4 Easy Ways to Learn English Online

By: Nadia Zehni
Submitted: 2007-01-17 10:58:54
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When you learn a new language the only way to improve is to practice, practice and practice! However it can often be boring to keep studying from books so I’d like to recommend some interactive learning methods and resources - all using the internet.

Chat Your Way to Better English
Chatting with others, either native or non-native speakers of English, is a great way to practice your written skills in a stress-free and uninhibited environment. This is a particularly good method if you’re shy about speaking English as it will allows you to be anonymous online and will build your confidence to eventually speak the language face to face. By joining a chat room like TheChatPage.com you can discuss any special interest topic you like, or write posts in the forums. Having an email pen pal can also be a fun and effective way to practice English and make friends.

Online Grammar Exercises
For a more fun and interactive approach to practicing grammar exercises, try one of the many online grammar exercise sites available on the internet. You will find varied exercises and quizzes for most grammar points where you will be given corrections to your answer and useful explanations. Joining an EFL community will also give you access to volunteer EFL teachers who are available to answer all your grammar questions. Being part of a community such as EnglishForums.com is also excellent way to meet and communicate with other English learners.

Online Radio
Understanding native speakers and their accents is often one of the hardest parts of learning English according to EFL students. A great listening exercise, particularly for advanced EFL students, is listening to English radio stations online. Radio hosts often speak quite fast which makes this exercise rather difficult; however, this will help sharpen listening skills and be very good practice for phone conversations or meetings with native speakers. It is also an excellent way to pick up new words and learn about a variety of cultural topics.

Podcasts
If you don’t have constant access to the internet, downloading podcasts is a great alternative to listening to radio. The advantage of a podcast is that you can listen to it at your leisure until you feel you have completely understood the topic. You can also pause the audio while you look up new words or take notes on the subject. There are some great sites available which offer podcasts specifically to EFL learners. The podcasts often come in manageable 15-20 audio files, complete with full transcripts, additional vocabulary, cultural explanation, general notes and sometimes comprehension questions. This additional information means podcasts are effective language learning tools even at a lower level of English.

These resources should enable you to practice your English in a more inventive way rather than relying on books and classroom time. Of course face to face interaction is really important but these are excellent alternatives and will contribute to acquiring more fluency and confidence in your skills.

About the Author:
Nadia Zehni has extensive experience teaching English as a Foreign Language in England, Malta and France. She is a regular contributor to EnglishForums.com, the world’s busiest EFL community, which receives over 30,000 visits a day. It’s an excellent resource for EFL teachers looking for information about grammar, phonetics, EFL jobs and teaching tips. English students on the other hand can learn English by posting questions and getting help from volunteer EFL teachers, as well as speaking with other learners. To benefit from this fantastic resource sign up for free at http://www.englishforums.com!

Article source: Expert Articles