Learn English Without Grammar Study

Most students who learn English think they must study English grammar rules. Likewise, most English language schools and most English teachers make grammar study the core of their lessons.

While few students enjoy this approach, most resign themselves to years of boredom in the mistaken belief that grammar study is a necessary evil. Most believe that English grammar study is necessary to master the language.

New research, however, refutes this belief. Research in the field of English language education increasingly finds that grammar study is a very inefficient and ineffective way to master English.

Based on the research of Dr. James Asher, Dr. Stephen Krashen, Dr. Ashley Hastings, and Dr. Brenda Murphy, new teaching methods are yielding powerful results-- without grammar study.

These methods utilize an intuitive approach to teaching the language. Students imitate the learning methods of native speakers. They acquire English grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation without studying lists or rules.

Rather, teachers employ carefully designed stories, conversations, and movies to teach grammar patterns naturally and effortlessly.

Research at Shenandoah University found that students using these intuitive methods learned 35% faster than students who studied English with traditional grammar-based methods.

Dr. James Asher's research found that students who use the new intuitive learning methods learn 4-5 times faster than students who use traditional study methods.

How to learn ENGLISH with your young child

As English is becoming more and more important for academic and business success, some more ambitious parents are going as far as switching to only speaking to their own children in their (usually less than perfect) English. Unless you are going to move to an English-speaking country in the very near future I would definitely not recommend this, as it could ruin your relationship with your child and they might anyway reject the language later if they don't need it and/ or it they feel it is stopping them being accepted by their friends. There are plenty of much easier and more sensible ways of learning and practising English with a young child outside class, some of which are explained in this article.

In bilingual families, parents often find that the child learns the distinction between the two languages more quickly if each parent always speaks just one language, so that one becomes "Daddy's language" and the other "Mummy's language". Again, I'd suggest caution about adopting this approach if it meant one parent struggling to communicate in English and so distancing them from their own children. Having an English-speaking nanny is much more natural, but of course beyond the budget of most of us. You can use the idea of having a clear distinction between languages in more sensible ways, however.

One thing that many families have found successful is to have a particular time when the foreign language is spoken. Some families have every Wednesday as Spanish day and every Monday as French day, or you could set just dinner time aside for communication by everyone in a foreign language. Children shouldn't be pushed too much into using the language, but they will usually see it as a fun game and join in.

Another clear distinction you can make is that you will talk about English things in English. For example, if they are watching Playtime Disney in English, you will chat about what is happening on screen and their reactions to it in English. Again, replies in L1 should be allowed until they get used to it or if it is something they can't say in English yet. The same thing can be done with English language books and songs, discussing the crafts they made in their English lesson, etc.

English language songs, books and TV programmes are probably the most important things when learning English together. To keep the distinction between different languages I mentioned above, don't translate for your child but instead show them the meaning with pictures, simpler English or actions. Alternatively, they will probably be quite happy not understanding every word and will eventually pick it up from somewhere else - after all, I still have no idea what a "tuffet" is despite being an English speaker who sang about Little Miss Muffet sitting on one for years! Other English language things that might be useful includes posters, electric toys (e.g. speaking teddy bears), computer games, board games, card games, and animated songs and stories online. The important thing with all of these is to use them as a way of interacting in English, not something that the child passively sits in front of. Having and using these things in English should not stop them learning about their own language and culture, of course. Again, it might be worth clearly dividing the two by having a different toy box, a different book shelf or set time every day for English language things.

One particularly difficult point is how and when to teach your child how to read in English. Being able to read in English is perhaps the most important way of being able to pick up English on their own, but starting too early can ruin the fun of learning and be a bit of waste of time when they would pick it up in a tenth of the time once they can read in L1 and are a bit older. Perhaps the best way is to read lots of books with them and have some books and games specifically on the alphabet and phonics, and start actually teaching it when they start taking an interest in how the words on the page should be read.

When you learn English, a very important aspect is being able to understand the accent of the other person. Even if you spoke good English but were unable to understand the questions, what will you reply?

Practice your English with native English speakers !

10 tips to improve the way you speak English

How do you train yourself?

By inculcating certain practices in your daily lifestyle. These will get you closer to sounding like a native English speaker and equip you with a global accent -- and you will speak not American or British English, but correct English.

This is the first step to learn any other accent, be it American or British or Australian.

1) Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.

When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers. Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

2) Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.

If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood.

3)  Listen to the 'music' of English.

 

Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'.

4) Use the dictionary.

Try and familiarize yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

5) Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.  

6) Buy books on tape.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

7) Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.

 

8) Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day.

Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

9) Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak. However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

10) Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon. You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Good Luck!

Obsession for Learning To Speak English Fast!

The first and most important thing you need to achieve this goal of learning to speak English is incredible passion.  You must have tremendous emotional power to learn super-fast.   Why?  Because you must study English 2-4 hours a day…  and every hour you must be alert, interested, and energetic.

To improve that quickly, you must build emotion.  You must be obsessed with English.  You must be passionate and incredibly enthusiastic.  Remember, Emotion is 80% of success, method is only 20%.

To create passion, you need very compelling reasons to learn English.  Just doing well on a test is not a strong enough reason.  Just getting a new job is not a strong enough reason.  You need HUGE reasons for doing this.  Imagine all the incredible benefits you will have as a fluent English speaker.  Imagine how your life will change 5 years from now.  10 years from now.  20 years from now.

If you are motivated by money, imagine how English will make you amazingly rich.  Visualize your dream house, your dream car, your dream life.

If love motivates you, imagine how English will help you meet incredible people from other countries.  Imagine dating beautiful/handsome foreigners!  Imagine incredible love and passion– possible because you are a fluent English speaker.

You can also exaggerate the terrible things that will happen if you fail to speak English fluently.  Imagine all the jobs you will miss.  Imagine all the people you will never meet.  Imagine how bad your life will be because you can’t speak English.

Make your reasons bigger!  Bigger reasons = Bigger Passion.  Bigger Passion = Bigger Success.

Emotions is the key.  Make your emotion stronger!  Become obsessed with English!

How to Learn to Speak English at Home

 

Learn English from the comfort of your own home and on your own schedule.

To learn to speak English at home, the non-native speaker must do three things: listen to English, read English and speak English. This can be accomplished with tools available in your home. Books, television, radio and the Internet provide virtually endless opportunities to listen to, read and speak English. Immerse yourself in the language at every opportunity. With practice and patience, you can learn to speak English at home.

 

ADVISE

Listen to English. When listening to English television programs, turn on the subtitles or closed captioning to your native language. Learn conversational English by reading along with subtitles or closed captioning as you listen to the speakers. Even entertainment programming is helpful; you will better understand the language when paired with visual cues, such as the body language of the speaker and the social context of the spoken words.

Read English language books, newspapers and magazines. Begin with simple books and interesting magazines. Many newspapers are written so someone with the reading skills of a 9th- or 10th-grade student can understand the stories. Use an English dictionary to help you learn new words as you read. Reading English language will improve your vocabulary, grammar and basic sentence structure.

Speak English to others at home. When you learn a new word or phrase, use that word or phrase in place of your native language. Add a few new words daily to gradually increase the words and phrases you speak. Speak with native English speakers to increase your understanding and improve your pronunciation.