How To Learn English Effectively

Have you ever tried to study English, but it turned out it’s too difficult for you? Well, let me tell you that the language is easy once you keep in mind these golden rules:

▲ Always study and review phrases, not individual words.

Did somebody give you a dictionary when you started learning your native language as a child? No? Then why do you keep using it when studying a foreign language? Memorizing individual words has absolutely no sense without the context. 【小题1】

▲ Don’t study grammar.

When you start thinking about what construction to use, you begin to stammer, stop sounding natural. Your responses should become automatic to master the language, so instead of studying theory – take more practice! When you speak, you don't have time for considering what tense is appropriate, one hundred percent correct. 【小题2】 Grammar is important in writing, not in speaking.

▲【小题3】

One of the most common mistakes when studying a foreign language is relying solely on textbooks. Thanks to them you may know a lot of grammar and vocabulary, but you're still not capable of conducting a conversation. It is because you should learn English by listening and not by reading. If you listen more, you'll grasp useful vocabulary and grammar without even realizing it and without memorizing!

▲ Learn English deeply.

Remember it's always about quality, not about quantity. 【小题4】 When memorizing the phrases (remember the first rule!) slowly, you put them into the deeper parts of your brain so they don't fade away quickly.

▲ Listen and answer, not listen and repeat.

【小题5】If you practice listening with a podcast or a video, pause it every 20 – 30 second and summarize what has been said. You have to think quickly, so you stop bothering yourself with useless grammar and start to speak the real, living language!

   Maybe you are an ordinary student. 【小题1】 This is not necessarily so. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here’s how:

Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First arrange your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc, then decide a good, regular time for studying. 【小题2】 A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.

Make good use of your time in class. 【小题3】 Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material. 【小题4】 If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you will remember it longer.

Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.

【小题5】 You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

   A hobby is an investment of time. It also can be an investment of money and commitment. Many people choose to develop more than one type of hobby. It can be necessary to select the hobby that is right for you. 【小题1】

Hobbies are usually an activity of some sort that brings out a certain skill that you have. When you have a talent like painting or woodworking，it can be easy to determine which hobby suits your skill. 【小题2】 Skills can be developed and challenged as you go along. It is not a necessary requirement. A hobby is fitting because you love it，not because you're a professional at it.

Some people particularly enjoy taking part in hobbies that they can do in a group with others. It can be a lot more fun to become a member of a hobby group than to sit alone in your basement. 【小题3】 It's important to share interests and networks with other hobby enthusiasts that do what you do.

Hobbies are generally an activity that you undertake（着手做）because of the joy it brings you. Of course many people have discovered the joy that also comes with a hobby that earns you a living. 【小题4】 Just make sure you make the choice that fits your lifestyle and personal preference.

【小题5】 But most of the skilled hobbies like art，building or writing have a series of lessons or tutorials that you can take to further your skills. In some cases it's really a good idea to take lessons，especially if you are clueless as to where or how to begin. Step by step books for most hobbies can often be found in bookstores as well.

Ways to Increase Your Confidence

There are some ways you can use to increase yourself-confidence. You’ll need to practise a lot before some of them start to work. It’s like playing the guitar or soccer. 【小题1】 But as you do them, you build deeper confidence in yourself.

【小题2】

Exercise will improve your confidence and your way of looking at life. Plus, being healthy and looking better can also help you feel more confident.

Create something.

Everyone is a creative person. Rediscovering your creativity is a good way to improve your confidence in yourself. Creating something is a wonderful but not always easy experience. But when you’re done, you not only feel good about yourself. 【小题3】

Use your body.

If you start to walk fast you’ll soon start to feel nervous. If you start to walk slower you’ll soon start to feel more relaxed. To feel more confident, use your body in a more confident way. 【小题4】 Learn how confident people around you or on the TV use their bodies.

Compare yourself to yourself.

This will take away a lot of unnecessary pain in your life. 【小题5】 Compare yourself to yourself. Improve yourself and see how you grow and become a more successful, more confident and happier person.

   Here are four principles (行为准则) I live by. Whenever I follow these guidelines, I am at my very best, feeling productive and happy.

Devote time.

No matter how talented we may be, it’s wrong to think we can do it all. 【小题1】 The value of our achievements is greatly decided by what we spend our time on. We need to realize that every day we should devote the time to what matters and have the courage to let the unimportant things go.

Focus your attention.

Very often it seems that we just can’t focus our attention, even though we know what we should be doing, right? Resistance (阻力) makes us get disturbed by distractions.【小题2】 Developing a plan for overcoming resistance is important for maximum productivity.

【小题3】

We need to make a balance between work and play, between creation and pleasure.【小题4】 Even if we feel energetic to work long hours, the most effective long-term way is to hold ourselves back when we feel crazy and follow a proper pace instead.

Keep moving on.

More important than setting big goals is to just keep going. I know this goes against most of the “ set great goals for yourself” advice, but it’s what works for me.【小题5】 And it always made me more worried than it helped. Now, what does work for me is to think about how to improve my life and take small steps to make it happen.