Ways To Improve English

Dimitar Berbatov, the handsome Bulgarian football player worked on improving his English by watching the Godfather films again and again, especially Godfather III.

We are told that there are four skills to be developed in the teaching of a language: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Let me try and suggest certain ways in which we can improve our understanding and command of the language.

Reading

Read books whose subjects interest you, and try if possible to get some advice on whether the books you have chosen are written well. Also, choose books whose language provides some challenge to you, but not too much, because that might discourage you. If there are 10 or more words on every page that you don’t know the meaning of, find a simpler book.

Sometimes you may hear of a good classic English novel, like Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, and you can’t find it in a bookshop. There is also no library near you. You can go to the  Project Gutenberg  website. Here you can find lots and lots of good books. You can read them online or print them, all for free. But if you have some money to spare, you are encouraged to donate any sum you like to the project. The books have been made available by people who have lovingly typed every word in so that these treasures can be read by everyone.

Dictionaries

Reading alone is not enough, of course. I really do think that Malaysians have to develop the dictionary habit. I have observed how reluctant so many Malaysians are to look up a word in a dictionary to find out its exact meaning or meanings.

This is such a pity because never before we had so many free dictionaries available, on the Internet. So please take advantage of that. Some of them even pronounce the words for you if you click on the right icons.

Writing

How about improving your writing? If you have no tutor or a friend to help you, just write a diary. You don’t need to write every day. But whenever you feel happy or upset or angry about something, try to write how you feel in your diary.

Never mind if it is somewhat ungrammatical at first: you will get better as you read more and write more. And if you feel upset or angry, writing it all down may actually help you feel less upset or angry.

Speaking

Speaking may be the skill that is hardest to improve. Having a friend who is proficient in English would be helpful. If you don’t have such a friend, try getting a tutor, if you can afford it.

If you have neither friend of that description, nor cash to pay for a tutor, don’t despair. If you listen to the language often enough, you can try to speak it on your own. Try reading aloud in the privacy of your home or room. It can be enjoyable. Finally, what about grammar? The BBC website has a grammar section and you can also try to get a grammar book from a big bookshop. Browse around and find one that you think is at your level and also affordable.

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Adapted from: Fadzilah Amin Mind Our English Star2 Tuesday 28 August 2012