With 1.38 billion speakers and 59 countries having English as their official language, it is beyond doubt that learning the English language has a lot of personal and professional benefits. However, it is not as easy as it sounds.
Learning the English language can be thrilling at first but quickly becomes frustrating when one finally immerses themselves in the language. Learning the language’s vocabulary, grammar, speaking, and writing skills suddenly becomes an insurmountable mountain, especially if your native language isn’t similar.
Not to worry, I am here to share some proven ways you can learn the English language faster. However, note that these ways don’t work magically, you will have to put in the effort, but they guarantee a much more enjoyable and faster approach to learning English.
So, get ready for an enjoyable ride through loads of helpful tips.
How To Learn English Fast
1. Get Your Motivation Right
I know you may be thinking, ‘Wait, What?! I thought we were looking at how to learn English faster, not some psychological thesis.’ Let me explain.
A lot of language learners always skip the process of noting down why they want to learn a new language and jump right into taking, let’s say, an English course or learning the target language new words. However, starting with your WHY is more important than jumping into the process.
Knowing why you are learning a new language gives you the right dispensation to focus on the learning process, forge through the challenges and ensure you don’t lose interest.
Therefore, for you to learn the English language fast, you need to have a clear picture of why you are learning the English Language in the first place. Is it to open up new opportunities? Pass a TOEFL Exam? Or even speak more effectively with your English speaker friend. Whatever the reasons may be, ensure you have them written down.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get into the main deal.
2. Listen To English Materials Constantly
One of the fastest ways to learn a new language is to expose yourself to the language constantly. According to the latest research, there is what is called unconscious learning, where you learn something without even trying. A clear example is babies.
Have you ever wondered how babies understand their native language without having to go to school? This happens through what scientists call implicit learning. Babies cannot talk, but they listen to every word that is being spoken. After being exposed for a long time, they start understanding what is being said and even start using the language for communication.
The same thing goes with listening to the English language via different mediums. Your brain picks up patterns, new vocabulary, grammar, and accent. Before you know it, you start getting familiar with English grammar and patterns, accents, and vocabulary.
Therefore, make conscious efforts to expose yourself to English material. Watch TV programs while the time away watching your favorite YouTube videos in English, watch Netflix (English movies are excellent too!), listen to podcasts, read novels and do everything you love. You may not understand these words or even enjoy them at first, but don’t stress it. Just ensure you constantly expose yourself to the English Language. It works! Before you know it, you start learning English words and sharpening your listening skills.
3. Don’t Neglect Your Speaking Practice
There are no two ways about it. If you want to learn the English Language quickly, you need to focus on speaking English whenever you get the chance. There is this mental barrier to speaking a new language that most language learners struggle with.
The fear of making a mistake, or sounding unnatural forces language learners to avoid speaking a target language, which often leads to the problem of understanding the language but not being able to speak the language.
Focusing on grammar drills alone is ineffective if there is no adequate speaking practice to go alongside it. Therefore, practice speaking English words as often as possible to native language speakers or friends. And if there is no one around, practice using the old friend- a mirror.
To further buttress this point, in a 2016 research, students were divided into two groups to bolster these points further. The first group was exposed to only grammar and vocabulary exercises, while the others were exposed to speaking and video lessons.
After a while, results show that students exposed to speaking exercises and video lessons improved in their language skills compared to those exposed to only grammar lessons. I know… It isn’t easy, but the earlier you start to speak English, the faster you learn the language and become confident in speaking with native English speakers.
4. Focus On Word Association And Patterns
The human brain uses patterns to recognize, learn new things and make faster decisions. The pattern recognition process involves matching received information, let’s say a new word, with another similar information already stored in the brain. That is why you will discover that language learning apps use word association.
Word association is matching a new word, like ‘yummy’ with a good-looking food image. Using word association, by associating new English words with pictures, other words in your own language, or events is another effective way to learn English quickly.
For example, when you see the color blue, you can immediately think of water and sky without even trying. Therefore, when learning the English language, ensure you match new words with images or similar words in your language to improve your English skills.
5. Learn New Phrases And Sentence Structure
Another way to learn English fast is to focus on learning new phrases and not just words. Let’s take a deeper look.
Learning new words is great. Doing this will help you get familiar with the English vocabulary. However, learning new words doesn’t guarantee that you will be able to use that word effectively in a sentence. That is why learning new words and how to use them in sentences is essential.
Not just that, instead of focusing on learning English words alone, discover new phrases and sentence structures and break them down to their individual words. Before you know it, you will be able to uncover patterns and understand how grammar rules work in the English Language. Therefore, the next time you learn English words, ensure you learn how to use those words effectively in a sentence.
6. Keep A Notebook Handy
Just learned a word from the song you were listening to? Write it down. Were you speaking English with a friend and you didn’t understand a word? Write it down. Did you finally find out another way to use a phrase in a sentence? Write it down.
Keeping a notebook where you write new phrases, words you don’t understand, or other English inspiration is a great way to conversant with English in no time. Writing things down allows your thoughts to flow more freely and gives you the chance to revisit certain information without forgetting it. Have you ever heard a new language sentence you thought you would remember but eventually forgot because you didn’t write it down? Yes, I have been there too.
While writing them down, ensure you go through the notebook regularly and ask for help if there are some sentences you don’t understand. Doing this will not only help you learn English fast, but you will be able to practice writing and perfect grammar.
7. Get An Accountability Partner
Having an accountability partner when learning a new thing impacts how fast your learning process will be. Humans naturally can become relaxed about a goal without external motivation. Getting an accountability partner that ensures you achieve your daily, weekly, and monthly learning goals, gives you honest feedback and helps you stay on track will help you learn English faster.
When choosing your accountability partner, ensure you are going for a friend, relative, or stranger that is ready to help you grow and is not afraid to tell you the truth. When you miss your learning tasks, you can agree with your accountability partner to serve some ‘mild’ punishments like staying away from your favorite social media platform for the whole day. Doing this is another way to ensure you make your learning process a priority. In addition, getting a fellow English learner is preferable but not necessary.
8. Surround Yourself With Native Speakers
Speaking English frequently with native speakers is a great way to improve your grammar and speaking abilities. You get to catch up on their accent, colloquialisms, and slang. If you have native speakers, don’t hesitate to engage them in conversations. What if you don’t physically have access to a native speaker? You can decide to look for anyone who speaks English fluently or make a language exchange friend online who is a native English speaker and is trying to learn other languages online.
Having a native speaker friend isn’t compulsory if you don’t have easy access to them, but it will surely speed up your learning English.
9. Get A Good Language Learning App And Courses
To effectively learn English, you need to get an English course or a robust language learning app that can take you through the core learning procedure. Effectively learning a new language involves understanding the people and their culture, becoming conversant with the reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills, and using the language for daily conversations. Unfortunately, there are a lot of apps out there teaching English. So, the best apps and courses for learning English should be prioritized.
Fortunately for you, I have included one of the best apps that does a superb job of teaching you English. Stick around to find out.
10. Never, Ever, Be Afraid To Make Mistakes
Mistakes are part of the process, and you will surely make many mistakes when learning English. Your pronunciation may be wrong, and you can misplace modifiers and verbs, or even forget some words. Whatever mistakes you make, don’t be ashamed about it. Instead, embrace these mistakes, learn from them and become better. It takes time to become good at anything, including languages, so give yourself time and enjoy the mistake-making process.
Bonus Tips
- Practice your hobby in English: If you love singing, reading novels, or binge-watching series, try doing them in English. It may be complicated and boring at first, but it is effective in learning English faster.
- Chat using English: Another way to practice your writing skills is to change your keyboard to US or UK English and chat with friends using English.
- Practice with music: We enjoy listening to songs and can quickly master lyrics even if they’re not in our first language. Another way to learn English is to listen to English songs. Before you know it, you will be humming along to the lyrics.
Don’t Stop Learning
Learning English is not a walk in the park, but it is totally worth it. You may face challenges or lose interest at some point, but ensure you keep pushing. In a little while, you will become a fluent English speaker. However, guides such as the Ling App will help you learn English faster. You may be asking, ‘What exactly is Ling App?’
Learn The English Language With Ling
Ling App is a language learning platform that offers over 60+ languages, English Inclusive. It has successfully made complete novice become fluent speakers with its gamified experience, robust grammar lessons that equip you with reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills, and loads of resources that give you insight into the culture of your target audience and provides you with helpful tips. All you need to do is dedicate 10 minutes daily to become a fluent speaker in no time.
So, what are you waiting for? Download the Ling App today! Available on PlayStore and AppStore
