Obviously the more time you study the quicker you will learn. It is also important to speak the language as much as possible even if you make mistakes. The more you try, the faster you will speak.
Here are some English language learning tips that will help you to learn English:
English Language Learning Tip 1 - PRONUNCIATION!
The FIRST thing you should do is to listen to and learn the PRONUNCIATION of the language. My advice to you is to get this correct from day one! Spend time on this now and the rest of your learning for the rest of your learning period will benefit greatly!
Some languages are phonetic, some are not. Phonetic means the sounds and the letters of the words always match. There are international phonetic symbols that show how to pronounce all the sounds in all of the world languages in the world.
The English language is not a phonetic language so it is ESSENTIAL to first learn the phonetic symbols that belong to the sounds of English words. It is certainly possible to study English without any knowledge of these phonetic symbols but your learning time will be much longer and most times your pronunciation will be inaccurate as you are relying on memorising the sounds of the words for the most part of your learning, just as you had to do as a baby.
I strongly recommend the learning phonetics for learners of English before you open your first grammar or reading book! If you can learn the CORRECT pronunciation at the beginning, it will save you a lot of precious learning time later. It is a lot harder to undo incorrect learning and have to relearn the word correctly.
I have written a book (including audio CD) to help you to learn these phonetic symbols. It is called "Phonetics for Learners of English Pronunciation"
If you have already started studying English but need some assistance with pronunciation this book will still help you!
English Language Learning Tip 2 - STUDY TIME!
It is more beneficial to study a minimum of 20 mins every day than to study one hour per week.
English Language Learning Tip 3 - The methods for learning any language are:
•Listening
•Speaking
•Reading
•Writing
This is how you learned your own language as a baby!. You have already learned one language - you CAN learn another one!
However, as a baby you first listened, then copied saying the sounds, then you began learning how to read and write. Some language experts say that you do not fully learn your own native language until about the age of 12 -15 years old!
As an adult you have the advantage of being able to read and write already so your learning of a second language should be much faster!
English Language Learning Tip 4 - Listen!
Listen to as much English as you can as this will let you hear the sounds, stress and intonation of the English language for you to copy them.
Listening Resources:
Cassette tapes and CDs that accompany workbooks
Audio books
Songs
Native speakers
Radio and television (news and documentary programmes have the better pronunciation without slang as in many regular programmes).
English Language Learning Tip 5 - Read! Read! Read!
This is probably the easiest study method as you can do this at your own pace, in your own time and at your own level.
Reading sources:
Course Books (these will possibly be the first type of books you will read)
Leaflets
Brochures
Timetables
Menus
Magazines (good for short stories, advertisements etc)
Graded Reading Books (these books are specially written for each of the learning levels)
Newspapers (they may be difficult at first - but persevere!)
English Language Learning Tip 6 - Writing!
Writing is a powerful way to learn a language. All my language students who wrote an essay every week to give me to correct, learned English much faster than the students who never wrote, and some not even notes in class!
Every time you look for a word in the dictionary you should write this word in a small pocket notebook, small enough to keep in your pocket or handbag along with your pocket dictionary, so that you can use it at all times and all places(eg standing waiting for the bus!). (See Learning Vocabulary).
English Language Learning Tip 7 - Speaking!
Now you are Now you are ready to put it all together and SPEAK! Try to do this as soon as possible and dont be afraid to make a mistake. If it is a bad bad mistake a native speaker will soon tell you. However a native speaker will not always tell you your mistakes! A native speaker will not always know the grammar of their own language. (Do you?) So may not be able to explain your mistakes but just give you the correct answer.
It is best to do some study with a professional language college. If you are studying with a private teacher, ask to see his/her qualifications. Just because someone is a native speaker of a language doesn't make him/her a qualified teacher! He/she should have some kind of teaching qualification AND an EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching qualification.
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