I am a Korean immigrant that came to Canada at 10. The biggest struggle for me was to learn English and communicate with the people here, so I understand exactly how frustrating it is when your English doesn’t seem to improve as quickly as you’d like. I would like to share with you some of my personal tips on how to significantly improve your English fast – the 4 practical ways to improve your English fast. Do note that it will take some effort and dedication on your end. Like I always say, nothing comes easy in life and English is no exception.
1. READ, READ, AND READ
I hate to break it to you but reading is by far the fastest way to improve your English. I had too many students ask me about the fastest way to improve their English, and my answer's always been consistent: read like there is no tomorrow. Sadly though, many of them find this challenging as they often find it boring, unexciting, and uninteresting. But, I’d like to emphasize that proficiency only comes from taking boring, unexciting but fundamental steps. Now, why is reading necessary? Well, ask yourself the question, “What defines one speaking good English?” Most of the time, the answer is to be able to use expressions and sentence structures that native English speakers use. Then ask yourself, “Where can I expose myself to many of these in a short period of time?” The answer is in fact in reading. If you think about it, there is only a limited number of expressions and sentence structures you can be exposed to when engaging in actual conversations with native English speakers. I’m not saying that this is not a crucial way to improve your English, but there is some advantage in reading because you not only expose yourself to more content in a given period of time, but you can also read portions repeatedly to understand their meanings and familiarize yourself to them. You can’t really do that while engaging in conversations.
The realistic goal is to finish one book every 2 weeks. Each time you read a book however, go through it thoroughly and highlight expressions or sentence structures that stand out to you or that you may have come across at some point which you’d like to learn. Now, a crucial tip when reading is NOT to look up every word you don’t know. It not only makes reading a painful process, but it also takes away your opportunity to guess the meaning of the word in the context given. This guessing process will enable you to predict the meaning of the word somewhat accurately in conversations you engage in with the native speakers as well.
Now you may ask, “What books should I start with then?” Here is a list of 7 books that I personally read to significantly improve my English:
a. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
b. The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway
c. Charlotte’s Web – E.B White
d. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
e. Animal Farm – George Orwell
f. Of Mice and Men – John Steinback
g. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
I’d like to emphasize that you choose genres you normally enjoy reading or you think you will enjoy (e.g. romance, comic, horror) within your current reading level. I sometimes come across students who challenge themselves to the most difficult books out there as if that will help them improve English faster. But, it often does the opposite because you are not only spending hours on interpreting a single sentence, but you will also start to find reading a painful and daunting process which will prevent you from reading consistently. Do yourself a favour and avoid over-challenging yourself.
2. JOIN A BOOK CLUB
Now that I’ve babbled enough about the importance of reading, a perfect place to motivate you to read books and engage in conversations with native speakers simultaneously is a BOOK CLUB (two birds with one stone!). I mentioned earlier that reading consistently is more important than finishing one difficult book every one in a while. If you join a book club, you will be obliged to read more regularly because you are expected to share both the synopsis and reflection of the book you read. Obviously, this process will also give you the chance to practice speaking in front of a group of native speakers as well as listen to how they share about their books. By simply joining a book club, you can improve reading, speaking, and listening skills all at the same time, which will certainly help your English improve fast.
3. JOIN AN ACTIVITY GROUP
Sometimes joining a book club can be intimidating especially if it’s one that consists only of native speakers. Perhaps, you deem reading as something you can’t or won't do consistently over a long period of time, and so are in search of alternative options. Another great option is to join any activity group which you enjoy doing regularly. For instance, I joined a tennis club because I knew it was one of my favourite sports and I was confident that I would attend regularly to enjoy the sport as well as to engage in conversations with other athletes at the club. Plus, it was easy to make friends as we all shared common interest and endless conversations on who the best player is and which racquet is best took place, through which we grew closer together.
Some other activities I recommend include:
a. Yoga and Pilates
b. Hiking
c. Dance class
d. Bowling
e. Rock climbing
f. Cooking class
g. Baking class
4. ASK FOR FEEDBACK
After making some English-speaking friends and growing closer together, I often found it helpful to be open about how much I wanted to improve my English and to help me out with some feedback. Specifically, I asked my friends to point out major grammatical errors in our conversations and to correct me on the spot. Emphasize the fact that you won’t have hard feelings and would actually appreciate it as it would help with taking your English to the next level. Treating them to dinner every once in a while for their help is also a great way to strengthen the relationship.
Another great source for feedback would be from your personal English tutor. If you are willing to spend the money to improve your English, you can hire a tutor that meets your needs. I know a friend of mine who hired a tutor just to call him in the morning and have a casual conversation in English for 20-30 minutes to start the day. If your needs lie in writing, you can hire tutors that will teach you how to write basic stories and essays and give you feedback on your written work.
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