{"id":406,"date":"2024-05-19T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T03:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/?p=406"},"modified":"2024-05-18T19:10:26","modified_gmt":"2024-05-18T10:10:26","slug":"nicks-rules-for-learning-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/19\/nicks-rules-for-learning-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick’s Rules for Learning English"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve been thinking about creating a list of principles<\/em><\/strong> (rules) that I believe in as an English teacher. I wonder if you agree with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. International English<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Study English with the intention<\/em><\/strong> (plan) of talking to people from different countries. You don’t need to sound like a native speaker to communicate. Focus on becoming proficient <\/em><\/strong>(skilled) in basic conversation first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Quantity Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Read a LOT of English books. Especially easy books that you can read without stopping much. When you read a lot, your brain starts to recognise<\/em><\/strong> (understand) which words go together, how words are connected (grammar), and which words are used in certain situations. This is essential <\/em><\/strong>(important) if you want to become fluent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, the same is true with listening. If you watch a lot of videos or listen to a lot of conversational English, especially at a level you understand, your comprehension (understanding) will improve massively<\/em><\/strong> (very, very much).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Practise What You Learn<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One thing I try to do on my YouTube channel<\/a> is to give you a chance to speak. It’s so important that you practise what you are learning. You could watch dozens of English teachers on YouTube presenting useful information, but you really need to use it, or you will forget it! As we say, “use it or lose it!”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Learn What You Need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fastest way to fluency is to learn what you need. For example, if you are a business person and you’re going overseas to attend a seminar, you should focus on learning greetings, small talk, and English related to the topic of the seminar. And maybe some travel English to get you through the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you just want to chat with people, well, what do you want to talk about? Maybe you’d like to talk about your hobbies. Can you describe your favorite movie or video game? Learn to do that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Variety <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, it’s important that you enjoy learning English. Try not to get stuck in a rut<\/em><\/strong> (doing a boring routine over and over and not getting better). Mix up your learning with a variety of different materials, especially things you enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Okay, so, are you feeling motivated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not yet? No problem! Here are some fun challenges you can try this week. Good luck!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chatterbox<\/strong>
Talk to yourself in English for 5 minutes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word Wizard<\/strong>
Find 5 new English words that are used in your hobby.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solo Speaker<\/strong>
Record yourself speaking about your hobby for 2 minutes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grammar Guru<\/strong>
Write 5 sentences using this pattern: “I’ve never (been skiing), but I have (ridden a horse).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment Master<\/strong>
Write a comment on social media<\/em>, e.g. “Thank you for this video. I loved it!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fluent Reader<\/strong>
Read something in English, for example, this story about a grandmother who got stuck.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening Pro<\/strong>
Listen to an English podcast, for example, the Britspeak podcast<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Writer<\/strong>
Write a short story in English. Here are some examples<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quiz Champion<\/strong>
Complete an online English quiz<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shadow Talker<\/strong>
Shadow English with me in this video: <\/em>“I’ve got a bit of a headache, I better go to the doctor’s.”<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrap-up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s it! Thank you for reading! If you\u2019re enjoying my blog and would like to get new posts in your email, please\u00a0subscribe<\/a>. If you have friends who might like these posts, please share\u00a0this link<\/a>\u00a0with them. I really appreciate it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the best,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve been thinking about creating a list of principles (rules) that I believe in as an English teacher. I wonder if you agree with them? 1. International English Study English with the intention (plan) of talking to people from different countries. You don’t need to sound like a native speaker to communicate. Focus on becoming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[53,52],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning","tag-principles","tag-rules"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/NE-Blog-images-2.png?fit=960%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions\/409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicksenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}