11 Steps for Beginners to Learn English Quickly
1. Start with the physical labels and easy posts around you
Labels may include household item labels. Read them, and if you can’t, ask anyone at home to read them. This is crucial because you use these items every day at home. Make sure you don’t forget them, and this is achieved by always reading them in English. Signposts in the community are also another way to start your journey of learning the English language. Most communities all over the world have got signposts with words written in English. These may of restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, and some roads. The fact that we see them every day, we can easily read them continuously.
2. Read literature books with illustrations for beginners
Since you may not even know the names of certain visible features around you, it's better to opt for literature books with pictures, and these include The Gruffalo and The truth about old people, among others. Even though it may sound funny for a person above 15 years of age to read such books, remember that you are learning a new language which you are super green about. In addition to that, you’re just learning how to come up with correct grammar moreover in a new language. Just as the construction of a skyscraper begins with a foundation below the ground level and so does learning a new language.
3. Read as you listen to English lyrical songs on YouTube
These should be translated into your local language. There are a lot of songs translated from English to local languages like Hindi, Chinese, and Arabic. I will not tell you that listen to English songs just as most people may advise you. The reason, you don’t know the meaning of the words that they are using hence you will just hear the words, but you will not understand anything. Let’s take, for example, a British boy listening to Chinese songs. Do they make any sense to him? Of course, he will hear the words in the songs, but will he understand anything? The answer is obvious—no!
4. Note new words that you learn every day
We’re humans, and therefore we always forget something and so to avoid it, record and practice any new vocabulary that you encounter at least once a day. This will enable you to accumulate more words to use when speaking English.
5. Speak the little English you know with other people
It’s really funny. Do you know that you can speak to yourself in English thinking that it’s correct only to find out that out of the 100 words, 5 are correct?! Therefore to avoid this mess, speak the little English you know with others. Don’t fear making mistakes because this is how you will learn to speak well.
6. Subscribe to YouTube channels with content arrayed in English
If you have more pre-intermediate level, I recommend watching videos featured in English because you have learned some words and can understand some statements made from the video, song, or movie.
7. Use a dictionary
A dictionary is a listing of words with their meanings in one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically, which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. In case you come across any word that you don’t understand well in English, refer to the dictionary. Today there are a lot of online dictionaries like Cambridge dictionary, MacMillan, etc. Make sure you copy the correct spelling of the word whose meaning you are looking for so that you get the correct information.
8. Make friends from all over the globe
We’re living in an era where you can easily connect with people whom you have never met with the help of the internet from any continent. The beauty is you are most likely to get friends who don’t speak the same language as you do, therefore the only medium of communication may be English. You can find friends on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on.
9. Ask a lot of questions
After getting English native friends, don’t keep quiet in a conversation because you will end up being a boring person. Therefore actively participate in the conversation by asking a lot of questions on how you can improve your grammar. In addition to that, be specific when asking questions to ease the task of answering them because you may complicate things in the course of asking.
10. Travel abroad
You can decide to travel to countries with a large number of English native speakers, like the US, Canada, Australia, England, etc. And this is one the easiest ways of learning the English language very quickly because you will be surrounded by people who only speak English. Just as I earlier said, make sure you participate in a conversation with the natives that you meet. This will enable you to grasp even the accent and start speaking it fluently as a native would. However, it may be expensive to travel.
11. Get online tutors
If you have tried all the above and failed to reach your goal, try online English literature tutors. I regard this option to be the best because you will be dealing with people who know exactly what you want and therefore they will offer exactly what you need at any time from anywhere. There will be no need for you to travel overseas looking for English natives. All you need is a smartphone or laptop and a stable internet connection. There are a lot of online teaching platforms but I recommend Livexp.com for a greater experience.
I'm Noah from Uganda. I'm passionate about digital marketing and online teaching. I love writing and reading during my free time. This has enabled me to improve on my writing skills as time goes on.