What’s up? I’m doing well. And how about you? Many people probably started learning English with this simple exchange. It’s our very first step into the world of English~
How many of us grew up memorizing these lines and still find ourselves limited to this level today? Today, I’d like to share some of my personal experiences and methods of learning English with those who are still navigating the confusing waters of language acquisition. Let’s explore how beginners should approach learning English.
1. Building a solid foundation is crucial and cannot be taken lightly. Many beginners don’t know where to start when it comes to learning English. Here’s a key point: for beginners, the most important thing is to lay a strong foundation. Think of it like building a house—without a deep and stable foundation, the house won’t be able to reach great heights. If you’re just starting out with English, this is the time to lay that foundation.
Personally, I recommend either finding a good teacher or joining a training class to systematically learn English. For beginners, it’s best to start with phonetics, phonemes, and basic grammar.
Mastering phonetics is essential. If you’re not ready to hire a teacher or join a class, you can buy a phonetics book, preferably one that comes with an MP3 audio recording. This allows you to listen and practice speaking at the same time. The only downside is that you won’t know if your pronunciation is accurate, which is why I still recommend getting a teacher.
2. Watch English videos
Turn off the subtitles and repeat everything you can understand aloud. For someone with weak listening and speaking skills, this process can be incredibly challenging at first. You might find that after watching a movie, you haven’t understood anything. But trust me, if you坚持 doing this, after 10 movies, you’ll start to understand a lot more and be able to repeat half of what you’ve heard. Everyone has an innate ability to absorb language, and this method is a bit forceful, but it can unlock our linguistic potential.
At the beginning, I suggest choosing movies you’ve already seen to help you understand the English audio. I also recommend a children’s and adult-friendly English learning DVD, such as Disney’s “Magic English,” which is perfect for beginners. For those who have some foundation, I recommend “American English,” which is suitable for intermediate learners with a vocabulary of around 2,000 words.
Make sure to watch a DVD every day, or at most every other day. If possible, try to do this in a quiet room to avoid distractions. This method is highly effective for improving your listening and speaking skills.
3. Confidence is key when speaking English—don’t be afraid to interact with native speakers
There are now many foreigners in China, and you often have the chance to interact with them face-to-face. All foreigners in China are the same—they want to learn more about China and some Chinese. Often, the barrier to communication is within ourselves: the fear of making mistakes, the fear of looking foolish.
Let me share a story about my own embarrassing moments: Once, when two Swedish girls asked for my opinion on Swedes, I accidentally made them think I was mocking their clothing. So, I imagine most of you won’t make worse mistakes, so why not give it a try? Interacting with native speakers is the only way to truly improve your spoken English. At the same time, you’ll learn many authentic vocabulary words, gradually making your spoken English sound more natural.
To help beginners, Teacher Zhe Li recorded “200 Simple English Sentences,” which can help you understand and speak these basic 200 English sentences.