When I first started teaching English (way before the days of the internet) students and teachers used coursebooks. Although I think that coursebooks are useful – they provide a structure to learn grammar and skills – if you're learning English now, there are so many other ways to use and practise English.
Here are some excellent ways to use the internet for learning English:
Join a community
It's easier to learn when you've got someone to practise with. By chatting and sharing ideas with other people, your focus is on communicating for a different reason than just learning a language.
For example, in the longest-running thread on the Penpals forum, people from around the world ask each other questions about culture, life, and many other subjects. It's a forum for exchanging ideas and information – not for getting your writing corrected. And an interesting thing has happened in the two years the thread has developed: the writing ability of the forum posters has improved through reading each other's posts, and using new vocabulary, phrases and sentence structure.
Of course, english-at-home.com isn't the only community for learning English. Livemocha has over two million members learning different languages together.
- Keep in touch using social media
Write a blog, get on twitter, comment on websites… You can follow me on twitter (send tweets and I'll follow you back!) or become a fan on our facebook page. The more you contact people, the more you practise English.
Ask questions
Got a question you need an answer to, but no teacher on hand to ask? Lots of language learning sites provide forums where you can ask questions about English. Our Help Me! forum is one place, but there are plenty of others, such as english forums.
Improve your language skills
There are tons and tons of great sites for helping you improve your English. Here are just some of them – feel free to add to the list!
- Watch videos on youtube, and improve your listening skills and vocabulary.
For example, watch The Flatmates, a BBC learning soap opera.
- Record your own video clips on 12seconds with your webcam or mobile phone and share with your friends, or family.
- Improve your pronunciation by listening to English words on forvo.
- Make your own vocabulary "word clouds" with wordle. It's often easier to remember something visual, and wordle makes coloured images of the words or text you upload.
- Read and listen to the news on the BBC
11 comments on “Learning English with the internet”
Id like to add to the list, my collection of vocabulary videos and flashcards at http://www.WordAhead.com
At WordAhead, difficult English words are explained by fun, short and simple audio and visual cues. Other features include, word a day, upload your students' work to the site and a customized widget where teachers can create and embed their word list in their blogs or sites for their students.
Thanks!
Many thanks for those advices , I tried live mocha ,I found it very atractive . With time I will check the others site .Hopefully in short time I will enhance my english skill.
Always waitting for your help
i like the way of describing and advicing all of us the way to improve English.
Thanks
Dear Clare,
Thank you for addressing Persian version of 'let's learn together!' indirectly.:)
I am a member of mentioned group. I have been writing there since December of 2007, but there is no native English speaker, so we are not sure about our improvement! :):):) We just write and read, without any examinations! Nobody evaluates our English level. I wish Clare were kind enough to join us and just write there something from time to time. It will help us, because we will be able to evaluate our own English skills, just by reading your posts.
Anyway, we would welcome any people from all over the world warmly.
All the best,
Behnam, 30 September 2009
Hi Behnam
I understand what you're saying, but I don't want to come on the thread and start "correcting" people's English. I can say that those who write regularly do make progress – they pick up new vocabulary / phrases, they think about writing clearly (and in a way to avoid misunderstandings) but more than anything else, they have a reason to communicate with others through writing about topics that interest them – not because I've asked them to go and write about them. I don't think you need someone to evaluate your level when you're writing for pleasure, and if you were writing to be evaluated, then it would be a different type of writing entirely.
I do post on the thread occasionally, but I prefer to keep out of the way! I also read most, if not all, of the posts, so I know what you're all up to and saying!
Clare
Hello Clare,
Thank you for the reply. However, we don't need someone to correct us! What we want is a native English speaker, neither to correct us nor to write there regularly.
Let me give you an example. I have always used 'in the thread' rather than 'on the thread'! Now, I understood that 'on the thread' is correct. You didn't want to teach me, but I learnt it just through reading your writing.
Of course, we write there for pleasure, but pleasure is great when there is an improvement on the right way as well. In this case, we will kill two birds with one stone!
It is like playing chess. When you play with some amateurs and always win, you will be stuck in the same level of ability, or you will improve it slowly, but when you play with some professional players, although you always lose, you learn new things, and then you improve your skills.
It was just an example, I didn't mean that my friends all are amateurs, or I am a professional writer. I also didn't mean that you are a professional player! :)):)):)) Maybe, I have to correct you, who knows? =))=))=))=))=) Just kidding! Just kidding!
I don't know why I am insisting on your presence on the thread, maybe it is because of your kindness, or because of my rudeness! I hope you will forgive me, anyway!
All the best,
Behnam, 30 September 2009
Dear Clare and Behnam,
I'd like to thank both of you. Clare , because of her attention and care about our home ( the Persian version of " Let's learn together!" ;) thread). Behnam, because of his patient in the first place , then his energy to keep people there going writing. I'd like to thank both of you! I'm really happy that I'm a simple part from Behnam's thread which is a main part from Clare's website . Even if I make lots of mistakes in each writing , but I think I'm very useful in that place, because people who read my writing will have a practice " find the faults and correct them" (LOOOOOOOOL).
As a matter of fact, writing there made me feel happy.
Marina.
Hello all my friends,
we know what is a meaning of practice while studying languages. "Old methods" of studying were (and continue to be, because not everywhere people are ready to change their views and habits) imperfect. There was too much care to Grammar rules and not enough – to real practice. The most efficient way of obtaining speacking skills is a natural one – like a baby learns first words and phrases from her/his mother. No one make baby to memorize words, to comprehend rules, everything occurs naturally, gradually but very fast, so effectively.
Human subconsciousness accomulate information much easier and faster than "a command center" – intellect. You can't control your subconsciousness of course, just let it work, not overload your command center! It's just statistics – to learn using some word correctly in different combinations and circumstations you need, first, to listen this word many times in all combinations from RELIABLE SOURCE and, second, to use it in the same way.
So Clare, you see, we need a mother:)
I'm sorry, I forgot to sign: Andrew, 1 October 2009
I agree with this advice , n I think it very useful
Hey thts really good,if we have a native english speaker. Because thn only we come across our mistakes. So,i like ur suggestion.
