What's the fastest way to learn English as a Second Language?

Answer 1

If you can combine an immersion experience---live in a native English-speaking country--and working with a tutor on writing, reading, and pronunciation, you will learn smoothly and quickly.

This was my experience with Finnish--yes, Finnish, one of the most difficult languages on earth!--and I achieved near-fluency in just two years.

I won't say it was easy. I became a strong speaker out of necessity (not many spoke English in Finland then); and I was a journalist, so I really needed to understand Finnish. I will confess that I almost cried when I looked at the front page of the Helsingin Sanomat, the main newspaper, the very first time.

I was a pretty slow reader. I was a timid writer of Finnish because it has 17 cases! But the ability to converse with friends and family, to interview famous people, even, that was a reward, and the most important part of my fluency.

You can have the same experience with English if you take classes at the same time that you find lots of people with whom to speak to in English. Also: Watch movies with subtitles (either direction, from your language to English, or vice versa). Movies were one of the best motivators I found, and the pictures said so much.

Even a trip to the grocery store can be a fantastic free lesson: You must choose the correct foods, read the ingredients, count your money and give the correct amount to the cashier. Then, a reward: a good meal! And you'll learn about the culture of food and drink in whichever part of th English-speaking world you land.

Answer 2

I think most of us agree that the fastest way to learn a language is to just jump in and swim. That is easy to say, but not often so easy to do.

If we live in a family that speaks one language at home and the place where we live speaks another outside of the home, it is hard to jump in and swim. It is also hard when our family and our friends speak one language and the little shop on the corner speaks our language and everyone at church speaks our language. There isn't a need to speak that language that is outside of our circle.

Adult language learners often learn to understand spoken language before learning how to speak. Some learn to understand, read, and write in a new language, but never master the spoken version. I think that adults are generally more shy about trying out the spoken version of a new language than young children are. I have adult students who never speak English except with me. They can do all the "book exercises" without a mistake. They read novels in English. They are fully informed of the news, and can follow a conversation very well. They chatter away with me alone But, in a group, they just won't say a peep, even when the group is small and full of empathy and encouraging. The fear of making a mistake is overwhelming for many English language learners.

Answer 3

In my 20+ years of teaching ESL, this answer depends on the underlying talents and weaknesses of the student in question. Some students can quickly learn languages via immersion, while others perform better doing independent study. I have had many students who live in their native country (thus lack immersion) and learn significantly faster than a student living in the US and married to a native speaker. Learning languages is not an absolute science and requires a certain element of creativity to succeed.

Answer 4

If you are looking for a genuine answer, living in the country in which the focus language is spoken will progress your learning 10x. Books and worksheets can only go so far. Living everyday life in your second language, you will find yourself becoming an expert QUICKLY.

Answer 5

The fastest way to learn a language is to live it on a daily basis. Either live with people who speak the language, or work with people who speak the language. If that is not available, always practice the new language with others even if it is the 2nd language for both of you. Miles on the mouth. The more you speak, the more you learn. And watch TV, listen to music, read in English. Eventually the new language becomes like a song that you can not get out of your head.

Answer 6

As far as learning English as a second language, the fastest way is probably to constantly expose yourself to the language. Read books in English, watch television shows either in English or with English subtitles (so you can see the way your language translates to English), speak to people in English as often as possible. The more you interact with the language, the quicker you'll catch on to how it works.

Answer 7

Take advantage of as many different forms of practice as possible! Study grammar and memorize vocabulary out of textbooks or through a reputable online source, such as an online class. Regularly practice vocabulary with flashcards. Download a few podcasts that teach English and a few that simply speak in English (for listening skills). You can also build listening skills by watching English-language television. Read your favorite books or stories in English, and switch the settings on your phone to English. Finally, speaking to people in English in the real world (in-person conversations) is one of the most effective forms of practice, especially when you are beyond the beginner level. The more you practice each aspect (reading, writing, speaking), the faster you will improve.

Answer 8

The fastest way to learn English as a Second Language is to get immersed in the language.

Attending lessons will help strengthen your grammar skills and increase your vocabulary. When looking to hire a tutor the best advice I can give you is to hire somebody whose lessons are a mix of reading, writing and speaking, with a focus on task based learning and conversation. A language is better learned when used in real context.

Having said that, you cannot rely only on lessons to learn a language. You need to get immersed in it outside of the classroom too. Here are some examples:

1. Watch a TV show that you like in English audio and English subtitles.
2. Listen to music in English, look up the lyrics, translate them and sing them along if you like to sing.
3. Set up your electronic devices such as your laptop or cell phone to be in English.
4. Play video games in English.
5. Read in English. If you can't read long texts yet, choose short stories, comic books, poems, recipes for cooking...
6. Practice guided conversations in English. Look up an app that has guided conversations, listen to them, repeat what they say, memorize the conversation and ask and answer questions following along the program.
7. You can participate in a language exchange where you teach your first language in an informal conversation based lesson while the other person teaches you theirs. There are a lot of people who are interested in learning in this way.

Learning to speak a language depends on you. Using an app, buying a book or hiring a tutor can help you, but it is up to you to get immersed in it.