How to learn English by yourself: A step-by-step guide to fluency
Title: How to learn English by yourself: A step-by-step guide to fluency
Discover how to learn English fast, plus free tips and resources.
English is the most commonly studied second language in the world. There have never been more study materials at your fingertips, articles promising secret hacks, or online communities to support you. But if you need to learn English quickly, which is the easiest path to results?
In this article, we’ve pulled together a step-by-step guide on how to learn English at home. We’ll also review our best techniques for faster progress, why they work, and the resources you need to become fluent.
How do we learn English effectively?
To learn English effectively, immerse yourself in the language through regular practice, engaging with native speakers, and utilizing online resources. Consistent exposure to English in various contexts, such as reading, listening, and speaking, enhances comprehension and fluency.
8 steps to learn English by yourself
Learning English on your own can be a rewarding and empowering journey. By following a step-by-step plan, you’re sure to progress from absolute beginner to fluent in no time at all.
1. Assess your current level
Before you crack open a textbook, start an online course, or even watch a TV show to learn English, you need to know exactly where you’re starting. This will allow you to create a solid learning plan and set realistic goals. If you’re a beginner, this is especially important – you don’t want to get overwhelmed right away.
There are many free online English language level tests that will measure your proficiency, identify your strengths, and note areas for improvement. You can take self-assessments specific to certain areas of language learning, like vocabulary.
2. Set SMART goals
In the language learning community, there is so much emphasis on “becoming fluent,” but when you’re taking the first steps on your journey to learning English, is this a helpful goal? Probably not.
Focusing only on fluency suggests that there is an endpoint to learning English, a point that is always out of reach. The truth is that everyone who speaks any language at all is still learning. Research has shown that most people continue to learn an extra word in their native language every day until middle age.
You will learn faster if you set goals that are specific to you. Better targets allow you to track your progress in relation to your own life. We suggest using “SMART” goals, which are:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
These are some great examples:
- I want to learn 20 new vocabulary words (understanding and using these words in sentences) each week
- I want to be able to make small talk with native English speakers about common topics (weather, tourism, sports, etc.) for my upcoming trip to the United States in three months
- Within six months, I want to be able to speak with my business partners and email them in English without using a dictionary
- After nine months of learning English online, I want to score 100 points in the TOEFL exam, so I can get accepted to Columbia University
3. Build basic skills
If you’ve wondered, “How can I learn English by myself?” and immediately felt overwhelmed, start small. A basic English learning plan should focus on fundamental grammar and vocabulary, so you can create a strong foundation in the language. This will help you avoid confusion and build confidence as you progress to more advanced English skills.
Start with beginner-level resources, like a free course on English grammar for beginners. Practice your new skills with simple English exercises every day, even if it’s only for a few minutes. With a regular study schedule, you’ll quickly get comfortable with the language, so you can feel ready to move forward.
Even as you progress to more advanced levels, be sure to revisit these basic English skills once in a while. Not only is it good to refresh your knowledge, but it’ll remind you of just how far you’ve come!
4. Grow your vocabulary
You need a solid English vocabulary to understand conversations and express yourself clearly. If you’re a beginner, learning new words and phrases is an easy starting point that will help you feel more confident when you speak English.
You can find many beginner vocabulary resources, like word lists and flashcard apps, that make it easy to study vocabulary every day. Use science-backed study techniques to learn vocabulary, like spaced repetition and active recall, so you’ll retain the information long-term.
5. Listen to recordings of English conversations
Now that you’re more comfortable with the language, it’s time to put your new skills to work by listening to English conversations. This will help you understand the pronunciation and natural speech patterns of native speakers, so you can adapt to these sounds.
English podcasts are an easy, free way to start listening to native English speakers. Many podcasts are specifically designed for language learners, so the hosts will speak more slowly and explain new vocabulary.
Try to focus on active listening rather than passive. That means being completely mentally engaged with what you’re listening to. You could summarize the main points or note key phrases and new words. These techniques will increase your chances of remembering new vocabulary in the future.
6. Practice talking with native English speakers
Regular practice will improve your fluency and confidence, even if you only have basic English speaking skills.
That’s because speaking enables you to internalize new vocabulary and grammar. It also helps you think in English rather than translating in your head. And if you’re a beginner, speaking early will push you out of your comfort zone, so you feel less afraid.
There are tons of ways to get English conversation practice. You can meet with an in-person conversation club in your area or practice with language exchange partners from an app.
The most important thing is to not get discouraged. Learning how to speak English fluently means accepting that you will feel uncomfortable at times. This is completely normal, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them!
7. Learn more advanced grammar and sentence structure
Now that you have a strong foundation in all the essential language skills – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – you can move on to more advanced topics.
Learning advanced skills, like complex grammar and sentence structure, will allow you to communicate beyond a basic level. As you progress, you’ll become more precise, sophisticated, and confident.
Enroll in advanced grammar courses, explore the best sites to learn English grammar, and practice more complex language tasks, like analyzing a news story or writing an essay. If you’re working with a private English tutor, they can give you feedback to help you improve.
8. Immerse yourself in the language
One of the most effective ways to learn English at home is to immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. Language immersion speeds up your learning by exposing you to everyday usage and cultural nuances.
Incorporate English into your daily activities by watching TV shows, reading books, listening to podcasts, and following the news.
You can schedule regular speaking practice with friends, language exchange partners, or tutors. If you don’t have a speaking partner yet, there are plenty of English speaking practice exercises you can do every day to hone your skills.
9 effective tips on how to learn English for beginners
If you are just starting your journey to learn English, these tips will set you on the right path. Let’s go over some practical advice specifically for beginners that will help you learn faster and build confidence.
1. Start speaking as soon as possible
If you’re serious about learning to speak English quickly, the evidence is clear: having regular conversations with a fluent speaker is pretty much the only way.
The faster you can break the mental barrier of testing your language skills out loud, the faster you’ll be able to speak confidently.
A 2016 study published by the University of Michigan demonstrated that students learning a language by having conversations over video chat tended to see much faster results than those using traditional methods. Scientists followed two groups of students as they began learning a new language:
- Group A was studying using grammar and vocabulary exercises
- Group B was learning by speaking, using video technology
After twelve weeks, it was found that Group A had made no significant improvement, but Group B had developed their language skills significantly. They had gained more varied vocabularies, performed better in listening comprehension tests, were more able to use grammar, and spoke more confidently.
Put simply, even if you study vocabulary exercises, grammar lessons, and theory regularly for weeks, unless you learn English by speaking, you risk not learning how to draw these skills together. This is an easy mistake to make. How often have you heard someone say, “I can understand most of what I hear in English, but I am not very good at speaking it”?
Luckily, it has never been easier to find someone to practice speaking with, even if you’re learning English from home! Unikcolors Media Training Institute has thousands of expert tutors ready to chat over in a video call, and you can adjust our filters to only show those who charge what you can afford to pay.
Having a native speaker’s undivided attention for regular one-hour sessions can feel intense, but that’s because it is highly effective. You will see real progress fast. We are so confident that all lessons come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
2. Read English often
It has never been easier to find reading materials in English or quicker to look things up on Google Translate if you get frustrated. If you aren’t quite ready to tackle the complete works of Shakespeare, try:
- Browsing celebrity gossip on easy-reading websites like Buzzfeed, Mashable or Upworthy
- Reading a book you love in your native language in the English translation
- Switching your search browser to show English language results by default
- Following more American, British, Australian, and Canadian public figures on Twitter and Instagram
If you find yourself stopping and starting a lot, try studying this list of the 1,000 most common words in English. They are thought to be the most necessary words for reading in English and make up around 50% of all written text.
3. Hold yourself accountable
If you want to learn English fast, regular practice has to become a habit. But it’s no good just promising you’ll spend extra time working on your language skills. You have to find some way of guaranteeing you’ll practice even when life gets in the way.
If you have great willpower, making yourself accountable could be as simple as setting up a reminder to study at a certain time every day, like when you come home from work. But for most of us, staying motivated to do anything new is far easier when someone else is depending on us.
In one study, the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) found that you have a 65% chance of completing a goal if you commit to someone. Even more encouragingly, if you have a specific appointment with this person to discuss your progress, the chance of completing your goal rises to 95%.
You could find a partner who is also learning English to compare progress with regularly or simply find a tutor who you like and respect.
If you decide to try one of Unikcolors tutors, watch videos from a few different people before taking a lesson. Search for someone you think you might connect with, perhaps a person with similar interests or life experiences to you. It is easy to stick to your language learning goals when one of our awesome tutors is rooting for you!
4. Keep your personal goal in mind
There’s no easy way around it: learning English fast will take serious energy.
Once you’ve identified your goal, make sure that all your efforts take you another step towards it. For instance, someone learning English to take a degree at an English language university should focus on specialist words and phrases relevant to their course. If you’re learning English for work, you might like to focus on words and phrases relevant to the office. Many people also choose to learn for a partner or someone they love and spend the most time on informal language.
This step will save you from a common frustration: following a textbook that encourages you to learn content that you won’t need to use anytime soon. Don’t spend hours memorizing words for all the animals in the zoo if it won’t be helpful for presenting at that board meeting!
This is another benefit of working with one of Unikcolors tutors. You can discuss your personal reasons for learning English and work with them to create a learning plan tailored to you. That way, you can learn the vocabulary you need a lot faster.
6. Learn whole sentences
Flashcards are useful, but studies show that learning whole sentences might be even more useful. Language nerds call this technique “sentence mining.” Do a quick internet search for “sentence mining,” and you will find an enthusiastic online community who swear that this is the quickest route to learning English at home.
Certainly, learning whole sentences by heart can help you to learn words in context and teach you how their meaning takes on subtle changes in different contexts. Check out this video for a full explanation:
This technique works particularly well if you’re learning with one of Preply’s 1-on-1 tutors. Ask your tutor to help you come up with sentences relevant to your personal learning goals.
7. Listen to native English speakers (try to!) speak your language
Whether your mother tongue is Czech, Spanish, or Turkish, chances are you have spoken to a native English speaker who has learned to speak it, and you’ve thought, “Hmm… that doesn’t sound quite right.”
One easy tip is to pay attention to the common mistakes native English speakers make in your language, especially in sentence structure and grammar. These are probably clues as to how English grammar is different from that of the language you know best.
8. Change your phone and social media settings to English
So, maybe you can understand the basics of English. Want to progress to the next step? Now, it’s time to get as much exposure to the language as possible.
Most of us spend hours every day staring at our phones, scrolling aimlessly. Changing the settings on your phone to English is a very easy way to immerse yourself in the language.
Changing your phone settings will teach you some words very relevant to modern life that you won’t necessarily see on language learning websites, such as “newsfeed” and “sponsored content.”
9. Find a community of language learners
When you start digging into more advanced aspects of learning English, it can be very motivating to share your insights, breakthroughs, and frustrations with other people. Here are some great ways to connect with fellow learners if you are studying from home:
- Try Reddit’s English language forum
- Get answers to difficult questions in Preply’s Q&A section
- Search for public Facebook groups for ESL learners
- Look for Discord servers
For more ideas on finding study buddies, check out our guide to language communities to improve your language skills.
