20 Tips On How To Learn English

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There are several ways to improve your level of English. On the Melton Language Services' blog, we've given you 20 tips on how to take your English to the next level. By implementing some (or ALL if you're an overachiever!) of these suggestions, we can guarantee you'll see an improvement. Before reading our advice on how to learn English, make sure to ask yourself the questions below.2020

1. Understand register - Not all language is the same. There is a difference between colloquial language and formal language. Talking to your friends about the last Tarantino movie in a bar on the beach is very different to discussing Nuclear Physics at a conference.
2. When watching TV - It’s ok to use English subtitles when you listen, but don’t use Spanish ones. We always use our strongest skill. So if your brain has the choice between reading in Spanish or listening in English, what do you think it will do?
3. Context first! - Always try and listen for context first, don’t get bogged down in details. They will come later.
4. Breathe - Breathe before you speak. Not only will this give you intonation, it allows you to think and not rush. Remember - fluency isn't only based on how quickly you say something.
5. Review, review, review - Not many people have a photographic memory. The average person needs to see or use vocabulary various times before it enters into their long-term memory. Seeing a word once doesn’t mean it is learnt!!! 
6. Watch appropriate films/TV - Choose the films or TV series you watch very carefully. A native speaker has problems understanding Peak Blinders or the Wire, whereas Downton Abbey will have you speaking like the Queen of England. Series like Friends, or films like Four Weddings and a Funeral are perfect as they use the kind of everyday English we use everyday. Check out our listening resources here!
7. Listen - Listen to what the other person is saying, don’t just think about what you are going to say. It also makes you a much better conversationalist.
8. Be realistic - You should expect to make mistakes. Even people living in an English-speaking country for years still make mistakes. Don’t allow the desire for perfection to stop you speaking, give it a go.
9. Don't be afraid of phrasal verbs - Yes, they are hard, but we all use them. Learn a few a day. Choose a thematic area, for example money, and a main verb, for example pay, and learn them in blocks, like the example with MONEY b

10. Listen actively and sensibly - Don’t just sit in front of the tv for hours, barely keeping your eyes open, trying to understand everything. It's much better to watch/listen in short bursts when your brain is more active.

To read 10 more tips, please visit our blog for the full post - English or espa?ol.