How To Learn English Quickly With 13 Proven Tips
Updated August 18, 2022
How you learn English quickly boils down to the tools and methods used. We will show you the best and most effective tips to master this language fast.
This is how you learn English, fast
Nowadays, everyone seems to want to learn English. This comes as no surprise considering it’s the most spoken language, with approximately 1.4 billion speakers worldwide. Around 400 million of these people speak the language natively.
Additionally, there are many varieties of English. 2 of the most well-known of these include British and American English. Other significant types in terms of number of native speakers include New Zealand English, Australian English, and Indian English.
Learners tend to be put off and slowed down by English’s endless vocabulary, inconsistent phonetics and myriad of country-specific variations. But it’s important to be aware that ultimately, the speed at which you learn English is a matter of what language tools you rely on.
So, without further ado, here are some of those tools! The following 13 tips will show you how to learn English quickly.
- Approach English with a plan
- Learn the basics effectively
- Start speaking as soon as you can
- Consume English media
- Key resources to learn English
- How to learn English quickly with Live Coaching
Pick up! London’s calling!
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Approach English with a plan
1. Set a concrete goal
The first thing you should do is define why you want to learn English. Having a concrete and personal goal in sight will motivate you and help you focus on the things you need to learn.
For example, if you want to learn English to go on a summer holiday in the UK, you can use your time to learn travel-related vocabulary and not waste it on other types of words.
The more specific and personal your goal is, the better – extra points if there’s a deadline included.
Here are some great examples of fluency goals:
- Before this time next year, I want to be able to have a fluent conversation about sports with my British flatmate.
- By summer 2023, I’d like to pass the TOEFL exam with a score of 600.
- In two months, I want to be able to speak and understand 50 phrases from my English travel guide.
2. Create a schedule and stick to it
Do you want to know how to learn English fast? With consistency, of course! Practicing every day and sticking to your study hours will surely speed up your journey to fluency.
Even if you can only manage 15 minutes a day, every minute counts. When it comes to language learning, quality learning sessions trump long but inconsistent ones.
Here is a list of highly useful time management tools for language learners that will help you get the most out of your efforts.
3. Stay motivated and hold yourself accountable
When it comes to learning English swiftly, staying motivated and accountable for your progress is key.
First, the more motivated you are, the faster you will progress. Second, if you don’t know if you’re improving, how will you know when you’ve reached your goal?
A great way to stay motivated and hold yourself accountable is to work with a language coach. A language coach will motivate you to keep learning. Additionally, they will hold you accountable for your personal improvement.
Fluent Forever’s Live Coaching program pairs you up with your very own English native speaker. Our coaches make sure to create personalized sessions, based on your goals and interests, to keep you stoked about learning.
By joining our Coaching program, you’ll also find the sentences you learn during your sessions entered in the Fluent Forever app, so you can review them at any time.
Sign up for Live Coaching now to boost your English learning.
Practice every day!
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Learn the basics effectively
4. Learn pronunciation first
Learning how English sounds at the start will speed up your learning. By rewiring your ears to comprehend English’s phonetics, you make it easier for your brain to pick up and recall new vocabulary.
So, to learn English faster, make sure you focus on proper pronunciation first. We have a nice list of resources to pick up on this essential skill – you can skip to that section here.
5. Focus on essential vocabulary
English has a lot of words. So, instead of learning every term you come across, focus on the most essential vocabulary.
Learning the most frequently used words allows you to understand larger chunks of conversations and texts. We have a list of 625 frequently used words to get you started. Get it here for free!
6. Learn with word associations
The traditional way of learning vocabulary is to learn with categories: colors, animals, and numbers, for example. However, this method is not ideal for long-term memorization. In fact, it’s terrible.
Alternatively, learning words grouped by themes – terms used in hospitals, banks, holidays, etc. – makes creating associations between them easier. Consequently, this makes memorizing them faster.
The word list we mentioned earlier actually groups the vocabulary in this manner.
7. Use flashcards
After you have your words neatly grouped according to themes, you should learn vocabulary and sentences effectively. You want to steer away from direct translations and rote memorization, as this method is ineffective for remembering vocabulary long term.
A much better use of your time is to use flashcards with images and no translations. Flashcards are an amazing tool to help you learn words and phrases faster while retaining them for longer.
By incorporating a spaced repetition system (SRS) to review your cards periodically, you will never forget what you learn. In short, an SRS is a study technique that creates practice sessions based on your past progress.
You can create your own flashcards and set up an SRS using pen, paper and scissors. Alternatively, you can use Anki, an online software that makes the process somewhat easier. Check out how to use Anki here.
8. Learn grammar intuitively
If your goal is to learn English quickly, you shouldn’t obsess about learning every grammar rule and detail. Instead, focus on picking up patterns intuitively from the phrases and sentences you come across.
The last thing you want to do is to spend all of your time poring over grammar books and textbooks and forget about the vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading. Remember, the goal is to learn English quickly!
As you progress, you will inevitably and automatically pick up the patterns of English grammar.
Start speaking as soon as you can
9. Travel abroad
In language learning, immersion refers to being constantly exposed to your target language in order to learn it. This is one of the fastest and most effective ways to become fluent in any language. After all, that’s how we learn our native tongue.
With that in mind, if you want to learn English quickly, you should consider traveling to an English-speaking country for a while. Surrounding yourself with English 24/7 will inevitably boost your progress.
10. Practice with native speakers
If dropping everything and moving to the UK or the US is out of the question, the next best thing is to practice with native speakers. Native speakers are an invaluable source of new vocabulary, native-level pronunciation, and accurate feedback.
Fluent Forever’s language coaches are all 100% native speakers certified in our proven teaching methodology. Sign up here to start learning today.
Consume English media
11. Read everything you can
Three words: read, read, and read. Reading English texts is a fantastic way to boost your learning and strengthen your vocabulary and grammar.
From newspapers to blog posts, anything you can get your hands on will help you learn English faster.
12. Watch movies and series
Following TV series and watching movies in English will reinforce your listening and pronunciation skills. Additionally, with so international films and shows out there, you can explore the different varieties of English.
Of course, streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Video, and Hulu offer the most comfortable and practical resource for this.
13. Subscribe to English YouTube channels
If movies and series aren’t your jam, consider watching YouTube to reinforce your English lessons. While most YouTube content is in English, some content will be more effective for language learning.
Consider following language-related channels that cover practical lessons on vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, or speaking. Here are some popular English learning channels:
- BBC Learn English
- JenniferESL
- English with Kim
- mmmEnglish Learn
- English with Mr Duncan
- Business English Pod
Key resources to learn English
Pronunciation
First off, get a feel for how pronunciation works in English. The video tutorials here should help.
This book and DVD set is excellent (and cheap!) Once you’ve seen the above-mentioned video tutorials, make sure you get it! The author teaches a general American accent.
In terms of online resources, check out Rachel’s English. Aside from a bunch of handy videos, she has a sound chart that lists the various spellings of English in detail.
This site converts English text to IPA. It’s not 100% perfect, but it’s generally pretty good if you’re looking to do a lot of transcriptions!
There are also some useful Anki flashcards for English (American English & British English) to improve your English pronunciation, such as the English alphabet, English IPA pronunciation, English minimal pairs flashcards, and other useful goodies.
Your base vocabulary
Your goal is to find the words you’re missing. Once you’re done with the 625-word list we’ve created for you, we suggest you get a frequency dictionary and make sure you know at least the top 2,000 English words.
You can also access ready-made English Anki decks (American English & British English) to boost up your English vocabulary – remember that you’ll need to download the Anki software to be able to review the flashcards .
Free internet resources
The General Service List (GSL) is a well-designed frequency list you could tap into. The Academic word list for English students who wish to read academic papers is available here.
Frequency dictionary
The Routledge Frequency dictionary series is excellent, with example uses and everything. This version will be more current (and more accurate) than the GSL, and having a book in hand is sometimes more enjoyable to work with than a website.
Grammar books
There are many options here, but so far, our pick would be the English Grammar in Use book with audio support and answer keys. It gets wonderful reviews.
Here are the beginner, intermediate, and advanced books:
Literature
You can read anything that you enjoy. If you like Harry Potter, get Harry Potter. If you like crime novels, get John Grisham. Just get an audiobook with it to help push you through the book quickly.
Other resources
There are some wonderful monolingual English dictionaries that use simple vocabulary to describe words. Get one and start using it as soon as you can.
In terms of online resources, we’re big fans of the English tense tutorials over at Englishpage.com. You’ll also be really well served by Simple Wikipedia and Simple Wiktionary, two of the best resources for English learners.
If you have more questions about Anki and learning English, there’s also the Anki language learners community on Reddit. You can even check this Anki language learning blog for other Anki tips and tricks for learning English.
Dictionarist
Dictionarist provides translations, example sentences, conjugations, and synonyms for a number of languages, including English.
How to learn English quickly with Live Coaching
Are you still wondering how to learn English fast? Well, wonder no further! Learn English by joining our popular Live Coaching program.
Work with a native speaker certified in our language teaching method to supercharge your journey to fluency. Plus, when you sign up for the program, you can opt to access our app and review the sentences you learn with your coach using personalized flashcards!
Our coaches are 100% native speakers who will create online sessions based on your interests, goals, and passions. We offer several scheduling options including weekly, twice weekly, and daily sessions to meet your needs.
Sign up for Coaching here, and learn English fast!
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