a paperback, a newspaper, a website, an email, your social media feed, or the back of a cereal box. Why? Well, this content will have a lot of new words and some words you already know. This helps you improve quickly because it gives you new examples of words you’ve learned in context, which helps you remember them. On the other hand, you need to learn new words and phrases to build your vocabulary, especially in a language with so many words like English. Don’t just read and move on, though. You have to…

2. Make an effort to remember new words.

This tip has been around for a long time because it works. When we learn something new, we often like a new word or phrase so much that it seems impossible to forget it. But believe us when we say that not everything works the first time. To stop this, make it a habit to carry a cool notebook with you or use a tool like Evernote. Every time you hear or read a new word or phrase, write it down in a sentence and make a note of what it means. This saves you time because you won’t have to go back to that word and ask, “What did that word or phrase mean again?”

3. Speak with real people

What good is a language if it can’t be used to talk? Thanks to WhatsApp, we humans have gotten very good at communicating without speaking. But when it comes down to it, speaking a language helps you remember it much better than just reading or writing it. Think about how many times you’ve heard someone say, “I understand English, but I can’t speak it.” A lot of people who want to be able to speak English have made talking into a huge, impossible obstacle that makes them feel scared. Don’t act that way. Find native speakers to practice with on your own, sign up for a class, or take classes online.

4. Sign up for podcasts or channels on YouTube (in English)

Like humor? Politics? Blogging? Cooking? There is an English-speaking podcast or YouTube channel for just about every interest you can think of. Subscribe to a few and watch or listen to them on your way to school or work. At first, the native accents might be hard to understand, but if you stick with them, you’ll soon start to understand what you hear (and learn a lot of new words from a native speaker!)

5. Go abroad

We’d love to know if there’s a better way to learn English than to live and study in a country where English is the main language. With so many countries to choose from, you can pick the best place to learn English based on the weather, your favorite city, or the hemisphere. Think about Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Canada, and South Africa, just to name a few!

6. Use your friends

Have online friends who use English? Don’t just skip over them in your newsfeed; instead, look at the things they share and plan to learn more about one or two of them every day. They could be articles from newspapers or magazines, videos, talks, blog posts, songs, or anything else. As long as it’s in English and about something you’re interested in, it will help you.

7. Get a lot of answers.

The cat may have died of curiosity, but the language learner became fluent because of it! You will soon have a lot of questions as you learn English. Don’t sit on your questions; be curious and find answers. If you are taking a class, ask your teacher. That is why they are there. But if you’re learning on your own, don’t worry. You can find answers in blogs or on language websites, ask other people who are learning or read through forums. You’ll be happy you did!

8. Follow the example of the stars

Choose an actor or singer you like who is a native English speaker to mix up your learning. Now, go online and watch some of the interviews they’ve done. Watch it once to get the main idea, then watch it again and write down interesting phrases and words you hear. The slang, stories, jokes, and anecdotes from these interviews will give you a lot to work with.

9. Start with what you need the most

If you keep reminding yourself why you want to learn English, you will probably learn it much faster. Pay attention to words that are important to your studies. Have an international meeting? Learn some new ways to start a conversation with the other people in the group. Going on a gap year? It looks like words about travel and tourism will be your guide. If you just start learning English and think you’ll be able to learn everything at once, you’ll probably end up confused and tired.