How to Learn English

As a student, I always asked myself how to study English by myself. And now as a teacher, I (still) ask myself how to teach English to students who would like to study by themselves. And here we are, how to study English. I will try to instruct you how to learn English as clearly as possible.

How to Learn English

First of all, you need to identify your purpose of studying. After that, spot your level. And finally, be disciplined! One more important thing is that, no matter what your purpose is, try to start with General English first.

How to Learn English: Why 

Some people just think simply ‘I study English because it is necessary.’ Yes, it is true! But you cannot really proceed far with that mindset. You need to be specific! I study English for WORK. Or I study English for further education. For Academic Purposes. Up to you. But you need to be specific.

Why? It is because knowledge of English is A LOT! Luckily, you do not need to know EVERYTHING to get what you want. Knowing what you study for will save you time and effort!

Some Common Purposes

1. Study English for Working, please try General English.
2. You need English for further education? Perhaps you can try IELTS or PTE.
3. Academic Writing for your research paper?
4. You are interested in English Grammar only.
5. There is a skill in English you want to improve? Check English Skills.

And if you just want to have contact with English so you will not forget them, try English Discovery!

That being said, no matter what you purposes are, try to learn General English first! It is because you cannot build level 2 without a solid foundation. General English serves as a foundation for any of your English development. And for this reason, please start with it first!

How to Learn English: Level

One of the easiest ways to identify your level is to base on the amount of your study time. Let us have a look:

1. First of all, Beginner: under 100 hours
2. Next, Elementary: from 100 to 200 hours
3. After that, Pre-intermediate: from 200 to 300 hours
4. Following this, Intermediate: from 300 to 500 hours.
5. And then Upper-intermediate: from 500 to 700 hours.
6. Addtionally, Advanced: from 700 to 900 hours.
7. Finally, English for Academic Purposes: from 900 to 1200 hours.

This is according to CEFR.

Be Organized and Disciplined

Before you start to study, try to organize yourself first. Buy a notebook, some pens, highlighters. Get yourself a nice place to study. And set up a habit.

You may need to wake up a bit earlier than usual. Let us start with 5 minutes  then after a month, 10 minutes, then 15, 20. Do noT start with 1 hour. You will be discouraged before you take up a habit.

And be disciplined! With 5 minutes EVERY DAY, after a year, you will be better than 90% of the population! See? Easy, but constantly!!

Alright. Good luck. If you have any questions, or suggestions, please leave them here. I would like to answer them.