English Topics - Tips to get good at English

Alisha: Hi, everybody.

My name is Alisha, and today, I'm joined again in the studio by--

Michael: Michael. Hello.

Alisha: Hi, Michael. Thanks for joining us again today.

Today, we're going to be looking at a few tips for learning another language.

So, each of us have prepared a few things that we think are really useful when learning

another language.

Both of us have studied another language to some degree.

So, we're going to talk about things that were useful for us and which might be useful

for you as you practice your English skills.

Let's begin.

Do you want to start?

Michael: Sure.

Alisha: Go for it.

Michael: I would say, “absorb media.”

This is something that actually, when I meet someone, and they sound like a native English

speaker.

And I go, you know, “Where are you from?

Are you from Australia?

America?”

“No, no, no.

I'm from blah blah blah.”

“What?

You mean you're not a native English speaker?”

And every single time they tell me, I said, you know, “How did you learn?

Please, I'm an English teacher.

I want to know.

I want to help people, blah blah blah.”

Every single time, they tell me, “Oh, I just love blah blah blah culture.”

Usually, “I love American culture.

I love Justin Bieber, and Lady Gaga blah blah blah blah blah.”

And so all day, every day, they're reading, they're watching movies, they’re sitting

on YouTube, and just absorbing it.

It doesn't feel like you're studying, but you are.

Then, you're more likely to study.

So, it's like a fun way to study.

It's helped me.

I've changed everything on my iPod.

So, even when I'm lazy, I have no choice but to listen to the language I'm learning.

Alisha: Yeah.

I think that's a really good tip.

I had the same thing essentially.

Mine was just phrased slightly different.

I said, “find something that interests you in your target language.”

So, if English is your target language, whatever it might be, if it's music, if it's movies,

if it's comic books, I don't know.

If it's--if you're interested in dating someone who speaks your target language, whatever

it is.

Find something to motivate you.

Something that's going to make you want to study and make you want to learn that language,

so that you have that, you know, that drive to do it.

I totally agree with you.

Yeah.

I think it's a great tip.

Okay.

Cool.

So, we had one thing that was the same.

I guess I'll share another one of mine, if that's okay.

Michael: Go ahead.

Alisha: My next one is one that I try to do myself, but I know that I mess up every once

in a while.

“Practice everyday.”

Even if it's just a few minutes, whether you can spare an hour or two hours, or just, I

myself study while I'm commuting to work on the subway.

Just find something that you can do every single day so that you don't lose, you know,

lose your place in your studies.

Whether it's vocabulary, or picking a new grammar point to be looking at, or just you

know finding a new phrase on TV that you thought was interesting, just being an active learner

every single day really, really contributes, I think, to your abilities to speak and to

understand another language.

Let's just practice every single day something.

Michael: I think this is a really useful piece of advice for anything.

I think a lot of people, you get overwhelmed and, you know, you think, “Man!

I want to be here.”

Whether it's exercising, or playing the piano, or whatever, and you just want to finish a

year's worth of time in one day.

And so, you study really hard.

You procrastinate.

Then one day, you cram as much as you can.

You get burnt out and then you don't do it for weeks, months.

And that's not the way humans work.

We're creatures of habit.

Any of the best, the greatest, whether they speak a language like you is wonderfully as

you do or whatever, or play piano, or whatever.

Every single time, you ask them and it's brick, by brick, by brick.

So, I agree 100% and I also don't follow this advice all the time.

It's tough.

I think the key is to not give up.

For me, honestly, my languages are not as confident.

But as far as exercise, you know, you'll get lazy and you'll pig out, and you go down.

But you can't just give up and just let it go down.

Alisha: Right.

Michael: Just remember the big picture that you are making progress.

Even if there's some decline.

So, you're busy with work whatever, get back on it.

Keep practicing.

Alisha: Yeah.

Michael: English.

Get back on EnglishClass101.com.

Alisha: What is your next tip?

Michael: So, my next tip is, ah!

Also related to practice everyday is, “practice fearlessly.”

This means, you know, it's easy to learn some basic phrases in English.

“Hello.

I'm fine.

Thank you, and you?”

And you sound like a robot and you feel comfortable in your little like comfort zone, but you

don't expand.

You've got to be willing to make mistakes.

I think it's the same as with dancing.

If you're afraid, you look stupid.

If you're reserved and you're off onto the side of the club, and you're just kind of

moving one shoulder in your little comfort bubble, it looks really stupid.

It looks way more stupid than if you were actually going all out and just having on

with it.

Alisha: Yes.

Michael: I think it's the same thing with language.

Don't just stick to your little comfort of, “Hello.

I'm fine.

Thank you, and you?”

And sound like a robot.

You got to have some fun with it.

Try to use those big words that maybe you mess up, that's okay.

That's how you learn.

Just like a kid.

So, let's see your other one.

Alisha: My tip.

My last tip then is kind of general, I guess.

I've just chosen, “immersion.”

This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to go to the country where they speak the

language that you're studying.

But just find a way to--even if it's just for a short period of time every day, or once

a week, or whatever it is.

If there's some way that you can immerse yourself in the language that you're studying for a

period of time.

Only study Spanish, or only study English, in your case, for a period of time every day,

or every week, every month, whatever it is on a regular basis, so you get used to just

hearing that and just experiencing that I think is really, really helpful, I think.

Michael: Yeah.

I agree.

I think that's-- No, no, let’s not give them.

I thought I wrote it down.

Yeah, I agree.

One of the things that most people don't realize is that now it's the 21st century, everyone's

connected.

A lot of people just assume that if you move to the country, you're going to pick up the

language because immersion is one of the best, most, time and time again proved ways to learn

a language.

But that's not always the case.

I have a lot of friends in different countries who don't learn it at all.

They're married to a local, but they just--it's easy to just sit on Facebook, and talk to

your old friends, and never actually practice and put it out there.

If you can't make it out to another country, don't worry about it.

Because even if you do, sometimes it's that mindset.

It's actually doing it.

Alisha: Yeah, yeah. I agree. Okay. What's your last tip?

Michael: My last tip is, “take grammar with a grain of salt.”

Of course, grammar is essential for learning a language.

Absolutely.

There's no doubt about it.

You should definitely focus on that.

But, what I found is that when you're learning from a non-native English speaker, they feel

safe teaching grammar because there are set rules they can teach.

Even if their pronunciation isn't correct, or any of that.

You know, you can just get into that rut.

But the reality of most languages is we break those rules all the time.

So, don't worry too much.

If your grammar is a little off or you're having trouble learning it, just kind of go

with it and just try to repeat what you hear.

Alisha: Yeah.

Michael: I don't know about you though.

What do you think?

Alisha: No, I think that's an interesting point though.

Because I think that, like you say, I think grammar is a really safe place for a lot of

people because, like you say, there are rules.

It's clear that I can see that, if I put a noun and a verb like this, then I'm going

to make a sentence that says this, and I understand that.

It's really easy to understand.

But, I think that's something that a lot of learners and myself, I'm guilty of this, too,

is that there's a limit to how much grammar that you can learn.

Like once you learn the grammar, you've learned the grammar.

Yeah, it's possible, I think to master the grammar of any language, but it's the vocabulary

that continues to change.

Every year, there are new words in every single language that gets developed.

People are making up new words every day, especially in English.

So, experiment, you know.

Once you find that you've learned the grammar, move on.

Keep exploring new vocabulary.

Find new and interesting things to do with the tools that you've given yourself.

So, don't be afraid to experiment with your vocabulary, too.

If you find something that you might like to try to make a verb out of.

Like, “Google,” for example.

Give it a try.

See if it works.

If the other people around you are confused, maybe it didn't work.

If the other people around you laugh or, you know, continue with the conversation.

Hey, maybe you just made a new word.

You never know.

So, give it a try.

Thanks very much for joining us for our English tips on this lesson.

We will see you again next time.

Bye!