General
Decide why you want to study English. Keep this in mind when studying gets tough.
Regular study is important. Try to study a little and often, 30 minutes a day is better than 3 1/2 hours once a week. Motivate yourself by studying for an exam eg TOEFL or TOEIC.
Listening
For many people listening is the hardest language skill.
Try watching movies and TV programs, and listening to the radio, in English. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t understand everything first time, the more you listen the more you will understand. With movies on video, if you find it difficult, don’t try to watch everything at once; watch a little at a time,checking any new words in your dictionary.
Tape record English radio programs, listen to them several times.
Listen to songs. Follow the lyrics sheet that often comes with a CD. Try to write the lyrics of a song only by listening to it; you’ll probably need to listen several times with many pauses. (The lyrics of many songs can be found on the Internet by using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo!)
Speaking
Practice introducing yourself in English.
Prepare a 5 minute presentation on a subject that interests you. Give it to your friends.
Speak to as many English people as possible; if you see English people in your country, say hello and ask if they need any Help.
Do you have an "English only party with friends. English cuisine, beer and conversation!
Reading
Read newspaper articles and magazines that interest you. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine, or read a regular on the Internet.
If you are new words to try to guess the meaning before looking in the dictionary.
The practice of browsing without having to reread, to see how (thiscan also help your listening). Practice different kinds of reading:
Scanning is reading for specific information, eg reading some adverts to find the ones that interest you.
Skimming (or reading for gist) is reading to get the main point of a piece of text, eg you might do this with a newspaper or magazine to decide which articles to read in full.
Writing
Keep a diary. For each day consider the “WH”-questions (what, where, who, when, why, how).
Write reviews of films you've seen, restaurants, eat, etc. describe them and say what you want – and do not like them.
Start a blog on the Internet. Works with regular posts.
Find a friend of the English language, pen pals or e-mail communication with practice English. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace is a good starting point.
Write letters to British newspapers and magazines on topics that interest youyou.
Vocabulary
Read newspaper and magazine articles that interest you. Write down any new or difficult words. Try to guess what you think they mean from how they are used.
Check the meanings in a dictionary. Try using an English-English dictionary before looking at the translation of new words.
Write down and check new words or expressions you hear in movies, songs etc.
Do crossword puzzles and other word games.
Set yourself goals for learning new words – for example, try 10 new words a week to learn.
Grammar
Most native speakers NEVER learn rules of grammar.
English grammar rules are complex and there are many exceptions. The best way to learn grammar, listening and reading English as naturally as possible.
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