Everyone can easily learn English.

In the modern world, knowledge of the English language is equivalent to elementary, basic knowledge. It is as important as knowing the native language, being able to use a computer and a smartphone. Today, absolutely everyone needs English. Specifically, you also need it, even if you do not know about it yet.

We'll talk about the need for English, but for now let's figure out how to learn it all the same. Spoiler: anyone can do this, regardless of age and other illusory factors. Moreover, it’s not easy to learn, but to begin to speak perfectly, to understand English-speaking interlocutors and content in English.

I have compiled a memo for you that will help you in learning English. The most joyful news: English can be mastered completely comfortably and without making hellish efforts.

Even in many developed countries, ranging from France to Japan with knowledge of English, there are problems due to the wrong state language policy. But we will be guided by the most positive examples: the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and all the countries of Scandinavia. There, English as a foreign language is best known, and part-time these countries are among the TOP10 best countries in the world in terms of economic development and comfort for life.
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In Russia and the countries of the former USSR, the situation is quite critical: almost 5% of the residents speak English. There are many reasons for this. At schools and universities in Russia and most post-Soviet countries, foreign languages ​​"teach" is absolutely wrong. Training programs are often structured so that you DO NOT learn English, but, on the contrary, hate it.

In the post-Soviet space, the myth about "language is not given to me." “Here I teach, I teach, but he is not given! Useless, throwing. Here Vasya is given and he speaks as he says, but I don’t. ” Of course, this is nothing more than a myth. The whole secret is that if you are not “given” a language, then you learn it incorrectly, or you learn it incorrectly.

Anyone who has mastered a native language is able to master another language in adulthood. Especially as elementary as English. Remember this axiom. Yes, someone masters very quickly, someone very slowly, someone is average. Someone needs more hours, and someone is able to speak only regularly watching TV shows in English. All people are different, but one thing is unchanged: everyone is able to master a second language as an adult.

How to get out of the situation?

Language must be taught just as a child learns his native language in childhood. The child does not learn complex grammatical constructions, does not memorize incomprehensible names, does not cram texts and does not get over the head for an error.

To know English at a good level it is not necessary to live long in an English speaking country. I have never lived in English-speaking countries for a long time, but I know English almost as a native speaker. Language learning should be comprehensive. This is not only courses, not only watching movies in English. It's all together.

1. Immediately tune in, that learning a language is fun, interesting and brings pleasure. No negative, stress, fear, no cramming and dullness. Forget the Soviet and post-Soviet school.
2. Begin to speak the language, even if you speak very badly. Do not be shy. First you need to learn to speak, and then speak correctly. The interlocutor does not yell at you, do not call him a moron and will not hit his head with a pointer. Everyone understands that you are not a native speaker. Like you - millions. And the Scandinavians and the Netherlands also make mistakes, although they speak the language fluently. There is nothing wrong with mistakes.
3. Talk about what you like. Do you love to travel? Talk about travel! Like movies? Talk about them. Who to talk to? About this - in the following paragraphs!
4. If your level is still low, courses or private tutoring classes are a very effective way. This is not necessary, but very desirable. This will greatly accelerate the development of the language.
5. Look for such courses where the emphasis is on conversation, and not on memorizing the most complex structures that are used in 2% of cases. With an individual teacher you can agree that you need not learn how to build Future Perfect Continuous (I myself have no idea how it is built), but learn how to SPEAK. Grammar is not more than 20% of the language learning process. Avoid Russian textbooks, many of which are incorrect. Use European textbooks. You can do and Skype.
6. Surround yourself in English and minimize the use of Russian. Pretend life in English. Change the menu of the smartphone, laptop, game console to English. Menu sites and social networks, too.
7. Stop watching Russian TV, if for some reason you haven’t done it yet (not just because of language). On the net, see more English content. If it is still very incomprehensible - with Russian or English subtitles, according to the situation. Put an English-speaking speech as a background when doing something else. Get used to phonetics on a subconscious level.
8. Right now, at the same second, give up the evil called dubbing. The sound translation of movies and TV shows is hellish evil. Use subtitles in Russian or English, but the sound track is only in English.
9. Start watching in English to start those films and TV shows that you know very well. First with Russian subtitles, then with English subtitles, and then without. It is very, very helpful. In countries where there is no sound translation, the level of knowledge of English is noticeably higher. “But I want to enjoy the film, and not try to have time to read!” - you will object. Indeed, at first it will be difficult, but it is a matter of habit. You get used to and will read quickly. Watching movies and TV shows in English, you kill two birds with one stone: enjoy and master English in a pleasant way. Watching the movie in dubbing, you get only extremely dubious pleasure, consuming essentially spoiled recycled product. The original sound cannot be changed, and the quality of the translation itself in Russia leaves much to be desired. Fans of going to the movies will be tight - perhaps in your city there are no cinemas where films are shown in the original. But it's still worth it. Imagine if there was no dubbing, you would have known English long ago and would not have read this article now!
10. Video games are very good at developing English language skills. First, in games there are a lot of inscriptions that repeat. Secondly, characters in games speak much more clearly and more slowly than in films. Games are much easier to understand. Thirdly, conversational phrases are often repeated in games, and you will definitely remember them. Fourthly, the quality of translation and voice acting of games in Russia cannot be compared with the original. I myself worked on the translation of games in Russia in 2008-2012, and at the same time I played all the games entirely in English. Enjoy the game and at the same time improve your knowledge of English. Games are easier to understand than movies, in every sense.
11. Listen to English music. Read the words of your favorite songs, if something is not clear - translate. Then the whole phrases will be remembered by you automatically and will come into use.
12. Communicate in English. Not necessarily with native speakers: it is possible with the same foreigners who have English non-native. They can be found on the network, and in large cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, etc.) there is Couchsuring Events. These are events where different people from different countries come and just talk about everything. Of course, in English, as among the guests are travelers from all over the world. You can go to the same events when traveling around different countries (in the same Europe there are an order of magnitude more of them than in Russian-speaking countries).
13. Use smartphone apps to help memorize new words. There are many such in the Apple Store and Google Play. Download different and use the ones you like.
14. Try to "think" in English. In fact, we do not think in language, but in images. Speak to yourself the usual everyday situations, plans or impressions. There are not enough words - go to the dictionary on your smartphone.
15. Try to travel. And I mean far from traveling “at sea” on all inclusive, and not expensive tours in Europe with Russian-speaking guides. I mean it is independent travel. The easiest way to do this in Europe. Book a hostel or look for a host on Couchsurfing. At the same time dispel the myth that travel is very expensive. In fact, it can be very cheap. In the hostel or on Couchsurfing Events you will meet many interesting people from all over the world.
16. Another very effective way: go to English courses in one of the English-speaking countries. It will bring great benefits: every day you will be engaged with native speakers, communicate with classmates and in the city. Of course, it is better to do this in an English speaking country. But if this is not possible, you can go to another country, for example, Germany! There are cheap English courses with native speakers in Berlin. In your free time, you will communicate in English with classmates or other foreigners who live in Berlin or come for a short time.

Items can be swapped, they can be added or excluded if possible. But the more of these points you will do in parallel, the better. Noticed that in none of the points there are no tips to do boring and boring things? Yes, yes, that language can be learned with pleasure. Language courses or private tutoring sessions will also bring great pleasure, provided that they are good.

And now let's talk about what to do categorically DO NOT.

1. No need to cram grammar. You don't need to memorize that “Past Perfect Continuous indicates an action that began in the past, lasted for some time and either ended just before a certain moment in the past or still has not ended by a certain moment in the past.” Not every Englishman or American can tell you this. It is possible and necessary to rely on grammar, but it should not stand in the center.
2. It is not necessary to use such pseudo-ways to learn a language, like “associations”, to memorize English words using consonant words in Russian. It is absolutely unnatural for the brain - you didn’t learn your native language that way. Learn the language as a child: perceive the surrounding reality (movies, games, communication, applications on a smartphone, music, travel) and try to reproduce it yourself. With mistakes. Do not believe it, but when you were a child, you also distorted the Russian language, and then ceased to distort. Correctness comes with time. First learn to speak, and then speak correctly. At higher levels, completely eliminate the Russian language.
3. Do not learn what you do not need. In a traditional Soviet school, almost from the first lesson, it is taught that the plural ox will be oxen, and the sheep will remain a sheep. But you absolutely do not need it. You need to learn how to speak for a start on basic topics, understand simple texts, and then go deeper with time. By the way, ox is an "ox." Do you know exactly what it means in Russian? Then why do you need to learn this in English? And if you say sheeps instead of a sheep, the world will not turn over.
4. It follows from the previous point: do not do what you do not like. Do not take the text on a topic that is of no interest to you and try to understand it. No need to watch a video on a topic that you are not interested. Do not watch the series, to which you do not have a soul. Use only the content that is of interest to you personally. Mastering a language should bring positive emotions.
5. Do not use Google Translate to translate from Russian to English. Yes, automatic translators are getting better and better. But still they still make a bunch of mistakes and inaccuracies. It is necessary to work with authentic, original texts written by native speakers so that you immediately get used (also visually) to the correct one.
6. Do not learn individual words. Try to remember the phrases as ready blocks. When you were a child, you did not learn individual words. You were immersed in speech and gave out whole sentences (yes, with errors). Phrases are well memorized from songs, movies, games, especially when you listen to it again.
7. Do not interrupt your immersion in English. Do some of the items every day, but do not push yourself. Do what you like. Very important consistency. Better an hour a day than 6 hours once a week.
8. Do not think that "I am too old, I am 40 years old, it is already too late for me to learn English." This is one of the many stereotypes that stick people in the wheels. Indeed, with age, it is more difficult to master a language. But, first, both 40 and 50 years (and even more), in the whole developed world - this is still a young and active person. Secondly, my friend from the former West Germany learned Spanish at 60 when he bought a house in the Canary Islands. He successfully communicates with native speakers from Spain and Latin America, has many Hispanic friends. Not everyone always understands, but in 98% of cases the communication is successful. Yes, in 60 years it will be more difficult than 20, and a little longer, but you still learn the language, if you want. Forget stupid stereotypes, set a goal and go to it consistently. Let the process of mastering the language will bring you only pleasure and no negative emotions. Motivation and purpose are half the success in any endeavor, including language learning.

I hope this article will help you to finally learn English and start using it in everyday life. Get out of vacuum and isolation, join the world cultural space, get pleasure from the content in English, and maybe even find a job where you need his knowledge (including work in the part of the world you dream of)!

I published the original version of this article on my personal blog, chris.community, in January 2019. For Habr, it was slightly reworked and supplemented. In September 2018, I published a detailed analysis explaining why, in Russia, Belarus and the entire post-Soviet space (except the Baltic countries), knowledge of the English language is unfortunately very mediocre. The situation must be corrected.

And a small bonus: the above rules can be successfully applied in principle to learn any language. Great success to all of you!