TIPS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH
You are on our website, so you are in the right place. Whether it's to learn English for yourself, your children, as a family or as a couple, practice is key. If you can learn english with other people at home or at work, then even better.
We recommend that you try to add little bits of English into your routine every day. The best way to become familiar with a language is to speak it. Start with the level you already have then build your vocabulary by following our tips for reading, listening, and writing. The idea of our conversation groups are to offer the chance to speak English with someone who is English on a regular basis. If you haven't joined one of our groups yet, contact us to get started.
LEARNING ENGLISH AT HOME
SPEAKING
Parler
Speaking is essential to make progress in learning English. Don't worry about what your are saying or if it is correct, just try to speak.
Basic Words
Start with the most basic words such as hello, goodbye, please, thank you, good morning, good night, etc. This is a good little exercise to do with children.
Meal times
Try to choose a time of day as 'english time'. Meal times are a great opportunity to do this. For adults, try talking about your day. With children download our meal time vocabulary sheets and look at them together. Use the QR Code for pronunciation.
In the car
The car is a good place to practice trying to speak english. With children, talk about the colours of the cars and try to count in English. Say alound English words for the things you see. Download our car game sheet to play together. You can listen to songs and sing in English. For adults, use the time to work on pronunciation, if you are alone in the car at least you will be less embarrassed. Try to repeat what you are listening to either on English radio or an English podcast.
Just start talking!
LISTENING
Écouter
Listening to English a little bit every day is good to include in your routine. There are several ways to do this.
Radio
Listening to the radio is great as you will hear short bursts of English between the music, as well as English songs which are useful for vocabulary. There are different English accents and you can hear the news and the weather which are often repeated in the same way. If there are words you hear but don't understand, look them up.
Podcasts
For those who have a fairly good level of English, podcasts in English are good to listen to. You can choose a topic that interests you and if you only listen for 5 minutes at a time, it's a good habit to get into.
YouTube
Search for videos on Youtube then you will have images and maybe subtitles to help. Choose what suits for your level. If there's an English song you like, look for the video with subtitles to learn the words. For children, there are many videos such as Peppa Pig in English or English songs and nursery rhymes.
Audio Books
Listen to audiobooks in English. Find a book that you have already read in French or perhaps seen the film to make it easier to follow.
READING
Lecture
Reading English is good because you can take your time to understand, translate, and discover new vocabulary. Reading a book would be too much, we recommend reading in small chunks. A five-minute goal a day to read something in English can really help build your vocabulary.
Articles online
Try reading online articles, English news websites or find online magazines in English on a topic that interests you. If you like to cook, find recipes in English online and follow them.
Social media
If you use social media, follow English accounts and English personalities. Reading the captions written in English is a good quick exercise. This is a technique that is easy to integrate into your day
Subtitles
Adding subtitles to programmes when watching TV is a good habit. We recommend English subtitles with French audio because your brain is more likely to follow English words when read. If you watch in English with French subtitles, it's likely that you'll stop listening and only read French. Unless of course you have a good level of english then the ideal is English audio and English subtitles.
WRITING
Écriture
Writing in English is one of the most challenging skills in language learning with fewer opportunities to practice. If you really want to challenge yourself, here are some ideas, use google translate to help.
Diary
Try writing a diary in English. Describe your day – write down the date, talk about the weather, describe what you've been doing, how you're feeling, and who you've seen. If you do this regularly, you'll find that you use and repeat the same phrases. This is good exercise for children who are able to write too.
Lists
If you're writing a shopping list or a to-do list, take your time and try to write the list in English. This is also a great exercise to do with kids who are able to write.
Text/Email
An easy way to practice is to send text messages or emails in English to friends or family. If you don't have anyone willing, send us a message or email as part of your practice and we'll get back to you. Feel free to mix French and English and don't worry about making mistakes.
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email : gemma@monenglishecole.com
MON ENGLISH ECOLE
We offer a variety of resources on our website
We have several free worksheets added every month that you can download for both kids and adults.