Did you know that English is one of the most common languages in the world? The language spoken by most countries is English and it has the second largest number of speakers in the world. (Mandarin has the most speakers!)
As you might be aware, I’m from Brazil where I was born and lived most of my life.
English classes are not compulsory or offered in most public schools when you are young and getting an education in Brazil, but I was able to pick up some words and phrases from an early age.
Listening to music and watching tv when I was younger helped me to pick up some basics of the language, but it wasn’t till I actually put more effort in that I actually improved the language to become fluent.
Before arriving to live in the UK, I already had a good grasp of the language and was able to build on this to become fluent, and even able to understand the different English accents which is quite a challenge, even now sometimes!
In this article I’m going to share my top advice for studying and being able to speak English including top ways to learn quickly, best websites, apps and tv programmes and films to watch which will help you to become fluent in no time.
Self Studying English at Home
My English classes were fun but being a kid you don’t really study hard enough or understand how important it is to speak English when you’re older.
When I got a bit older, I realised that learning the basics I was self-taught was a good basis to understand and practise English. However, it is important to really make time to study in your spare time and improve indepdendently.
You can do it alone at home with simple things:
Improve English by Watching TV
By watching TV and movies really helped to pick up new words and understand different accents. Use subtitles – this really helps.
Watch / Read Western News
The best way to improve my English level was to read, write, listen and speak English regularly.
Music – Listen to the Radio or Songs in English
Watch music videos with subtitles online or just listen to some of your favourite bands.
Using Your Phone/Computer in English
This is more challenging at first but if you use a translate app you can really advance your learning.
That’s the best way to enrich your vocabulary and improve your concentration and your understanding! You can also buy a book of exercises to work on your grammar, reading and writing English skills. For my part, I think that this advice helped me a lot to better my English level.
If you have the opportunity, doing trips can be so enriching. Learning English at school and practising English in the ‘real world’ are completely different!
When I arrived in London, I was very worried and a bit scared by the English accent. People speak really quickly… You always have to concentrate and be strict with yourself. You should not be scared or shy to speak to people – it is the best way to practise and become better.
Even after a few weeks you will be able to feel that your English is becoming better every day!
How to Learn English Quickly!
I’m sure you all can’t wait to know how to learn English quickly! Well, unfortunately, this can’t happen magically – you have to put in some effort!
I’ve been trying to learn French for a few years now and I still can’t understand or speak it very well! Sometimes I wish someone would plug me into the Matrix so I could learn to speak fluently in 20 seconds! If only it wasn’t just a film.
Follow these tips and I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how quickly your English improves:
Study Regularly
It’s better to spend 30 minutes every day than 2 hours once a week!
Radio/TV
Listen to the radio and watch some English TV/films every day.
Read
Read newspapers and magazines – they teach new vocabulary and common expressions.
Notebook/Diary
Start a vocabulary notebook and write down all the new words you learn each day. You could also keep a diary so you can write a little English every day.
Buy a Good Dictionary
Don’t be afraid to ask if you don’t understand something or need help with English pronunciation.
Go Online
Find English language exercises and games online. You could also learn via an app or classes.
Study at a Language School
Most importantly, if you haven’t already done so, join an English language school. If you cannot attend a school in the morning or afternoon, don’t worry! Some schools offer evening or online courses. Book My Language Course is a good website to check out, you can find lots of top rated English courses around the world.
Travel/Live Abroad
The best way to immerse yourself in a language is to live in a country where it is spoken. You could plan a trip for tourism, or to study at a class, or work abroad!
Speed Dating
A random, but fun way to improve your English is to try speed dating! This also ties in very nicely with Valentine’s Day as many people are looking for love at the moment! Speed dating events take place all around the world every week – just search online for ‘speed dating’ and you will find them!
So how does speed dating work? There are usually around 15 men and 15 women. The women sit at tables and the men move around and speak to every woman for approximately 3 minutes each. These mini dates are a great way to practise your English speaking skills!
The events often take place in a pub or bar and most people usually stay after the event to mingle and speak to the people they like. If you’re lucky, you may even find your soul mate!
Top Tips for Learning English Online
Are you thinking about starting an online course or have you already started one and want to know the best techniques for learning English online?
If you can’t actually make it to an English speaking country, here’s my advice for learning online:
Set Up a Study Area
It’s a good idea to have a designated study area in your home. This could be at a desk or even the kitchen table. It needs to be somewhere quiet that you can concentrate and won’t be disturbed or distracted. Don’t be tempted to work in bed or on the sofa, it might be comfy, but it won’t help you focus.
Book Online Classes
During the lessons your teacher will encourage you to speak as much as possible. They will give you special speaking activities to do with your classmates to practice the new language that you’re learning. But it doesn’t have to stop when the lesson finishes.
You can communicate with the other students in the class at all times via Teams. Or why not set up a WhatsApp group? You can send message or even voice notes to practice your speaking and listening skills. This also means that you have support from your classmates.
Learning English is fun, but it can sometimes be challenging too. Being part of a community and having friends to talk to about it will help keep you motivated and boost your enthusiasm.
Practice Outside Lesson Time
You will be provided with access to online resources that have loads of extra practice activities and exercises that you can use to practice the things you learn in class. There are lots of other ways that you can keep practising too.
You can download podcasts or listen to music. There are a lot of useful apps that you can download, find out about my favourite ones below. Or what about watching a TV show? You can watch something that you are interested in and use the subtitles to help your comprehension.
Be Active in Lessons
Take part as much as possible. Share your views with the class and be involved in conversations. The best way to learn English is to get stuck in and speak as much as possible. Always speak clearly and close enough to the microphone.
Remove Distractions
Turn off your phone and leave it in another room so you’re not tempted to look at it. Turn off any other apps on your laptop that might pop up and distract you. Let your family or flatmates know that you are going on a lesson or doing some studying and not to interrupt you.
If you don’t have somewhere quiet you can go for lessons then use some headphones with a microphone. This will block out your surroundings and make sure your teacher and classmates can only hear you.
Be Organised
Be on time for your lessons. Log in before the start of the class so that you can check your microphone and camera are working. Give yourself plenty of time for your self-study work and don’t leave it to the last minute. Your teacher will use Teams to allocate your self-study work, so you always know what you need to do.
Benefits of Learning English Online
What are the advantages to learning English online? Let me explain.
Engaging and Interactive Lessons
Just like in-school courses, online lessons are always engaging and interactive. They’re all live and delivered by specially trained English teachers. Schools use the same communicative approach that they use in school to encourage you to actively participate throughout the lessons.
Meet New People
One of the greatest benefits of studying with a school (as well as developing your English skills of course!) is that you get to meet people from all over the world. Online courses are just the same! Your teacher will encourage you to speak with your classmates as much as possible.
Using Teams for classes is great, you can go into pairs and mini-groups to have one-to-one conversations. Not only will this help with your speaking skills but you will get to know your fellow students as well.
You will be able to keep in touch with your classmates outside of lessons on Teams too, so you can discuss your self-study work and have a nice chat too.
You Can Track Your Progress and Goals
Your teacher will give you regular feedback on your progress in your lessons. Every week you will have an informal review test to complete in your own time which will help you to see what you have learnt well, and what you still need to practice from that week.
Learn From the Comfort of Your Own Home
You don’t need to leave your country, you don’t even have to leave your house! So no packing your bag and putting on your jacket. You can wear something comfy and focus on learning English.
It Fits In With Your Life and Schedule
Life is busy and we all have a lot to manage. Work, family, friends, hobbies, daily tasks – there is always something to do or that has to be done! So it can be hard to find the time to travel to the UK to learn English. Studying online is more flexible. You can choose the right class time that suits you and do your self-study work when it’s convenient for you.
Increase Your Confidence in Using English
Maybe you’re thinking of coming to study English in the UK? Taking an online course before you do is a great way to start. It will improve your confidence so you feel ready to live and study here. Maybe it’s been a long time since you studied or used English? This is a great refresher to get your mind back into English before you arrive.
It’s Almost Like Being in a Real Classroom
Teacher √
Classmates √
Whiteboard √
Conversation and interaction √
Coursebook √
You even get the homework and tests!
Award-Winning Course Materials
Most schools use highly rated curriculum for online courses as well as in-school ones. Online students will receive their own e-books which are annotatable so you can make notes in it as you move through courses. You will usually also get access to specially designed online resources. There’s lots of extra practice to help you to consolidate new grammar and vocabulary studied on your course, and to practice your skills further. Your teacher can monitor your progress on this and give you feedback and advice. And best of all, you can’t lose or forget to bring your book to class!
Top 10 Apps & Websites to Learn English
Using apps outside class is a good way to practise and improve your English. However, there are a wide range of apps online and it can be difficult to know which ones are the best. Here you can find the top 10 apps chosen by students at Liverpool School of English.
Word Reference
Word reference is one of the best dictionaries for English. You can find the translation of the word in your language, the pronunciation, common synonyms and examples of how to use it in a sentence.
BBC Learning English
BBC Learning English is a great way to practise your reading and listening skills each day. You can watch and listen to programmes with or without subtitles and do a quiz to check your understanding. The App will remember your score, so you can keep practising and improve!
Ted Talks
Ted Talks is an interesting App that helps with you listening. You can find short videos about lots of different topics presented in an interesting way. Roberta from Italy uses it often and soon noticed the improvement.
IV (Irregular Verbs)
IV is a useful App to memorise irregular verbs. There are three levels from beginner to expert. You can choose which verbs you study and check your improvement. Isabel from Spain finds this App really useful because it really helps her memory.
Idioms And Slang Dictionary
This App gives you definitions of thousands of idioms and slang. You can learn the history behind the phrase and find out when and where an idiom originated. It also provides multiple example sentences of how the idiom is used in everyday speech.
The Guardian
The Guardian App is an online newspaper where you can find all the important stories. You can receive breaking new alerts, save articles you are interested in and personalise your feed with content that you like.
Shazam
Shazam is a popular App that people use to find the title of a song but it can also be used as a fun way to learn English. Filippo from Italy uses Shazam to find the lyrics of songs and learn new words. You can also use it for English karaoke!
IELTS Flashcards
This App is great for students who are studying IELTS. You can find decks of vocab flashcards for multiple levels like easy, intermediate and advanced. It will help you learn and memorise new vocabulary!
Phrasal Verbs English
Phrasal verbs can be one of the most complicated topics in the English language so having an App that helps you memorise and use them is really important. It’s good for low to high levels.
Learnenglish Great Videos
What’s the best way to improve your listening and reading skills? This App has lots of videos about British culture and other topics that you can listen to with or without subtitles. There is also a vocabulary list and a quiz at the end of each video to check your understanding.
Top 10 TV Series to Learn English
If you want to improve your English skills you should watch shows and movies with subtitle tracks. This will offer you a clear and proper understanding of the characters and their roles. You can learn new words continually.
Here is a list of 10 TV series that I recommend you to learn English with.
Vikings
Year: 2013-2019
Seasons: 6
Available on Amazon Video.
Vikings is a drama television series filmed in Ireland inspired by the sagas of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England. The show portrays Ragnar as a farmer who rises to fame through successful raids into England, and eventually becomes a Scandinavian King, with the support of his family and fellow warriors. In the later seasons, the series follows the fortunes of his sons and their adventures in England, Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.
Luther
Year: 2010
Seasons: 1
Available on Netflix.
Luther is a British crime drama television series. A self-destructive detective, Luther is skilled but emotionally impulsive when solving cases. Idris Elba’s iconic portrayal of the morose detective creates a drama that is both thrilling and unnerving.
Peaky Blinders
Year: 2013 – present
Seasons: 7
Available on Netflix.
Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family in the direct aftermath of the First World War. The fictional family is loosely based on a real 19th century urban youth gang of the same name, who were active in the city from the 1890s, to the early twentieth century.
Sherlock
Year: 2010-2017
Seasons: 4
Available on Netflix.
Sherlock is a crime drama television series based on Sherlock Holmes detective solving various mysteries in modern-day London. Holmes is assisted by his flatmate and friend, Dr. John Watson. Together they solve baffling, and often bizarre, murder mysteries. They also have to compete with Holmes’ nemesis, the criminal genius Moriarty.
Downton Abbey
Year: 2010-2015
Seasons: 6
Available on Netflix.
Downton Abbey is a drama television series based on a chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early twentieth century.
Black Mirror
Year: 2011-2019
Seasons: 5
Available on Netflix.
Black Mirror is a science fiction anthology television series. It examines modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies.
Doctor Who
Year: 2005 – present
Seasons: 12
Available on Netflix
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme. It ceased production in 1989, then resumed in 2005. It is based on the further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and their companions from planet Earth.
Bodyguard
Year: 2018- present
Seasons: 1
Available on Netflix.
Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the fictional story of David Budd, a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty.
The Crown
Year: 2016 – present
Available on Netflix.
The Crown is a popular historical drama web television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. This series follows the political rivalries, the romance of the Queen and the events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century.
The Good Doctor
Year: 2017 – present
Seasons: 3
Available on Amazon Video.
The Good Doctor is a series about Shaun Murphy, a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the mid-size city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled childhood. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.
How to Understand Different English Accents
It is easy to see how understanding different accents can be very difficult as there are so many English accents, not only from the UK, America and Australia, but from all over the world!
Most native English speakers speak very quickly and use expressions and slang so you may have problems understanding them. Below are some tips which may help:
Ask people to slow down. Many people might not realise that you don’t understand and will continue to speak at their usual fast speed. Most people won’t mind at all if you ask them to speak slower and it will be much easier to understand them!
Expose Yourself to Many Different Accents
If you listen to more “real” English, your ear will soon adapt to hearing different accents.
Watch English TV and Films
If you do not understand everything to begin with, put on English subtitles. Just remember to switch them off occasionally and see if you understand without them!
Listen to the Radio
You may not understand everything in the beginning but you will improve quickly if you listen regularly. You could start by listening to podcasts made for English language students if local radio is too difficult.
Listen to at Least an Hour of English a Day
The more you listen, the easier it will be!
Go Out and Socialise
By going out and meeting people, you will hear a wide range of different accents (especially in London!). Even if you cannot join in the conversation at first, just listening to people will help!
Join an English language School
You will meet people from all over the world with many different accents and everyone is in the “same boat” as you (in the same situation so they understand how you feel).
Do Some Travelling
Travel to different areas in the UK (and around the world) where people have different English accents and try to listen and speak to them.
Finally, don’t worry if you cannot understand everything. Often, even native English speakers cannot understand someone if their accent is very different! However, the more you listen to and speak English to people with different accents, the easier it will become to understand them!
How did you improve your English? If you have some other ideas, please leave a comment at the bottom of this article!
Hopefully my article has been of some help if you are thinking about studying English and aim to become fluent. I understand that if you are a beginner level, then this article in English might be a challenge so I aim to get it translated into different languages soon. You could also use an online translation tool too.
