I have been learning English for many years and here are some tips that I find very useful regarding listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Listening

Find a famous person that you admire or like the most who speaks the language you are learning. Gather all the information about him or her. Try to listen to his or her works, like songs, speech and talk shows. If that person happens to be a singer, try to understand the lyrics and sing along.

Speaking

It is hard to sound like a native and sometimes it is almost impossible, as we are all having our original accents which represents who we are and where we are from. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with sounding like a foreigner. What we should do is try to improve the fluency and accuracy which would contribute to more efficient communication. A very good way to improve speaking is to imitate someone. We could just pretend to be someone, for example, to pretend to be a famous speech giver. It is even better if you can record yourself and listen and correct afterwards.

The pronunciation is directly related to the mouth movements, so it would be great if you can check yourself in front of a mirror and try to find the most accurate way to pronounce certain unique sounds.

Reading

Keep reading everyday and it does not matter what you read unless you find it interesting and suits your level. While you are reading, do not check each single new word, instead, try to guess its meaning. The only time you check is when you can not guess from the context and it is repeating more than three times. If you do so, reading could be much more fun and faster.

Writing

Start with a simple diary or journal and keep writing everyday. You do not have to write a lot. Sometimes, it could be just a few sentences. Write it based on what you feel and what you have done that day. If you have nothing to write, just try to answer 5 WH- QUESTIONS: what, who, where, when and which.

All in all, when you are learning a new language by yourself, it needs a practical approach, learning strategies, strong self discipline and faith. Many people who give up in the middle are lacking at least one of these. And that is why it would be very helpful to have a wise guide from a tutor.

I would like to be that one helping and guiding you through this learning journey.

Feel free to send me a message with any questions you might have.