ARE YOU LOOKING TO LEARN ENGLISH ON YOUR OWN BEFORE GOING ABROAD?
If you are planning to learn English on your own, you should be patient and have willpower, because your only motivator, in this case, is your desire. Studying will not depend on other students, the schedule and the teacher, the weather, malaise and other reasons.
Of course, this type of learning is not suitable for everyone — for those who begin to learn English «from scratch», individual lessons with the teacher are more suitable. And yet, if you decide to independently gain knowledge, then before starting to study, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with certain points.
What you will need to learn the English language independently
In fact, you only need your desire and time, because learning English by yourself is the most budgetary, simple and time-consuming (as you do not need to go to classes and wait for other students, you can study anywhere and whenever you want).
You can use any helpful methodological materials, the main condition is to let them correspond to your level of knowledge and not to be too easy or too hard.
But, if you still want to organize your training activities in such a way that you are intensively engaged and significantly improve your knowledge, here is a list of what you will need:
— The basic English language textbook. This will be your work plan, your basis for grammar, topics, and content of the lessons.
— Dictionary. Keep a dictionary, writing down unfamiliar words, translating them, their transcriptions and examples of use.
— The manual for vocabulary expansion. There are special manuals that contain texts, synonyms, so that you can expand your vocabulary. This will give you the opportunity to express your thoughts freely and fluently.
General recommendations for English learners
1. Learn new words in each lesson. Try to learn 10–15 new words per lesson, keep a dictionary with the translation of these words and examples, where each word is used in a certain context.
2. Talk in English. This is needed to improve your reading and speaking skills. You can find a pen pal, who will be a native English speaker, and communicate with him through social networks and instant messengers.
3. Use audio and video materials. Watch movies in English with English subtitles more often, listen to music, perform audio exercises with English textbooks. This practice will help you to better understand the English language. Also use special video lessons to learn English — they are adapted to each level and help you understand the new grammar rules better.
4. Practice your spelling skills. Perform tasks where you are required to sharpen your grammar and spelling skills, complete the sentences in the exercises to the end. Thus, you will quickly learn how to write correctly, eradicate errors in words.
5. Use more than two resources. Do not become attached to a single textbook — just take its program as a basis. Also, use other methodological materials with similar themes and grammar, but different exercises.
