If you are studying English, you know the importance of mastering this language. However, in the midst of many other daily activities and obligations, it can be a challenge to practice the language. After all, how to learn English faster?
If this is a question you often ask, don’t worry! There are several practices that help a lot in learning the English language and that you can adopt today. Check out 8 tips to help you!
- Change the default language of devices and services
If you want to learn English faster, try not to restrict your practice to moments of study – that is, classes and homework. A good strategy to make English part of your life is to change the default language of the various devices and services you use in everyday life.
It’s worth doing this on your phone, tablet and computer. Also change the default language of your email and social networks. In this way, in addition to improving your vocabulary, you increase your contact with the language, getting even more used to it.0701
As we spend a good part of our day on computers and cell phones and accessing emails and social networks, the difference will be big. You may feel a little strange at first and even feel some difficulty, but you will soon get used to it!
- Read articles
Reading well is a fundamental skill for the English student. However, many have difficulties in interpreting larger or deeper texts. The tip to improve in this regard is to invest in reading articles in English.
Whether journalistic or academic articles, the important thing is to exercise attentive and thorough reading. Subscribe to newsletters or social media pages with news and analytical texts written in English – give preference to those that deal with topics of interest to you, such as politics, culture or gastronomy.
Set a goal of, for example, one text per day. Once you’ve picked up the pace, increase the quantity or complexity level of each article.
- Read books
Another way to train reading and, on top of that, have fun, is to read a good book in English. It is challenging, but some strategies can help you overcome this challenge further.
Ideally, you should choose a work that is not too long and whose language is not too far-fetched. A good option is to choose a book of short stories: as the stories are smaller, you run less risk of getting lost in the plot or getting tired when reading in another language.
Choose the genre that pleases you the most and jump into reading in English! Try to read a story a day and you will see how the reading will become much more fluid as the weeks go by.
- Watch movies and TV series
Mixing learning and leisure is one of the best tactics to learn faster, as our disposition for this type of activity is much greater. In this case, you can watch movies and series in English, with subtitles in English as well.
By watching productions in this way, you discover how the words are pronounced and written, simultaneously. In addition, you can observe the conversation inserted in different contexts and situations, depending on the type of film or series.
If you have trouble understanding the plot and following the story, watch it first with Portuguese subtitles and then watch it again, this time with English subtitles. After some time, you will be able to watch movies and series without any subtitles!
- Listen to radio and podcasts
Listening to English radio and podcasts can seem a little challenging at first, as you don’t have subtitles or images support. But it’s a great way to improve your English language performance.
First of all, keep in mind that you don’t need to understand everything that is said. The first few times, you can even just play the radio (preferably with news, interviews or debates) or the podcast and let it go while you do something else. Your attention doesn’t need to be 100% focused: the goal is to increase your contact with the language.
From the moment you improve your listening, start listening more carefully and challenge yourself to understand what is being said. You’ll find that radio and podcasts are great ways to study: people’s pronunciation is clear and articulate, lots of interesting topics are discussed, and different accents can be heard.
- Use technology
Nowadays, we have access to several teaching tools and materials, especially because of the internet facilities. But it’s so much content that it’s hard to know which references are the best, where to start or what methods to follow.
That’s where apps for learning foreign languages come in. There are several available, both for Android and iOS – and most of them offer materials about English. Among the best known are: Duolingo, Busuu and LinguaLeo.
Through the apps, you practice the four fundamental skills of English (listening, writing, speaking and reading, or listening, writing, speaking and reading) in a didactic and fun way. Some of them are more focused on one skill or another (or even grammar), so keep an eye on the one that seems most interesting to you.
- Chat with natives
For many English learners, conversation is a major challenge: it is common to be shy when speaking, to stop in mid-sentence, to forget the words. The best way to get rid of this problem is to practice a lot.
Talking to native speakers or people who speak the language very well makes all the difference. You will only improve your fluency if you listen to people speaking English and practice with them. The dialogue will become increasingly dynamic.
If you don’t have friends outside of your home countries, don’t worry: there are several sites that put you in touch with people from English-speaking countries.
- Study abroad
If you want to find out how to learn English even faster, know that the best option is to study abroad. Traveling to an English-speaking country will accelerate your knowledge of the language, and in the best possible way.
The reason is simple: in the exchange program (both during study and leisure), you experience the language daily, at all times, in different ways. Whether to buy bread, take the subway, see an art exhibition, ask for information, meet new friends or write an article for college, you will use English.
In this way, it is as if your brain is challenged and gets more and more used to working in the foreign language. When you least expect it, you’ll be chatting in English with great ease. Not to mention that studying abroad is great for your resume.
So, do you like our tips on how to learn English faster? You will notice the difference when you insert the language into your daily life and experience it in different ways – which is fully achieved in an exchange. If you want to study English in Australia or New Zealand, you can go to CatEight Course Finder to search for all English schools located there, so that you can easily find the right one for you.