Spoken interview
Posted by Andrew Bates
23 Aug, 2017
In this special bonus episode, we talk to our friends at Spoken about an exciting way to improve...
Everyone knows that learning English is difficult, but don’t worry—Culips is here to help! We’ve put together a list of language-learning tips that will have you speaking fluently in no time!
Live English
As much as you can, try to mimic the life of English speakers. Follow the same TV shows as they do, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies. You’ll learn about the language and the culture at the same time.If TV shows and movies are too difficult to understand, that’s OK. You can build up your listening comprehension by listening to podcasts (like Culips) and reading comprehension by reading graded readers
The important thing is to expose yourself to authentic examples of English as it’s spoken in the real world.
Use English – At the end of the day, if you want to be able to speak English, you need to practice speaking English—lots. Thankfully, there are many of ways you can do this. Look for an English conversation club in your city. Or make friends with a native speaker and offer to buy them a coffee so you can chat. If you live in a place without any English speakers, use the Internet to find people who are learning your native language, and offer to do a language exchange over Skype. Or, best of all, if you can afford it, come visit us in Canada!
Take advantage of the Internet
There are many great tools on the Internet that can help you learn English.
Memrise is a fantastic website for making flashcards and studying vocabulary,
Duolingo can help you with sentence structure and pronunciation, and
Bliu Bliu can help you track your reading progress.
One of the best sites for learning English is YouTube, where you can find so many interesting things to listen to or watch. From video blogs to movies to instructional material, YouTube has it all. And the best part is, it’s free!
- Find your motivation
No one likes to study boring things. If your English textbook isn’t interesting, don’t use it! If your hobby is watching MLB baseball, then read about baseball in English. If you like fashion, then read English fashion magazines. Studying with engaging and interesting materials will help keep you inspired and motivated to take your English to the next level. - Spread it out
Use many different types of study materials to keep your learning interesting and to avoid burning out. Create a schedule that works for you, and use a different study source each time. If one of your methods becomes boring, stop it for a little bit and continue with what holds your interest. On weekdays you could listen to Culips while you commute to and from work. Before you go to sleep, you could read one chapter of a graded reader. In the evenings, you could watch the news in English on YouTube. And on the weekends, you could watch a movie in English and hang out with some of your native English-speaking friends. Variety is the spice of life—and the key to staying motivated and improving your English!
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