Improve your English is as simple as learning to drive a car or dancing, or pretty much any skill that does not require immense time and effort. We are taught that all subjects should be treated equally, meaning time and effort devoted to all subjects should be equal.
In consonance with the teaching, we consider English to be similar to any other subject, and hence this is our first mistake. A Bungalow is only as strong as its foundation, regardless of how reinforced it is. Most people don’t bother to master the basics. Grammar and tenses are never studied thoroughly. Thus one is bound to commit rookie errors while speaking and writing. The English that is to be studied between classes 10 and 12, in my opinion, is more than enough to impart fluency in both written and spoken English. If the basics are strong, I believe attaining mastery in the language is as easy and fun as pursuing other hobbies.
For those who were snoozing in their English classes at school, I have steps that you can inculcate to improve your English.
Consider a car; most of us don’t know the exact mechanism through which steering, accelerator, clutch, gear, and engine work, but most of us who learn to drive will attain a working at some point in time knowledge these components through sheer experience. What is truly mind-boggling is that the knowledge of these components does not affect how well you drive. Driving is a skill that is incumbent on hand-eye-leg coordination, and we are going to follow a similar pattern to improve our English.
So coming directly to the point:
English has three major parts:
- 26 alphabets:
- Parts of Speech:
- Tenses:
What are the parts of speech? If you do not remember, it’s okay; we’ll come back to it later.
Answer this: What are the parts of an Alto Car?
Parts of the Alto Car: or you can choose your favorite car.
- Body
- Engine
- Wheel
- Tire
- Steering
- Gear
On similar lines, let’s see what the parts of speech are:
- Noun: Name, things, and Ideas: Mohan, John, Dog, Rock, Birthday
- Pronoun: Replacement of noun; He, She, They, and Them
- Verb: An action: run, jump, read, eat, am, are, etc.
- Adverb: describes an action; Very fast, Slowly, etc
- Adjective: Describes a Noun; like Big, Beautiful, intelligent.
- Pre-Position: Links noun, pronouns, or phrases to other words; on, over, for at, beside
- Interjection: joined words: and, because
- Conjunction: A word of surprise; Wow, oh
If you already know these, well and good, I’ll tell you how to study and remember all the parts of speech if you don’t.
Let’s co-relate it to your Car driving skill; how did you learn to drive? Just pick up the car and go on the road; hopefully, you know some gear, clutch, and acceleration basics and how they work. If you practice driving an hour a day for 30 days, there is a perfect chance that you’ll clear your driving test on the first attempt. You’ll notice that post each day’s practice, your driving has improved.
We are going to apply the same technique to improve our English.
For the first 1 hour, i.e., 60 minutes, you focus on the alphabet’s pronunciation.
Do this for a few days till the time you feel confident in pronouncing the letters. ( I, too, went through this exercise 5 years ago).
Now moving on to some advanced techniques:
Improving English requires only four things.
- Reading (20 minutes)
- Writing (10 minutes)
- Listening (20 Minutes)
- Speaking (10Minutes)
You can self-evaluate and restructure the timings according to your proficiency. ( Ex: maybe your reading and comprehension skills are good, so you devote 10 minutes to reading and 20 minutes writing or speaking). Do this for the next 30 days, and you would feel a marked difference in your overall skill level.
I propose that apart from the 1 hour you devote to the above exercise, you also devote 1 hour towards reading a novel or a book. Reading will improve your comprehension and writing and educate you in both personal and professional life. Reading a self-help book before going to bed subconsciously programs your mind towards success and fulfillment. It’s no wonder that nearly every billionaire reads before going to bed.
“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.”
My suggestion is only to read habit formation books initially. Read a minimum of 30 minutes daily and carry the book along with you.
Once you read more and more, you will learn to better and improve your vocabulary.
When you find new words, you jot them down immediately in a separate notebook. There would be moments where you would feel the task to be a bit dull, but hang on and persevere if you want to succeed.
A question may come to your mind, how long should I read a book?
30 Minutes for 30 days,
45 minutes for 90 days or what?
Believe me, once you complete 30 days, your thirst for reading would only increase; hence you need not concern yourself with the question.
“ When you learn to read you will be born again…and you will never be quite so alone again”.
— Rumer Godden
Writing:
“Writing anything is better than nothing.”
Read more, write more.
Write a morning journal that contains your short and long-term goals. Pick up a pen and paper at any time of the day or night and devote at least 10 minutes to writing. You can start with basics such as writing your name, personal goals, professional goals, diary entry, etc.
Keep stationery handy and avoid distractions. Habits are indeed cumbersome to maintain and follow, but take things one day at a time and avoid procrastinating at all costs. I suggest the best way to reinforce writing as a habit is to write the pros of writing and the cons of distraction and procrastination; this little exercise will subconsciously program your mind to delve into the right-thinking pattern.
I recommend you to read Atomic Habits by James Clear. In the beginning, focus on framing simple sentences and paragraphs, avoid using unnecessary jargons, and don’t get demotivated if the quality of sentences seems sub-par; remember you have just begun. A healthy way to evaluate your sentences is to translate them into your mother tongue, avoid word-by-word translation and focus on the general summary; see if it makes sense. There is no timeline for this habit; you have to inculcate writing into your routine for the rest of your life.
Listening:
You know how people live for 6 months in a foreign country and become well versed in the foreign language. Most of them don’t actively learn the language, but they tend to incorporate the language in their daily life through passive listening. This is the power of listening.
Start listening to English videos, TEDx Talk, Audiobooks. There are a lot of free audiobook apps. My suggestion is to go for TEDx Talk or Podcast but stick to one. If you do not understand Podcast conversations initially, it’s just enjoying the conversation and their tone.
Incorporate these listening habits while you eat, Bath, and shaving. I never eat my breakfast and lunch without listening to podcasts. It improves English drastically.
Few Popular Podcasts:
The Inspiring Talk
Mindvalley
Moonshots
Inspire Your Success: Make Money Writing
Believe me, food tastes much better while listening to a podcast.
You can also listen to audiobooks or a podcast while commuting to the office or home. All you need is a good pair of earphones, a smartphone, and you are good to go.
“Listening is the only skill you are never taught in school”_SDR
Speaking:
If you rigorously practiced the first three, i.e., reading, writing, and listening, Speaking becomes second nature. You’ll be astonished how fluently and effortlessly words flow through your mouth. But there is a catch while reading, writing, and listening, you can be done in isolation, but speaking requires engaging with someone else.
I propose that you start conversing with someone you are comfortable with, maybe a friend or a family member. I personally converse with my undergraduate batchmates, most of whom are fluent in English and are quick to point out the mistake I make.
If you aim to make the best use of technology, register yourself with Engvarta(Some subscription fee) and Cambly, provided you can afford it. Another technique that I find useful, especially for self-assessment, is your own voice recording. Once you have attained proficiency in speech and have gained some confidence, you can approach people less familiar and your office colleagues.
The more you speak, the better you get; for the first 30 days, you must practice conversing with people around you. Never fear the embarrassment of mispronouncing a word or hitting a point where you cannot speak; take a pause, and carry on to improve English.
Conclusion: Our first habit is Reading. If you read loudly, your pronunciation has been already started to improve. Improve your speaking drastically; you just read 10 to 15 minutes loudly just before going to sleep. Even 5 minutes every day reading and 5 minutes writing just before going to bed, You can not imagine the result. Just start practicing it; if you have a wife, you also convince her that she can become your partner informing of these habits.
I have already convinced my wife both as soulmates that we practice without missing a single day; it’s only a matter of 10 minutes. That is 600 hundred seconds; your subconscious mind starts working on it and does not expect immediate results. You practice it for 30 days, and you see the Magic of the Subconscious mind. When you woke-up in the morning, your mouth automatically speaks English words. You never underestimate the power of the subconscious mind if you use it correctly and strategically.
My motto is not only to improve your English through these four habits Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking; it also enhances your complete lifestyle.
Thank You for reading! The article is originally published on Medium.