An easy way to learn English on your own at home. How to learn English fast: techniques, tips and lesson plan for beginners

In this material, we will try to give you the basics of the English language from the very beginning. If you are still quite a beginner, but at least know the alphabet, then after giving this article some time, you will be able to learn your first words and start making sentences.

We have prepared for you English exercises especially for beginners from scratch, as well as video lessons on grammar and many useful links to other important articles on our site that will help you learn. While many learning methods are known today, self-study has an important role to play in skill development. Therefore, carefully read the article and learn new topics with us.

English from scratch: where to start?

Everyone knows that every language, both native and foreign, consists of words, and words - of letters and sounds. Therefore, if we want to take the first steps in self-learning a language and learn English from scratch on our own, we will have to start with its smallest elements - letters and sounds.

English alphabet

The English alphabet consists of 26 letters. Some of them resemble Russian letters and are easy to remember (for example, Mm, Kk, Oo and others), and some (for example, Hh , Gg , Qq and others) - do not look like them at all.

Letters and sounds

When learning English letters, one has to take into account that vowels are read differently in different environments. For example, the letter A can be read as:

plate
[æ] - cat
- car
- hare
[ɔ] - what

In addition, some consonants can convey different sounds in words. For example, the letter C can be read as:

[s] - cinema
[k] - cry

English letters can be combined into letter combinations, the rules for reading which at the initial stage also need to be remembered. For example,

sh - [ʃ]
tch-
ea - , [e]

Usually, transcription is required at this stage, which conveys the sound. From it you can learn the correct pronunciation of letters, and in the future - words. But for learners of English for beginners, we have made the task easier, and now all letters and sounds can be perceived by ear while listening to material about English phonetics.

You can learn about reading rules, types of syllables and letter combinations .

English dictionary for beginners

An effective way to learn words for beginners from scratch is thematic. That is, nouns, adjectives, verbs need to be combined into one topic and taught in context. You can memorize words one at a time, make groups of them, combine them into phrases, make short sentences. This is one of the most effective ways to learn English quickly and easily. For example, let's take five main conversational topics and select groups of suitable words for them:

1. Family - family:

Mother [ˈmʌðə] - mother
Father [ˈfɑːðə] - dad
Sister [ˈsɪstə] - sister
Brother [ˈbrʌðə] - brother
Son - son
Daughter [ˈdɔːtə] - daughter
Small - small
Big - big
love - to love

2. Greeting

hello
Good - good
Morning [ˈmɔːnɪŋ] - morning
Evening [ˈiːvnɪŋ] - evening
Afternoon [ɑːftəˈnuːn] - day
Night - night
Meet - meet, get acquainted
See - see
How - how
Fine - excellent

3. Appearance

Eye - eye
Nose - nose
Mouth - mouth
Hair - hair
Face - face
Long - long
Short [ʃɔːt] - short, low
tall
Thin [θɪn] - thin
Round - round
Man - man, man
Woman [ˈwʊmən] - woman
Boy - boy
Girl - girl

4. About me

Name - name
Year - year
Old [əʊld] - old
live - live
Study [ˈstʌdɪ] - to study
Work - work
Like - like
Hobby [ˈhɒbɪ] - hobby

5. Seasons and weather

Spring - spring
Summer [ˈsʌmə] - summer
Winter [ˈwɪntə] - winter
Autumn [ˈɔːtəm] - autumn
Sun - the sun
Rain - rain
Snow - snow
Shine [ʃaɪn] - to shine
sky

Task: Learn the words from the list, and then complete an online exercise in which you need to translate words from Russian into English by choosing from the proposed options.

Mother

Father

Sister

Brother

Daughter

Evening

Night

Mouth

short

Spring

Summer

Winter

Autumn

In each of the topics, we have mentioned the minimum number of words required for beginner learners. Gradually, you need to replenish the topics with new words. The same word can appear in several topics. In addition, you can group words by parts of speech: pronouns, numerals, verbs, prepositions. It is important to remember that it is easier to learn and remember words in context. You can learn 100 more words from the link, broken down just like that.

On our website, you can use to replenish vocabulary. The words in them are grouped by levels and by topic:

English numerals

Numerals in English are one of the very first words that are learned in class.

1-one
2-two
3- three [θriː]
4-four
5-five
6-six
7- seven
8-eight
9 nine
10 ten

The first ten, which you must know, provides the basis for any subsequent numbers - second ten numbers (for example, 16 - sixteen), tens (for example, 70 - seventy) and ordinal numbers (for example, tenth - tenth).

100- hundred [ˈhʌndrəd]
1000-thousand [ˈθaʊzənd]
1000000-million [ˈmɪljən]

Numerals are memorized as separate words and participate in the formation of compound numerals. For example,

2341 - two thousand three hundred forty-one

You can learn more about numbers and numbers in English

Now go to the exercise on this topic:

thousand
three
hundred
forty

thousand
hundred
forty

hundred
sixty
seven

English times.

Even the most extensive vocabulary will not be able to provide full communication in English. English grammar is an important part of learning. In order to learn English from scratch on your own, you must definitely understand the system of tenses in the English language. Despite the seeming cumbersome and multi-layered, this system, upon closer examination, is quite logical and understandable. A set of grammar rules will help you build sentences correctly and express yourself in a foreign language. There are nine basic tenses in English - three types of present, three past and three future. These tenses are divided into three groups - the group of simple tenses, the group of long tenses and the group of completed tenses. Each group has similar characteristics that distinguish them from each other. All these nine times can be placed in the following table:

Already when looking at such a simplified tablet, common features and patterns between groups and times are visible. Simple group tenses denote regular, ordinary actions. The times of a continuous (Continuous) group are actions that occur at a certain moment. The times of the completed (Perfect) group are actions that have completed by a certain moment.

In addition to these main tenses, there are several more that combine the features of different groups. But if you have a good grasp of these nine, the extra tenses will no longer be difficult, and you can easily incorporate them into your colloquial speech.

The verb to be - the basis of English for beginners

But before you deal with the forms of verbs and groups of tenses, you can learn how to make short sentences with the verb to be (to be). You can refer to yourself using this verb:

I am Lima. - I'm Lima.

And tell us about your occupation:

I am a student. - I am a student.

with it you can describe the appearance and character:

He is tall. - He is tall.

We are kind. - We are kind.

items:

The boxes are green. - The boxes are green.

and weather:

It was rainy. - It was raining.

To be needed to name the age:

He is 25. - He is twenty-five (years old).

That is, with the help of a single verb, you can make up many sentences of the main conversational topics.

An important point to remember: in an English sentence there must be a full stem - subject and predicate. Even if one of them is omitted in the Russian version. If in the above examples we compare the English sentence and the Russian translation, it is not difficult to notice. That is why people who are just starting to comprehend the basics of English often make sentences with the verb to be in the present tense with an error - they simply forget about it, because it is not in the Russian version.

The verb to be in the present tense has three forms - is, am and are. The choice of form depends on the pronoun or noun to which it refers.

English pronouns.

English pronouns change by person and by number. If we summarize the main pronouns in a table, we get the following picture:

Singular			Plural
nominative case (who what?)	Object.case	Attract.	nominative case (who what?)	Object.case (whom? what? to whom? what? etc.)	Attract.
	me (mnot)	my (my)	we (we)	us (to us)	our (our)
you (you)	you (to you)	your (your)	you (you)	you (to you)	your (your)
he (he) she (she) it (he, she, it)	him (to him) her it (his, her)	his (his) her (her) its (his, her)	They (they)	them (them)	their (their)

This table will be useful not only to students or teachers, but also to any foreign language learner. Of course, this list of English pronouns is not complete, but at the initial stage, it is worth focusing on them in the first place.

English articles

In English, there are function words that are not in Russian. These are articles. The article defines a noun and can be of two types - definite (the) and indefinite (a / an). The names of the articles themselves contain their meaning. To be fluent in English, you need to learn how to use this grammatical category.

The indefinite article a defines a singular countable noun that is mentioned for the first time in a speech. Nothing is known about him and this is one of a number of such items. A has a variation - before nouns that begin with a vowel, it has the form an.

If the speakers understand from the context what subject is being discussed, or if this noun has already been mentioned in previous sentences, then the article the is placed before it. The use of the definite article is not limited to singular countable nouns. It can stand before an uncountable noun, and before plural nouns.

There are many nuances of the use of articles, which are studied gradually.

A few conversational phrases for beginners from scratch

Having a minimum active colloquial vocabulary, and knowing a few basic rules of English grammar, it is possible to compose colloquial phrases for some standard situations. We advise you to stock up on such commonly used expressions, such as, for example,

1. Acquaintance:

Hello! - Hey!
How are you? - How are you?
I'm fine. - Perfectly.
Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

2. About me:

I am Lima. - I'm Lima.
I am sixteen. - I am sixteen.
I am from America. - I'm from America.
I live in New York. - I live in New York.
I am a student. - I am a student.

3. About family:

My family is not big. - My family is not big.
I have a mother, a father and a brother. - I have a mother, father and brother.
My mother is a housewife. - My mother a housewife.
My father is a manager. - My dad is a manager.
My brother's name is Tom. - My brother's name is Tom.
He is twelve years old. - He's twelve.
about
family

family

mother
father
sisters

father

father
sales
promoter

mother

housewife

Continue with Lim English!

Having started learning English from scratch with the alphabet and reading rules, we learned to read simple words. Then we began to accumulate vocabulary - we learned words by topic, added numerals and pronouns to them. The rules for using English tenses and articles helped us compose colloquial phrases and sentences, as well as learn how to read texts. Further, we recommend learning English for beginners from scratch on your own with the help of. Each lesson you will replenish your vocabulary, grammar rules are trained by exercises, and video English lessons for beginners are attached to the rules.

Learning English from scratch on our website is an easy and affordable way to gain the necessary knowledge and learn to understand foreign speech.

1. Learn with interest

Any teacher will confirm: abstract language learning is harder than mastering a language for a specific purpose. Therefore, at first, learn things that will be useful to you in your work. Another option is to read foreign language resources related to yours.

2. Remember only the right words

There are more than a million words in the English language, but in everyday speech, at best, several thousand are used. Therefore, even a modest vocabulary is enough for you to talk with a foreigner, read online publications, watch news and TV shows.

3. Post stickers at home

This is an effective way to improve your vocabulary. Look around the room and see which items you don't know the names of. Translate the name of each subject into English, French, German - whatever language you want to learn. And paste these stickers around the room. New words will gradually be deposited in memory, and this will not require any additional effort.

4. Repeat

The technique of spaced repetitions allows you to better memorize new words and concepts. To do this, run the studied material at certain intervals: first, repeat the learned words often, then return to them after a few days, and fix the material again after a month.

5. Use new technologies

6. Set realistic goals

Be careful with the load and do not overwork. Especially at the beginning, so as not to lose interest. Teachers advise starting small: first learn 50 new words, try to apply them in life, and only then take up grammar rules.

Learning a foreign language can be a real roller coaster:

Joyful and full of delight takeoffs await you.

And falls ... And we will help you avoid falls! 🙂

Whether you're just starting to learn English on your own from scratch, or want to improve what you already have in your luggage, these easy ways will come in handy for everyone!

What's more, you don't even have to leave the house - you can sit at home in your pajamas, drink aromatic tea and put into practice what you are about to learn ... and then be surprised at your results with a smile!

7 Easy Ways to Learn English at Home on the Couch in Pajamas :-)

Step one:

Break down your goals.

Define clearly: what kind of English do you want to learn?

Colloquial? Writing? Or is it very important for you to read it and understand what you read?

If you are going to travel abroad, then you need exactly spoken English. The ability to write in a language like Shakespeare, you, of course, like a stoplight hare :-) [no need!]

And if you want to move abroad, find a job there, then you need to be 100% proficient in all 4 aspects of the language: speaking, reading, understanding, and writing.

We all have different goals, different from others. What are you interested in and what do you need?

Step two:

Find your favorite tutorial / video course / lessons for distance learning.

Once you have decided on your main goals (see paragraph above), you need to take the bull by the horns. And find the most suitable way for you to self-study.

The very ass A lifesaver for learning a language at home are video lessons.

Both for adults and children!

Everyone knows that their main and indisputable advantage is that during video lessons we see, hear, read, write and speak English!

Today you can study them both for a fee and for free.

In free access, information is usually “broken”, that is, it is presented in “pieces”. Like a Napoleon cake - you get your 1-2 pieces, but not the whole cake :-)

Paid videos are known for the fact that there you are engaged in a complete, whole system. In good systems, everything is built step by step, explained in an accessible and simple way.

That is, here you already get just the whole Napoleon :-)

Step three:

When learning English from scratch, choose a professional Russian-speaking teacher!

That's right, cool. For those who continue. And a sure way to nowhere for beginners.

Hundreds and hundreds of students moving with the desire to conquer a foreign language, they immediately rushed into the pool with their heads, choosing courses / lessons of a native speaker.

So to speak, immediately "plunged into the environment."

And shed bitter tears. And then they threw textbooks in anger :-)

"How so?" you are probably asking.

If you are just starting to learn English, and you know quite a few words, then you ...

First of all, you simply will not understand most of what a native speaker will tell you;

He will not be able to explain to you the translations of many words and grammar features. Why is it in Russian like this, but in English like that.

Secondly, due to a complete misunderstanding, your desire to practice will quickly melt, like butter in a hot frying pan!

Tested by hundreds of students.

Decision:

Find eng a language teacher who is fluent in English and knows how to teach it.

He will be able to explain to you, as a beginner, all the important nuances of the language and will guide you by the hand through the first, basic and most important steps of learning.

Will give you the basics, explaining it in a simple and easy way.

And, of course, in a good video course by a Russian-speaking teacher, training with native speakers is waiting for you. You will listen to them, answer questions, ask your own. But this practice will be dosed, suitable for your level. Immersing you in the language easily and smoothly, effectively and with pleasure.

Watch an English lesson for beginners with Oksana's explanations and training with a native speaker:

Step four:

Start processing your "cake"!

So, you have chosen the right video (or maybe audio) course. Fine.

It's time to study it.

Like a large, kilogram Napoleon cake, an English course needs to be “processed” a little.

If you try to swallow it all at once and whole, indigestion can happen! (best case scenario:-))

Of course, of course, you want to master the language here, here, now, and quickly. But!

Spur your horse and decide on your speed.

Do you need to know the language very soon? Doesn't time wait?

Then watch and work on 1 video (hourly) per day. No more!

Remember, if you immediately start “grabbing everything at once”, that same mess will start in your head :-)

Step five.

Talk to yourself.

Yes, you got it right :-)

You just need to speak English 🙂

Your articulatory apparatus should get used to foreign sounds.

By repeating aloud newly learned words, expressions and constructions, you not only get used to this language, but also better remember what you have learned!

While doing household chores, imagine situations in which you will communicate and say out loud what you would say to your foreign interlocutor!

The effect will surprise you! 🙂

Step six:

Train as if tomorrow you will become the president of the USA :-)

Bruce Lee once said: “I am not afraid of someone who learns 10,000 different kicks. I fear the one who learns one punch 10,000 times.»

Only by repeating and practicing one topic a hundred times can you become a champion in English.

Do not rush to learn and learn everything. Practice each "stroke", each grammatical topic many times, without fear of repetition. The language is forgotten for one or two, so every word, every topic should be brought to automatism.

Many do not know about it, or forget it. And then they have to learn everything again, because once they seriously under-learned something.

Keep this important point in mind, and practice each hit, bringing it to automatism. So that if you were awakened in the middle of the night and asked to translate: "I want ice cream, shake hands with Jason Stetchen and an apartment in Hollywood", you could immediately translate it! 🙂

Step seven:

The clock is the shepherd of time. Remember him!

Have you noticed how time seems to fly faster and faster every year?

Remember that time will pass. Anyway. 1 year, 5 years, 20 years...

And it depends only on you where you invest your time and what will happen to you in n-th number of years.

Will you stand still without advancing your knowledge of the language a millimeter?

Or will you master it and communicate freely, rejoicing and proud of your results?

There are a lot of ways to learn English in 5 minutes, in a day, a week or even a month on the Internet, but you should immediately learn one rule: to get something, you have to give something.

In our case, to learn English to a certain level, you will need to give your time and effort. This applies not only to English, but also to other languages - you need to learn daily and the sooner you want to progress, the more time per day you need to devote.

English levels

We concretize the meaning of the word "learn" the language. There are 6 levels of language proficiency:

A1(Beginner, Elementary). Basic level, knowledge of several common phrases, words.

A2 (Pre-Intermediate). Slightly above base. You can tell about yourself in a few sentences (having previously written and learned the text), read simple (very simple) texts, understand individual phrases and words by ear.

B1 (intermediate). Intermediate level, you can read children's literature in English, talk on simple everyday topics, correspond in social networks. networks.

B2 (Upper Intermediate). The level is above average. You can talk on various topics with native speakers, read different literature in English, more or less well explain your thoughts without preparation.

C1 (Advanced). Advanced level. Here you can already properly load the average American with oral speech, understand their mentality, know how to explain your thoughts well, convince, and joke appropriately.

C2 (Proficiency). The coolest level. Ownership at the level of Native Speaker. You understand any oral or written speech, you can defend your doctoral dissertation. As a rule, you know English even better than your native language.

In addition to your time, you can also spend your money, in some cases, even very considerable. The best way to learn any language is to go to a country where that language is spoken and live there for at least half a year in complete isolation from your native language. That's the whole point, you need to maximize the time spent with the language being studied and minimize the time spent with the native language. Read, write, speak and think in the target language. It's not easy, but it's fun 🙂

You should not treat learning English like a job or homework, or anything else that other people or circumstances force you to do. You must want to learn English yourself.

For money, you can go to another country, enroll in courses or hire a tutor - this will speed up your progress. But the essence remains the same: you still have to do it yourself at home. Without this, no tutors and courses will help you much. No one will learn English for you. Tutors and courses will only point you in the right direction. From this it turns out that with a great desire, English can be learned by yourself and without significant financial investments.

5 ways to learn English

I will tell you about the methods that I use myself and which really help in learning English.

Method number 1: Watch movies in the original (English) dubbing with subtitles. Write out all unfamiliar words and phrases in a separate notebook and repeat them constantly. Thus, every day you will learn new words, listen to "live" speech, memorize the structure of sentences, understand slang and just have a good time. This method with daily workouts can very soon become your pleasant habit. This is the most effective way to learn English and it helped me get to Upper-Intermediate. I wrote more about this method.

Method number 2: Read books in English. Something from modern literature is better, because if you take old books or the same classics, then they will have a lot of “dead” words that are now not used either in writing or in communication. Choose artistic modern bestsellers or something interesting for you. For example, programmers can read books about programming.

Method #3: Listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Podcasts are educational videos or audio recordings. There are also performance podcasts that you can both listen to and watch, podcasts from TED or BBC. Thus, you can not only learn English, but also develop intellectually and even professionally. Two in one.

Method number 4: Programs and applications. There are special applications for Android or iOS that are designed for learning English. Among them are very popular Duolingo and LinguaLeo. Among the more serious programs, it is worth highlighting Rosetta Stone(paid).

Method #5: Skype with Native Speakers. Here, the emphasis should not be on pressing the keyboard of a laptop or computer, but on a live conversation using a webcam and a microphone with Native Speaker. There are special social networks for people who want to learn another language. There you can find Native Speakers of many languages, chat with them, exchange Skype. During regular communication with Native Speaker, you learn how to speak correctly, understand spoken language, build sentences, etc. Such communication on an ongoing basis can be a very good alternative to traveling to another country. And it's completely free. More about social networks for learning English I wrote.

I deliberately left communication with Native Speakers in the end, as I would not recommend it for beginners. At a basic level of language proficiency, you will not be able to communicate and learn normally in communication, a live conversation can end in 2 minutes due to the lack of your vocabulary, elementary understanding of the language and just lowing during these 2 minutes.

Start with the first way. After learning the words, listening and watching the modern Anglo-American speech, you can already connect applications ( method number 4). Then you can watch / listen to podcasts and read books. And only then is it worth looking for an interlocutor among Native Speakers.

Live informative communication is at the highest level of language proficiency, and in order to participate in a dialogue, you already need to know the language at least above the elementary, and better, above the average level. Try, experiment.

Test

Here is another cool site where you can test your English vocabulary -

Today it is difficult to find a person who would not need English. But why do only a select few know it at a decent level? The reason, according to the ignorant themselves, lies in the fact that they have a “bad memory” or “no ability for languages” at all. Perhaps you, dear reader, consider yourself one of those who are "not given." Of course, innate ability plays a certain role, but this is far from the main factor, and almost any person is able to effectively learn a foreign language. We will try to convince you of this, and at the same time we will tell you what needs to be done to make it happen in the shortest possible time, regardless of your age.

And to make it easier for you to believe this, think about this: the brain and speech organs of all people are arranged in approximately the same way, which means that if we speak, read and write in one language, then we can definitely do it in any other. It turns out that the point is not so much in abilities, but in a conscious need (or an irresistible desire) to know the language, the right motivation and a suitable methodology. That is, "inability" to languages can be easily compensated with the help of a competent organization of study and, of course, perseverance and diligence.

Do I need it?

Now let's talk about everything in more detail. First you need to decide whether you need a language in principle. If yes, then forward to the victory of reason over apathy and laziness! And if you have doubts, quit classes or ... stop doubting, otherwise there will be no results, you simply won’t wait for them, because without a clearly set goal you won’t know where to go.

Ask yourself: "Why do I need a language?" If it’s just like that, “so that it is”, in order to show off a foreign word at a party, then most likely you will not succeed, and you will stop there. You need to see the meaning in your work. If you don't have it, either drop the class or come up with a goal!

Here are some tips for you:

Travel or tourist trip.
Studying at a prestigious foreign university.
Friendship, love, creating a family with a foreigner.
Playing football, for example, for Manchester United.
Work abroad.
Work in a multinational company or own international business.
Work in a national company that requires knowledge of a foreign language.

Try to write (namely, write on paper) a small essay on the topic: Why do I need English? Having decided, confidently go to your goal and learn the language at the same time. At the same time, try to enjoy the process, this applies not only to learning languages; any work or study becomes many times more effective if done with pleasure.

How long does it take to learn English?

Do not believe the promises to teach you English perfectly in a month, or even in 2 weeks. If you are promised this, it means that they most likely want to sell you something, or rather, to sell you something. Without serious, painstaking work, nothing will come of it. Yes, there are many programs to help you learn a language, but the programs don't teach you, they only help you learn. And miracles happen so far mostly only in fairy tales (and we all love fairy tales very much, which is why all sorts of 25th, 26th and other “frames” that promise to teach you in a dream thrive ...). Think, after all, even a small child who constantly hears his native speech, and whose brain absorbs everything like a sponge, spends 7-10 years on confident language acquisition.

Scared? In vain! Adults can learn much faster than children, due to the fact that they are able to do it in a more conscious and organized way. With such a study, after 4-6 months you can already speak quite decently, and in a year you can master the language to a level close to the native! Just keep in mind that in this case you will have to work with full dedication.

Letters and words

If you're starting from scratch, start with the alphabet and pronunciation, that's the basics. After all, any language consists of sounds, and sounds are represented by letters, although in English all this is rather arbitrary :). There is an opinion that the alphabet is for beginners, "... but he got me at school." This opinion is erroneous: without knowing the alphabet, it is very difficult to dictate your foreign name for writing, read the abbreviation, and it is impossible to fully use the dictionary.

Letters are importantly followed by words consisting of these letters. When starting to learn a language, be sure to limit yourself in time. Installation, maybe like this: in 3 months I will learn 2000 new words, and this is only 20-25 words a day. Follow this plan strictly. This applies to any work: if you don’t do it on time, you most likely will never do it. But don't chase word count; not just a vocabulary is needed, its quality is important. Each person has his own speaking level in his native language and do not think that in a foreign language it will be very different from the original one. Read, analyze, find new words in books, the Internet, translate your Russian vocabulary into English. Textbooks and teachers fill your head with words that you may never need, so do not trust them completely, choose the words yourself, the words you need!

But words alone, as you know, are not enough for us. And, although sentences consist of words, you still need to know how to build these sentences. In this regard, I recommend that you often look at at least the shortest grammar and read aloud as much as possible. That this is well known, probably, by everyone, but very few do, because it is quite difficult to force yourself to read for a long time. In order to overcome this obstacle, come up with some small reward or encouragement for yourself. For example, don't give yourself a candy bar or a cup of coffee until you've read 3 pages aloud. In general, everything is according to Pavlov.

Words live in phrases

And now let me reveal to you one simple truth, which, unfortunately, is not remembered very often. Words live in phrases; a single word is most often just a set of sounds, but our memory is arranged in such a way that we remember only what is meaningful and interesting to us. Therefore, words learn much faster when they are in the company of other words. It can be a whole sentence or two or three words forming a meaningful phrase. Combinations of a noun with an adjective or a noun with a verb are very good. In the Audio Class, you can expand your vocabulary with
specially selected phrases and phrases.

But word combinations are not everything, the most interesting thing begins when they become a little “hello”. For example, something like: Yellow crocodile walking the streets. Represented? Remember? Russian folk tales, many poems and fairy tales by Korney Chukovsky are built in a similar way:

And the chanterelles
They took the matches
Let's go to the blue sea
The blue sea was lit.

The absurdity is complete, but we all know this poem (at least partially). Did you read as a child? Yes. But, in addition, such seemingly ridiculous fantasies excite our imagination, and with it activate our memory.

And here is the verse in English:
Ding Dong Bell,
Pussy's in the well.
You don't believe me?
Go have a smell.

The meaning is this: the cat fell into the well, whoever does not believe, go smell it ... Not a very pleasant rhyme, but it is remembered with a bang!

Having achieved the first results, you will feel that the learning process becomes a habit and that's great! After all, we not only can, but we must learn all our lives. And, perhaps, the main thing that you will get is an indescribable feeling of joy and delight from achieving the goal, and the knowledge gained will definitely be useful to you in life.

Notebook, cards and motor memory

In order to be able to quickly repeat the past and test your knowledge, lead notebook-dictionary. Now such notebooks can be bought in any stationery. Write down the words, phrases and sentences you like in this dictionary. To this we can add that when learning a foreign language, it is desirable to write more by hand, as this also involves motor memory. Covering English words with your left hand (or a sheet of paper), read Russian and remember their meaning in English, then vice versa, covering Russian words with your right hand, read in English and remember the translation. And you can even write English words on one side of the page, and the translation on the back. This method eliminates peeping and forces the memory to work. But here, perhaps, it's time to remember our vocabulary trainer, in which you can easily hide any part of the text by unchecking the necessary checkbox above the table.

You can also use didactic cards (flash-cards) - these are small cardboard boxes where a sentence or a word is written in English on one side, and on the other, a translation in Russian or a picture corresponding to the English word. Perhaps they can be used as a temporary teaching aid, but they tend to crumple and get lost, they are difficult to systematize. However, this is my opinion, so choose what is more convenient for you.

Transcription

Write transcription, but do not write it everywhere, save time - write only where you can doubt the pronunciation, because you are keeping this notebook for yourself! It is advisable to use generally accepted transcription signs, for example, IPA, but you can come up with your own or use Russian letters. But this is for the most extreme case, since you simply cannot convey all the subtleties of English pronunciation with Russian letters.

Think and speak English, don't be afraid to make mistakes!

How to learn to think in English? Start with simple, repetitive thoughts in your genius brain (or brain?), for example: "Something I'm hungry - I feel like eating", "That's enough for today - Let's call it a day" or quite prosaic: "What is it smell? - What "s the smell?". your phrases(just pay attention to your thoughts during the day and write them down) translate them with a dictionary, or find analogues on the Internet, write them down in a notebook and remember. Repeat them out loud several times. Force yourself next time, however, no, please yourself think about it in English. Develop this skill, it will gradually become a habit, and you will be able to think about everyday things in English quite easily. Whenever possible, speak your thoughts out loud. It would be ideal to find a partner who is ready to study with you. In this case, you will be listened to and answered, and if you can completely switch to English and refuse to speak Russian, the result will be stunning. At first it seems that it is very difficult, but once you get the taste, it will be almost impossible to stop you! Do not be afraid of mistakes, they are inevitable, but completely harmless.

About modern technologies

Modern technologies are wonderful, I am in favor with both hands. Without a doubt, audio and video recordings, online lessons and seminars are very useful when learning a language. See movies in english, but when viewing, be sure to put a notebook, a pen and a dictionary next to you, you can use an electronic one, for example, in your phone. If necessary, pause and write in your notebook, but do not try to understand and write down every unfamiliar word, just try to grasp the general meaning of the film. It is equally important to get used to the sounds of the language and even to the facial expressions of native speakers. To do this, turn off the subtitles and try to catch the sounds by looking at the speaker's face. This has a double effect: you learn to understand English speech by ear and see how native speakers pronounce the words. For the same purposes, you can advise watching English-language news on the BBC, CNN, NBC channels, watching videos on YouTube. Always choose a topic that interests you. However, you need to understand that just watching and listening is not enough, you also need to actively train your speech apparatus.

It is also useful to use any audio player, but listening to semi-understandable English gibberish quickly gets boring, you want to listen to music, or something funny. I'll tell you a few secrets. Firstly, find interesting and, for starters, not very difficult topics, and secondly, if you undertake to listen to an audio book or a story in English, take its text and read it first or at least quickly skim it. Thirdly, when reading, it is desirable to have English and Russian versions. Try to read in parallel with listening, but in this case, attention is scattered on visual and auditory perception, this option is best used only at the initial stage. The same applies to films with subtitles, subtitles are generally very distracting from viewing. Fourth, find the lyrics of your favorite songs and learn them, listening to music will bring you benefit and pleasure. To find the lyrics of a song, in any search engine, type the name of the song in English and the word lyrics.

Overcome difficulties and celebrate success

Let's talk about laziness: it pursues us at every step, lies in wait around every corner, and we are weak and weak-willed creatures, always happy to help her and ready to indulge! Laziness can be defeated and overcome, despite fatigue and ... laziness. Yes, we all work, we get tired, but when we come home in the evening, we can still find at least half an hour to learn the language. However, the morning hours, according to experts, are more effective for studying, but here it’s how anyone succeeds. And do not forget about the right mood, enjoy the process and rejoice at the results, then everything will go easier and faster.

Prioritize

Another important note: if you want to learn English really quickly and are willing to sacrifice other things for this, make it your priority, set aside a few hours a day and work to the limit, without forgetting, however, about breaks. Find native speakers, communicate with them in person or online via Skype, Viber or any other messenger. So you will see noticeable changes in 3-4 weeks.

About age

And once again about age: the ideal age for learning a language is 1 month or a little earlier (children listen to their native language even before birth), learning languages, like everything else, becomes more difficult over the years, and yet language, like love , all ages are submissive. And we already know that adults have another important advantage: they know, or at least should know, why they need a language and learn it more meaningfully and purposefully.

To all of the above, we can add a curious fact: people who speak one or more foreign languages, according to statistics, live longer and suffer from senile insanity much less often. The brain, like other parts of the human body, requires constant training to function properly.

Which method to choose?

There are many approaches to learning a language. We will name only the most famous. The oldest is a method of memorizing grammar and vocabulary, out of direct connection with the context. Nowadays, it is used extremely rarely, as it is more intended for reading and writing, for example, when studying Latin, but not for live communication. The direct learning method or (The Direct Method) is learning by immersion in the language environment, a maximum of practice and a minimum of grammar. The method is good for people who have the opportunity to constantly communicate with carriers. The third and perhaps the most popular method today is communicative (Communicative Language Teaching or CLT). It is based not on the science of language with its complex formulations, but on the study of the language itself as a means of communication and thought transmission. CLT has taken the best features of other methods and supplemented them with new approaches. He also does not exclude the study of grammar (without fanaticism), as a means of support in writing and speaking. And yet the most justified can be considered a selective approach (Eclectic Approach), one that takes into account the age, individual abilities, life experience and native language of the student. And when learning a language on your own, you always have the opportunity to choose exactly those techniques and means that best suit you. And let the information on this page and on our website as a whole serve as a road map for you to choose the right path. The final decision is always yours.

Good luck in your studies and interesting interlocutors in different cities and countries!

Konstantin Mikhailov

Portal for the student. Self-training