Finding a Fun Way to Learn English: 10 Creative Ideas

There are two things that will immensely help you learn a new language: using your target language to do things you already do in your daily life and having fun with it.

How to learn English as a second language while also having fun

1. Listen to music

A fun way to learn a language is by listening to music in said language. Listening to music can be an excellent way to familiarize yourself with English, and the best part is that you can listen to all sorts of songs! You can find anything you like, from soft pop to experimental post-punk, so you can listen to your preferred genre and have fun as you would in your native language.

If you want to take it one step further, try singing along with these songs. And for those brave at heart, gather some friends and try your luck at a karaoke bar. You will certainly have fun, even if your accent is… not perfect. Or try your luck by filling the gaps in your favorite songs at Lyrics Training.

2. Watch movies and/or TV shows

It is highly possible that you already watch movies and TV shows in English since international streaming platforms have made those quite popular. You could take your learning one step further by attempting to watch your favorite show without subtitles. If that sounds intimidating, consider using English subtitles. This way, not only will you learn English with fun, but you will also find it easier to learn slang and idioms, a core part of communication in any language.

3. Practice reading in English

Reading comprehension exercises can get tedious at times. How about exercising your reading abilities with a unique twist? You can make this more enjoyable by reading everything in your target language. You can read the news, browse Reddit, read a blog about your favorite hobby—you get the gist. Reading about something you are already interested in in your target language can make learning English more enjoyable.

4. Set your electronic devices to English

Setting your mobile phone or your laptop in English means that you will have to interact with your target language, well, all day. It starts from knowing where to find your contact lists to navigate through your laptop’s settings menu easily.

5. Journal/Blog in English

Well, other than listening to music and reading texts, you can always put your—proverbial or not—pen to paper. Writing in English doesn’t always have to be essays and exercises. You can find something that inspires you and write about that, may that be a gardening blog or a short horror story to show you that English is fun. Of course, if you’re not quite ready to show the world your creations, you can start a private blog and practice your writing skills.

If you are not a fan of digital writing, you can always stick with the tried-and-true method of bullet journaling. Keeping a journal in which you can write about events in your life, as well as your thoughts and plans, can be a very enjoyable way to practice your daily English.

6. Practice your hobbies

Since English is an international language, you are almost certain to find information on a specific hobby, no matter how niche it might be. It could be a YouTube video, a step-by-step guide, a blog, a Twitch stream, or a social media thread. Find something you enjoy, and you won’t even realize that you are reading or listening to English!

If you also want to avoid doom scrolling, you can start watching a series of reels or YouTube shorts—it is a surprisingly good and fun way to learn English while passing the time.

7. Converse with natives and/or a conversation partner

A bold but fun move is trying to speak with another person who is learning or knows English. There are numerous apps and websites available to help you connect with natives or fellow learners, like HelloTalk, which allows you to have video conversations or simply chat with others. This way, you can also build confidence while speaking in English.

Of course—because learning is also fun—you can log in on LiveXP and benefit from one-on-one lessons with a variety of tutors who will focus their attention on you. Not only that, but you can learn from multiple tutors simultaneously with a single subscription.

8. Learn slang and idioms

Idiomatic expressions and slang are two of the most enjoyable aspects of any language. Sometimes you need to learn something more informal than the language you’re taught in class. There are hundreds of lists and videos available online that mention American and British English slang phrases.

The thing is—they will never be exhaustive. Slang is constantly changing, not only from one generation to the next; in just a few days, you might come across a new term that you have never heard before. Millennials and Gen Z have paved the way for the widespread use of technology and social media, as well as how language flows through them, so we will continue to come across new, fascinating words.

9. Play games

Well, a list of fun and easy ways to learn English would be incomplete without the most enjoyable part: games! Of course, games come in a wide variety of forms. Language games, board games, video games—you name it. Regardless of the game, you will undoubtedly enjoy learning English while playing.

Language games

When discussing how to learn English, the first thing that comes to mind is language games. There are language games for all ages, so if you don’t like Bingo, you can still have fun playing Charades.

Board games

You can also share the fun by playing board games. Take Scrabble, for instance; you can start playing even if you don’t know many words. However, if you are driven by competition, you will find yourself opening the dictionary far more frequently than you thought.

Other games that might be beneficial and enjoyable for learning English include Taboo, Dixit, Boggle, and—my personal favorite—Once Upon a Time or other similar storytelling games.

Online games

The games you play do not necessarily have to be language-oriented. If you want to find a really fun way to learn a language, try playing online games and joining group conversations. May that be Minecraft, Call of Duty, Animal Crossing, or whatever else you like, talking with other players makes learning English much more entertaining.

Of course, if you are not one for talking or playing MMORPGs, you can still learn while playing any video game. For example, many dialogues and texts in games like my all-time favorites Baldur’s Gate 3, Life is Strange, The Witcher 3, and others will have you searching for every word you do not know so as to make the right dialogue choice.

10. Apps

Last but not least, you should certainly take advantage of modern technology in order to make learning easier and more enjoyable. There are numerous apps available to help you learn English with fun. Some of these include:

• LingQ: a great app for practicing listening skills with audiobooks and podcasts.
• Beelinguapp: a wide range of e-books and quizzes on what you have read.
• FluentU: breaks down authentic media in English (music videos, news, talks, movie trailers) into lessons.
• Memrise: a creative tool using fun exercises, like flashcards and games, to help you learn English vocabulary.
• LiveXP: while primarily a tutoring site, the Word Trainer in the LiveXP app can help you learn vocabulary with the fun spaced repetition method.

In recent years, there has also been a surge in a new practice called “gamified learning,” which is exactly what it says: learning while playing games. Following this practice, some apps incorporate games into their learning approach. Some are:

• Duolingo is the world-famous green owl that teaches you a language’s basics up to the B2 CERF level. It uses quick lessons and includes fun games, streaks, skill trees, and a leaderboard where you can compete against others.
• Lingodeer: short exercises and games arranged by theme in order to lead you from beginner to intermediate level.
• Clozemaster: a fill-in-the-gap game with retro aesthetics designed to bridge the gap between advanced beginner and near-native level.

A final addition: If you are like me and enjoy organizing and tracking your progress, then look no further than Habitica. Using retro, 8-Bit RPG elements, it is a great productivity app to track your progress when learning English. For example, you can set daily tasks or habits, such as “practice grammar” or “listen to a 15-minute English audio file.”

Overall, there are various great apps available that can motivate you to learn English while also having fun. Pick the one that interests you the most, and give it a shot!

Conclusion

Overall, the best way to stay motivated while learning English is to make it fun. Whether you want to compete in a language-learning game or take a more relaxed approach by reading a comic book, you have plenty of options. And don’t forget that the easiest way to learn English is to work with a tutor who can tailor the lesson to your specific needs and interests.