Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts

English Games and Quizzes

11:24 PM Add Comment
English Games and Quizzes

For some people Learning English can be a pleasure as they have their own ways that can make them very comfortable at every time they learn English. Learning English online now has become the choices of many English learners because many websites often provide something more interesting such as English Games, English Quizzes, and many others. Even on my mobile phone, if you want to know, I have installed Hangman Games to improve my vocabulary.

To get the English Games and Quizzes is very easy because there are many websites providing the English Games or English Quizzes. At this blog, I also provide you with the English Games and Quizzes, as you will find in the Navigation menu up there, or just click here to play.

Learning English sometimes needs your patience

6:19 AM Add Comment
Learning English sometimes needs your patience

Everyone has the different learning ability. Some can learn fast and the other only learn more slowly. If you cannot learn English fast, you must have patience because learning English sometimes needs your patience, or you will get nothing because you are too ambitious to learn so fast that nothing can be left in your brain.

Let’s learn English step by step from the beginning because you cannot jump to the highest level without going through the levels before. Please be patient because you will be there someday. In addition, your English will be the better if you know all of the levels.

How to choose window blinds to fit your need and your home decoration needs

12:20 AM Add Comment
How to choose window blinds to fit your need and your home decoration needs

Hello readers, today I would like to share my learning experience with you here.

When I want to get started learning a subject including learning English, I will try to find the best place giving me the comforts so I can get the points easily. The places such as parks are my favorites because they can give me full concentration. Sitting under a shady tree in a park, not only gives me the coolness but also gives me many inspirations. Therefore, I will try to find a park near my house when I need get the comforts in learning. I do not know whether you like such a place or not, but in my opinion and according to my experiences, such a place really makes me easy to learn. So what if you do not like a park as the place to learn, should your home be the best place for you?

That is your choice, but you can make your home as comfortable as possible so you can learn in peace there. Learning under the window of your learning room, which is decorated with window blinds is a good idea. I think if you learn in the daytimes, those window blinds can give you protection from the too blinding sunshine. That is what the window blinds are for. They are made to protect you from the blinding sunshine. However, if your windows are not added with the blinds, you should think of purchasing now so that you will have the rooms, which will be very comfortable to stay in and to use in your learning activities.

Finally, we have come to the end of this entry. Although it is a very short entry, but I hope, it will be very useful for you. Then if you are interested in purchasing the window blinds in the case of making your home more comfortable or just for decoration need, looking for blind options should pay attention to the durability and quality. It does not matter whether you need the faux wood blinds, vertical blinds, mini blinds, or any other type of window blind, SelectBlinds.com should be the first place to visit. Why?

Just find out the answer at the website, and then you will also know how to choose window blinds to fit your need and your home decoration needs.

Passages Malibu to help the addicts

1:01 AM Add Comment
Passages Malibu to help the addicts

Hello, friends, today I would like to talk about alcohol and drugs addiction and about how to help people with the addiction. Well, in this case, I am not pointing you as one of those people, but I assume that you are looking for information about alcohol and drugs addiction to help your beloved ones, friends, or whomever. I hope that, but I will also welcome you if you are the one who needs help.

People with many different problems now have made the Internet become their best friend to ask because they can hide their real identity so that they feel safer in expressing and asking in detail. Let’s take an example for what we are talking about now. People including you are looking for best solutions to solve the alcohol and drugs solutions.

If you need help to solve your alcohol or drugs addiction, you can search for the best solutions on the internet. You can start on the search engines by typing the right keywords, or if you have known a website providing the solutions, you can directly to the website. Another way is on Facebook. Passages Malibu, the popular place as the premier addiction cure center, is also present on Facebook, so you will find the solutions for your alcohol or drug addiction on Facebook. You also can find Passages Malibu on Twitter so that you can be the follower to follow any news, story, tip, or advice on how to overcome the addiction.

I have given three ways on how to find the solution to your problems. In this case, I have taken an example for what we are talking about now. It is about alcohol and drugs addiction, and the ways you may do on the internet are search engines, facebook, and twitter.

Hi, there, I know that you are interested in one name I have mentioned. It is Passages Malibu. Do you want to know more about Passages Malibu that has impressed many celebrities with the addiction to go there? Firstly, you can watch the videos of Passages Malibu at Passagesmalibu.blip.tv, and then go to their website here at Passagesmalibu.com. After you know much about Passages Malibu, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

That’s all, friends. I hope this is very useful for you, and Good Luck.

Learning English is fun

12:40 AM 1 Comment
Learning English is fun
Learning English is not as hard as you think if you can take the advantages of the sources and references such as magazine, English Audio, Television, songs, movies, newspaper, internet, radio, and of course this blog. Learning English is fun.
Well, now let’s see how those things can help us learn English.

Magazine and newspaper

Read English magazines and newspapers. Find out the meaning, and if you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above.

English Audio

Clear enough. Do it regularly

Television

Watch the programs in English; listen to words and sentences they speak. Do it regularly and more frequently. If you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above

Songs

Do you have your favorite songs? Write the lyrics and listen to the songs. Pay attention to pronunciation. If you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above.

Movies

Do you like watching movies? Then do the same as you watch TV, and if you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above.

Internet

You can read articles like in this blog, visit “Learning English” blogs such as this blog, BBC, VOA, and more. If you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above.

Radio

Listen to the “Learning English” program. If you find something you don’t understand, both grammar and vocabulary, please find out in your dictionary, or visit this blog and click on the tab ASK QUESTION above.

This Blog

Thank you so much.

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How to write an article

9:57 AM 2 Comments
How to write an article
Hello, readers, how are you today? I hope you are always fine and I am in a good health today.

Today I want to share about how to write an article, I mean what we should do before, during, and after writing an article. Below are the tips (but this is my experience)

Before writing:

Make a concept, theme or topic before you write. After that, determine the length of the article you want to write, for example, you can determine the total of paragraph of the article. Determine the contents of the article and distinguish or divide into three parts; the preface, content, and closing.

During writing:

When you are writing an article, you must match with the theme or topic you want to discuss. Follow the concept you have made such as the preface, the contents, and how you would like to close your article.

After writing:

After you finished writing an article, you have to read it. Check again whether you mad mistake or not.


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Improve your vocabulary by reading any type of field

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Improve your vocabulary by reading any type of field
English has different meaning when we talk about a type of field. Therefore, we can improve our vocabulary by reading some types of field such as business, monetary, art, and others.

When we find some words that have other meaning from those as usual, we can write them on our notes, then find their meaning in the dictionary. I think this way is helpful when we want to improve our vocabulary.

You can find and read the newspaper, magazine and others to find those words.




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How to throw away the sense of fear

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How to throw away the sense of fear
Several days ago, I posted about how to build confidence in front of an important person. Now, I want to give some tips how to fight with your sense of fear when you want to do something or in other words how to build confidence when you have to do an important thing.

Find out what has made you fear to do the important things.

  1. If you fear because you are not confident, throw it away. Build your confident as if you are the winner of all.
  2. If you think that you will do something that does not break the law, do not hesitate to do it. Just do it.
  3. Always think positively that you will get the best result.
  4. Always believe in God.

Well, that’s all from me, if you have any experience how to throw away the sense of fear, share with us by giving your comments.

I also write this article at kangrohman.com

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How to build confidence in front of an important person

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How to build confidence in front of an important person
All great ideas will lose at once when someone has to meet an important person, or you will be nervous when your superior calls you. This will happen because you or I have no confidence when we have to meet an important person. Our fault is we feel that we are under him/her at position or at socioeconomic. How to build confidence in front of an important person, below are the tips:

  1. When you have to meet face to face with an important person, say that you are the same as him/her. Say in your heart that you are important as well him/her.
  2. If you need him because you are as an employee of him/her, you have to believe that he/she needs you as well. Think that without you, he/she will not be like that.
  3. You must always remember that he/she is human beings, not God, not anyone. He/she is the same with you, the creatures of God.
  4. Believe that he/she has the same feeling as you do.

Well, this is my experience that I get as long as I work at a company. Maybe you will feel the same as I do that we feel nervous when we have to meet with an important person. If you gave any experience to overcome the feeling, let us know by commenting below.



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Enjoy your work and get your health

8:21 PM 1 Comment
Enjoy your work and get your health
It needs money to get the health and health is the valuable thing. Health is the most important of all. With health, you can do everything including working for money. At this discussion, I want to explain that by working, you can get the health. How can it be? Does the health come from healthy food and sport? It is exactly right but working as well.

When I work at the suitable job and, I will enjoy my work. I am always happy in doing some jobs and assignments that I have to do. However, in the contrary, if my job is something annoying, I become lazy to do some works. Finally, I will get stress. As you know, that stress will make our health down.

At this fact, we must choose the best job for us, and then we will feel happy to some works and other activities of our job. We will enjoy our work, and then we will get the best health.



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How to improve vocabulary

2:32 PM 2 Comments
How to improve vocabulary
Today I am confused what to talk about with you, readers. Maybe today, I want to share my experience on learning English, how to improve vocabulary. In the previous post, I suggest you to write at minimum 10 words everyday. That is right. However, there is another way to improve our vocabulary or even not just one but many ways that we can do. For me, I used to listen to a song. Hmm, it is interesting. You know, the first song I learned several years ago, when I was in primary school, is “Wind of Change” sung by Scorpions. I listened to the lesson from BBC World Service radio. Not satisfied learning by song, then I read newspaper in English. I rewrote the words that I did not understand and found the meaning in the dictionary. Next, by watching movies and TV show. This way was effective as well. Besides improving my vocabulary, it also practiced my ear to catch some words. Finally, I can operate computer and internet. In fact, I can learn more from it. Games, joining the forums, online learning, and so on, are my favorite on the internet to improve my vocabulary and all about English.



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How to maintain our eyes health

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How to maintain our eyes health
Do you work in front of your computer all days? Do you feel your eyes are hot?
Yes, I have ever felt that my eyes are so hot due to working in front of computer. More over, I work in front of my computer all days. It is very worthy maintaining our eyes. Our eyes are the vital organ that to lose them will make us suffer. We cannot see the world anymore.

In order to maintain our eyes health due to working in front of our computers, we should set our screen. We should adjust the brightness, contras, color, and the like. Set them to the best fit, so we feel comfortable being in front of our computers. Besides that, the distance between the computer and us can influence too. I suggest the computers are not too far, and not too close. The best distance is about 35 to 45 cm. we must avoid working in the darkness. We must use the lamp in sufficient brightness, or it can hurt our eyes.

We must do check up periodically our eyes at minimum once in a year. This is to know the progress of our eyes health; especially suggested to those who uses glasses or soft lens.

One thing that you cannot forget is your nutrition. Eat food in sufficient nutrition. The good nutrition will influence to our eyes health as well. Fruits and vegetables are very good for our eyes; the most of all is fruits and vegetables with vitamin A.

Well that’s all from me. If you have the other tips for the eyes health, you can tell us by commenting below.
This article can also be read at kangrohman.com

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How blog advertising works at payingpost.com

8:04 PM 1 Comment
How blog advertising works at payingpost.com
In running your business, first thing you should do is to promote your products or service. You can do it in many ways; one of them is to advertise them on some marketing media. Television, newspaper, and internet are some of them that you can count on.

Nowadays many advertisers count on the internet to promote their products or service. Then they create a website to introduce their products or service to public. This is the best choice for some advertisers because they see the opportunity in the internet since many people in the world use the internet service to look for products or service they need.

However, this is not so effective even useless if their website is not popular. As the consequence their products or service will not known by many people or internet users. Of course, the advertisers should introduce or make their websites become popular. Does it mean that the advertisers work twice for their products or service and their websites? No, of course it is not.

The advertisers now can do cooperation with many bloggers. The bloggers can write about the products or service that the advertisers’ website provides, including the website itself. This is the blog advertising, the most effective way to promote the products or service of the advertisers. How can the advertisers find the bloggers to do that? Do not worry. Another websites will connect the advertisers and the bloggers. Payingpost.com can do it.



Both the advertisers and the bloggers should register first to payingpost.com. After that, both the advertisers and the bloggers can get it started.

The advertisers will write a request how the bloggers should write about their website and their products or service on their blogs. Then, the bloggers can find it and reserve the opportunity to write the advertisers’ request. One thing that the bloggers should do is to make the links to the advertisers’ website. This links that can make the advertisers’ website will get higher ranks and reachable by the internet users. In the meanwhile, the bloggers will earn more money from their writing.

Both you are an advertiser and a blogger, visit www.payingpost.com for more details.


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How to overcome boredom

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How to overcome boredom
No matter that you are in a good condition and spirit now, you will sometime feel bored of working. It can happen to you and me as well. Especially it happens to those who work in the office and work in front of computer all days. What can we do in facing such feeling?

Everybody should have his or her own solution because working or earning money is necessary. You cannot stop eating in order to stay surviving. It is normal. Several things that I usually do when I face the boredom in the office are:

Firstly, I will browse and surf on the internet each time I finish my work or assignment. You can do this as well. Search and browse as your interests. If you like automotive or if you like shopping, find them out on the internet. However, do not take it too long, after about 20 minutes back to your work.

Secondly, I usually take a rest for five to ten minutes every thirty minutes. I will stand up and walk around, take my long breath and do relaxation. Do not forget to sit back again and start your work again.

Those are what I usually do when I am bored with my work. Now tell us your experience as well, if you want.

This tip can also be read at Kangrohman.com

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If I were you, if I were him, if I were not me

10:14 AM 13 Comments
If I were you, if I were him, if I were not me
Sometimes you may have such thought as mentioned at this entry title, if I were you or if I were him, and if I were not me. This feeling will happen to you if you (or let’s say “we”), are not confident in doing something. For example, my blog is not as goog as your blog. You earn much money from your blog but I don’t. Then I would say if I were you, of course I would be very glad to earn much money from this blog.

We can sometimes have such a feeling, and may be it is OK to have such feeling. However, if you have such feeling without doing something, or just imagining that you are not you, what’s next? Guess yourself!

For me, it’s better for us to be confident and do as we are, not others. I am sure that someday you will find what you expect. If you have a skill as you have now, get it useful for your life and even for others as well.

I want to share my tips how to build our confidence.

First, you must believe that you are useful for you and others. God created you in high level, although not the same as the others.

Second, you must believe that you can be counted on in one thing. You have a different skill from the others, and believe that the others need it.

OK, that’s my tips. Now what can we learn in this entry besides the tips? Are you learning English?

Find out why I said “If were …not If I was…”
Wait for next post for the answer!

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You get stuck when you’re writing an article

2:19 AM 3 Comments
You get stuck when you’re writing an article
Do you ever experience of getting stuck when you’re writing an article? It must be because of a lack of ideas, right? I do as well.
What do you usually do when it happen? Drink a cup of coffee or tea first? Or Stop writing then go to bed? Ha ha ha those things what I used to do, not now. Because now I am used to getting up in the early morning so I can write an article with fresh mind. And bright ideas flow smoothly. Now what if I still get stuck although I write in the early morning?


I do these below when I get stuck in writing an article:

1. Take my notebook and pen then start to scribbling. Because sometimes I feel confused where to start my writing, by writing the points of my ideas, I can determine what to start on.
2. Relax for a while and leave my writing.
3. Read my reference book.
4. Then start writing again.

So what do you usually do when you get stuck?
Please tell us by commenting here.

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HOW TO BE A GOOD ORATOR

12:26 AM 579 Comments
HOW TO BE A GOOD ORATOR

Do you want to become a good orator? Here are some tips for you.

A good orator means that he or she can speak with good and right pronunciation, intonation, tone, and attitude. Like writing a blog, an orator should have a communicative language and good skill of speaking, because an orator must be able to encourage the audience spirit, to make sure, and to entertain because an orator should have one or some purposes and goals.
So how can an orator do that?
1. Use language that’s easy to be understood by audience.
2. Use some examples and illustrations of concept or idea you are talking about.
3. Use your body language to support your communication with your audience.
4. Avoid a monotony oration, if you bring the script, present with your style of language, not glued to the script.
5. Entertain your audience with humor so they are not boring.
6. Ask some questions to know whether they understand the topic.
7. Make a conclusion at the end.

Well, I think there are still many other tips to be a good orator, do you have some? Please tell us your opinion in the comment’s box below. And tell me if you don’t agree with some or all points above.

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How to write a blog in English

8:04 AM 5 Comments
How to write a blog in English
Now there are a lot of blogs in English, bloggers share their ideas in Englsih, here I will share some tips before you write a blog in English.
The first thing you should do to is think about your readers, not all of your readers speak English, and of course your readers are from children to adults, so use simple English. Write as if you are talking to them. Share your great ideas with a simple English so they will understand your idea and they will enjoy your writing.

For your reference please read 10 Practical Tips for Writing in English

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70 ways to improve your English

10:20 PM Add Comment
70 ways to improve your English
1. Start your own English language blog. Even for people who don't have to write in English, writing can be a great way of properly learning the kind of vocabulary you need to describe your own life and interests, and of thinking about how to stop making grammar mistakes. The problem most people have is that they don't know what to write about. One traditional way to make sure you write every day in English is to write an English diary (journal), and a more up to date way of doing this is to write a blog. Popular topics include your language learning experience, your experience studying abroad, your local area, your language, or translations of your local news into English.

2. Write a news diary. Another daily writing task that can work for people who would be bored by writing about their own routines in a diary is to write about the news that you read and listen to everyday. If you include your predictions for how you think the story will develop (e.g. "I think Hillary will become president"), this can give you a good reason to read old entries another time, at which time you can also correct and mistakes you have made and generally improve what you have written.

3. Sign up for a regular English tip. Some websites offer a weekly or even daily short English lesson sent to your email account. If your mobile phone has an e-mail address, it is also possible to have the tips sent to your phone to read on the way to work or school. Please note, however, that such services are not usually graded very well to the levels of different students, and they should be used as a little added extra or revision in your English studies rather than as a replacement for something you or your teacher have chosen more carefully as what you need to learn.

4. Listen to MP3s. Although buying music on the internet is becoming more popular in many countries, not so many people know that you can download speech radio such as audio books (an actor reading out a novel) and speech radio. Not only is this better practice for your English than listening to English music, from sources like Scientific American, BBC and Australia's ABC Radio it is also free.

5. Listen to English music. Even listening to music while doing something else can help a little for things like getting used to the natural rhythm and tone of English speech, although the more time and attention you give to a song the more you will learn from listening to it again in the future.

6. Read the lyrics to a song. Although just listening to a song in English can be a good way of really learning the words of the chorus in an easily memorable way, if you want to really get something out of listening to English music you will need to take some time to read the lyrics of the song with a dictionary. If the lyrics are not given in the CD booklet, you may be able to find them on the internet, but please note that some lyrics sites deliberately put a few errors into their lyrics for copyright reasons. Once you have read and understood the lyrics, if you then listen and read at the same time, this can be a good way of understanding how sounds change in fast, natural, informal speech.

7. Sing karaoke in English. The next stage after understanding and memorising a song is obviously to sing it. Although some words have their pronunciation changed completely to fit in with a song, most of the words have the same sounds and stressed syllables as in normal speech. Remembering which words rhyme at the end of each line can also be a good way of starting to learn English pronunciation.

8. Write a film, music, hotel or book review. Another motivating and easy way to make yourself write in English is to write a review for a site such as Amazon or Internet Movie Database. Many non-native speakers write reviews on sites like this, and if you have some special understanding of the book, music or film due to your first language or knowing the artist personally, that would be very interesting for the English speakers who read and write reviews on the site.

9. Only search in English. Switching your search engine to the English language version of msn, yahoo, Google etc. can not only be a good way of practising fast reading for specific information in English, but could also give you a wider choice of sites to choose from and give you an idea of what foreigners are writing about your country and area.

10. Read a book you've already read or seen the movie of in your own language. Although most language learners under Advanced level would probably learn more from reading a graded reader or something from the internet than they would from reading an original book written for English speakers, for some people reading something like Harry Potter in the original can be a great motivator to improve their English. To make this easier for you and make sure that it motivates you rather than just making your tired, try reading a book that you already know the story of. This not only makes it easier to understand and guess vocabulary, but you are also more likely to remember the language in it. If you have not read the book before, reading a plot summary from the internet can also help in the same way.
11. Read a translation into English. Another way of making sure books are easier to understand is to choose a book that was originally translated into English, preferably from your own language. Even if you haven't read the book in your own language, you will find the English is written in a slightly simplified way that is more similar to how your own language is written than a book originally written in English would be.

12. Skip the first ten pages. If you have given up with a book in English or are reading it very slowly, try skimming through the first ten pages or skipping them completely. The start of most books tend to be mainly description and are therefore full of difficult vocabulary and don't have a clear story line yet to help you understand what is happening and to motivate you to turn the next page. If the book is still too difficult even after the introductionary part is finished, it is probably time to give that book up for now and try it again after you have read some easier things.

13. Read a book with lots of dialogue. Opening up books before you buy one and flicking through them to find one with lots of direct dialogue in it has several advantages. If there is less text on the page due to all the speech marks etc, this can make it easier to read and easier to write translations on. Dialogue is also much easier to understand than descriptive parts of a book, and is much more like the language you will want to learn in order to be able to speak English.

14. Read English language comics. Even more than books with lots of dialogue, comics can be easy to understand and full of idiomatic language as it is actually spoken. There can be difficulties with slang, difficult to understand jokes and/ or dialogue written how people speak rather than with normal spellings, so try to choose which comic carefully. Usually, serious or adventure comics are easier to understand than funny ones.

15. Read English language entertainment guides. Nowadays most big cities in the world have an English language magazine and/ or online guide to the movies, plays, exhibitions that are on in the city that week. Reading this in English is not only good value, but it could also guide you to places that English speakers are interested in and where you might hear some English spoken around you.

16. Read English language magazines. Like books, if you can read two versions of the same magazine (Newsweek in your language and in English, for example), that could make understanding it much easier.

17. Take a one week intensive course. Although you cannot expect to come out of a very short course speaking much better English than when you started it, if you continue studying a little over the following weeks and months, the knowledge you gained then will gradually come out and mean that your level of speaking, listening etc. are better than they would have been if you hadn't taken that course. This positive effect can still be true up to a year later.

18. Follow your intensive course up with an extensive course. The more time you can spend studying English the better, but studying periodic intensive courses with a few hours of study a week in between is probably better value for money than any other system as it gives your brain time to subconsciously learn and start using the new language you have learnt before you introduce the next new "chunk" of language.

19. Supplement your group class with a one to one class. Another good way to combine two different kinds of classes is to study both in a group class and one to one. Having a one to one teacher, even if just a couple of times a month, will mean that you can be taught exactly the language that you need, that you will have more time to speak, and that you can have as much error correction as you like.

20. Supplement your one to one class with a group class. The benefits of having a group class are often less clear to students, but they include the fact that you will learn to deal with several people speaking at once, have a chance to practice skills such as interrupting people, and will hear a range of different viewpoints and topics.

21. Teach your children or friends some English. Recent research has shown that elder children tend to be a couple of IQ points above their younger siblings, and the most likely reason is that explaining things to their little brothers and sisters gives them an intellectual boost. In the same way, teaching someone lower level than you the English you already know is a great way of permanently fixing that knowledge in your own brain.

22. Ask your company to start English lessons. Even if you don't need to speak English at work, English lessons can be a fun and reasonably priced way for your company to spend their training budget in a popular way.

23. Have English radio on in the background while you are doing your housework. Even if you are not listening carefully, it will help you get a feel for natural English rhythm and intonation.

24. Play English language learning games on your Nintendo DS. Although such games can have quite random language and are unlikely to improve your ability to speak English on their own, the next time you hear or read the same language elsewhere it will be really fixed in your brain by the fact you have played a game with it in already. It is also a nice way of taking a break from your other English studies while also doing some English. To make sure it really is a break and to avoid wasting time learning language from the game that is not much used in daily life, don't bother writing down any new language you see in the game, but just try to learn it from playing the game again.

25. Say or think what you are doing in English as you do your daily tasks. As you are doing your chores, try creating sentences describing what you are doing, e.g. ‘I am unscrewing the ketchup bottle cap'. This gets you used to thinking in English without translating, and can be a good way of seeing what simple vocabulary that is around you everyday you don't know. yet

26. Watch English language films with English subtitles. For people who can't understand a film without subtitles but find themselves not listening at all when reading subtitles in their own language, this should be the way of watching a film that you should aim for. If it is too difficult to watch the whole film this way, try watching the (usually important) first 10 or 15 minutes of the film with subtitles in your own language, switch to English subtitles after that, and only switch back to subtitles in your own language if you get totally lost following the story of the film.

27. Watch films in your language with English subtitles. If you are finding English films with English subtitles too difficult or you can't find English films with English subtitles in your local video shop, this is a good second best option. Looking for local films with English subtitles can also sometimes be a good sign of quality, as it means the producers of the film are expecting it to be popular internationally as well.

28. Watch English films with subtitles in your language. Again, this is not as good practice as English language films with English subtitles, but is more relaxing, can be easier to find suitable DVDs for, and is also possible with VHS.

29. Watch the same film or TV episode over and over again. This can not only save you money on DVDs, but will mean that you can really learn the language without having to study it. Some comedies can also get funnier the more you watch them, especially if you watch them with no subtitles and so understand a little more each time you watch it.

30. Be realistic about your level. One thing that holds many language learners back is actually trying too hard and tackling something that their brain is not ready for yet. Checking your level with a level check test on the internet, by taking an English language test (FCE, CAE, IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL etc.), or by taking a free trial level check and/ or lesson in a language school will help you find out what your level is and so choose suitable self-study materials.

31. Be realistic about your reading level. Most researchers agree that people learn most when reading something they understand almost all of. If there are one or two words per page that you have never seen before, that is about the right level. If there are three or more on every page, you should switch to something easier and come back later.

32. Read graded readers (= easy readers). These are books that are especially written for language learners like you, e.g. Penguin Readers. Although it can be difficult to find something as interesting as things written in newspapers or on the internet, in terms of learning the language only people who need to read for their work or an exam usually gain more from reading things written for graded readers. Graded readers of classic books like Charles Dickens also have the benefit of giving you a lot of knowledge about the literature, and culture more generally, of English speaking countries in a short time.

33. Read the whole thing with no help. Although using a dictionary has been shown to help with both short term and long term learning of vocabulary, the fact that using it slows reading down can stop some people reading in English at all. Reading a whole book quickly through just for pleasure from time to time will help you remember how fun reading in another language can be.

34. Read and learn everything. At the opposite extreme, it can be hard work but very satisfying to get to the end of a book knowing that you have learnt every word in it. See other tips on this page to make sure it is a book that is easy enough to do this with and to ensure that the vocabulary you learn is useful.

35. Watching English children's films or TV programmes. Although some of the vocabulary you can learn from things made for children can be a bit strange (lots of animal names and maybe animal noises, including baby names for things), the fact that not only the language but the structure of the story is simplified can make it an easy and motivating thing to watch. Like good language learning materials, the same language is also often repeated to make it memorable, and the use of catchy songs etc. can increase this positive effect on your memory.

36. Read English children's books. This is very similar to watching English children's movies, but with the added advantage of there being more illustrations than adult books, which both helps you to understand the story and makes the page brighter and more motivating to read.

37. Keep a list of language to learn, e.g. a vocab list. Even if you don't often find time to go though your vocab list and it keeps on building up, just the act of choosing which words you need to learn and writing them down on a special list can help you learn them.

38. Go through your vocab list several times every day. If ticking off words on a vocabulary list on the train to work is inconvenient or embarrassing for you, you can keep your list of words to learn as an entry in your electronic dictionary, as a mobile phone to do list or as a text file in your MP3 player (e.g. iPod). Although the time spent transferring the information between different formats like these may seem wasted, in fact any time you spend using the vocabulary like this will help you learn it.

39. Convert your vocab list to English only. One way to stop yourself translating and therefore increase your speed of comprehension and production is to learn all your vocabulary without the use of your own first language. Ways you can write a vocab list in only English include with synonyms (words with the same meaning, e.g. "tall" and "high"); with opposites ("high" and "low"); with pronunciation factors such as number of syllables (the number of beats, e.g. three for "de- ci- sion") and the word stress (the syllable that is pronounced louder and longer, e.g. the second syllable in "baNAna"); and gapped sentences (e.g. "I am not _________________ in science fiction" for the word "interested").

40. Cross out and delete. Crossing out or deleting words, sentences or whole pages that you have learnt can be a great motivator, and save your list of things to learn becoming too big to handle.

41. Throw everything away and start again. One of the things that can put most people off learning is a stack of half finished books or a huge list vocabulary waiting to be learnt. Simply getting rid of all that and starting again with something new from zero can be a great motivator and get your studies underway again.

42. Label things in your house or office with post-its. The easiest vocabulary to learn is the vocabulary of things you see and use everyday. If you can write the names of things around you on slips of paper and stick them on the real thing, this is a great way of learning useful vocabulary. If you can leave them there over the following days and weeks, this is a very easy way of revising the vocabulary until it is properly learnt.

43. Label a drawing. For people who can't put labels on real things, the next best option is to take a photo of a real place in your life like your office, print it out, and then draw lines to all of the things you can see in the picture and label them in English with the help of a dictionary. You can do the same thing with places you pass through everyday like the station. Because you will see the same thing again and again, it should be easy to really learn the words for those things.

44. Keep a diary in English. This is a popular method of making sure you use English everyday for people who don't often speak English and can't think of things to write about. The fact that you are writing about real things that have happened to you means that any words you look up in the dictionary will be vocabulary that is useful for you and easy to learn.

45. Online chat. The closest thing to speaking for people who don't have the chance to speak English is online chat, as you have to think and respond quickly, and the language is short and informal just like speech.

46. Listen to the radio news in English. You can make this easier by reading the news in English first, or even just by reading or listening to the news in your own language.

47. Read an English language newspaper. Freebie newspapers like "Metro" in London are usually the easiest to understand, followed by mid-brow titles like "The Daily Express" or "The Daily Mail" in English. Popular newspapers like "The Sun" are more difficult because of the idiomatic, slangy use of language and the number of jokes in the headlines and articles.

48. Write fiction in English, e.g. short stories. For people who find writing a diary about things that happen to them everyday boring, the best thing is to let your imagination go and write about whatever comes into your head. The advantage of this is that if you can't think of how to say something in English, you can just change the story to something that is easier to explain. Perhaps the easiest way to start writing fiction in English is with a diary, changing any details you like to make it more interesting and adding more and more fantasy as the weeks go on.

49. English language exercise videos. This is quite similar to how babies learn, by listening, watching and copying. It is also good for your health!

50. Learn a famous speech or poem in English by heart. Although you may never hear or get the chance to say exactly that line, having one memorable example of an English grammatical form in your head can make it much easier to learn other examples of the same grammar as you hear them. It is also something you can practice over and over without being as boring as grammatical drills.

51. Get tipsy (= a little drunk) before speaking English. This can not only improve your fluency while you are drinking, but can also improve your confidence in future days and weeks by showing you that you can communicate what you want to say.

52. Use a dictionary while you are watching a movie. Films often have the same words many times, so if you look up important words the first or second time you hear them, you should have learnt them by the end of the film. It is easier to use a dictionary if you watch with English subtitles.

53. Learn and use the phonemic script. Although there are many sounds in English, there are even more spellings. By learning the phonemic script and writing vocabulary down with it, you can both add another stage to your vocabulary learning that should help you learn it more thoroughly, and improve your pronunciation. It can also make things easier for you by stopping you trying to pronounce different spellings of the same pronunciation different ways.

54. Learn some spelling rules. Many people think that English spelling is random, but in fact most words follow some kind of rule, e.g. the "magic E" that changes the pronunciation of "mad" and "made".

55. Record your own voice. For people who don't have much or any correction of pronunciation from a teacher, recording yourself and listening back makes it easier to hear whether you are really making the English sounds that you are trying to or not.

56. Use computer pronunciation analysis. Although most programmes that claim to tell you when you are pronouncing correctly or not don't actually do that, listening many times and seeing how your voice changes as you try to match the sounds and waveform given by a pronunciation CD ROM can be good practice and more motivating than just recording your own voice.

57. Learn as many words as you can of one category, e.g. animal words. Learning similar words together can both expand your overall vocabulary and make them easier to learn by forming links between the words in your brain.

58. Take holidays abroad. This is not only a good opportunity to speak English in situations where you really have to make yourself understood in order to live, but it is also a good motivator to study English seriously in the weeks and months before your trip. If possible, also try to use English even when you could use your own language, e.g. when you pick a guided tour of a museum or historic place or when you book a flight on the internet, and try to avoid package tours.

59. Draw pictures of the words you want to learn. Especially if you are artistic, this can be a better way of learning vocabulary than writing translations or example sentences.

60. Find a foreign boyfriend or girlfriend. No tips on how to do this here, but everyone agrees that getting or even just looking for a date in English can be a great motivator to improve your language skills.

61. Arrange a conversation exchange. Swapping lessons and conversation with someone who wants to learn your language can be a good alternative for those who aren't looking for romance, or can sometimes lead onto dating for those who are!

62. Sign up for an English language exam. Even if you don't need to take an exam and don't want to or can't take a special course to study for it, paying to take an exam like TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or FCE can really motivate you take your English studies seriously.

63. Model your accent on one particular actor. e.g. try to speak like Robert De Niro. Students who say they want to sound more like a native speaker have the problem that native speakers don't sound all that much like each other. Choosing one model can make the task of improving your pronunciation more clear, and is quite fun. Doing an impression of that person also makes a good party trick.

64. Use an English-English dictionary. Trying to use a bilingual dictionary less and switching to a monolingual one can help you to stop translating in you head when you are speaking or listening, and other useful English vocabulary can come up while you are using the dictionary.

65. Occasionally talk to or e-mail your friends in English. Many people find this a bit false or embarrassing, but if you think of it as a study club and set a particular time and/ or place, it is no different from studying maths together.

66. Go to an English or Irish pub. As well as having a menu in English and being a good way of finding out something about the culture of English speaking countries, you might also find there are free English language listings magazines, English language sports on the TV and/ or foreign people you can speak to.

67. Buy a speaking electronic dictionary. Although most electronic dictionaries are not as good as paper ones for the amount of information they give you about each word, some of them have the very useful function of saying the word with the correct pronunciation.

68. Learn your electronic dictionary vocabulary list. Most electronic dictionaries also have a button which you can push to see the last 30 or more words you looked up. By deleting words you decide are useless or you have already learnt from this list, you can use it as a "to do list" of words to learn that you can look at several times a day in the train etc.

69. Switch operating system to English. Changing the operating language of your mobile phone, video recorder etc. to English can be an easy way of making sure you use the language everyday.

70. Set goals. Deciding how many hours you want to study, how many words you want to learn or what score you want to get in a test are all good ways of making sure you do extra study.

Takeb from usingenglish.com

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