Hey everyone, welcome back to the Understandable English Podcast.
Today I will be talking about the best ways to learn a language in my opinion.
So we're going to be talking about what I think are the most effective ways to study English.
First, I'd like to apologize that my podcast uploads, so new episodes, have been very infrequent.
I've been uploading quite slowly, only once every two or three weeks or even sometimes a month.
The reason for this is because I am still in the lockdown which is surprising but true and also working at university, and it is the last few weeks of my degree.
It is still going to be like this for the next probably month or month and a half.
But after this point I will no longer have my studies and I'm quite sure that I'll be able to upload many more podcasts and lots more Instagram posts and TikTok posts as well, which is great.
I'm very much looking forward to doing so.
So, first off, in talking about learning a language, it really depends on your goal.
I have spent quite a lot of time studying Russian and I can honestly say that, because I studied Russian in university, we have spent so much time learning grammar, which is great for writing and understanding reading texts.
But when it comes to speaking personally, I find that studying lots and lots and lots and lots of grammar, especially at the beginning, it makes it quite difficult to actually speak.
One of the big problems that I had at the beginning of my language learning journey with Russian was that I was constantly thinking you know how does this word end?
What is the correct grammar?
Does this make sense?
And in doing so I spoke very slowly, I constantly paused, I didn't know the word or what to say, and it became very, very difficult to communicate.
This is still a problem that I have with more advanced topics.
So if I'm talking about science or even politics or something a little bit more difficult.
So I would say that if you are wanting to learn English for speaking with friends, for traveling and just for communicating with people, it is much more important to focus on speaking and listening, like these podcasts, and to improve your conversation skills.
However, if you need to be able to write well and also read very well in English, then I think grammar is important.
But it isn't everything.
Make sure that you balance your time between each area.
If it was me at the beginning, I would personally learn about maybe 30-40 grammar and then the remaining 60 on the other aspects.
But once you learn the main grammar features of the language so, for example, how to use verbs, past tense, future tense, all of the main ones I would switch my focus to vocabulary, lots and lots of vocabulary, as well as speaking practice and using the language.
When we actually use a language, I think that we learn it much more effectively and more quickly.
When I was in my first year of university.
I learnt extremely slow, and actually I usually don't count this year when I tell people how long I have been studying Russian.
I was only studying maybe two hours a week.
It took me a couple of weeks to learn the alphabet and some basic greetings and I really didn't put a lot of effort into it.
My second year of studying Russian I learnt a lot more grammar and a lot more vocabulary.
And this helped me to be able to express my thoughts in Russian.
But even at this stage, I would say that my level of language was very bad.
I hadn't learned to speak very freely.
I really struggled to express my thoughts.
It was only when I actually went to Russia for about seven or eight months to study and in class I was studying in Russian language.
I apologize if you hear some background noise.
There's a lot of wind here today and it keeps opening and closing the door, and so anyway, when i was in russia, all of my classes, my language classes, were taught in russian.
So i was learning russian language in russian, and i think, once you reach a lower intermediate level, this is the best way, in my opinion, to learn a language, because you're not only hearing loads and loads of this language, but you're also practicing it and learning in it.
Um and it, it's just an amazing way to progress your language skills.
So I would say, once you reach pre-intermediate level, if you can learn with a native speaker or practice with a native speaker, that is the best option for you.
Another great.
Actually, before I go to my next tip, I would say that during that year, during those eight months in Russia, I pretty much learned most of the Russian that I know today.
I progressed very quickly compared to when I was studying Russian in English language.
And so that is why I recommend it so so so much.
The next big problem that many learners have is people often ask me how do I think in English?
A big problem, and this was a problem for me as well, is I would often translate in my head.
So first I would think of the sentence in English and then I would translate it into Russian.
The problem with this is it is quite slow.
It means it takes much longer for you to actually speak and make the sentence, and it really isn't ideal.
So my advice, my number one advice I give this to lots of different students is to think in English.
Try and think in English.
And I mean when you're on your own, when you're lying in bed, when you're in the shower, Whenever you want to just practice thinking in English.
Just make sentences, have a conversation with yourself in your head and just try and do it all with the English that you know.
Just build sentences and see where your mind takes you.
The more you do this, the more your brain will get used to forming sentences and you will start to have familiar sentence structures.
So sentence structures or sentences that you have already thought of before.
And then the amazing thing is, when you start to have conversations and you start to use your language, these structures and sentences that you have already thought of will be almost automatic.
You will just say them, you won't have to translate.
And that is amazing and i really recommend it to almost anyone who's studying english.
Another really, really great way to build that skill is just to consume as much english as you can.
Our brains are amazing at adapting to a new language if we give them enough information.
Some teachers, they call this comprehensible input.
So what you should do is listen to and watch as much content in English as you can.
Content that you can understand a good bit of it.
So let's say at least 50%.
If you can understand at least 50 of what is being said, then I would say it is very beneficial for you.
The more you listen and the more you watch TV shows in English, the more your brain will get used to the sentences, the way people talk, and it will become a lot easier for you.
Not only to understand, but also to express your thoughts and speak more like a native.
The next tip I have is one that I always give, and that is find a language partner.
There will always be someone who is studying your language.
There are plenty of British people that are studying Russian.
It might surprise you, but there are actually a lot.
In the UK, there are, I think, 15 different universities which have Russian language courses.
And probably at least, I don't know, many many schools, many high schools which have students studying Russian.
So online you can find plenty of students who are studying Russian, who are English, and you can do language exchange with them, and i really recommend this, and it not only helps you practice english with a native, but it's also free.
You're helping this person with a skill that you already have, and that is russian language, if you're russian, of course, and this applies to every nationality.
And yeah, I can't recommend it enough.
It is super helpful.
It has helped me and it helps the other person as well.
Finally, this point is probably the hardest one and not everyone can do this.
I understand that.
But if you have the opportunity, I would recommend living or studying in the country of the language which you're learning, even for just a few months.
It really, really helps because you're surrounded by the language everywhere.
You're surrounded by it on signs, on TV, on radio, all of the people talking around you restaurants, everything.
And I think that is probably one of the number one ways to learn.
But you do have to make an effort.
There are so many people that can live in a country for years and never even learn basic sentences or basic phrases.
You do have to still try to pay attention, to study and to improve.
But like I said, this immersion or this being surrounded by the language is still possible at home.
Watch lots of TV shows, listen to music and consume lots of content in the language.
Then, combined with a language exchange partner, before you know it you could be pretty much living a large bit of your life in English, without even realizing it, even in Russia.
So my final, final tip.
I have so many tips.
I can't include them all in this podcast because I would be talking for hours and hours.
So my final tip is to take it slowly.
Do not try and rush.
Do not try and study as much and as much and as much as you can.
Do what is right for you, get a good habit, be consistent, but do not burn yourself out.
That means don't do.
Don't do so much that you get tired and want to stop, and this is something that i have done many times, where I learn lots and lots, and lots of Russian.
I get really tired.
I get bored of it and I don't want to study again for weeks.
The best thing to do is just consistently do some easy things and maybe some more intensive study at a time which suits you.
Something manageable, something that works with your timetable.
Thank you very much for listening to this podcast.
I hope that it was helpful for you and I hope that you enjoyed it.
I really love to hear your feedback.
If you have any ideas for a new podcast episode, please send them to me.
You can message me on Instagram at EnglishWithOliver.
And I would be happy to chat with you, hear your ideas and even make a podcast based on your suggestions.
And don't forget to leave a review on iTunes or wherever you listen to the podcast if you enjoy it.
Thank you so much and I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful day.
Goodbye.
