How to learn English for free: 3 banal tools and detailed instructions for each
Learning English has long been turned into a business. The speed of study is measured in money, and many tutors claim that it is even harmful to learn English on their own - you have to relearn.
But in fact, you can learn English cheaply or even for free. And even the most banal methods can be turned into effective tools for studying.
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The most obvious way that brings tremendous results. Reading develops several important aspects of the language: the use of grammatical structures, the development of vocabulary, understanding of the context.
At the same time, reading various print and online publications develops various skills:
How to read correctly for maximum benefit.
English texts can not be read as you read Russian. One time is not enough here, even if you have a dictionary at hand, and you quickly search for unfamiliar words.
For good results you need 3 readings. Therefore, we recommend breaking large texts into half or one third of a page into small sections.
Of course, with such a duplicate reading, the understanding of the plot will suffer a little, but the language will be fully perceived.
When you read the text for the first time, you should grasp its general meaning. Understanding what the author is writing about is the main thing. You may not know the meaning of individual words or phraseological units, you may not fully understand grammatical structures or the use of tenses.
If the text is not clear at all, it is better to take something simpler. It is not necessary to force your brain with completely incomprehensible text - it will not be useful and will only kill the motivation to learn.
A little trick. While reading, mentally mark unknown words and phrases and, with the help of logic or intuition, try to guess what they mean. This is an excellent exercise that will help you in the future to fully understand the context of what was written, even if individual words are unknown.
Here you need to arm yourself with English-Russian and explanatory dictionaries, as well as reference books on grammar. Or have on hand the Internet with similar online resources.
It is necessary to fully illuminate all the dark and incomprehensible places. The task of the second reading is to provide a 100% understanding of all the nuances of the text.
It's a bit boring. Especially when there are many such nuances. But this stage is extremely important. Without it, reading will not be learning.
With the help of the third reading, you can understand the subtext - if it is, of course. When you read newspapers or magazines, you can skip the third reading - in periodicals there is no subtext in 99% of cases.
But in the classical literature it is almost always there. The third reading will help to penetrate the work. And with his help, humor is much better perceived.
Although classic English humor is extremely difficult to understand, even with the tenth reading. So it already depends on the author. In some books the question may arise: “Where should I laugh?”. And that's fine.
The third reading is the polishing of the language and an additional exercise for memorizing the phrases that the author uses. So you can use in the conversation not just new individual words, but whole phrases. At the same time you will know exactly when and how to use them.
Really free?
Now we make sure that you can read English literature, magazines and newspapers for free.
On the Internet there are lots of sites where you can download literature in English. The works written more than 50 years ago are not subject to copyright. Therefore, they are available everywhere.
For example, on sites:
You can just drive into the search engine the name of the book you want to read. With modern, everything is more complicated, but you can find them if you wish.
Online versions of magazines become available within six months or a year after release. Almost on every official website of the journal there are free archives with old issues. Choose the ones you like the most. There are also separate sites, archives, which collected various magazines. For example, EBSCO .
You can also read newspapers online on news sites - the information and style there absolutely correspond to the print media. We recommend CNN , The New York Times , Huffington Post and The Guardian .
Another obvious method. However, it works just fine if used correctly.
Watching a movie also pumps several important aspects of the English language at once:
Many English tutors claim that you can watch movies in the original only with a language level not lower than the Upper-intermediate. Like, with weaker knowledge, the language simply will not be perceived. But it is a little wrong. Now tell you why.
There are 2 ways to watch movies: with subtitles (of course, English) and without.
In some ways this is reminiscent of working with text. Therefore, this method is suitable even for people who do not fully perceive speech by ear or do not understand it at all.
You need to work with each replica separately to fully hear how it sounds.
Here's what to do specifically:
This method is suitable for students already from the Pre-intermediate level. After all, the main burden goes to work with the text, and listening to the voice is a bonus that allows you to hear the live sound of the phrases.
This is a completely different level of training. Watching and understanding a film without subtitles is a dozen times more difficult than with them.
Why is that?
In general, the reasons for which you may not understand the dialogue in general, there are many. But in order for learning to bear fruit, you still need to learn to perceive the language by ear to the full.
Therefore, there is a trick. Download a movie with subtitles and turn them off while watching. If, after two or three replicas, you don’t even understand what the character is saying, then just turn on the subtitles, read the text, and then listen to the passage again.
If the matter is only in the peculiarities of speech - this is a question of training. Soon you will get used to them and will be able to understand even cursory dialogues. If it is a matter of lack of vocabulary, then it is worthwhile to put pressure on books and online exercises, which we will discuss below.
When watching movies, it is not necessary to know the translation of 100% of words. It is much more important to learn to perceive the context of speech when a speaker speaks with his usual speed. If you understand the dialogues of the characters without stopping the video and turning on the subtitles, it will be an excellent training, even if some words remain unknown. However, you can always return to them later.
Really free?
Yes, many online cinemas have a feature for watching movies with subtitles. But it is better to look at the English-language sites - like BluRay Cinema - there is more choice.
If you can’t find a movie with subtitles, you can download them separately and attach them to the movie. On Subscene and Opensubtitle s sites you can find subtitles for almost any movie, even the newest ones.
We hope that you know where you can download movies in English. If anything, a torrent to help you.
On the Internet there is a huge number of educational sites where you can learn English in a playful way.
The main advantage of such sites is that when you do the exercises and make a mistake, the system will indicate it to you. You simply will not have a chance to learn and use the wrong version of a word or phrase in the future.
What do specialized sites pump over?
Yes, absolutely all aspects of English! Depends only on the exercises that you use. Although usually they are selected for a comprehensive study of the language.
Let's look at an example:
You see a personal account in which you are immediately offered to go through the exercises chosen for you.
The entire training system is based on the principles of gaining experience from online games. In essence, you are performing a task, gaining experience for it, and filling out a scale. When enough tasks are completed in one day, the system will tell you about it.
There are many similar sites, but the most popular are 3 of them: EnglishDom , LinguaLeo and DuoLingo . In principle, you can take classes immediately at all - there will be no harm from this. But we recommend to try them all and choose any one site that will be the most pleasant and convenient for you to use.
All sites have a free and paid subscription. Paid really expands the possibilities, but for good results it will be quite enough and free.
We recommend using services to learn the language with the complex in the two previous methods - books and movies. Together, the results will be remarkable, even despite some banality of these tools.
Learning English without money is quite realistic. Even in such "ordinary" ways as reading, watching movies and online classes. The main thing is to do it all correctly and systematically. Then the results are not long in coming.
Register on the site EnglishDom.com and get a lot of useful and free materials in English. By habronline2 promo code - 2 months premium subscription to online courses for free.
And the promo code goodhabr2 - 2 lessons on Skype as a gift when you first pay.
But in fact, you can learn English cheaply or even for free. And even the most banal methods can be turned into effective tools for studying.
However, we immediately warn you that for self-study you need excellent motivation and willpower. After all, in fact, you are the only controller of your training.In this article we have collected the top 3 most effective ways in which you can learn English completely free. You know them for sure and, possibly, use them yourself, but we have developed detailed instructions on how to use these methods for the greatest positive effect. Go.
The main requirement for self-study - systematic. If you often feel the desire to be lazy or postpone classes for later, it is better to spend money and hire a tutor or go to a language school for group classes.
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Method 1. Reading books, newspapers and magazines
The most obvious way that brings tremendous results. Reading develops several important aspects of the language: the use of grammatical structures, the development of vocabulary, understanding of the context.
At the same time, reading various print and online publications develops various skills:
- Books - especially classical literature - develop vocabulary and fluency in the language. Only with the help of books you can appreciate the real diversity of the language and learn the subtleties of its use.
- Newspapers will help develop the brevity of the language and the logic of the presentation of thoughts in English. After all, the news format is aimed precisely at giving as much information as possible in the shortest possible amounts.
- Magazines develop the ability to describe events, people, objects, as well as improve the brightness and versatility of the language. After all, journalists are masters in the use of vivid epithets, unusual phrases and phrases.
How to read correctly for maximum benefit.
English texts can not be read as you read Russian. One time is not enough here, even if you have a dictionary at hand, and you quickly search for unfamiliar words.
For good results you need 3 readings. Therefore, we recommend breaking large texts into half or one third of a page into small sections.
Of course, with such a duplicate reading, the understanding of the plot will suffer a little, but the language will be fully perceived.
The first reading. Context, grammar and vocabulary
When you read the text for the first time, you should grasp its general meaning. Understanding what the author is writing about is the main thing. You may not know the meaning of individual words or phraseological units, you may not fully understand grammatical structures or the use of tenses.
If the text is not clear at all, it is better to take something simpler. It is not necessary to force your brain with completely incomprehensible text - it will not be useful and will only kill the motivation to learn.
A little trick. While reading, mentally mark unknown words and phrases and, with the help of logic or intuition, try to guess what they mean. This is an excellent exercise that will help you in the future to fully understand the context of what was written, even if individual words are unknown.
Let's take a closer look at an example from the Francis Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby.
“Since I’ve Ever Expressed,” “Whenever you’ve liked it,” he told me.
Suppose that in this passage you have one unknown word (vulnerable) and two not fully understood grammatical structures. The general meaning is clear.
You need to think what the word 'vulnerable' means or at least determine its mood. It clearly refers to youth. And what can be early years? Inexperienced, immature, active, blooming. You do not know the exact meaning, but the main thing is to determine the direction.
Second reading. Full analysis of unknown words, phrases and grammatical constructions
Here you need to arm yourself with English-Russian and explanatory dictionaries, as well as reference books on grammar. Or have on hand the Internet with similar online resources.
It is necessary to fully illuminate all the dark and incomprehensible places. The task of the second reading is to provide a 100% understanding of all the nuances of the text.
It's a bit boring. Especially when there are many such nuances. But this stage is extremely important. Without it, reading will not be learning.
First, analyze the unknown words in detail. We have one - vulnerable.So gradually we deal with all unknown words, phrases and grammar. After the second reading, you must absolutely understand the entire text.
First, we look at the translation:
Vulnerable - vulnerable, vulnerable.
The better you understand the context, the closer will be the meaning of the word when guessing.
Be sure to see unfamiliar words in the explanatory dictionary in English.
Vulnerable - able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked.
This will help you to further expand the vocabulary and create associations with unknown words.
Next, look at the incomprehensible grammar.
I've been is the usual Present Perfect Continuous, which describes the action in the process.
People haven't had - the usual Present Perfect in negative form. But it can confuse the fact that the first have is used as an auxiliary verb, and the second as significant. Therefore, to be sure, we are looking for examples of sentences that use the same phrase. To do this, use the Context Reverso site.
Third reading. Integrity of speech, second meaning, humor
With the help of the third reading, you can understand the subtext - if it is, of course. When you read newspapers or magazines, you can skip the third reading - in periodicals there is no subtext in 99% of cases.
But in the classical literature it is almost always there. The third reading will help to penetrate the work. And with his help, humor is much better perceived.
Although classic English humor is extremely difficult to understand, even with the tenth reading. So it already depends on the author. In some books the question may arise: “Where should I laugh?”. And that's fine.
The third reading is the polishing of the language and an additional exercise for memorizing the phrases that the author uses. So you can use in the conversation not just new individual words, but whole phrases. At the same time you will know exactly when and how to use them.
Really free?
Now we make sure that you can read English literature, magazines and newspapers for free.
On the Internet there are lots of sites where you can download literature in English. The works written more than 50 years ago are not subject to copyright. Therefore, they are available everywhere.
For example, on sites:
You can just drive into the search engine the name of the book you want to read. With modern, everything is more complicated, but you can find them if you wish.
Online versions of magazines become available within six months or a year after release. Almost on every official website of the journal there are free archives with old issues. Choose the ones you like the most. There are also separate sites, archives, which collected various magazines. For example, EBSCO .
You can also read newspapers online on news sites - the information and style there absolutely correspond to the print media. We recommend CNN , The New York Times , Huffington Post and The Guardian .
Tips for working with texts:
- Be sure to keep a special dictionary of unknown words and write down new words and expressions there. You can conduct it online on special resources like EnglishDom , Lingualeo , DuoLingo .
- Work with texts thoughtfully, with maximum concentration, try not to be distracted from them. It is best to read at home, in a comfortable chair, but not on the subway or during the lunch break at work.
- Read every day at least 1-2 pages of text with its complete analysis. This is 20-40 minutes of time, depending on the speed of reading and the complexity of the text. More is possible, less is impossible. But we also do not recommend reading more than 2 hours a day - attention drops dramatically and the result suffers.
- Read the literature that brings you pleasure. If you like "Harry Potter" or "The Lord of the Rings" - read. But you should not learn English with the help of an English textbook on economics, even if it is very good.
Method 2. Films and serials in the original.
Another obvious method. However, it works just fine if used correctly.
Watching a movie also pumps several important aspects of the English language at once:
- The perception of speech by ear and understanding of the interlocutor, who speaks at a normal pace.
- Understanding abbreviations, slang expressions, accents and dialects.
- The perception of modern live speech, which is used now.
Many English tutors claim that you can watch movies in the original only with a language level not lower than the Upper-intermediate. Like, with weaker knowledge, the language simply will not be perceived. But it is a little wrong. Now tell you why.
There are 2 ways to watch movies: with subtitles (of course, English) and without.
Important! Do not try to watch English-language films with Russian subtitles. This is harmful for a comprehensive understanding of the language.
How to watch movies with subtitles
In some ways this is reminiscent of working with text. Therefore, this method is suitable even for people who do not fully perceive speech by ear or do not understand it at all.
You need to work with each replica separately to fully hear how it sounds.
Here's what to do specifically:
- You listen to the cue and read the subtitles. If everything is completely clear, continue browsing.
- If there is an unknown word or an incompletely understood phrase - stop browsing and look for the meaning in the dictionary.
- After the meaning of the word or phrase is found, write it into the dictionary, and once again listen to the phrase.
Let's take an example right away. Take an excerpt from the Lord of the Rings saga. If anything - we have a gif here without sound - a schematic example because :)Of course, you have to stop the movie many times. Yet this is learning, so you need to write out all the unknown words and phrases.
First you listen and read the text. In our case it is:
Let him go!
Or I'll have you, Long Shanks!
Suppose we are confused by the phrase "Or I'll have you . " A translation like "I will have you" somehow does not correspond to reality. Although in the Russian sense, he is even very good.
And indeed, “Or I'll have you ” means “Or I will make you” .
Next - Long Shanks. Once written with a capital letter, it may be a name, but from the context (which is not in the gif) it will be clear that this is something like an offensive nickname.
And we turn out to be right, because “longshanks” is “long-legged”. That from the mouth of the hobbit really sounds like an insult.
We write down both phrases and continue browsing.
This method is suitable for students already from the Pre-intermediate level. After all, the main burden goes to work with the text, and listening to the voice is a bonus that allows you to hear the live sound of the phrases.
How to watch movies without subtitles
This is a completely different level of training. Watching and understanding a film without subtitles is a dozen times more difficult than with them.
Why is that?
- You may simply not know the words or phrases that the characters use.
- Heroes can be illegible or too fast to speak, because of which it is impossible to understand what they are about.
- An actor may have an accent that will further complicate the task.
In general, the reasons for which you may not understand the dialogue in general, there are many. But in order for learning to bear fruit, you still need to learn to perceive the language by ear to the full.
Therefore, there is a trick. Download a movie with subtitles and turn them off while watching. If, after two or three replicas, you don’t even understand what the character is saying, then just turn on the subtitles, read the text, and then listen to the passage again.
If the matter is only in the peculiarities of speech - this is a question of training. Soon you will get used to them and will be able to understand even cursory dialogues. If it is a matter of lack of vocabulary, then it is worthwhile to put pressure on books and online exercises, which we will discuss below.
When watching movies, it is not necessary to know the translation of 100% of words. It is much more important to learn to perceive the context of speech when a speaker speaks with his usual speed. If you understand the dialogues of the characters without stopping the video and turning on the subtitles, it will be an excellent training, even if some words remain unknown. However, you can always return to them later.
Really free?
Yes, many online cinemas have a feature for watching movies with subtitles. But it is better to look at the English-language sites - like BluRay Cinema - there is more choice.
If you can’t find a movie with subtitles, you can download them separately and attach them to the movie. On Subscene and Opensubtitle s sites you can find subtitles for almost any movie, even the newest ones.
We hope that you know where you can download movies in English. If anything, a torrent to help you.
Method 3. Sites for learning English in a game form
On the Internet there is a huge number of educational sites where you can learn English in a playful way.
The main advantage of such sites is that when you do the exercises and make a mistake, the system will indicate it to you. You simply will not have a chance to learn and use the wrong version of a word or phrase in the future.
What do specialized sites pump over?
Yes, absolutely all aspects of English! Depends only on the exercises that you use. Although usually they are selected for a comprehensive study of the language.
Let's look at an example:
You see a personal account in which you are immediately offered to go through the exercises chosen for you.
The entire training system is based on the principles of gaining experience from online games. In essence, you are performing a task, gaining experience for it, and filling out a scale. When enough tasks are completed in one day, the system will tell you about it.
There are many similar sites, but the most popular are 3 of them: EnglishDom , LinguaLeo and DuoLingo . In principle, you can take classes immediately at all - there will be no harm from this. But we recommend to try them all and choose any one site that will be the most pleasant and convenient for you to use.
All sites have a free and paid subscription. Paid really expands the possibilities, but for good results it will be quite enough and free.
We recommend using services to learn the language with the complex in the two previous methods - books and movies. Together, the results will be remarkable, even despite some banality of these tools.
Learning English without money is quite realistic. Even in such "ordinary" ways as reading, watching movies and online classes. The main thing is to do it all correctly and systematically. Then the results are not long in coming.
EnglishDom.com - online English learning platform
Register on the site EnglishDom.com and get a lot of useful and free materials in English. By habronline2 promo code - 2 months premium subscription to online courses for free.
And the promo code goodhabr2 - 2 lessons on Skype as a gift when you first pay.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/426979/
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