Written By: Eric Rosenfeld
ESL Instructor | Aston American University
Learning a language depends on practice and repetition. Lots of repetition. Did I say repetition?
Yes, I said repetition (I’m repeating myself). If you want to learn quickly and remember what you learn, bring the English with you when you are doing things. Practice using new English words and phrases when you are at home cleaning, or outside walking, riding the bus, driving, or shopping. You don’t need to have people who speak English to talk to; just say the words to yourself, even quietly in your head. Here is an example:
Imagine that you have learned how to ask the question, “What are you doing right now?” Ask yourself this question every time that you are walking, driving, riding the bus, shopping, etc. For example, if you are buying a drink at the store, ask yourself, “What am I doing?” Then answer the question to yourself: “I am buying a drink.” You don’t need to open your mouth. You can just think the words quietly in your head.
You can expand this practice or make it more difficult by asking what other people are doing. For example, look at a dog and ask yourself, “What is the dog doing?” Or look at some children and ask yourself, “What are they doing?” Then give the answers to yourself (“It’s barking” or “They’re playing”). One of the big advantages of this kind of practice is that the meaning of the words is reinforced by real things around you that you can see, hear, or touch. This is powerful, especially if you do it constantly.
Another way to practice, is to look for things around you that have the meaning of a word or phrase that you have learned. For example, if you have learned the word “unfair,” you can look at a big house and say, “It’s unfair that some people can have such a big house when others have no food.” Or look at a bird and say, “It’s unfair that birds can fly! I want to fly too!”
Another example: Imagine that you are learning to talk about the past. Every time you do something, ask yourself: “What did I do?” Then answer: “I opened the door” or “I sat down” or “I started the car,” etc. I know that this method works. How do I know? I used it to learn Hawaiian. I had nobody to practice with, just a book. But I learned very quickly and very well by speaking to myself in Hawaiian about everything that I could see when I was alone walking or driving. In just six months, I was able to have basic conversations in Hawaiian with Hawaiian people! I even got a job working at a Hawaiian school because I could understand the children.
Remember: repetition, repetition, repetition!
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