ESL Blogs

Are you an English learner? Do you like spending quality time on MyEC?

Do you have the following goals?

1. To be fluent in English.

2. To develop my confidence in speaking the English language.

3. To improve proper pronunciation.

If your answer is yes, then we have the same goals! I truly believe that learning a language involves commitment, hard work and patience. I would like to present to you some tips that I've been following to improve my English.

1. Set goal/s that you want to achieve.

    Your goals will serve as guide on what you should work on. Be focused and stay positive. Remind yourself why you are learning English in the first place.

2. Express yourself through blogging.

    Blogging is one of the best ways of self-expression. There are some things that you can't say, but you can put them into writing. Don't know what to write? You could write about your hobbies, your work, or the course that you're taking up in college. Find inspirations from other MyEC bloggers in our club.

3. Combine your passion with English.

    Do you love art? How about singing? Arts and Music are great skills to practice our English. We have Grace and N Naim, who incorporate their creative skills using English. They create paintings and interpret them on their blogs. If you like singing, you can join the Karaoke group where you can share your audio recordings. You can even listen to the group's singers!

4. Utilize the access on internet.

    Are you a visual learner? YouTube is just one click away! There are hundreds of videos to choose from according to your interests. Grammar and pronunciation are easily understood if you watch attentively how English teachers and native speakers use the language. Select notable English teachers and subscribe to their videos. You can also visit MyEC video gallery to watch video clips by our fellow EC members! Why not record your own video?

5. Learn English with humour.

    I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't take learning English seriously. This is just an option. I think, humour can help us learn effectively. Try to watch English TV sitcoms. It's no wonder why they are patronized by many people. Who would want a boring show anyway?

6. Join free study sessions and the Audio Speaking Group.

    Every Tuesday, Tara Benwell posts news recording for us members to participate with. Record your voice using Audioboo, and share it in the "Be a Newscaster" discussion page. This would enhance your confidence in speaking, as well as learn new vocabulary words for each news. Another excellent venue to practice your pronunciation is Gabriel Sowrian's "Study Sessions" on the EC Virtual Classroom group, where he would encourage you to work on English phonetics and proper pronunciation.

    Having a supportive group would inspire you to work at your best!

7. Surround yourself with English materials.

    Listen to English songs, podcast, or conversations while doing chores. Also, find an FM radio station in your country that has English speaking disc jockeys. By doing this, you could acquire new vocabulary words. Read newspapers or magazines if you have extra time. Watch a movie that you like. At home, I usually watch movie (from cable-TV channels) that has subtitles on it.

8. Don't take corrections on your writings personally.

   Some teachers and fluent members would like to correct any grammar, spelling and punctuation errors on your blogs and discussions. This is a part of learning process. It shows that they are interested in your work, and they would like to help you improve your writing. This is also a chance to connect with your readers.

9. Practice speaking English.

    For me, the most important skill to master is speaking. This is not an easy task especially if you're not living or working in an English speaking country. Choose reliable friends to talk to via Skype. Try to talk to your peers in English. Some of them would laugh or freak out, so choose someone that you're comfortable speaking with.

    I try to practice speaking English with my little nephew and nieces. They would joke around and giggle, though I'm not quite sure if they'd understand what I'm talking about. It's fun talking to them because they sometimes think like grown-up kids.

    I even practice speaking with my pet! Have you tried doing that? I know it sounds crazy, but it's alright. It's part of a goal anyway. Besides, I'm a crazy learner myself!

10. Reward yourself for a job well done.

     Whenever you accomplish a great activity, don't forget to treat yourself. A pint of ice cream would do!

How I wish I have a magic spell to be fluent in an instant. But I realized, I would be missing out the real journey of learning English, if challenges and obstacles are not met in a short span of time.

I'm looking forward in achieving your goals on MyEC! Let me know if you find these tips useful.

Cheers!

What English learning tips that you'd like to share to other MyEC learners?