In our time, ignorance of the English language turns into a disadvantage that can poison life. Luckily, fixing it isn't that hard.
Why is it important to know English?
Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky wrote that before 1917 bilingualism was the norm for an educated Russian person. Alas, the social cataclysms of the twentieth century led to the fact that by the beginning of the third millennium, only a few could boast of knowledge of foreign languages. Fortunately, the realization of the deep depravity of this practice has nevertheless come, and at the moment the percentage of people who speak at least English is steadily increasing. This is largely due to positive changes in the education system - if earlier English was quoted at the level of labor and physical education, now it is one of the main subjects in the school curriculum.
All this means that in the near future a huge number of specialists will enter the market who will not only be young and ambitious, but will also have an excellent command of Shakespeare's language. Naturally, this will make their resumes especially attractive to employers. Experts say that soon get an adequate place without knowledge of Englishlanguage would be basically impossible. Perhaps that is why the sacramental questions "How to learn English in a month?" are increasingly driven into Internet search engines. and "How to learn English at home?".
If you are still not at odds with the "English", it's time to close this gap. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities these days.
How to do it?
If you are a schoolboy or a student, then everything is simple - you just need to gather your will into a fist and prepare more diligently for classes. If you have missed too much and do not understand what the teacher is talking about with such interest, contact him for a individual consultation. Schools and universities are still full of enthusiasts who will gladly answer your questions after school hours, and also for free.
If the days of your youth have already passed, it is worth considering the option with courses. There are a lot of options - for any pocket and any level of training. Somewhere they teach English from scratch, somewhere they purposefully prepare for exams for obtaining acertificate or a work visa, somewhere they give priority to specialized vocabulary - for example, English courses for IT specialists are now gaining popularity.
How to balance this with work?
As a rule, firms offer a variety of formats for classes - you can work individually (it will cost more), you can work in large groups. The second option will be cheaper, in addition, it will be easier to practice speaking skills in a group. With anotherOn the other hand, if there are more than 5-6 people in the group, you will rarely speak, and there is also a high probability that there is an obvious outsider in the group, because of which the teacher will have to spend more time explaining trivial things.
Most firms are ready to adapt to your schedule - there are weekend groups, there are morning groups, there are evening parties.
Can I learn English at home?
Despite the large number of offers, not everyone goes to the courses. Someone lacks motivation for this, someone is scared off by the price, someone is very embarrassed to make their ignorance of English public.
If you fall into any of these categories, don't despair. Of course, you can learn English on your own. Of course, this option has disadvantages, but there are also many advantages. Firstly, you will solve the problem with "English" completelyfor free, and secondly, you will be able to study on the most flexible schedule.
There are many examples of how people got from zero to B1 in just a few months - it's only a matter of perseverance, desire and willingness to regularly devote the necessary time to learning the language.
How to start learning English on your own?
So, you realized that you can’t live like this anymore and firmly decided to learn English. How to learn English on your own from scratch?
The first important step is to understand that "alone" does not mean "alone". The main thing in learning a new language is consistency. There is always a risk of wastingtime on unnecessary things, so at least at the very beginning it is advisable to get advice from a person you trust - a professional teacher or just a friend who knows the language very well. It is even better if there are several such people. They will suggest literature, websites and what words to learn in English.
After collecting the recommendations, you can begin to develop a clear plan. There is nothing more useless in the world than taking on a global project without a clear idea of how to implement it. Learning English is just such a global project. Practice shows that people who set such vague goals as "Learn English in a month … or more" rarely succeed. Far more often, goals are achieved by those who initially divide a large task into several smaller tasks and methodically solve them, smoothly moving from easy to more complex.
For example, for the first month you can set yourself the task "Learn 800 words and deal with the structure of the verb".
How to learn English from scratch on your own?
It is very important to immediately choose for yourself some basic way of learning the language. The options here, by and large, are limited to a textbook or the Internet.
In both cases, it is critical to find the best source of information for you. There are hundreds of textbooks in bookstores, millions on the Internetsites, but for some reason not everyone still speaks English. This means that not all of these textbooks and sites are suitable for solving such a complex task. Meanwhile, there are truly high-quality manuals, but it is not always easy to find them - that is why we recommended starting language learning with a consultation. There are many ways to learn English, and a professional language teacher will surely be able to tell you exactly which one will be most suitable for you.
After deciding on the leading method and making a schedule, start working. At the same time, always remember that a foreign language is akin to a beloved girl who does not forgive betrayal. As soon as you relax and give up working on the language for one or two days, the chances of overall success will drop. The work must be systematic and purposeful. You can achieve your goal only if you regularly devote 1-2 hours to the language.
Where can I find the time?
Let's immediately anticipate the traditional exclamation "Where can I get the time?!" Believe me, you have it - just think about how much you spend every day aimlessly surfing the Internet, browsing social networks or talking with colleagues. All this can be replaced with additional English exercises.
On the way to work and back, it's also not at all sad to look out the window - it can be fun to look into the textbook! Or on the phone screen - if this option is closer to you, then you should take a closer look at the impressive market for applications forlanguage learners. There are many options - from simple programs in the spirit of "We give you the word, you translate for us", to full-fledged educational platforms "How to learn English in a month".
By the way, most of these programs are absolutely free.
Once again about the benefits of reading
Few people can boast of love for monotonous work. As a rule, we all act much more productively, regularly changing the type of activity. This fully applies to the study of a foreign language. Yes, you should have some basic way of working in your stash, but it just needs to be combined with others - perhaps more enjoyable ones. "Constantly changing activities" is the best answer to the question "How easy it is to learn English on your own and for free."
A great way to test your achievements in practice and at the same time seriously replenish your vocabulary is to read in a foreign language. Here again, the bookstore and the Internet can come to the rescue. In the bookstore you can buy books in English, and very often you can find specially adapted books for people who are just starting to learn the language, or who speak it at an intermediate level.
Many stores also sell English-language newspapers and magazines. Of course, when choosing publications, you need to start from your own interests - for example, a football fan will be really interested in trying to read an English-language article on a favorite topic, and the likelihood that he will get bored and put down the newspaper,will drop noticeably.
The Internet is an even more bottomless fount of materials. There are a large number of sites offering you adapted texts for reading - of the most varied sizes and based on the most varied levels of preparation. In addition, there are billions of English-language portals on the Internet, including those about your favorite band, your favorite actor, and your favorite sports team. The hint, we believe, is clear!
It is important that such reading will enrich you not only lexically, but also intellectually.
Teaching conversational English on your own
You can become an expert in English grammar, but what will it give if no native speaker understands you? The English language has a fairly complex phonetics, which has its own methods and techniques to work with.
First, you should love foreign music. Listening to songs in English is a great way to learn pronunciation. Many people who are fluent in English admit that they learned it from the songs of their favorite bands, and not in school classes.
A more complicated, but more reliable way is to watch movies in English. At the same time, forget about Russian sub titles - our brain is set to look for the simplest ways, so from some point you will simply start reading sub titles, not paying attention to what the actors are saying there. But English sub titles can be used, especially at first - not all actors have the Moscow Art Theater articulation, andit will be difficult to deal with the intricacies of pronunciation. Text insurance won't hurt. In addition, do not forget that many films are shot in the USA, and American English is a topic for another discussion.
How long does it take to learn English?
How to learn English in a month? It's impossible. In order to proudly call yourself an English-speaking person, you need to spend years, and then do not forget about practice - without practice, language skills disappear very quickly.
However, you can learn to read, write and maintain a simple conversation in a few weeks. The main thing is a systematic approach and self-discipline. And, of course, a great desire.
Successful work on a new language starts with motivation.
