Some useful tips for those who decide to learn English on their own

Prehistory

A person who has never really learned English can be very difficult both morally and mentally to thoroughly start learning a language. Even more difficult it may seem to do on their own. It seems that you should have done all this in childhood. Because now there is simply no time for this either. Because English is a very, very much information, and the brain is small. This is a normal feeling, although it is deceptive.



Someone in school years English was easy. To others, including me, English seemed terribly difficult and learning it seemed impossible. I felt just desperately stupid when I was in English classes and mumbled something, trying to answer the questions of the teachers. And then my parents had to pay extra English lessons so that they wouldn't leave me for the second year. And in these lessons I also sat and understood nothing.

At the institute, the situation has not changed much. After the introductory language test, I got into the weakest group in English, where the level of students' knowledge was close to mine - zero. The same situation remained after graduation, and lasted until about 23-24 years.
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At some point, I suddenly realized that this situation needs to be changed. But since the courses were expensive for me, and I was not sure that it would be productive, I decided to try learning the language myself. I started by downloading 3-4 applications of the Duolingo type and began to go through the lessons, learn words and grammar, and at the same time read English language learning articles on the Internet. This whole stage lasted for about a year, and with sufficient perseverance on my part. But I must confess that the result was deplorable. I did not understand English by ear, I was very confused in times. And to talk in English himself was out of the question. The only thing for a year of such training I began to understand the signs in English, I could partially understand the meaning of simple, small texts, but in reality there was no tangible result.

For some reason, I decided not to abandon and continue to try language learning. Due to some frustration, I focused for a while on studying what people say, who were able to learn the language themselves, instead of learning the language itself. After a while, I began to approximately understand in which direction I needed to move in order to learn the language further. After a couple of months, applying many of these tips to the business, I really began to finally see the results of my efforts.

About two years have passed, and now my level of English is quite comfortable for me. I freely communicate with people in European countries, watch documentaries and feature films, freely listen to interviews, podcasts, broadcasts, read magazines, articles and even some books without adaptation. Yes, I do not have the perfect pronunciation or flawless knowledge of grammar. But at the moment I am not going to teach a language or take serious tests. I'm talking about everyday English. Such as writing, reading and talking to other people, to watch movies and listen to audio books. To feel comfortable in an environment where everything is in English.

Who are these tips for? I think that in general to everyone who is trying to learn a language. And especially to those to whom it is given as hard as me. Someone who thinks the brain is not able to contain so much information.

It is important to understand that everyone can learn a language. Even if I could, then you certainly can.

For what?

Before you start learning a language on your own it is very important to understand why you need it at all. Answer: “Just like that, let it be,” most likely it’s not a ride, especially if the languages ​​you are given are hard and you do not have an excess of free time and energy.
In my case, the sudden motivation was that I suddenly realized that most of my favorite books, series and films were written and shot in English, and I only do that I am satisfied with adaptations, not seeing how it was originally. So, the desire to read your favorite writers “in the original” served as a rather serious motivation.
All the tips that will be lower are not my personal inventions or methods, but simply a capacious collection of what I found really useful and effective in a rather lengthy and persistent process of learning a language.

Perhaps someone has already seen all these tips, and for him this note will be the “invention of the bicycle.” But I just want to share my experience, because I believe that for someone it can be useful.

I'm going to put the tips in a certain order. What is in the beginning will be more important for those who have just decided to learn a language. The same advice, which is closer to the end, will be useful to those who already have some knowledge of the language, but there are problems with communication and expression of thoughts in English. In any case, even to those who are just starting their way into learning a language, it makes sense to pay attention to all the points below. Thus, there will be a general idea of ​​where to start and in which direction to move.
Well, let's get started!

1. Create a foundation

Before learning any particular words and phrases, trying to translate something, write out words or do exercises on grammar, it is necessary to lay the foundation for future study of the English language. The foundation in English is pronouns and constructions of simple tenses with verbs (present, past, future). This method of learning can be seen in the program "Polyglot" in the very first lesson.

The thing is that if you are confused with pronouns and simple tenses, then this is exactly where you should start learning English. It makes absolutely no sense to know many words or expressions, but at the same time to be confused in times. From this there will be only a sense of complexity, confusion and uncertainty. It’s better to have just a few tools and master them skillfully, than to have a whole bunch, but try to hammer in the nails with a screwdriver.

In “Polyglot” , the teacher from the very first minute of the lesson draws a table with all 3 simple times and surprisingly simply and easily shows how to distinguish them from each other, and how to use these times yourself. Using simple times, this is what you need to learn to automatism, like poems in a literature class. As the teacher himself says, it is necessary to remember these constructions in such a way that if you are suddenly awakened in the middle of the night, you could without any hesitation build a simple sentence in all these times.

If briefly on the first point - if you don’t know the simplest times in English, then you will learn them (and it’s not more convenient to cram the rule itself, but examples - I’m smoke / I smoke) I smoke? / Will I smoke ?, etc.). Look "Polyglot" (at least the first series) rewrite from there a very convenient table with the times, write and check yourself in your free time.

Learning times is much easier than it seems. Indeed, it is much easier and safer to learn them together at once, and not separately from each other.

2. Learn irregular verbs

After we have learned the constructions of simple tenses and pronouns, it is already possible in essence to speak and write in English correctly, although it is very simple. But here there is a problem with the vocabulary (about it in more detail in the next paragraph) and with the need to actively use the verbs, which are called “irregular”. They are called wrong because they have a nonstandard transformation when used in the past tense. Unfortunately, some of these irregular verbs are used in English almost all the time.

The simplest thing you can do is to find on the Internet any list of the "top 20-30" most frequently used irregular verbs, and just repeat them to yourself or out loud (if possible) until you learn. And the more the better. If you have something left from cramming from school, that's great. This is very useful, since you know how to build sentences in the past tense. If not, then, alas, they will have to learn.

It’s not even so important to try to memorize their translation into Russian right away, if you forget something when repeating it, okay, go on, it shouldn’t be a bit confusing. You need to repeat to yourself these irregular verbs like the mantra "Om Namakh Sivaya", only: "Begin, Began, Begun", "See, Saw, Seen" and so on in this spirit. It is better to print or save this tablet with the “top 20/30” verbs immediately with transcriptions and translations to repeat correctly.

No need to try to learn all the verbs at once, this will create an unnecessary burden, it is enough to learn the minimum number you need, and then it will be easier to learn new ones as you go. These repetitions can be combined with memorizing simple times in order to give the brain a slightly different task. In any case, these things need to be learned in order to move further in learning the language further and to feel that there is some progress and a real understanding of the material.

The first two points may seem difficult at first sight, or rather boring, but this is where it makes sense to start learning. Thus, in the future, new knowledge will fall into place and fewer questions will arise. Otherwise, it is likely that when you study any new material you will stumble on these poorly learned basic knowledge (pronouns, tenses, irregular verbs) and make stupid mistakes, distracting from the very topic that they have begun to study, and therefore the whole process be unproductive and debilitating.

This is how to start making a snowman, at first the room grows slowly and you have to bend down to the ground, but then it becomes easier and the process goes faster and more fun. If you are a talented person and languages ​​are easy for you, then the whole learning process will probably be easy and fun for you. If you have trouble with learning languages, you will have to work and persist for some time. The main thing is to understand why you are doing all this, and this will give strength and desire to engage.

3. Expand vocabulary

The surest way to replenish your vocabulary is to read. It is here that it makes sense to write out the words, memorize, repeat, translate from one language to another, and all that you can think of.

Getting started can be very difficult to read. You can take a couple of books in English with adaptations of the very elementary “elementray” and read, read and read again. You can take the level harder if you feel that “elementary” is too easy for you. But if you have to open a translator through every word, such reading may be less effective (as you will get very tired), but it will also bear fruit. Unknown words or phrases, especially those that are often found, should be written out on paper with transcriptions and translations (or synonyms in English) pronounced aloud.

I remember how long I couldn’t remember the word “however”, although I constantly met him, but once I had come up with my offer and repeated a couple of times, I remembered the word. It made me think that one should memorize such unpleasant words that seem to be remembered, but constantly forget their meaning.

Various phone applications developed for studying grammar and vocabulary, about which I have already spoken, can also help significantly in the early stages. It is convenient to deal with them in transport and generally anywhere, applications will help gradually expand vocabulary and complement knowledge of grammar. You should not consider them a panacea and overestimate the effectiveness, they are good as an addition to the study and rather in the early stages. Applications are primarily useful for self-examination, especially in grammar exercises.

In short - read, do not be lazy, not only books, read articles on the English wikipedia or reddit-e. Feel the buzz when you meet words or constructions that you already know, when you can read a whole sentence without the help of an interpreter, because this is already something!

4. Learn grammar

There are people who read English quite well, can play games without localization, understand messages in foreign forums, but fall into prostration when you need to write or say something yourself. The word order becomes confused. There is a feeling of insecurity - how to say correctly.

The way to fix it is to learn grammar. This becomes especially relevant when you already know enough words and can read and understand something. There are many ways to learn grammar - books, applications, tests, video and audio lessons. Personally, I really helped watch video tutorials on grammar

Enough in Google to score "English grammar" and the name of the topic, which you are not too clear. It just makes sense to deal with all English times, with conditional sentences, indirect speech and everything else along the way. Here it is worth making an important note. I highly (!) Recommend trying to start watching video tutorials right away in English (you can also from native teachers). Yes, it may not be clear at first, but it is extremely important to understand English by ear, isn't it? How else are we going to communicate with someone or watch movies and TV shows? What can make watching such video lessons easier? Include a button with English subtitles and in parallel to read them.

In the hand we take the pen and paper. All important and useful write out. You can watch these video tutorials at any convenient time. At one time I sat down on them so that I could look 10-15 pieces per day. Then it was really joyful to realize that you understand every word that the teacher speaks a different language, and at the same time learn new language nuances. Maybe other methods are more suitable for you, but personally for me the video lessons in English were very useful.

5. Listen to English Speech

A very important and satisfactory moment in learning the language was when I suddenly realized that I began to understand English by ear. What does that require? Listen. Listen and listen again. In order for you to recognize English speech, you need to train your ears for this. Reading and grammar here will not help, they certainly will be useful for understanding, but these are completely different skills, and you need to download them in different ways, respectively.

The easiest, and at the same time the most effective way to do it so that you are constantly surrounded by English speech. This point is important by the way, including for beginners who have just started to learn the language and learn the base. To understand English by ear is a separate skill, and you need to download it from the very beginning. Listen to your favorite songs in English and sing along, at least silently.

Even at night, you can turn on some kind of radio where there is talk in English and sleep sweetly with the radio turned on all night. I'm serious. It was not I who invented it, I just heard from different teachers who advised this method. On the Internet, a lot of radio with online broadcasting, for example, BBC 4, they only do what they say, and even with a British accent. Of course, in the beginning you will probably understand little, but at some point you will begin to distinguish individual words. And then you will catch yourself on the fact that everything that they say is understandable in general, even just listening to the floor of the ear. Like this. It just takes time to get used and vocabulary, which, including replenished and from constant listening.

In addition to the stupid bubnezha about politics (or what we usually have there on the radio), you can listen consciously in the afternoon what interests you. You have favorite musicians, actors, directors, artists, developers. Anyone? So, why not watch an interview or a program with them? It will at least be interesting. If it's hard to understand anything, then turn on the subtitles in English (yes, even auto-generation, even though it is a curve) and listen. There is also TED Talks, Joe Rogan podcasts, and a lot of interesting things on the Internet. Just take all that is interesting, listen in English with English sabs (meaning zero from Russian sabs, your brain will stupidly process the text) or try without sabs. At first, almost everything will be unclear - this is normal.

Keep up the good work and everything will turn out, and much faster than it might seem.

6. Surround yourself in English

Our brain does not like to overwork and spend too much effort for some tasks than it usually does. And an attempt to study a new language is exactly what makes the brain strain and work in an unusual way for it.

If you study the language from time to time, focusing on one thing, the brain will reluctantly turn on, work on the task, and then switch off safely, leaving a feeling of fatigue and weakness, returning to the usual "energy saving" mode. Here the point is that we must hit all fronts at once and then our brain will have to adapt to the conditions in which we set it. Under these conditions, it will be easier for him to adjust and adapt than to try to resist. What can be done to make your brain feel comfortable with English and make it “surrender” to it?

Well, at least you can change the language on your computer, on your phone, in programs and applications, in all games you play or are going to play. This item is important for anyone who wants to learn or is actively learning a language. And especially for those who persistently try to learn a language, and even knowledge seems to be there, but there is serious discomfort and stress when you have to read, speak or listen to English. Surround yourself in English wherever you can. Again, read the articles in English on wikipedia, watch all the podcasts, shows and TV shows that are interesting for you in English.

7. Speak and think in English

The most stupor among most people who have learned English is that they cannot speak it, although they calmly read and even watch TV shows with movies in the original. Speaking in English is also a separate skill. It swings indirectly when you listen to English, but it swings sooo slowly.

Much faster and more reliable, this is thinking in English, at least 10-15 minutes a day. For example, describe your day in bed before going to bed. Or walk down the street and describe the surrounding landscape to yourself. Or think about the book or movie, about the characters, what they are, your opinion about them. Thinking in English will help a lot in conversation, you will have more confidence in your speech, more freedom, you will not think "what to say" and just talk, as you have done so many times in your thoughts. It may be useful at the initial stages to simply repeat after the teachers from the video lessons, it is not necessary to understand all the constructions and words. You just make sounds with your mouth.

You can speak out loud in front of a mirror, or better yet, record yourself on the phone on audio or video, and then watch and listen. Do not be afraid, no one will see you but you, why be shy?

Here I could say about the fact that it is very useful to find someone to talk to, who already knows English or at least actively teaches, and practice communicating with him. But since this article, following from the title, is directly about self-study, I will leave this option at your discretion.

That's all. Thank you for your attention and success in studying!