“Can I learn English by myself?”

Hey, everyone. This is Alex from engVid, and if you're watching this video, there is a

good chance you're trying to learn English by yourself. Now, this could be because you

don't have the time or the money to go to a private school or get a private teacher,

or maybe there is just no one in your area to practice with. However, I want to reassure

you that there are still things that you can do to get your English up to a good standard.

And in this video, I want to tell you what that level or what that standard is, and to

share some of the resources you can use to help you get your English up to a good level

by studying alone, because it absolutely is possible. If you like the suggestions in this

video, make sure to give this one a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications,

and leave a comment down below. Tell me some of the things that you are doing to help yourself

learn English by yourself. So, number one, language learning apps. So, there are tons

of apps that you can find on app stores, whether you have an Android phone, an iPhone, or whatever

other phone is available at the time that you are watching this video. And all you have

to do is type in "English app" or "English learning app" or "Learn English". And these

are great ways, a lot of them, they are great ways to help you improve your pronunciation,

to teach you vocabulary. They also give you like reminders to tell you, "Hey, don't forget

to study today." You know, so you can use an app as kind of a friend in your pocket

to help you learn a language. Another great way to learn a language by yourself, English

in this case, is to watch YouTube videos. So, you're watching this video, you're on

my channel, and you can probably see there are tons of grammar videos, vocabulary videos,

pronunciation videos, a lot of different options to help you acquire the vocabulary, the grammar,

the skills that you need to speak the language. Another thing you can do is engage with online

communities like this one. Like I said, leave a comment down below. Like just by speaking

with people on YouTube, others who are learning the language, and you might say, "Oh, but

how do I know that their English is correct?" It doesn't matter. You are still engaging

in writing, in typing, in communicating with others. And you can just Google search "online

communities" as well. So, you can find a lot of people online to communicate with,

to speak with, message forums, comment sections, etc. Another thing that I recommend, if you

are by yourself, it's really useful to speak out loud. And it's really necessary to speak

out loud. Okay? Now, apps can help you with this because there are apps that, you know,

now, many, many apps that test your pronunciation, and they will tell you if it's, you know,

good pronunciation or poor pronunciation. But just to work your muscles, your speaking

muscles, even if you're alone in your room, just read out loud, you know, the material

that you're studying, the book that you're looking at, you can use it, and you can read

the things out loud. Find dialogues online to help you practice a grammar point, for

example. And as long as you're speaking out loud, and not feeling embarrassed, like I

felt embarrassed and weird when I first started making YouTube videos, for example, because

I'm just looking at a camera, right? And it's a little awkward in the beginning, but the

more you do it, the more comfortable you become with it. Same with French, like when I'm reading

in French, usually I'm trying to read in my head. And it's, you know, it's okay, because

you're exercising a different part of your brain, and you're exercising a different skill,

like reading comprehension, for example. But it really helps you to hear the language and

to try to speak the language yourself. Okay, so make sure that you speak out loud, and

read out loud. So these are some of the things that you can do to help you learn English,

you know, by yourself. Another thing you can do if you can't find someone to study with,

look up language exchange programs in your area. So some places, some cities, they will

have, you know, communities where you can get together with people who are trying to

learn the language that you speak, while you exchange your language with them, they exchange

their language with you. Now, this, of course, depends on where you live, and it's not accessible

to everyone, but it is something that you can consider. So I know people have had positive

experiences and negative experiences with this, because it often depends on the person

you're speaking to. So it can be awkward, it can be a hit or miss experience. But if

it is something that's available to you, and it's something you're comfortable with, it's

something you should probably consider. So once you reach a certain level of English,

and that really is like the advanced level, it can be tough to know, how do I take the

next step? Where do I go from here? Now, if you are at a point where you've gone through

all of the beginner resources online, and you've gone through all the intermediate resources

online, and you want to see some, you know, real English in context, one of the things

that you should consider doing, and I know it costs money, is to get an assessment from

an English teacher, or to consider getting a private English teacher completely, and

have them work with you to address the things that are weak for you, and to help them expand

your vocabulary and to practice your fluency with. So there does come a point where you

will probably want the help of a professional. And there will also come a point where you

won't want to just look at, you know, exercises where you just have to complete the correct

version of the verb to be, and you'll want to see the language in context. So today,

actually, I want to share something with you. So I've written a book here. It's called 200

Practical English Idioms. It's one of the books that you can find on my website. So

if you are someone who is at the upper intermediate or advanced level, and you're looking for

resources that can, you know, help you expand your vocabulary, give you language you will

actually use, and take you to that next step, this is a good book. Of course, I would say

that because I wrote it, but I guarantee you, and I give you my personal guarantee because

I wrote it, and I'm very proud of it, that this is one resource you can use to help you

expand your vocabulary, expand your knowledge of English idioms, and your usage of them.

So yeah, check out the link attached to the video for that.

So after you get that assessment, after you find that private teacher, whether it's me

or someone else, you can check out my information on my website, englishalex.com. That is really

the way to help you get to the next level. But before that, you can still learn English

by yourself. Tons of resources, tons of apps, tons of videos, tons of online communities

that you can access. We have never had a better time, honestly, like to learn a language by

ourselves. The amount of resources is almost unlimited, and many of them are free, which

is the best part.

All right, so I hope I've given you some ideas of how you can take your English to the next

level by studying alone, even if you're by yourself. And I hope that you found it useful.

If you did like this video, like I said, make sure to give it a thumbs up, turn on notifications,

subscribe to my channel, and leave a comment down below. Did I miss something? Are there

ways that you're using to study English by yourself that I didn't mention in this video?

Or is there something that I did mention that you are using personally? Let me know. Until

next time, don't forget to do the quiz that's attached to the video on www.engvid.com. And

until next time, I wish you success in your studies. Thanks for clicking.